I decided to do a chapter analysis with a foreshadowing bent.
Cover Page:
We see Hiyori and Kawamatsu playing with origami cranes, which also seem to be paper airplanes, and Hiyori’s crane is floating. The Crane is both the symbol of the Kozuki clan, and a symbol in general Japanese culture representing honor, loyalty, good fortune, and longevity.
The Crane flying is a sign of Wano’s new freedom, and could be foreshadowing Wano becoming a Sky Island in the future (Mt. Fuji is still active, and if it erupts fully, would lift Wano into the sky, allowing Pyrobloin to mix with sea vapor and form Sea Cloud).
Page 2:
We see pirates wanting to kill Koby, despite Teach’s orders, meaning Blackbeard’s over-arching crew either doesn’t listen to him, or these pirates aren’t actually on his crew. Cross Guild is clearly a successful business, as well, showing its spread.
Koby’s bounty is interesting: there have been four other characters with a 500,000,000 Berry bounty: Luffy and Law post Dressrosa, Usopp during Dressrosa and post Wano, and Big Mom in her early years.
Luffy and Koby’s connection is obvious, but there are fun connections to the other three characters. Law and Koby are connected by the Rocky Port Incident, and are both dealing with escaping Blackbeard’s forces right now; they also care a good deal about justice, and are connected to Sword (Law is connected to Sengoku, and spent a lot of time working with Drake in Wano). Oda has brought up Law and Koby’s connection too many times, the Rocky Port incident will probably me a flashback that gives us more Rocks/Blackbeard lore.
Koby and Usopp is also funny, because both were once giant cowards, and now Koby is far from cowardly, while Usopp is… slowly getting there. He’s getting there, alright?!?
Koby and Big Mom share the same hair color, and overall sense of justice; never forget, Linlin wants to make Totto Land a paradise where all races live together in harmony. Early in her life, she made it clear she hates seeing people fight needlessly (with the poor bear and wolf), just like Koby at Marineford.
Page 3:
Pizarro’s new Fruit is not only hilarious, it’s very busted for surveillance: since he can feel anything that’s happening on him, he’s more or less a lookout who can watch any part of an island he comes into contact with. The possibilities here are endless.
Like Shiki, if Pizarro possesses a Sky Island, he could ram it down into you from above, potentially, causing cataclysmic damage. Also, if he were to take over the Flower Capital region of Wano, he could potentially take over Pluton itself, since it’s under the island.
We also learn that Blackbeard is trading slaves, which makes sense for his character. After naming his ship after Rocks (The Saber of Xebec) and taking over Rocks old territory, it’s clear Blackbeard wants to rule the world, like Rocks; so, of course he’d need slaves. Fishmen and Merfolk are especially at danger here, since Teach can use their swimming abilities to save his Officers if they fall into the sea, since they all have Devil Fruits.
Pizarro used to be quite abrasive towards Blackbeard’s leadership, saying he could lead the crew in the Pre-Time-Skip. Now, however, Pizarro seems to fully respect Teach, warning the pirates what will happen if they kill Koby.
Koby himself appears holding a ball and chain restraint; it’s unclear if this is Seastone and is unbreakable, or if it’s a normal restraint, and Koby isn’t strong enough to break it. If it is Seastone, Koby might actually use the ball as a weapon later on in this fight.
Page 4:
We can gain some information on Blackbeard’s slave trade from the first panel where Koby is running away as a distraction: to begin with, some of the prisoners are wearing numbers on their backs; the highest number visible is 561, meaning Teach has at least 561 slaves on the island, no small number. One of the slaves has ears and what looks like a fox tail, meaning Minks are fair game here. If that’s the case, and Blackbeard has a Mink slave, he may have a Vivre Card to Zou, now.
Shiryu immediately wants to capture the prisoners, a nice nod to his former occupation as Warden of Impel Down
Page 5:
Based of Pizarro and Shot arguing, it seems the Blackbeard Pirates are really like the Straw Hats, in that they all like their Captain, but end up doing their own thing a lot. Pizarro, despite the Corrupt King moniker, seems to really care about the town, while Vasco literally wants to set it on fire. This is interesting, because it means his Booze fruit is most likely used in conjunction with fire. If Shot has a Logia, it’s possible he could even set himself on fire after turning into liquor. I’m all for weirder Logias, so, I’m hoping for that, but it would be fine as a Paramecia, too. Considering how darknened/reddened Shot’s nose is, he’s probably WASTED, meaning his decision making is probably more destructive when he’s drunk, since he wants to burn the whole town down.
Okay, how does Sanjuan Wolf… just… get around??? Look at him??? What… what does he do during the day? Does he have his own special compound? Just he just sleep? I also wonder about his bubbles, that Vasco is riding. Is that some special ability? Does he just have… really powerful snot bubbles? If Shot reinforcing them with liquor?
Page 6:
Koby seems to be moving fine with the ball and chain, there’s just too many people following him for him to stay away from the pirates. Blackbeard seems to have a healthy level of respect for him, call him “Koby the Hero!”.
Blackbeard wants to rule, no surprise here, but, actually trying to turn Hachinosu into a legitimate kingdom is kind of crazy. I can see why Blackbeard wants this, as it would put him above his previous Shichibukai position and give him access to the Reverie, but I have no idea why he thinks this plan could work. Even Blackbeard’s craziest plans made sense at their core… there’s something we’re missing here. Blackbeard has another ace up his sleeve besides Koby, IMO.
“A country of criminals?” Just like the Celestial Dragons, Koby! Durrrrrr
Page 7:
Blackbeard’s face is hilarious here, the man is having the time of his life, and you have to appreciate it, at least a little, even if you hate him. Koby is adamant that he’s wasting his time, and he’s probably right; if the WG unveiled the SSG and Seraphim because they were sick on relying on the Shichibukai, why would they trust a former Shichibukai who’s already betrayed them to negotiate fairly?
Koby spills all the beans, in front of Aokiji. I imagine that, if Aokiji is a spy for Sword, Koby is aware of that, and there’s a reason he chose to bring this up. Otherwise, it makes no sense for Koby to bring this up. Blackbeard isn’t going to just let him go after hearing about this, and will obviously try to blackmail the Marines anyway. Aokiji’s reaction seems to be general surprise, though.
So, I think Koby knows Aokiji is a member of Sword, but that Koby joined Sword AFTER Aokiji went into deep cover with Blackbeard’s crew. So, Koby is revealing he’s a member of Sword, to let Aokiji know that he can be trusted, and is on his side.
I don’t trust Teach here, either, acting like he doesn’t know anything about Sword. Blackbeard loves gathering information, I find it highly unlikely that he let Aokiji into his ranks without contingencies for in Aokiji was still working with the Marines. And now, Koby has pretty much confirmed that Aokiji cannot be trusted. I think Teach and Kuzan both know the other is lying, but are trying to get as much use out of each other, regardless. Aokiji wants to learn as much about Blackbeard’s real goals as he can before dipping, and Blackbeard wants to use Aokiji’s raw power to accomplish goals as much as he can, before killing Aokiji when the time is right. It’s a big ole game of chicken, yeehaw.
Page 8:
Not much to say on this page that I didn’t say before. The Navy as whole was willing to abandon Koby, maybe, but not his closest allies. It’s interesting that Luffy, Koby, and Sabo are all being treated as heroes within the current narrative.
Page 9:
Considering Perona asked for Koby’s help getting Moria out of his cell, I’m assuming Moria was contained by Seastone somehow; otherwise, Persona should have been able to use her ghost powers to aid him. Makes sense, too; without Seastone, Moria could use his shadows to escape easily. If the Officers we see are the only Officers Blackbeard has on the island, Perona and Moria’s powers combined with Garp’s distraction should be enough to let them escape. Shiryu could sneak attack them with invisibility, and Pizarro could notice them and attack with the island, but, after Garp’s display, I think Moria and Persona have a good shot. Of course, if Garp wrecks the Blackbeard Pirates, he could end up arresting Moria and Persona, too (which would be kind of hilarious after Persona helped Koby escape).
Like Drake in Wano, Koby is teaming up with Pirates, now; and Persona also is close to the Straw Hats, being Roronoa Zoro’s lover. This is setting up Luffy working with Koby in the future, further foreshadowed by Garp and Roger fighting Rocks.
Like Ace before him, Koby didn’t want the Navy to even show up to save him, thinking it was arrogant of him. Fortunately for Koby, Garp likes him way more than Ace, hehhhhhhhhhh.
Page 10:
Hmmm, so, Grus can make Clay Golems. The question here is, are these real people he made golems out of, who have the personalities of their originals? Or, are they artificial lifeforms made by Grus himself? Either way, pretty powerful ability, especially for a situation like this.
Kujaku, Tsuru’s granddaughter, has some sadistic sass. Whether she’s able to whip humans/animals to control them has yet to be seen; if so, she’s pretty much sadistic-Tama, who can control way more, and has a much easier activation requirement.
Page 11:
Hilariously enough, Vegapunk’s flower-gunpowder is reintroduced through Hibari. Being able to counter-sniper snipers by turning their ammunition into flowers is honestly really interesting for a sniper. Sadly, Hibari seems to be another young woman doomed to fall to Usopp’s hands; imagine her sniping his pop-greens, only to gasp and realize that they are already flowers. Usopp >>>>> Hibari
The fact that Hibari packed a lunch for Koby, even in such wild circumstances, and then acted tsun about it is cute and hilarious. If she is Akainu’s daughter, I can’t wait to see the three interact together.
Page 12:
Grus interests me; his face, hair, and purple coat all remind me of Doflamingo and Rosinante, which is interesting because Sengoku, Rosinante and Drake’s father, is probably connected to Sword, and therefore Grus. Is it possible Grus idolized Rosinante, and knew of him in the past, hence the dress?
His Devil Fruit could be Logia or Paramecia, but, I have a feeling it’s a Paramecia, based on how he’s using it from range. I’m fine either way.
Wheeee flying ship! Either Garp’s ship has a mechanism similar to the Sunny, or, he just launched the ship by punching the ocean. Knowing Oda and Garp, I’m guessing Garp just punched the Ocean, wheeeeee!
Tashigi and Helmeppo being near Shiryu terrifies me, hopefully Bogard is also on board for added sword-power
Pages 13/14:
Looking at Garp’s ship, it seems there’s no real launching mechanism. Yep, Garp launched the ship by punching the ocean. The pirate fodder is obviously terrified, but Shiryu looks for interested than furious/scared, and Vasco Shot looks positively MURDEROUS upon seeing Garp. Perhaps Garp was the one to put Vasco Shot in prison, and he wants to get his revenge?
Pages 15/16:
As with Roger, Garp seems to have giant CoC trails while laughing and having a good time. I got major “Roger about to wreck Oden” vibes from this scene. Big Mom and Kaido had CoC, but, they don’t have the lust for life that Roger and Garp had, and that’s why they were on a lower level.
Welp, pack it in, Koby haters. It’s clear that Koby is destined to play a big role in the endgame, reforming the Marines and honoring Garp’s legacy. Hopefully the Rocky Port Incident is a nice feat, and we get some stronger portrayals of Koby going forward, to give Garp’s words weight.
With his punch, Garp looks to be using both Emission and Internal Destruction with CoC and CoA to just annihilate what’s below him. Just compare the size of the impact to the ship in the air; that’s a ridiculous shockwave. Garp has lost some endurance, speed, and power over the years, but it’s clear his Haki is still peak. That’s what makes these old men dangerous; Rayleigh and Garp may no longer be at their physical peaks, but they are Haki masters who know their own limits and bodies very well.
Further Thoughts: I doubt Oda will give Garp and L right after introducing his power, but, at the same time, I doubt Oda will destroy Blackbeard’s territory this late into the series after introducing it in Wano. So, I believe Garp will flex a little, Shiryu will get some hype to set him up for Zoro in the future, and then the Marines will flee after being alerted about another incident.
Having four of Blackbeard’s Officers overwhelm Garp, Koby, and Sword would make the latter look hilarious weak. However, we still don’t know the range of Van Augur’s Warp Fruit; it’s entirely possible that Blackbeard shows back up to Hachinosu while Garp is still there, if Augur’s Fruit can Warp them fast enough.
Blackbeard beating Law then Garp would do a lot to set him up as Luffy’s primary Pirate antagonist, and if Blackbeard has Law, Garp, and Koby held captive, it gives Luffy a big reason to fight Blackbeard. This would reunite Koby with Law, to, finally giving us the Rocky Port flashback.
Cover Page:
We see Hiyori and Kawamatsu playing with origami cranes, which also seem to be paper airplanes, and Hiyori’s crane is floating. The Crane is both the symbol of the Kozuki clan, and a symbol in general Japanese culture representing honor, loyalty, good fortune, and longevity.
The Crane flying is a sign of Wano’s new freedom, and could be foreshadowing Wano becoming a Sky Island in the future (Mt. Fuji is still active, and if it erupts fully, would lift Wano into the sky, allowing Pyrobloin to mix with sea vapor and form Sea Cloud).
Page 2:
We see pirates wanting to kill Koby, despite Teach’s orders, meaning Blackbeard’s over-arching crew either doesn’t listen to him, or these pirates aren’t actually on his crew. Cross Guild is clearly a successful business, as well, showing its spread.
Koby’s bounty is interesting: there have been four other characters with a 500,000,000 Berry bounty: Luffy and Law post Dressrosa, Usopp during Dressrosa and post Wano, and Big Mom in her early years.
Luffy and Koby’s connection is obvious, but there are fun connections to the other three characters. Law and Koby are connected by the Rocky Port Incident, and are both dealing with escaping Blackbeard’s forces right now; they also care a good deal about justice, and are connected to Sword (Law is connected to Sengoku, and spent a lot of time working with Drake in Wano). Oda has brought up Law and Koby’s connection too many times, the Rocky Port incident will probably me a flashback that gives us more Rocks/Blackbeard lore.
Koby and Usopp is also funny, because both were once giant cowards, and now Koby is far from cowardly, while Usopp is… slowly getting there. He’s getting there, alright?!?
Koby and Big Mom share the same hair color, and overall sense of justice; never forget, Linlin wants to make Totto Land a paradise where all races live together in harmony. Early in her life, she made it clear she hates seeing people fight needlessly (with the poor bear and wolf), just like Koby at Marineford.
Page 3:
Pizarro’s new Fruit is not only hilarious, it’s very busted for surveillance: since he can feel anything that’s happening on him, he’s more or less a lookout who can watch any part of an island he comes into contact with. The possibilities here are endless.
Like Shiki, if Pizarro possesses a Sky Island, he could ram it down into you from above, potentially, causing cataclysmic damage. Also, if he were to take over the Flower Capital region of Wano, he could potentially take over Pluton itself, since it’s under the island.
We also learn that Blackbeard is trading slaves, which makes sense for his character. After naming his ship after Rocks (The Saber of Xebec) and taking over Rocks old territory, it’s clear Blackbeard wants to rule the world, like Rocks; so, of course he’d need slaves. Fishmen and Merfolk are especially at danger here, since Teach can use their swimming abilities to save his Officers if they fall into the sea, since they all have Devil Fruits.
Pizarro used to be quite abrasive towards Blackbeard’s leadership, saying he could lead the crew in the Pre-Time-Skip. Now, however, Pizarro seems to fully respect Teach, warning the pirates what will happen if they kill Koby.
Koby himself appears holding a ball and chain restraint; it’s unclear if this is Seastone and is unbreakable, or if it’s a normal restraint, and Koby isn’t strong enough to break it. If it is Seastone, Koby might actually use the ball as a weapon later on in this fight.
Page 4:
We can gain some information on Blackbeard’s slave trade from the first panel where Koby is running away as a distraction: to begin with, some of the prisoners are wearing numbers on their backs; the highest number visible is 561, meaning Teach has at least 561 slaves on the island, no small number. One of the slaves has ears and what looks like a fox tail, meaning Minks are fair game here. If that’s the case, and Blackbeard has a Mink slave, he may have a Vivre Card to Zou, now.
Shiryu immediately wants to capture the prisoners, a nice nod to his former occupation as Warden of Impel Down
Page 5:
Based of Pizarro and Shot arguing, it seems the Blackbeard Pirates are really like the Straw Hats, in that they all like their Captain, but end up doing their own thing a lot. Pizarro, despite the Corrupt King moniker, seems to really care about the town, while Vasco literally wants to set it on fire. This is interesting, because it means his Booze fruit is most likely used in conjunction with fire. If Shot has a Logia, it’s possible he could even set himself on fire after turning into liquor. I’m all for weirder Logias, so, I’m hoping for that, but it would be fine as a Paramecia, too. Considering how darknened/reddened Shot’s nose is, he’s probably WASTED, meaning his decision making is probably more destructive when he’s drunk, since he wants to burn the whole town down.
Okay, how does Sanjuan Wolf… just… get around??? Look at him??? What… what does he do during the day? Does he have his own special compound? Just he just sleep? I also wonder about his bubbles, that Vasco is riding. Is that some special ability? Does he just have… really powerful snot bubbles? If Shot reinforcing them with liquor?
Page 6:
Koby seems to be moving fine with the ball and chain, there’s just too many people following him for him to stay away from the pirates. Blackbeard seems to have a healthy level of respect for him, call him “Koby the Hero!”.
Blackbeard wants to rule, no surprise here, but, actually trying to turn Hachinosu into a legitimate kingdom is kind of crazy. I can see why Blackbeard wants this, as it would put him above his previous Shichibukai position and give him access to the Reverie, but I have no idea why he thinks this plan could work. Even Blackbeard’s craziest plans made sense at their core… there’s something we’re missing here. Blackbeard has another ace up his sleeve besides Koby, IMO.
“A country of criminals?” Just like the Celestial Dragons, Koby! Durrrrrr
Page 7:
Blackbeard’s face is hilarious here, the man is having the time of his life, and you have to appreciate it, at least a little, even if you hate him. Koby is adamant that he’s wasting his time, and he’s probably right; if the WG unveiled the SSG and Seraphim because they were sick on relying on the Shichibukai, why would they trust a former Shichibukai who’s already betrayed them to negotiate fairly?
Koby spills all the beans, in front of Aokiji. I imagine that, if Aokiji is a spy for Sword, Koby is aware of that, and there’s a reason he chose to bring this up. Otherwise, it makes no sense for Koby to bring this up. Blackbeard isn’t going to just let him go after hearing about this, and will obviously try to blackmail the Marines anyway. Aokiji’s reaction seems to be general surprise, though.
So, I think Koby knows Aokiji is a member of Sword, but that Koby joined Sword AFTER Aokiji went into deep cover with Blackbeard’s crew. So, Koby is revealing he’s a member of Sword, to let Aokiji know that he can be trusted, and is on his side.
I don’t trust Teach here, either, acting like he doesn’t know anything about Sword. Blackbeard loves gathering information, I find it highly unlikely that he let Aokiji into his ranks without contingencies for in Aokiji was still working with the Marines. And now, Koby has pretty much confirmed that Aokiji cannot be trusted. I think Teach and Kuzan both know the other is lying, but are trying to get as much use out of each other, regardless. Aokiji wants to learn as much about Blackbeard’s real goals as he can before dipping, and Blackbeard wants to use Aokiji’s raw power to accomplish goals as much as he can, before killing Aokiji when the time is right. It’s a big ole game of chicken, yeehaw.
Page 8:
Not much to say on this page that I didn’t say before. The Navy as whole was willing to abandon Koby, maybe, but not his closest allies. It’s interesting that Luffy, Koby, and Sabo are all being treated as heroes within the current narrative.
Page 9:
Considering Perona asked for Koby’s help getting Moria out of his cell, I’m assuming Moria was contained by Seastone somehow; otherwise, Persona should have been able to use her ghost powers to aid him. Makes sense, too; without Seastone, Moria could use his shadows to escape easily. If the Officers we see are the only Officers Blackbeard has on the island, Perona and Moria’s powers combined with Garp’s distraction should be enough to let them escape. Shiryu could sneak attack them with invisibility, and Pizarro could notice them and attack with the island, but, after Garp’s display, I think Moria and Persona have a good shot. Of course, if Garp wrecks the Blackbeard Pirates, he could end up arresting Moria and Persona, too (which would be kind of hilarious after Persona helped Koby escape).
Like Drake in Wano, Koby is teaming up with Pirates, now; and Persona also is close to the Straw Hats, being Roronoa Zoro’s lover. This is setting up Luffy working with Koby in the future, further foreshadowed by Garp and Roger fighting Rocks.
Like Ace before him, Koby didn’t want the Navy to even show up to save him, thinking it was arrogant of him. Fortunately for Koby, Garp likes him way more than Ace, hehhhhhhhhhh.
Page 10:
Hmmm, so, Grus can make Clay Golems. The question here is, are these real people he made golems out of, who have the personalities of their originals? Or, are they artificial lifeforms made by Grus himself? Either way, pretty powerful ability, especially for a situation like this.
Kujaku, Tsuru’s granddaughter, has some sadistic sass. Whether she’s able to whip humans/animals to control them has yet to be seen; if so, she’s pretty much sadistic-Tama, who can control way more, and has a much easier activation requirement.
Page 11:
Hilariously enough, Vegapunk’s flower-gunpowder is reintroduced through Hibari. Being able to counter-sniper snipers by turning their ammunition into flowers is honestly really interesting for a sniper. Sadly, Hibari seems to be another young woman doomed to fall to Usopp’s hands; imagine her sniping his pop-greens, only to gasp and realize that they are already flowers. Usopp >>>>> Hibari
The fact that Hibari packed a lunch for Koby, even in such wild circumstances, and then acted tsun about it is cute and hilarious. If she is Akainu’s daughter, I can’t wait to see the three interact together.
Page 12:
Grus interests me; his face, hair, and purple coat all remind me of Doflamingo and Rosinante, which is interesting because Sengoku, Rosinante and Drake’s father, is probably connected to Sword, and therefore Grus. Is it possible Grus idolized Rosinante, and knew of him in the past, hence the dress?
His Devil Fruit could be Logia or Paramecia, but, I have a feeling it’s a Paramecia, based on how he’s using it from range. I’m fine either way.
Wheeee flying ship! Either Garp’s ship has a mechanism similar to the Sunny, or, he just launched the ship by punching the ocean. Knowing Oda and Garp, I’m guessing Garp just punched the Ocean, wheeeeee!
Tashigi and Helmeppo being near Shiryu terrifies me, hopefully Bogard is also on board for added sword-power
Pages 13/14:
Looking at Garp’s ship, it seems there’s no real launching mechanism. Yep, Garp launched the ship by punching the ocean. The pirate fodder is obviously terrified, but Shiryu looks for interested than furious/scared, and Vasco Shot looks positively MURDEROUS upon seeing Garp. Perhaps Garp was the one to put Vasco Shot in prison, and he wants to get his revenge?
Pages 15/16:
As with Roger, Garp seems to have giant CoC trails while laughing and having a good time. I got major “Roger about to wreck Oden” vibes from this scene. Big Mom and Kaido had CoC, but, they don’t have the lust for life that Roger and Garp had, and that’s why they were on a lower level.
Welp, pack it in, Koby haters. It’s clear that Koby is destined to play a big role in the endgame, reforming the Marines and honoring Garp’s legacy. Hopefully the Rocky Port Incident is a nice feat, and we get some stronger portrayals of Koby going forward, to give Garp’s words weight.
With his punch, Garp looks to be using both Emission and Internal Destruction with CoC and CoA to just annihilate what’s below him. Just compare the size of the impact to the ship in the air; that’s a ridiculous shockwave. Garp has lost some endurance, speed, and power over the years, but it’s clear his Haki is still peak. That’s what makes these old men dangerous; Rayleigh and Garp may no longer be at their physical peaks, but they are Haki masters who know their own limits and bodies very well.
Further Thoughts: I doubt Oda will give Garp and L right after introducing his power, but, at the same time, I doubt Oda will destroy Blackbeard’s territory this late into the series after introducing it in Wano. So, I believe Garp will flex a little, Shiryu will get some hype to set him up for Zoro in the future, and then the Marines will flee after being alerted about another incident.
Having four of Blackbeard’s Officers overwhelm Garp, Koby, and Sword would make the latter look hilarious weak. However, we still don’t know the range of Van Augur’s Warp Fruit; it’s entirely possible that Blackbeard shows back up to Hachinosu while Garp is still there, if Augur’s Fruit can Warp them fast enough.
Blackbeard beating Law then Garp would do a lot to set him up as Luffy’s primary Pirate antagonist, and if Blackbeard has Law, Garp, and Koby held captive, it gives Luffy a big reason to fight Blackbeard. This would reunite Koby with Law, to, finally giving us the Rocky Port flashback.
