Mammoth Base Opera Castle

Eiichiro Oda. You were on a roll, but after reading One Piece for well over a decade, I’ve come to expect certain things in this series I don’t necessarily agree with. Doesn’t mean I hate One Piece or anything. I’m just the type of person who doesn’t have to love every tidbit of something to enjoy it. But, for now, let’s talk about the positive.

The Fire Tank Pirates are back, Y’all! They’re getting a cover story adventure, I think. It might only be a one or two-page thing we’ve seen in the past like with the Strawhat Alliance.

Luffy’s still working on perfecting his haki by using Kaido’s crew as punching bags. The Warden orders the guards to capture him and they comply because they’ve lost all hope. As expected, most of them are people who tried fighting Kaido and Orochi and failed. They need to be inspired and Team Luffy’s just the group to give it to them.

We’re introduced to a new type of weapon, Plague Rounds. Guns that contain diseases. Imma let that sink in…

Still with me? It’s a gun that shoots a disease at you. I don’t know what to say. Seriously. One Piece has no shortage of dumb stuff (A fake island in a whale, flying to the moon on a balloon, devil fruits, The Gates of Justice, magical healing bandages, etc.), but I’m still at a loss. Say what you will about Oda, at least he keeps you guessing. It kinda reminds me of the quirk erasing bullets in My Hero Academia, but instead of causing a disease it cures it (If you think of having a quirk the same a having a disease).

How do you stop one of the strongest pirates in the world? Easy, you bait her with food then drop an anvil, or whatever heavy object you have, on her head. Hey, if it’s good enough for Wile E. Coyote, it’s good enough for Queen.

We get a flashback referencing the first time Luffy saw the advanced haki technique he’s trying to master. Hyo explains it as penetrating the enemy’s interior, destroying them from the inside. Basically, haki mastery is as overpowered as having a powerful devil fruit and that’s why “normal” humans can fight them. Good ‘ole Oda creating BS haki to counter BS devil fruit users. We all caught up? Good.

Luffy’s plan to master the destructive technique fails as Big Mom tries turning him into a pancake. I really thought Luffy would figure it out, but alas, it’s not to be, yet. My question is how will Luffy figure it out? Will Jack show up and become Luffy’s punching bag? Or, will his training fall on Kawamatsu or one of Wano’s Underworld Bosses? Hm.

I haven’t seen an old lady beat a guy down this bad since Grandma Redgreek found out my uncle ate all her Pop-Tarts.

Here it is, Y’all. The fight of the century. Big Mom VS Quee— And, it’s over. That didn’t last long. But, good news to all you Queen fans out there. At least the guy wasn’t knocked out.

Kawamatsu’s cage is broken, so he may already be out if he freed himself from those chains. If not, Raizo and Crazy Eyes Caribou are on the job. Interesting how Wano den den mushi work, the drawback to having such small snails is the need for a boss snail to get messages out over a large area. Looks like Kaidou won’t be learning of Big Mom’s arrival for a bit longer.

Captain Kid and Killer aren’t dead. …Okay. Thanks for telling us, chapter.

Hm? According to Mr. Wiki (and you can always trust that *couchcough*), Oshiruko is basically, azuki beans, sugar, and mochi. Sounds extremely unhealthy. I wanna try it!

Zoro is still having trouble against Kyoshiro. Geez, how tough is that guy? Thank goodness Kyoshiro is probably working against Orochi or Zoro might have to fight a really strong swordsman in Wano again. And, who wants that, right? Come on, Oda, give Zoro another sword battle.

Hawkins is proving to be the smartest member of the Animal Kingdom/Beast Pirates, hiding Bepo out of sight and doing his Big Bad Voodoo Daddy dolls curse thingy on Law’s crew. Bravo, Hawkins! He also told the Oniwabanshu about the Straw Hat crew, good job! Wait, wasn’t my theory that Hawkins was secretly working against Kaido? Well, guess what? I still think that, Y’all! In fact, I’ll go so far to say all three big villains fighting the Straw Hat Alliance in the Flower Capital are secretly working against Kaido. Yep, I’m talking Kyoshiro, Hawkins, and X Drake. I’m betting those three have their own alliance for whatever reasons. It’s a bit of a long shot for Drake, but there’s a reason why he and Hawkins are part of the Worst Generation. And, it’s not because they work for Kaido.