A lot of people are saying that Oda is cutting away to the flashbacks at the climax of the arc, but if you look at it, that’s not nearly what is happening.
Consider:
Shuri is the damsel in distress. She is supposedly afraid of Nika more than anything in the world. But also we know she is a good person who has been controlled by Imu.
This is all leading up to Luffy befriending and liberating Gunko. At this point however, Luffy and Gunko have barely interacted. We’re probably going to get Luffy saving Gunko from the ice after the flashback ends.
Ultimately Gunko isn’t a random character. She is intimately close to Imu. Her backstory, her relationship with Luffy and Brook, and her actions this arc will likely play a pivotal role in Imu’s defeat.
Consider:
- Neither Zoro nor Sanji have actually started their fights with the HKs. Zoro hasn’t even encountered Super Sommers yet, whereas Sanji is encountering Zaza and will probably need to be saved from her by Nami(see: Wano and Black Maria).
- Luffy hasn’t even faced Imu yet. He is still eating while Loki is fighting Imu.
- Loki hasn’t even gone all out yet. We still haven’t seen his hybrid form
- This arc has no ticking time bomb at the moment
Shuri is the damsel in distress. She is supposedly afraid of Nika more than anything in the world. But also we know she is a good person who has been controlled by Imu.
This is all leading up to Luffy befriending and liberating Gunko. At this point however, Luffy and Gunko have barely interacted. We’re probably going to get Luffy saving Gunko from the ice after the flashback ends.
Ultimately Gunko isn’t a random character. She is intimately close to Imu. Her backstory, her relationship with Luffy and Brook, and her actions this arc will likely play a pivotal role in Imu’s defeat.
