On the cover page...Usopp...what are you doing? Covering his nose in honey to attract a (most likely gigantic) rhinoceros beetle. He's just ASKING for comic hijinks to get set off! Although...Chopper might get to it first? Well, this is one way to get a nose job, I guess. I do like the Winnie the Pooh style honeypot, though.
Giants versus the Demon Army! Heaven or Hell...Let's ROCK!
And it turns out Zoro's plan was...just to jump good. Okay, I'll admit, I MASSIVELY overthought what he'd end up doing. Also, Dorry and Brogy do end up cutting each other, so the people who predicted Zoro would set those two against each other probably deserve half-credit. My read on this situation is that there's still some of the old Dorry and Brogy left in there. So, they chose to cut each other down with their own wills than obey Imu's commands, anymore.
I guess Brook didn't just get up and leave. Looks like he's literally been trying to crawl on his belly over to Gunko. Or should I say...Princess Shuri? (Has Oda been watching the Black Panther movies, lately?) She's looking pretty good for a 80 year old! Apparently, Shuri had a "connection to the Holy Land". That's interesting wording. Brook doesn't say she's a Celestial Dragon. But, she has a connection to the land of Mariejois itself. Kind of similar to the Lunarians? And...uh...Brook's mad at her for killing her father the King. That's a twist! I'll admit, I didn't see that coming. I'm guessing Imu's the one who had Gunko/Shuri do that, possibly as the first act under her contract.
Gunko/Shuri's memories returning are enough to partially break Imu's hold on her. Imu actually seems a little "jealous" of Brook. Or protective of her, it's hard to tell. Imu still seems to be the one in control, mostly. But, maybe not for much longer.
But, the Strawhats mostly managed to all get free! And Sanji's here to help them out! With only Robin stuck in the thorns, you would think that'd set up a fight between Sommers and Sanji to free her. But, umm...we'll see, I guess, given the end of the chapter.
Meanwhile, Sommers is mocking children. He's REALLY earning that bad karma that's going to end up biting him later on, huh? Colon's actually trying to stand up to him. Which is pretty brave, but kind of foolish.
Huh. The Giants fighting Nightmare-Nika is...curious. Oda's probably foreshadowing something here, but I'm not sure what. Maybe Nika really WAS the bad guy, back in the First World?
"Three Generals...Gokoku Sovereignty!" Oooh...nice "upgrade" on the classic move. From the new generation of Giants, to boot! Also, this COULD be a indication that the other 3 Skypiean Gods teamed up to defeat Nika, I guess. We'll see.
And Nightmare-Nika crashes into the boat meant to steal the kids away, after Sommers bops him away. Well...Imu's plan is instantly ruined. Sommers is getting fired...maybe literally. Unless they steal a different boat. I guess the Sunny IS still right around here. Hmm..could the God's Knights end up "kidnapping" the Thousand Sunny?