The Bland Before Time [One Piece 998]

Ah, yes, the classic Oda Flex™ chapter. Let’s see if the Tobi Roppo zoan reveals were worth the wait.

We’ve already seen X. Drake’s zoan form. Did we know he was an Allosaurus? I always thought he was a T-Rex. I guess Oda’s saving that one for later. He’s gonna fight Scratchmen Apoo and maybe co-fight Queen? Just who the hell is fighting Queen? Brook and Robin? They’d be more useful fighting him with Drake than Kaido. Queen and Brook can have a rock star battle or something. Oh, and let’s not forget Monster Chopper for the assist. Yeah, I’d like to see that.

Zoro/Marco VS King. I think that’s happening. Who else is King gonna fight? Franky? Nope, General Franky’s about to tangle with Sasaki, a Triceratops. Gotta say, I’m loving Sasaki’s zoan form design. He’ll be a real challenge for ole Frank.

*SIGH* Sanji’s getting a joke fight with Black Maria. Okay, that’s not fair. It’s possible Black Maria could be one of the strongest—HAHAHAHA! Oh, boy. Sorry! I tried to keep a straight face. This is One Piece we’re talking about. The odds are not in Black Maria’s favor she’ll be anything more than an eye candy gimmick. Next!

Now this is a surprise! I couldn’t give a crap about Who’s-Who but now I’m intrigued. I’m loving his saber-toothed tiger zoan form and secret connection to Jinbe. Was he a fanboy? Part of a crew Jinbe smacked down? And, it’s not just who Who’s-Who’s is, but the fight match-up itself that’s exciting. A fish-man karate expert VS a saber-toothed tiger zoan. This is currently the fight I’m most looking forward to!

Taking a complete 180° turn, we have Ulti and Page One. You can’t see it, but I’m shaking my head in annoyance. I can’t wait to see their fight! Not because I’m interested, but because I want them defeated and never seen again. Look, I love their sibling relationship but everything else about them is boring. Hurry up and take them down U.N. and Tama.

Oh! Yamato was friends with Ace who tried to fight Kaido. Wouldn’t mind seeing that flashback. Not right now, mind you. How about showing it later, Oda? You can do it when— You’re not gonna wait, are you? It’ll happen in this arc? Uh-huh. As if the Wano Arc wasn’t long enough…

This was an okay chapter. Again, it’s mainly Oda showing off the Tobi Roppo and getting the fight match-ups setup. Still, I had fun reading it. One problem though, we still don’t know who Law’s gonna fight. Hm… I bet it’s gonna be that three bean cheese casserole he had while on his submarine. Look out, second basement floor bathroom. Trafalgar Law’s about to blow you up!