News Volume 99 coming on June 2021

Is this a leak or did you draw this?
The Ace portion is essentially confirmed. You can see his face where Oda finished Big Mom's shoulders in the preview drawing. They are guessing Yamato opposite of him because it seems to be a mirror between Big Mom, the dead and living wills (just an assumption that that is what Oda is going for here), and Kaido, with the 10 strawhats below.

It also makes sense because the preview drawing also quickly shows a portion of volume 100 on the bottom, which has Luffy much lower next to Sanji and Zoro. This implies something big has to fill in the space behind him (i.e. Ace and Yamato).
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Just realized something. It's also possible that opposite of Ace is Oden (he's technically featured in Volume 100 and is central to what is going on, considering. IF Yamato is meant to be a strawhat and down below, then it could work here.

I could see Jinbe and Yamato at the opposite ends of 99 and 101 respectively. Luffy being directly under Ace and Oden, 2 people that are essentially the wills he is carrying (yes, Yamato aims to be, but Luffy is the one liberating Wano and beating Kaido). It makes sense if volume 100 actually looks like Volume 60, check it out:



Just remove Dadan, older Luffy and Makino and you might see what I mean. Sanji, Luffy and Zoro would be far more spread out, while Ace and Oden represent those that died who wanted to save Wano.

Anyway, it's either Yamato or Oden opposite Ace, definitely.
 
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Ace's only relevance in Volume 99 - 101 (so far) has been Yamato's flashback. Placing them together in the back will feel fitting. Ace without Yamato will seem out of place, and if Yamato is with Ace, I think she wouldn't be considered part of the normal Strawhats dynamic but something else.

I don't think this indicates either way on Yamato 4 Nakama. Yamato being entirely absent might be bad, but placing her with Ace doesn't give me the impression that Oda wants to indicate that she's considered a Strawhat.

I think this is simply Oda not spoiling the outcome of Yamato's candidacy. So she's not confirmed as a Strawhat, but she's not denied to be one either. We just don't know.
Exactly, that's what I thought about the cover ...
Yamato being on there doesn't really make it feel as a Nakama...In fact, it does the opposite for me (But that's subjective)...
The things haven't changed xDxD
 


That makes me think we aren’t getting a Beast Pirate volume cover. It’s very rare to get a non-Luffy colourspread (I can only remember two offhand, one for One Piece girls, one for the Warlords in Marineford) so this could be Oda’s way of giving a coloured drawing of the Beast Pirates without a volume.
Is this a leak or did you draw this?
Nah, it was me.

If true, do you think this indicates that Yamato is considered a part of the crew by Oda? Or does her juxtaposition with Ace remove her from the normal Strawhats volume cover dynamic?
I think her being there is enough to keep the conversation going, while an exclusion is enough to rule people out of contention.

BTW, has Carrot ever appeared in the Volume Covers alongside the Strawhats?
Not with all the Strawhats. She’s been on a couple with the WCI group. Has vanished since then
Was Franky, Brook, Robin, Chopper, etc. included in the Volume Covers for their arcs? I want to get a sense for how robust this pattern is.
Depends what is being counted.
Every Strawhat has appeared in a volume cover in their introductory arc. But Robin was in one with the rest of BW, not the Strawhats.
 


That makes me think we aren’t getting a Beast Pirate volume cover. It’s very rare to get a non-Luffy colourspread (I can only remember two offhand, one for One Piece girls, one for the Warlords in Marineford) so this could be Oda’s way of giving a coloured drawing of the Beast Pirates without a volume.


Nah, it was me.



I think her being there is enough to keep the conversation going, while an exclusion is enough to rule people out of contention.



Not with all the Strawhats. She’s been on a couple with the WCI group. Has vanished since then


Depends what is being counted.
Every Strawhat has appeared in a volume cover in their introductory arc. But Robin was in one with the rest of BW, not the Strawhats.
Literally every villain group got one...

Its impossible for them not to get one. Vol 102 is the safest best.
 
Literally every villain group got one...

Its impossible for them not to get one. Vol 102 is the safest best.
Literally no other villain group has ever had a colour spread to themselves before.

There’s not much point in a Beast Pirate volume cover when we’ve already seen everything it has to offer in the colour spread. And they are meant to be counterpoints to the hero cover, which actually is impossible to do now.
 
Literally no other villain group has ever had a colour spread to themselves before.

There’s not much point in a Beast Pirate volume cover when we’ve already seen everything it has to offer in the colour spread. And they are meant to be counterpoints to the hero cover, which actually is impossible to do now.
Well great they get extra shit. Still doesnt mean they will be left out of a cover. Even fucking trash like Wapol and Foxy groups got their own Vol Covers. How tf would the Beast Pirates not get one....

How is it impossible ?
 
Literally no other villain group has ever had a colour spread to themselves before.

There’s not much point in a Beast Pirate volume cover when we’ve already seen everything it has to offer in the colour spread. And they are meant to be counterpoints to the hero cover, which actually is impossible to do now.
Plus we haven't had a triple volume spread before. This is a non-standard sit. Volume 100 would very well have been the Villain cover, as I theorised, but Oda put the cover inside the volume rather than on it because Volume 100 is Volume 100. A milestone too big to be wasted on villains.
 
Well great they get extra shit. Still doesnt mean they will be left out of a cover. Even fucking trash like Wapol and Foxy groups got their own Vol Covers. How tf would the Beast Pirates not get one....
They won’t get one because there’s no point. That colourspread is all the volume cover would have been, a picture of all the main Beast Pirates grouped together. That’s already been done, because for Wano we’re getting this unique three volume cover, instead of the usual hero v villain two volumes.

How is it impossible ?
Because the “hero cover” this arc is being stretched out over three different volumes and also has the two main villains in it.

A villain cover can’t do the same. We aren’t going to get volumes 102, 103 and 104 for all the Beast Pirates.
 
It's Yamato that I think displaces Sanji as #3.
I personally think that Yamato being stronger than Sanji (which you obviously think) extremely lowers her chance to be a Straw hat. I feel like the M3 dynamic is to remain and the 100th volume cover just reinforces that. Oda had the opportunity to change things up when Jinbe joined but him not doing that tells me that it's not gonna happen.
 

HA001

World's Strongest Swordsman
I personally think that Yamato being stronger than Sanji (which you obviously think) extremely lowers her chance to be a Straw hat. I feel like the M3 dynamic is to remain and the 100th volume cover just reinforces that. Oda had the opportunity to change things up when Jinbe joined but him not doing that tells me that it's not gonna happen.
Laws gonna join too. Sanji gonna be like 6th
 
They won’t get one because there’s no point. That colourspread is all the volume cover would have been, a picture of all the main Beast Pirates grouped together. That’s already been done, because for Wano we’re getting this unique three volume cover, instead of the usual hero v villain two volumes.



Because the “hero cover” this arc is being stretched out over three different volumes and also has the two main villains in it.

A villain cover can’t do the same. We aren’t going to get volumes 102, 103 and 104 for all the Beast Pirates.
And how do you know there wont be another hero cover ?
 
And how do you know there wont be another hero cover ?
Common sense. We’re getting a unique three volumes with a combined picture to mark the 100th volume and 1000th chapter.

So we aren’t getting the usual heroes v villains.

We’re getting the heroes spread out across the three volumes, and the villains in a colour spread instead.

A Beast Pirates volume cover, another Strawhats volume cover after these three, it’s totally redundant. We‘ve already seen it.
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There’s also the problem that Wano won’t last that long, the next part of the story is the Beast Pirates getting beaten down anyway. Oda starting this is a clear sign the fights are coming to an end soon. Volume 101 should see the Flying Six and maybe even some of the Calamities defeated.
 
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Cinera

𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐭
I personally think that Yamato being stronger than Sanji (which you obviously think) extremely lowers her chance to be a Straw hat. I feel like the M3 dynamic is to remain and the 100th volume cover just reinforces that. Oda had the opportunity to change things up when Jinbe joined but him not doing that tells me that it's not gonna happen.
I don't think Oda wants to change the M3 dynamic, so not changing it when Jimbe joins doesn't alter my opinion? Like it's not that I think Oda wants to make Yamato stronger than Sanji to disrupt the M3 dynamic. I'm not arguing that Oda is trying to remove Sanji from his position as the 3rd Strongest Strawhat.

Yamato is simply stronger than Sanji and she's also going to join the crew. I simply don't think that Oda considers the M3 sacrosanct.

And if Oda wanted to preserve the M3, he wouldn't stop Yamato from joining because she's too strong, he'll simply make Sanji stronger.

But like if Oda wanted to preserve the M3 in any sort of meaningful fashion:
  • Sanji should have been a Supernova
  • Sanji shouldn't have been depicted as weaker than Vergo when Zoro was portrayed as much stronger than Pica
  • Sanji shouldn't have been depicted as fodder to Law
  • Sanji should have had at least one solo victory against a significant combatant in the New World
  • Sanji should have made it to the Rooftop

Oda giving Sanji the Raidsuit is reassuring, but Raid Suit Sanji was low diffed by King. I wouldn't say the M3 is dead, it's just the case that Sanji has never been the 3rd most formidable fighter on Luffy's side for the entirety of post time skip:
  • On Fishman Island that was Jimbe
  • From Punk Hazard till at least Wano, that was Law
  • On Wano that is one of (Marco, Law, Kidd and Yamato)

I expect Law to travel with the Strawhats Post Wano as well.


Oda has shown no indication that he intended to keep Sanji comparable to Zoro and Luffy postskip, so I couldn't care less about the Monster Trio. If it was really something sacrosanct to Oda, he would have shown Sanji as a more formidable fighter.
 
This is a good observation, and now I can see how this fills volume 100.

But i do wonder if its just Ace himself, only since it may make sense to add "4" strawhats to 101 (assuming Yamato is one), since it keeps the symmetry of the volume.

Unless *gasp*, it's Carrot lol
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"Slowing down the story"

Literally isn't lol
The sad aspect is that you are actually right! He cuts a lot but he is still slow. And he often slow down the story like he did towards chapter 1000.
 

Cinera

𝐀𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐭
He could very well be 10th, I don't give a fuck. I just don't think it's gonna happen and the volume 100 cover (probably) reinforces that. OR you still think that Jinbe is stronger?
Jimbe is currently stronger than Sanji. I expect Sanji to surpass him before the End of Wano, but I wouldn't be that surprised if it doesn't. The Post Wano Strawhat bounties should be telling regarding Sanji vs Jimbe and Yamato.

None of this changes anything I said though.
 
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