We’re definitely (finally?) hurtling towards a climax and denouement much faster than we have for the last two decades. I’d say Reverie, with the introduction of Imu and everything else that happened, was probably the inflection point, and now things are really heating up in Wano...
Oda has always been a man of extremes when it comes to pacing - several action- or info- packed chapters followed by a slower burn for any given arc’s non-fighting scenes - but the last year or so has felt different, like the bigger chapters were building to something with further reaching consequences than even, say, the Post Enies Lobby arc. That set up the entire New World, but now, it’s clearly setting up the Final War, Raftel, etc.
It’s bittersweet to think that this long, fascinating epic of a tale might actually be inching towards its end, but at least it looks like we’ll get the satisfying ending we all want/deserve. Whatever happens in Wano with the Yonko alliance will invariably lead to resolution for a lot of long running plot points, clearing the way for others (Blackbeard, WG, Celestial Dragons) to finally take center stage after years mostly spent on the periphery. Seeing as the aforementioned hold most of the secrets that have been teased throughout the series, I can’t imagine we’ll spend much more time seeing arcs/events/characters not related to the central ethos.
