- Sad that Ohmasa was that Yakuza who got iced. I was hoping he was revealed to be a half mink that could trigger his partial Sulong under the big dome hole.
- Funny that Sanji seeks recognition, despite how stealthy and behind the scenes he operates. Soba Mask is more famous in Wano than Black Leg, and that identity is his own creation. Calling himself Vinsmoke would get his name out there more quickly, but that's not how Sanji is going to do this.
- I gotta eat some crow. This is largely a transition chapter with Kiku recovering, Kaido transforming, Queen setting up a 1 hour time limit reminiscent of the bird cage, Big Mom and the cake, Yamato establishing why she's fighting. Compare the ending of this chapter to the epic endings of 991, 992, and 993. The volume likely ended with 993, 994 marking the start of a new volume. Not the ideal place for a break but Oda's unfortunate sickness must have thrown his schedule off, and now a magazine break hits after 995 I believe.
I just love the scale here. Kaido is a little worm on top of Onigashima. Yet look at all those gigantic rocks he sliced with one screech of his voice last chapter. The smaller rocks are bigger than mansions, the bigger ones would eclipse Orochi's castle (not perched on that tree). I want to see Kaido and Luffy obliterate the skull before the battle moves over to Wano. The Minks and fodder have vacated the premises so we're good to destroy.
Kiku's lifeless eyes just get to me here. This one knows they're not meant for long, but fear of death is not excuse to give in.
In honor of Queen being a fantastic showman of life or death games, let's play
Who Gave Kiku the Second Sword? It's a fairly generic katana with a round guard. It probably wasn't the Minks who stick to western swords, and Kaido's goons only carry crud that would break against dragon scales. Here's the top 5:
1.
Izo's katana. Yes, commander Izo did in fact use a katana back in Marineford and it wouldn't be surprising if he brought it here. He was trained to use one as a retainer. Maybe he doesn't think much of it now, but it's a perfect gift for his sibling Kiku.
2.
Inuarashi's second sword. It matches the look, we just saw him use it for Totsuka Paradise, and Inu has a spare sword in his leg so giving one up is no big deal. I will miss Santoryu style Doggy.
3.
Neko's katana. He was trained to use one like Izo and then gave it up. That doesn't mean he threw it away and maybe he brought it to Wano just in case.
4.
Denjiro's third sword. Back when Oda was still trying to trick the readers that Koshiro and the Wado Ichimonji were in the flashback. Denji carried a different sword than one he held in the present day..but it's possible that was simply his second sword in 992.
5.
Ashura's spare blade. This is the best look we got at Ashura and Denjiro's second swords, generic enough to pass onto Kiku.
Maybe the anime will give us a hint when they start filling in the colors
I see Kinemon's response here flew over many people's heads. Glory would be better translated as honor here. Why does Kinemon talk about honor in response to Kaido talking about death? It's because Kaido is an avid worshiper of Bushido. He loves the samurai, he loves the sushi, he loves the sake, and he built his HQ right next to Wano.
We've been exposed to it through Zoro. The way of the warrior is the way of death. By having a constant consciousness of death, a person can achieve a state of freedom that transcends life or death. It is then possible to perfectly fulfill one's calling of as a warrior. That's what Kaido is talking about. To die a good death with one's honor intact is the ultimate aim in a life of Bushido. That's where Kin'emon disagrees. There is absolutely no honor in going down to Kaido.
Roger, Whitebeard, Oden all lived the lives they wanted and chose their place of death. A true mark of the strong, showing mastery over their mortal coils. What about Captain Rocks? Was his life cut unexpectedly short by an opponent he wasn't supposed to lose to? Was it a dishonorable death in Kaido's mind? It'll be interesting to compare all their deaths to see why Kaido became so obsessed with it.
Props to the Oniwabanshu and Mimawarigumi. They only recently became official Beast Pirates and have already been thrown under the bus, but they still insist on doing their job and suppressing the samurai rebellion. Some of these guys turned their backs on the Kozuki without a fight, they could just as easily flip on Queen and Kaido. We'll see what happens when it spreads to them.
Oof. Queen's show would indeed be fundamentally rigged if he didn't give the infected a chance at survival. That's the mark of a true game host. I love how Chopper's mind thinks up a plan to go after the creator of the plague, but mastermind Queen is one step ahead of him and offloads that role to Apoo. Does Apoo deserve it for all his bad karma? Well...
Luffy overcoming the Sumo Inferno while Kid and Killer were dunked underwater looked next to impossible, the hope there was that Luffy would discard rival pirates of his generation and continue the fight. They were only saved by Big Mom's sudden intervention. I'm hoping that's the mean Queen we get to see, with a fake antidote to rub his savageness all over their faces.
Imagine Kaido invading Marineford with an army of these guys at the forefront. With the exception of Dobon, the Gifters continue to get more outlandish every chapter. SMILE powers looked pretty reasonable back in Zou with the ability to transform your hands in giant horns or a wolf's mouth. Now you're just stuck looking like a sin against nature. And these are Headliners! Hamlet up the head of a giraffe manages to kick ass. Four Tricks can probably shoot an egg gatling from his mouth. Arlong, Kuro, and Don Krieg would get a high diff from these guys. Oh Hamlet, brevity truly is the soul of wit.
Kaido talking so much respect for how samurai put their lives on the line for their causes, and then right under his nose (literally right under the dome) his own blood Yamato is doing the same. I bet Kaido never even realized Yamato was capable of this, all the Oden stuff just as fake as the cosplay. It was you, dad! You turned Yamato into this. While Kaido was obsessed with Oden's death and trying to achieve it, Yamato highlights his life this chapter spelling out why she spent so much of her own acting as the second coming of Oden. Two sides of the same coin.
One particular observation worth mentioning is how Yamato and Momo were both the same age 20 years ago. Yamato was just as helpless as Momo and could only watch Kaido strangle him up in the castle. Momo was unable to grow and develop his skills for the fight against Kaido, only serving as hostage and a burden in the battlefield, but that's not true for Yamato. Yamato is the Momo across the face of time, the child of Kaido and the child of Oden experienced different paths but have now arrived at the same destination. She recognizes all this by announcing her other name. What Momo is unable to do, Yamato will use her life to do it for him.
@Chrono back me up my guy
We're gonna destroy these HxH haters once and for all.