Disclaimer: Spoilers ahead! Please be entirely caught up before reading anything on this page. Thanks! And as always, I slowly update this page (especially right @ chapter release) throughout the week(s) between chapters 🙂 So check back if you want, but to be efficient, I would check back right before the next one is released.

Red text is updated information after the first major one!

Jump:

– Chapter 698 – Chapter 697 – Chapter 696 – Chapter 695
– Chapter 694 – Chapter 693 – Chapter 692 – Chapter 691 – Chapter 690
– Chapter 689 – Chapter 688 – Chapter 687 – Chapter 686 – Chapter 685
– Chapter 684 – Chapter 683 – Chapter 682 – Chapter 681 – Chapter 680
– Chapter 679 – Chapter 678 – Chapter 677 – Chapter 676 – Chapter 675
– Chapter 674 – Chapter 673 – Chapter 672 – Chapter 671 – Chapter 670
– Chapter 669 – Chapter 668 – Chapter 667 – Chapter 666 – Chapter 665
– Chapter 664 – Chapter 663 – Chapter 662 – Chapter 661 – Chapter 660
– Chapter 659 – Chapter 658 – Chapter 657 – Chapter 656 – Chapter 655

Thoughts, as of..

Chapter 698: Doflamingo Arrives

And so does someone else! Thanks to YonkouProductions @ reddit for noticing that Akainu must have gotten Zoro too (picture left). Are we getting lazy, editors? (I’m definitely guilty of that.. all the time)

But what a pair of badass entrances. And how can you not love this chapter just laying out everything that’s happening right now?

Revealed: SMILE are produced in Dressrosa
Revealed: Doflamingo has Conqueror’s Haki = Awesome
Revealed: Devil Fruits affect the Blood Stream
1pctheory: In addition to what we already know about Devil Fruits – that they “disturb the frequencies emitted by the evil fruit.”

Confirmed: It was Aokiji on that big duck thing all along!
1pctheory: It was the KEEEJ! No big surprise here, everyone knew. Bravo!

Catching Up

// You can recognize Conqueror’s Haki by the eyes – drawn with a small circle. (The_h0bb1t @ reddit)
–> Shanks’ eyes when telling the Sea King off
–> Luffy knocking out Fake-Luffy in Sabaody
<– Luffy knocking out Motobaro with no eye change. (mikkomik @ reddit)
<– Luffy punching the CDrag; just his “shit’s about to get real, eyes” (Imadoc91 @ reddit)
<– Ussopp is definitely no Conqueror
1pctheory: I think mikkomik’s evidence against is evidence enough to disprove it, but it’s a damn awesome observation.

One Liners

“Smoker is getting pooped on” – Everyone
“Anyone else have a feeling wano kuni might no longer be as ‘independent’ as it was made out to be?” (GomuGomuNoBigBoner @ MH)
“Smoker is going to be trained by Aokiji” (Roarchu @ MH)
1pctheory: I dunno about another training arc for any of the characters, but an interesting idea nonetheless! And I’ll be real here: I just wanted to post BigB’s username up here somehow, but I do think he’s right – why is Kaido keeping a samurai hostage?

The Mugiwaras are off the island, and so this post will close our discussion of the Punk Hazard arc. Next up, Dressrosa!
One Piece is on a break next week I’ll see what else I can find. Otherwise, have a great couple of weeks, everyone! And Happy Early Valentine’s Day 🙂

Chapter 697: Deal

// The Sky Way is what Apoo stumbled upon way back when (VasOrtFlam @ reddit)
–> Damn convincing [FIXED]. (s05crew @ APF)
–> Jumping, not Geppo’ing
–> Gan Fall alludes to other methods of reaching Skypeia
1pctheory: Damn convinced. Could be a path for people in-the-know, which for Doflamingo could be any number of groups: Top Marines (they have Seastone ships and this Sky Path to travel around the New World efficiently), or Underworld Bosses, who have those same needs. I guess that does away with Doflamingo using strings to move around, if true (I think it is).

// Law is Doflamingo’s Sancho (Raistlin @ APF)
–> ” Law could also be Donquixote’s Sancho, waking up the Man from Dressrosa from his dream, to reality. In a way Doflamingo has been in delusion like his namesake, thinking himself to be in control of the new era and a Machiavellian mastermind who can afford to speak flippantly of dreams and justice. But in actuality he’s the one being left behind in his delusions as everyone else, like Law and the Supernovas, have caught up and are now surpassing and threatening his power. Now he’s awake to the real new era.”
1pctheory: I’ll be the first one to admit I don’t know very much about Don Quixote so I’m going to take Raistlin’s word for it, because he, too, always delivers.

Law’s Plan, Kaido Speculation

So much of it.. Mythical Zoan this, Cyborg creature that. It has even once been proposed that Kaido is Franky’s dad, even. Here are some more unique submissions:

// Typhon, last son of Gaia, deadliest monster of all Greek mythology, “Father to all Monsters” (The Laughing Man @ APF)
1pctheory: I see Law’s goal as only to weaken Kaido. After all, that is what he promised Luffy, no? (A) If Doflamingo steps down, he will no longer be able to return to Dressrosa, but he will be able to make SMILES. He makes the SMILES for Kaido, so it’s conceivable that Doflamingo would probably find refuge with Kaido’s crew. Law hopes the Admirals will go after him there, weakening Kaido. (B) If Doflamingo doesn’t step down, Law thinks Kaido will go after him as retribution, setting up a fight between Doflamingo and the MugiLawHats vs. Kaido.

One Liners

“Doflas face in the last panel is the same as what Momo hallucinated. Could the *snap* be one of his strings snapping?” (senor @ APF)
<– “…the sfx that I translated as *snap* basically represents someone snapping mentally or emotionally. Reaching a breaking point.” (CCC @ APF)
1pctheory: An otherwise brilliant connection.

“Law’s line uses “大将達.” There’s no ambiguity. There are at least two admirals at present, and they will be chasing [Doflamingo] if he resigns.” (CCC @ APF)

Thank you CCC! And thank you all for reading. Have a great weekend, all, and see you next Wednesday.

Chapter 696: Mutual Interests

Thanks to sanjispride @ reddit for the page capture; Zoro is all smiles, once again!

Caribou looks like he’s found an interim crew, Franky’s hair keeps changing, and everybody’s safe! (Boo)
Law now knows that the Mugiwara can’t help themselves: they have to party. But wait.. did Luffy and Law just say what I think they said? It’s Yonkou hunting time?!

Revealed: Momonosuke can in fact return back to human form.
Confirmed: Law and Luffy are after Kaidou, the man of 100 beasts!
1pctheory: There goes the artifical-devil fruit problem.. thing. And it wasn’t Big Mom they’re after, but Kaidou!! (Mangapanda, you really screwed the translation on that one. Badly.) Of course, I was so wrong it hurts, but none of it matters: Luffy’s taking all the Yonkou down – Shanks included!?

// Kaidou has a Lion Theme (CCC @ APF)
<-> “He is Kaidou of Hundred Beasts. Separate from that, a Lion is called a King of Hundred Beasts. Same exact words used” (Aohige_AP @ APF)
–> Lions are referred to in Japanese as King of 100 Beasts. It’s even in the Japanese Wikipedia article on lions (fourth paragraph): http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/ライオン
<– Shiki is known as the Golden Lion
1pctheory: Absolutely fits in with his having a crew of SMILE Beasts! And everybody seems to think Kaidou’s color is green; could Kaidou be the Green Lion? This is getting a little too guess-y for me, but it’s definitely worth thinking about!

// Kaidou has a Ringmaster/Beastmaster Theme (TheLaughingMan @ APF)
–> Maybe those striped mountains aren’t striped mountains, but circus tents.
<– Buggy’s been there.
1pctheory: TheLaughingMan always delivers. I still think they’re striped mountains being built, but I have been wrong.. many times.. before.

// Caribou (Gaburu/Gabule) is being mistaken for Che Guevara (kouch_lee @ APF)
–> Look at their hats vs. Che Guevara’s hat
1pctheory: kouch_lee, too, always delivers.

Pandaman: Fifth in the left line on the bottom panel. (brocklevy115 @ reddit)

Sanji wonders out loud why Momonosuke and Kinemon weren’t eating. They only lines that sort of allude to why are:
“It’s fine now, eat up! There’s nothing to worry about anymore. Believe in them!”
Were they waiting for someone that could do something before eating again? Or is it simply because Samurai have too much pride? We obviously can’t draw too much but just keep it in mind for now.

One Liners

“Robin standing in the background with a trendy hoodie on pretty much summed up her role in the entire arc” (UthertheHat @ APF)
“What I always love the most about One Piece is the little details. Like in this chapter you see Sanji and Usopp make some kind of circle wall of bricks when the main focus of the picture is Luffy talking to Brownbeard and the marines. Then later there´s Brooks reaction shot while you see the finished circle beside Sanji. And finally, we get the meaning of the small wall. It´s used as a cooker with the big bowl on it where Sanji prepares the soup. Nice touch.” (Nubtro @ APF)
1pctheory: We are amongst some true fans here. Lucky us!

Other Findings

// This infinity/x-band is definitely a thing. (sanchodasloth @ reddit)
<-> Doflamingo, Mihawk and Blueno have infinity/x-bands on their arms.
<-> It’s on Doflamingo’s right arm, and Mihawk & Blueno’s left.
>-< “It’s one of them balance bracelets” (JKdaPlague @ reddit)
1pctheory: What the hell? Awesome find! I have no idea what connects these three together.. other than they’re probably about the same age. We saw Mihawk and Doflamingo attend Gol D. Roger’s execution, and we saw Lucci training to become the head of the group Blueno eventually joined.

// Buffalo (and others) is inspired by the Windmills in Don Quixote de la Mancha  (JustinKBrown @ reddit)
–> “The novel also inspired Gan Fall’s character design.”
–> “In one of the most famous scenes in Don Quixote the titular hero charges at a group of windmills thinking they are giants.”
–> “Don Quixote yearns to be a gallant knight from ages that have past; trying to embody that spirit of romanticism. On the other hand Flamingo believes the era of dreaming is over and that piracy should have a more realistic driving force.” (CygX-1 @ reddit)
–> “Don Quixote is thought as crazy because he fights windmills that he thinks are dragons. Luffy grows up around Fusha (Windmill) village, and his father’s name is Dragon.”
1pctheory: Cooooool.

All I could think about after reading this chapter was this Where’s Doflaming-louette?!
I guess it’ll have to wait until next week. Have a great week and weekend, everyone!

Chapter 695: Leave It Up To Me!

Awwwwwwwyeeeeee. One Piece is back from the break! Baby 5 and Buffalo got completely ruined, which kind of sucks, and Doflamingo is still on his way.. But in typical Oda fashion, a silhouette appears on the very last panel. Who is he/she? ENHANCE!

// Aokiji on a bird’s head (NeutralKay / Cheesusaur @ reddit)
–> Whoever this person is, he/she is very strong (alone in the New World)
–> The silhouette blown up | The silhouette with NeutralKay’s markings
–> The silhouette and some panels of Aokiji
–> Aokiji has a tendency to oversleep (Buddhagon @ reddit)
–> Aokiji has been to Punk Hazard before (“again?”)
<– He normally rides a bike.
1pctheory: I’m pretty much sold. I don’t know where NeutralKay got the better scan, but thank goodness he did! Thanks go out to kaze1028 @ APF for providing the HQ Raw Scan! Some people are saying the facial lines don’t look exactly like Aokiji, but I think it’s the best guess we’ve got so far.

// The Yonkou are the face cards, Doflamingo is the Joker, and the suits are division commanders ala Whitebeard (bulbasaurado @ reddit)
–> Speculation: Big Mom is the Queen
–> “Heart” Seat/Pirates were Law’s
<– “Spade” Pirates were Ace’s
<– Ace was not part of Doflamingo’s scheme
1pctheory: There’s too much evidence mounting for me to keep ignoring this. I suppose Ace could have been part of Doflamingo’s scheme: what if he used Ace to get to Whitebeard? As in, he orchestrated the entire war/he has that much foresight? I don’t doubt a Diamond/Club/Spade seat exists, but I don’t know where the Big Mom is the Queen comes from at all.

// Monet’s not dead (DarkHamster @ APF)
–> The icicle missed.
<– The icicle didn’t miss. (Katzztar @ APF)
1pctheory: For whatever record does or does not exist, I don’t think she’s dead. I explain why in red in the post just below this one, if you’re interested! (Gist: too much unexplained about Monet + Case for OP Space)

Important Translation

“Donxiote Family” is written in English (katakana “family”), meaning, like a mob family.” (Aohige_AP @ APF)

I don’t know that there’s a whole lot more to say for now, but I’ll keep looking! Have a great week everybody, see you next Wednesday!

Chapter 694: The Most Dangerous Man

Well that was fast. Franky is boasting a Jozu-like indestructibility, and Doflamingo’s true ambition is to become Pirate King! And I do think, for whoever is keeping a record, that Monet is dead. I don’t care for/like the Pell comparisons – just think about how many years have passed since that happened. Oda wasn’t dropping F-bombs all the time back then either and now they’re everywhere. Pell stands out as the most egregious offense to reality but I imagine a hate-filled stab to the heart would kill a person, no matter how important the character. Anyways, mini-rant finished. The last panel..? Wow. And of course Tmnath/KiShiDo were correct in predicting Ceasar had Monet’s heart. Won’t bore you with more review: what else?

I talked to my buddy Zach about Monet’s death and he brought up some really good reasons as to why she is most likely still alive:
– Monet has an unexplored past (re: legs instead of talons never explained)
– Monet has quirks (re: blushes, possible penchant for astronomy)
– Monet was stabbed by an icicle (re: her devil fruit may make her immune)
1pctheory: Blah blah blah FINE. She might be alive. In fact, I do think she’s alive, but mostly because I still believe in the “case for op space” theory. My hope is that we at least learn something about Devil Fruits out of her survival, because she just so conveniently was stabbed by an icicle.

One Liners

“Looks like Oda accidentally gave Smoker a chest scar and created Roronoa Smoker” (corgonin @ reddit)
–> Scar (Ch. 694) | No Scar (Ch. 661)

“I almost feel like Doflamingo’s main focus isn’t to pound on the SH’s and co., but to check on his crewmates to see if they’re ok” (KaW~KaW @ APF)
–> “But you’re still ok?” [Doflamingo to Baby 5 and Buffalo]
–> “I’m sorry buddy.” [Doflamingo to Vergo]
–> “It was my mistake.. I was mean to you.” [Doflamingo to Monet]
1PceXperience @ APF: Aohige brought up the point that Dofla seems to be a man who sincerely cares for his henchmen. Dofla gave off a very Luffy vibe while Vergo and Monet gave off a very Strawhat vibe.
1pctheory: Really cool observation. Blackbeard is an old world pirate who shares the dream/adventure/romanticism of Pirating with Luffy, while Doflamingo is a new world pirate who … fits in to this analogy somehow. I don’t have it quite worked out but you get it – something’s there. And it’s fitting that Doflamingo would be Luffy’s first real fight in the New World (ala Crocodile/Grand Line); I hope that they actually meet and it isn’t Doflamingo swooping in just to save Baby 5/Buffalo/Ceasar. Super-weak cop out post, I know. Let’s try this again…

I think this is an especially important observation because so far no very few villains have cared so deeply for their nakama’s well-being. Everyone else has totally discarded theirs/treated them like fodder.

But I think Oda is showing this side to Doflamingo to remind us how wrong we are. Doflamingo’s crew would die for him, the same way I think the Strawhats would for Luffy. If it absolutely came down to it, the rest of the Mugiwara would gladly sacrifice themselves to see Luffy become the Pirate King. Ussopp sacrificing himself doesn’t automatically mean that Luffy doesn’t care for him, rather it shows Ussopp’s unwavering loyalty to his crew and his cause. Oda, in a very neat way, is showing us just how devastating and soul-crushing the quest to become the Pirate King can be. I imagine Doflamingo’s last monologue (either after defeat or prior to his escape) will go along the lines of:

Luffy, along your journey you will not only lose your brothers (Ace) but your nakama as well. Are you prepared?

And of course Luffy probably won’t lose any of his crew because that’s what he wants to protect most, but it gives Doflamingo this incredibly human side that we haven’t seen from other villains/pirates with the ambition to become King. For that reason, I don’t think it’s time for Luffy and Doflamingo to fight just yet, but who knows. I really just can’t wait until the next chapter comes out.

Sanji: “I need you Baby 5~chwan!” Boom, Strawhat. (400MillionBelis @ APF)
–> Smokin’ a Cig.. Passionate Flames
1pctheory: I don’t think this is out of the question at all.

Questions

The earlier panels make it look like Monet did in fact hit the button, it just made a small explosion. But then what’s up with the flashback-like panels with Monet lifting up the button-cover and keeling over right before she hits it? I feel like she didn’t actually press it, but whatever – the outcome is roughly the same.

How the hell is Doflamingo flying towards Punk Hazard? The consensus view was that he does something with wires/is spiderlike to control others. It’s totally up in the air again what Doflamingo’s power is/what he is capable of.

Cool: Portal2Reference @ reddit lays out just how connected Doflamingo is in the One Piece World.

Break Time

“Next Jump Issue out 1/21… Scanlation to be out 1/15” (Aohige_AP @ APF)
1pctheory: Well you heard him. So closes out One Piece for the year 2012. See you guys in a couple of weeks! Happy Holidays and have a great and safe New Year!

I posted this to reddit and a few people seemed to like it.
This is how I imagine Luffy will greet Doflamingo:

Chapter 693:

Cool color spread. The top two guys have to be Kaido (left) and Big Mom (right) considering Blackbeard and Shanks are in it, right? Akainu’s doing the mustache thing and Law’s crew are alive (if not captured).

Otherwise, this chapter succeeded as the obligatory daring escape, with one more obstacle to go. I don’t think there’s anything really to say about this one, other than this killer prediction by some community members:

\\ Law must have switched Smoker and Monet’s hearts (Tmnath @ reddit / KiShiDo @ APF)

Next week can’t come fast enough! The guys at AP Forums think it should be up between December 27th and December 29th. Let’s hope they’re right!

Chapter 692: The Assassin from Dress Rosa

A whole page of underground brokers! I think it’s pretty obvious that’s where we have to start:

\\ What do we know about the underground brokers?
Bottom Right Panel
brocklevy115 @ reddit: “Avalo Pizarro from Blackbeard’s crew”
1pctheory: Best guess I’ve seen! It could otherwise be Blueno, but Avalo has that big coat on. Blueno wears slim fit tees, or something. Neither Avalo nor Blueno. Thanks mice_is_nice!
mice_is_nice @ reddit: “he’s shown here also and he looks bald so definitely not Blueno OR Avalo Pizarro”

Bottom Middle Panel
Everyone @ everywhere: “Lucci.”
kairoseki @ reddit: “Lucci“
1pctheory: I don’t think it’s the CP9, and not just because I’m a stubborn contrarian. The character in the back doesn’t look anything like any of the CP-9; maybe he looks like Jozu, but really, he almost.. doesn’t even.. have a face.. But remember the CP9 cover story: I feel like they’re good guys now. I don’t know why they’d be in to purchasing Shinokuni. Even if kairoseki’s picture makes it… very, very compelling.

On “Jack”
1pctheory: It’s clear we don’t know anything about him, so could he be a reference to Calico Jack? Legend has it that Calico Jack and Anne Bonny had a romantic thing; makes you wonder if Oda will bring that part of Pirate lore in to the story! Jack Sparrow wasn’t a real pirate, and practically every character in One Piece can be traced back (at least their names) to a real pirate. By the way, I’m doing a whole lot of reading on actual pirate history so expect more random crap-observations like this in the future.
Added: Some people are speculating Jack may not be a name but a nickname – not unlike Joker being Doflamingo. Didn’t really think of it that way. Still am not.

// Pirate Alliances Matter
1pctheory: Especially between big players like Law and Luffy. Killer is shown pondering the current landscape… if I had to bet, I’d say Killer, Apoop and Kidd are doing their own thing and are on a collision course with Law and Luffy. I’m sure many of you have already thought of this but I’ll mention it anyways: maybe the only way you can truly become the Pirate King is when every pirate in the world supports you as King and not after you’ve taken down the Marines or when you’ve defeated all your enemies. Whitebeard exemplified this: he was the closest behind Roger to becoming the Pirate King, and he had a fleet of ships and Captains at his command. I assert it was his political position and not his overall strength (although that is obviously and unnecessarily high) that put him on the same level as Roger. Luffy is similarly well on his way – gaining the trust and admiration of pirates and non-pirates around the world.

\\ Can Chopper cure Kinemon?
1pctheory: If so, that means he can probably cure everyone on the island. It seems inevitable that the current arc goes in that direction because it would mean the Strawhats will stick around and liberate the island. It has kind of been their modus operandi since the beginning of this series. Weak, I know, especially with all the F-bombs being dropped now. Can’t use the “come on, it’s for kids” argument anymore.

\\ Can Franky best Baby 5 and Buffalo?
1pctheory: It’d be pretty ridiculous if he could. I mean, Baby 5 and Buffalo are pretty hyped up in my eyes. If Franky takes them both out himself, then everyone Doflamingo has surrounded himself with is pretty much a joke. Again, if I had to guess, I’d predict Baby 5 gets taken out by Franky and Buffalo takes Ceasar back to Do. Mostly because I think Baby 5 needs to meet Sanji at some point so they do the love thing for a brief moment and get that out of the way.

StickDoctor @ reddit: “Sanji has finally met a woman that will accept him.”
OddDude55 @ reddit: “And of course [Buffalo] loves to play Roulette!”
Captain_Usopp @ reddit: “I have a horrible feeling that Franky will be captured…. he might be taken alongside CC due to his inventive knowledge and skill.”
1pctheory: Goddamnit Usopp this is downright possible. In fact, more possible than my own prediction above: for whatever reason I remember Ceasar or Doflamingo wanting to capture Franky for his laser. Can’t seem to find it now – I thought it was on this page but I was wrong.

If you guys hate this format (it was mostly me talking/speculating crap) let me know and I can stop doing it. It was just the easiest thing for me to do this week from where I was updating.

Happy Holidays!

Chapter 691: The King of the Country of Death

Damn, my bad. So late, many excuses but that’s boring. The colorspread is really awesome. All the Marines when they were younger.. including Vergo up top!

“Now with IDS!” – DudeExclamationPoint @ reddit
“Pandaman is on it! Between Franky’s left arm and leg!” – jrgolden42 @ reddit

Otherwise I don’t know if we learned anything else really, other than the cryptic line about Doflamingo’s past. StrawDHat @ reddit heard something pretty interesting. If you want to read what is potentially a massive movie spoiler, go ahead and click right here. He says he can’t confirm any of it, but it sounds pretty believable to me.

In fact, it sounds like it’s more a movie about… Doflamingo…. and not the Strawhats, but whatever. And as much as I want this arc to be over, I want to be surprised: is Ceasar just getting laid out now? There’s got to be more!

// Baby 5 and Buffalo are Doflamingo’s Cleaners (denim-chicken @ reddit)
–> Doflamingo has a bad attitude towards failure – TL;DW Doflamingo takes out Bellamy’s cronies for failing him
–> If Vergo and CC’s intentions are revealed to the public, Doflamingo doesn’t want to be associated
–> Whoever’s left on Punk Hazard after they get there will get taken out by the duo.
1pctheory: Or maybe even the Strawhats will have to fight them and they’ll actually be a challenge. Right before they leave Punk Hazard or something.

Happy Thursday!

Chapter 690: SAD

I’m pretty sad we didn’t learn much more about the SAD, like what the hell it stands for. Anyway, the first thing I thought (and apparently everyone else thought) when I saw Caribou’s cover was.. is he on Raijin island? To the left: the umbrella salesman, Kasa.

But we’ve already established that Caribou is wherever Drake was – Kaidou’s island. It would be interesting if this crazy lady traveled around all the New World helping out lost Pirates, but there’s no reason to believe that other than it’s an interesting idea.

Gizmo @ APF: “Also, the granny in the cover story has glasses.”

As for the chapter itself, I won’t lie: I did not enjoy Law cutting the mountain in half – where the hell did that come from? But Luffy just punching Ceasar over and over again.. GOLD. And Law’s speech to Doflamingo…?

Ladies and gentlemen, this is One Piece. This is piracy. The old guard thinks they’re safe and powerful by birth-right – which, by the way, is no less true today. But they’d be fools to underestimate the potential of those with ambition, conviction, and the slightest opportunity. Against objectively impossible odds, Luffy and Law can, have been, and will continue to, change the entire game for the Tenryubito and the Marines/Doflamingo. And in my opinion, this is what One Piece has always been about: knowing yourself, knowing your dream, taking the risk, doing it with conviction, and making some friends/enjoying the ride along the way. Needless to say, I’ve totally given in: Law is now a serious favorite of mine.

One Liners

radong01 @ reddit: “Did anyone else notice the way Law put on his hat? It was the same way Luffy puts it on right before he gets serious.”
Aohige_AP @ APF: “Sooo um, Doflamingo? Bro, you might want to recall Buffalo and Baby 5 back. ASAP”
chronox21 @ reddit: “I think that was the first time Doflamingo has ever been shown not smiling”
One x Piece @ APF: “All those years spending with DD has made [Law] a menace”
Apprentice @ APF: “[Smoker] who’s smoke, using a smoke screen. That’s the type of logical shit I wish we saw more in a manga.”

// Big Mom is the one Luffy and Law are going after (Raistlin @ APF)
–> She’s the only Yonkou seen on the last page during Law’s monologue.
1pctheory: Practically confirmed as far as I’m concerned. I don’t exactly remember what we predicted here, but I’m pretty sure we all thought it was Big Mom the whole time. Why the hell would it be Kaidou or Blackbeard? I don’t remember there ever being a strong argument for it.

Next Up: Using Law’s speech as context, we can infer quite a few things about everyone on that page. For instance, and I use mangastream’s translation here to make my point:

“All the big fish of the new era have assembled.”
Assembled is the key word here: does Law already know of the Scratchpoo, Hawkins and Kidd alliance? Did Law set that initial meeting up.. himself? Are they all in-cahoots? Or are Pooscratch, Hawkins and Kidd going to become Luffy and Law’s enemies?

“And we plan on destroying all the gears you so carefully concocted.”
The “we” adds further strength to the argument above, but we know for sure that Ceasar was one of those “gears.” Big Mom’s inclusion on that page implies that she is also one of those “gears,” and that the yonkou army of hundreds of ability users Ceasar alludes to is none other than Big Mom’s herself. If true, then Big Mom has tons of SMILE fruit users, meaning Pekoms may very well be a Turtle/Lion, and Tamago is some sort of crappy Egg SMILE fruit user.

“The Marines have been preparing a new battle force!”
Way to write the Marines back in to the manga, Oda. We don’t know of any super-powerful newcomers in that space anyway, other than… Buggy………… so it’s really anyone’s guess what the hell is going to happen there.

If there’s more, I’ll add it later! And if you’ve been a consistent reader of this site, you know that probably won’t happen! Happy Holidays everyone, and have a great week.

ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ONEPEACETHEORY. WHAAAAT?

Chapter 689: Seemingly Non-Existent Island

Most satisfying chapter I’ve read in a long time. And I can’t wait to see this punch animated – I hope it’s as epic as the Bellamy 1-hitter. And all dem Brownbeard feels! Well worth the two week wait.

// Caribou is definitely on Kaidou’s favorite island. (Louis-1988 @ APF)
–> Caribou, this cover and X-Drake clearly at the same place
1pctheory: We already have a theory on this but the idea here is, in the X-Drake photo, you can clearly see those mountains are being “constructed.” In the most recent cover, it’s clear that those same exact mountains (reference-able by the same exact tree/buildings in both images) are now complete. That suggests that Vegapunk was once there (Vegapunk had built mountains before in his youth, during the Franky 2-year timeskip mini-arc). Does this suggest that Vegapunk is nearby? Or that Kaido simply utilizes his technology? Hard to say, but I do hope Caribou starts revealing some things about Vegapunk through his cover story!

As it relates to the mountain being completed: “Makes you wonder if Drake actually killed the cyborg, or if he got off’d” – (Dark-Hamster @ APF)

THE SAD, THE SMILES

Okay.. on to these SMILES, which Doflamingo has been talking about since chapter 504. (theorangeshield @ reddit / nikkoria @ APF) Ceasar produces SAD via a machine in his lab, and Doflamingo turns them in to SMILES some how in Punk Hazard as well. SMILES are man-made Zoan devil fruits.
1pctheory: This “Age of Smiles” also ties in neatly to his Jolly Roger; just how long has Doflamingo been doing this?

// Big Mom is the one Ceasar is talking about/Doflamingo has been selling these to.
–> Big Mom’s crew is a confirmed participant of the Slimey WMD talks
<– Tamago references the “Beasts” of Big Mom’s Crew, but it’s just a bad translation. According to CCC @ APF, it’s “really more like really strong men.”
1pctheory: Like a lot of others, I don’t exactly love this development because we don’t really know now which Zoans are quote unquote “real” or not. It suggests all of the Zoan fruits that aren’t ancient/mythical (Marco – Phoenix, X-Drake – Tyrannosaurus, Sengoku – Buddha) could be SMILES, but this much we know:

Revealed: Confirmed artificial Devil Fruit design
1pctheory: SMILE fruits have circles/spots on them (Exhibit A) and real Devil Fruits have swirls. That means Smiley’s Devil Fruit was real (Urouge @ APF) and the one Momonosuke ate was artificial. Kaku and Kalifa’s Devil Fruits are real, but what I really want to know is what Blueno meant by “Grand Line scientists have already proven the ability transfer theory.” Could we get a proper translation on that?

Regardless, this means real devil fruits can be re-born, and there wasn’t necessarily anything special about the Sara Sara no Mi, Axolotl model itself. In fact, this might mean SMILE Devil Fruits can’t be infused in to objects at all (Urouge @ APF). I want to desperately connect all of this new evidence to what Blackbeard is doing to the new world, but I don’t think any of it particularly applies.

// SMILE fruit eaters can’t turn back to their original forms. (AmaDaden @ reddit)
–> Momonosuke can’t yet, although it might be because he simply doesn’t know how.
–> Monet, post Law’s introduction to PH, has yet to revert back to her fully human form (specifically: her legs).
<– It’s still possible Monet’s Harpy-ness is Law’s doing

// You can eat one Devil Fruit and one SMILE Fruit.
–> Monet would have eaten the Yuki-Yuki No Mi and Harpy SMILE
1pctheory: We’ve already gotten far too speculative for my taste, but if Monet wasn’t Law-ed in to becoming a Harpy, this logically follows. Worth mentioning is Bepo and Pekoms, who may or may not have eaten SMILE fruits. I think the best supported position on Bepo is that he isn’t a SMILE eater because he likes female bears the way Chopper likes female reindeers.

A lot was revealed this chapter and I know I didn’t get to cover everything. Thanks for reading, contributing, and everything else! Happy Thanksgiving, see you next week 🙂

Chapter 688: Mocha

Mocha taking the hit for all her friends? Gut-wrenching. Chopper heavy chapter? First time in a long time. I almost feel like Mocha will die (mostly because I like to make the contrarian point) to renew Chopper’s sense of purpose. But I’ll be the first to admit I’m purporting a very biased view: I’ve been trying to make the argument that One Piece has gotten too silly and the seriousness of their journey needs to be re-established. The poisoning of these kids is a great first step towards that.

Luffy with Momonosuke wrapped around him? Who’s going to mess with a dude with a Dragon wrapped around their neck? Coolest outfit since Luffy’s Golden Armor on Thriller Bark. I don’t quite understand why he’s sleeping – presumably, Momonosuke was the one flying to bring Luffy up. Unless he passed out right away once they got up there, him being around Luffy was just for flash. Whatever, he looks kick ass anyway.

We didn’t learn a whole lot (again) so I won’t have too much to say here, but 400millionbelis @ APF does a great job of summarizing the plot/character advancement so far in Punk Hazard here. The gist of it is: there is so freaking much going on right now, this arc has got some ‘splainin’ to do.

Confirmed: Robin’s crazy ability to Kage Bunshin/duplicate her entire body.
Confused: Seriously, still nothing on Franky yet.

Foreshadowing: Tashigi mentioning Shusui
1pctheory: Shusui is the sword Zoro received for defeating Ryuuma on Thriller Bark. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think Oda’s one-shot story “Monsters (Wanted)” is actually canonical to the One Piece World. With Kinemon and other Samurai starting to enter the series, there’s no question the sword is going to be an important plot point/element in the near future.

// Oars was a failed experiment (kouch_lee @ APF)
–> PH Logo looks like Oars
–> The skull of something “bigger than a giant” on PH.
–> Law talking about gigantification, and Oars’ shadow in the background.
<– If that’s the case, then Oars Jr. (he had a “III” on his Jolly Roger, so there might be others) must be an experiment as well. Don’t buy it. (Strelok @ APF)
1pctheory: Thanks to kouch_lee for finding something worth discussing these last 2 weeks 🙂  I think there has to be something there, based solely on Oars being in the panel with Law. Law specifically says the World Gov’t has been doing this for “several hundred years,” and Oars was alive and continent-pulling 500 years ago. Considering all the timelines and their relationships, Oars Jr. probably isn’t an experiment (if he were, he would be under the control of the World Gov’t/Marines and not part of Whitebeard’s Fleet) but has a father who was (Oars II – most likely not the Oars from Thriller Bark). Cool find! I hope this turns out to be something in the future.

Otherwise, break next week 😦
And Pandaman on Page 13, top-middle panel. (SacredBeard @ reddit)

Chapter 687: Beast

BEAST! Awesome chapter name.

So I waited to update because I wasn’t seeing anything really worth mentioning.. but for good reason: it was an action packed, Zoro-validating chapter. He can obviously use Haki – if Asura wasn’t evidence enough, he now cuts Monet the logia from long distance here. And while some people believe there’s no way Monet will join now, Zoro didn’t kill Monet.. He just made her aware of his actual strength. If anything, now Monet knows how the Mugiwara stack up to someone like Doflamingo and if the First Mate can paralyze her with fear (something that Doflamingo can probably do) it must mean the Captain can do some pretty damn amazing things. Of course, I’m just rationalizing this to fit my own theory, so take that with a block of salt.

Otherwise, I’ll keep on reading through some community sites to see if anybody saw anything really mind blowing.

Have a great weekend!

Chapter 686: The Snow Woman of the Biscuit Room

I just realized that the “Jump to” thing above doesn’t actually work if you came in through http://www.onepeacetheory.com. Just another thing to add to the list of shit that doesn’t work on this website 😛 Oh well. Anyways – holy damn Monet is awesome. And scary. I hope Oda does something very interesting with her next week for Halloween 🙂

Revealed: Tashigi can use Haki
1pctheory: Blah, blah, blah. Of course she can. But of course Zoro can too.. unless Mihawk couldn’t teach it to him in 2 years (unlikely). But imbuing haki into a weapon shouldn’t be overly difficult: everyone in Amazon Lilly learned how to do it (can’t remember if the children could too).

“It’s evident that Zoro is going soft on Monet because she’s a woman. Tashigi will take care of that” (dudeinthewater @ APF)
–> Exhibit A – (AppleSauce @ APF)
–> Exhibit B1 and B2
<– Zoro has hit Miss Monday and the Nun, however. (Aggron82 @ reddit)
1pctheory: So the consensus is that Zoro walks the middle of the line between Luffy and Sanji’s stance. Luffy doesn’t care if he hits women, and Sanji never would. “This is obviously set up for Tashigi to remind Zoro not to hold back against women,” says dudeinthewater. Agreed.

“I got the impression that [Monet] legitimately thinks Ceasar’s saving [the children]” (Drake_Cloud @ APF)
“Her backstory is a little too close to Nami’s for comfort” (lionguild @ reddit)
1pctheory: I didn’t really get that impression but I see where these guys are coming from. But this only strengthens the Monet will join & then go in to Space thing. Also, is that a tattoo on Monet’s arm? It’s far too indescript and you can’t see it in the panel directly below it.. but still. Worth noticing, I guess.

Many apologies for updating so late and doing such a half assed job at it. I’m busy trying to start a company (peripherally One Piece related?) so my free time went from a lot to.. well, not none, but a very small amount.

Take care, everyone!

Chapter 685: Momonosuke is My Name

Confirmed: Momonosuke is the garbage dragon
Confirmed: Momonosuke ate a Devil Fruit
Revealed: Vegapunk developed “man-made Devil Fruits”
Revealed: Monet ate the Yuki-Yuki (snow) no mi, and is a Logia.
Not Revealed: Momonosuke’s flashback form.
–? “Maybe Momonosuke is a girl raised by Kinemon as a boy to pass on his firefox style” (Jirogomi @ APF)
1pctheory: Whatever the reason… know that there is one. There is some sort of ‘surprise’ in his childhood form, although I feel like him actually being a her is a little bit of a stretch. Don’t have any better ideas though!

\\ What’s up with Momonosuke’s flashback/freak out?
<-> There is something he has to accomplish.
–> The blurry face could be Doflamingo
–> The blurry face could be Ceasar (Kazztar @ APF)
1pctheory: I’m pretty sure it’s Doflamingo, which implies Momonosuke met him at some point during the abduction. It could be a hallucination from his fasting, or maybe Doflamingo is actually controlling Momonosuke somehow. No matter what the case, I love the amount of panels Doflamingo has been getting recently and I can’t wait for the Strawhats to finally meet him at some point soon.

\\ Failed/Artificial Devil Fruit?
<-> Momonosuke can’t fly: “he climbs some smoke/clouds” (Sagippio @ APF)
<-> It has Circles instead of Curls (Roronoa Zacho @ APF)
–? “Maybe it’s a failed DF because it can’t return you to human form” (Devil G. @ APF)
–? “The fruit isn’t artificial. It’s what Vegapunk was using to to create dragons” (Igosuki @ APF)
1pctheory: Really great catch by Sagippio – I didn’t notice Momonosuke was climbing these clouds. What the hell does that even mean? I don’t think making fruits is how Vegapunk created dragons, because the other two dragons we’ve seen look nothing like Momono. But I do think that Momonosuke won’t be able to turn back human because he was blacked out in the flashback. Oda’s keeping it a secret for a reason.

One Liners

“[Oda] wants the readers to identify [Momonosuke] more as the Dragon for the time being than his human form, so he left out the details on purpose” (theorangeshield @ reddit)
“Maybe Chopper’s rumble balls will be able to help Momonosuke gain control over his faulty Devil Fruit” (divinesleeper @ reddit)
“SAD creates Devil Fruits” (iSoder @ reddit)
1pctheory: Lots of other people have thought this but I want to put this back up again now. We have confirmation that something out there creates Devil Fruits, but we have to ask ourselves, how would turning that machine on effect Doflamingo’s plan and position? I’m not so sure that it does, at least not without more details. Otherwise, Chopper will definitely try to do something with Momonosuke eventually, because Chopper has done the research: Zoan Devil Fruits’ “wavelengths” can be distorted by taking them. Overall, I think it will end up just being one other difference between artificial and real Devil Fruits.

I think it goes without saying that the Seastone cuffs must be for all the crazy DF users around that can’t be fully trusted. Law could use a pair, Smoker needs a pair, Ceasar and Vergo both need a pair… hopefully they’ll be able to find that many. This chapter was great; we learned a ton. Happy Wednesday everyone, and see you next week!

Chapter 684: Stop it, Vegapunk

Alright.. a lot to talk about here. How amazing was Smoker and Vergo’s fight? Of course Luffy met Monomosuke – that was a given and we’ll start with it.. But what else can we dig out of this week’s chapter?

// Garbage-Dragon = Monomosuke (you @ your house)
<-> Garbage-Dragon/Trash-Drag-Suke/Monomosuke is an Eastern Dragon and not Western (MooseRoy @ APF)
<-> Trash-Drag-Suke didn’t know what Luffy was (a human…?)
–> If it weren’t obvious enough, the Dragon is speaking in “Samurai Speech” (Aohige_AP @ APF)
1pctheory: The difference being Eastern Dragons (Chinese) bring prosperity and are symbols of holiness, while Western Dragons bring destruction and are symbols of evil. The other two dragons we’ve seen (1, 2) were definitely Western.. which actually gives some credibility to the Monomosuke ate a Mythical Dragon Zoan DF theory. Otherwise, I don’t really know what to think about him not knowing what Luffy was.. it almost doesn’t make any sense what-so-ever. So how will I try? I think Trash-Drag-Suke is actually recognizing the Devil Fruit within Luffy. It doesn’t make any sense that a Samurai wouldn’t recognize another human, no matter how you slice it: he was born at some point pre-kidnapping and has been interacting with the PH staff/other kids post-kidnapping. So what is so special about Luffy that Garbage-Suke wouldn’t instantly get? His devil fruit. This has crazy implications, most of which aren’t even worth going in to unless I’m actually right for some reason.
Ugh, stupid Mangapanda.. I guess the Dragon said “who” and not “what.” Forget it.

// Doflamingo has been poisoning Whitebeard for who knows how long (zorospride @ reddit)
–> See Whitebeard attached to many IVs when meeting Shanks, Chapter 234. Notice the IV bag on the top left.
–> See Doflamingo in Dresrosa from a couple chapters back. The girls look similar (arguable: the blonde one is Monet)
<– See the Pirate Flags of the Heart Pirates, Bellamy Pirates, and Doflamingo-Pirates
–> Doflamingo has stated he liked to use insiders to keep tabs on people
1pctheory: zorospride is an awesome and consistent contributor on reddit. I appreciate how he went as far as to give credit to the One Piece Podcast; big thanks to him for being so transparent with the info! Now, with all that being said.. I think he’s right. The symbol on that IV isn’t there by mistake. It might not be Doflamingo himself, but I think he’s related to it somehow. It’s got me thinking about Vegapunk and how he was working on that failed Gigantism project Ceasar wants to perfect, but I digress..

\\ Vegapunk…
–> Wears a Top-Hat? Has a Huge Head? Big Neck? (Jabra @ APF)
–> Probably looks something like Tsukimi (“Fire First” Ace @ APF)
–> Has a giant DNA model and what looks like a huge centrifuge in his lab (Can’t Remember @ APF or reddit)
1pctheory: I completely agree with Fire First Ace that he probably looks something similar to Tsukimi, creator of the Spaceys. But I only think this because it would help explain quite a few relationships we already think are true (see: the OP case for space) which is selfish.. but I still think it’s true. After all, it looks like he started studying a globe of some sort before he left PH. Otherwise, it could also be a beard, or he could also just be Mojo-Jojo..

One Liners

“Calling it right now. Doflamingo is Whitebeard’s ACTUAL son.” (KinglerSlayer @ reddit)
Pandaman: Page 15, bottom left. (brocklevy115 @ reddit, Strelok @ APF)

I think that’s it for now – I’ll see if anything else comes out of it. Have a great week and weekend everyone!

Chapter 683: A Girl Like Ice

The fight between Law and Vergo was awesome, especially because we saw Law’s hack-like DF be overcome by pure speed and strength. I have this whole write-up about Smoker that I need to add to this site (thanks again to Zach); school has started again for me so I think I can start updating this site with more regularity.

// Law is related to Gin (Aggron82 @ reddit)
–> Law | Gin
1pctheory: I wouldn’t even be mad if Law was Gin.

// Sabo is immobilized but alive, has developed extreme CoO Haki, has been watching Luffy and Ace this whole time, and is writing a book about it. (ZM @ 1pctheory)
1pctheory: Oda is Sabo! I would say that this is objectively cheesy but awesome. It has a, “It was all a dream” feel to it, but is otherwise plausible 😛

Teaser

[ on Luffy and Smoker ] “…to consider them enemies is not quite right, and never really was true to begin with. I think kindred spirits is more like it. Like minded people, born in different circumstances, but whose paths are bound together.” (ZM @ 1pctheory)

One Liners

// Monet’s power is the result of experimentation like the Pacifistas and Kizaru (Devil G. @ APF)
\\ “Forget Monet turning out to be a colossal bitch what will happen to Trafalgar’s hat???” (Cyan D. Funk @ APF)
// “Luffy will meet Momonosuke in the dumpster” (beck26 @ APF)
1pctheory: The idea that Monet’s power is the result of experimentation is an awesome one, even though we don’t really have any reason to think it’s true. Luffy meeting another Dragon was completely set up by Monet saying “you can’t get out unless you can fly” (Ahioge_AP @ APF) so that’s pretty much a guarantee. Although that means the dragon we saw wasn’t Momonosuke.. unless that dragon is the one that comes flying down the garbage chute to save Luffy for some reason.

Wish I could say more but it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to. See you next week!

Chapter 682: Mastermind

HAHAHAHAHAH.

Confirmed: Momonosuke changed in to the Dragon
<– It’s possible that Momonosuke turned in to a different dragon.. but come on.
1pctheory: You know.. some things just sound “Oda” to me. When KageKageKing predicted this almost a month back, I knew it sounded too interesting to not give consideration. Hmm.. when I get some more time (~2 weeks!) I’m going to add a section on the main page that has “active predictions” and some sort of tallying system to see how good we’re the community is actually doing around here. I’d need some sort of formal scoring rules.. we’ll see where this goes, if anywhere. By the way, if Momonosuke is that Dragon, we can say with some real certainty that Kinemon isn’t going to join. He has to look after his kid and reconcile his hatred for dragons with the fact that his son has now become one.

Revealed: Dressrosa is Doflamingo’s hideout.
// The Maid: Weapon Weapon no Mi (bobop @ APF)
–> Her arms turn in to a cannon, then two swords, an axe, and fingers become a pistol. (Dark-Abel @ APF)
1pctheory: The Maid/Baby 5 blew open a door/window to where Doflamingo is hanging out, and is sincerely trying to kill him. Then Doflamingo makes his little puppeteer fingers, and has her point the gun at herself. She doesn’t want to be in his crew. The last line is weird then: “Hot blooded girl.. I’ll send over Baby 5.” People don’t generally speak/refer to the same person twice in a sentence that way but I’ll chalk that up to the translators (what is Baby 5 referring to when she randomly bursts, “I won’t let there be a next time?”)

\\ What’s going to happen in the SAD production room?
1pctheory: Only Ceasar can “use” it and whatever comes out of it will screw Doflamingo over. Law isn’t going to destroy it because that’s what Doflamingo wants. Law must be trying to kidnap Ceasar so he can make Ceasar turn it on, but that makes me question why the hell it exists in the first place. Ceasar must have been doing this behind Doflamingo’s back. That, or Doflamingo is an idiot.

Predictions
// Steampunk guy is Sabo (too many people)
1pctheory: If he is Sabo, I hope his name is Buffalo and he’ll be reunited with Luffy. It makes some sense.. I guess: you can’t see his face because it was destroyed in the explosion. But why would he end up with Doflamingo and not the Revolutionaries? Can’t see it.

Break next week 😐 But it’s alright. Take as many as you need, Oda! Based on interviews and things, it seems like he’s always under a ton of pressure and often gets super burnt out.

Chapter 681: Luffy vs. Master

Lovin’ these early releases and chapters. Lots of discussion going on and for very good reason: what the hell is Law up to? I personally want him to betray, and have Smoker save the day, but for some reason I don’t think it’ll go down that way. Anyways, enough bad rhyming:

Cover Story:
\\ It’s going to be really interesting if somehow the cover story ties in to the main arc somehow.
“Handing Caribou to the Government would be the biggest mistake. He knows what Shirahoshi is which means the Gov’t would know where one of the Ancient Weapons are, without having to read Poneglyphs” (MrXYZ @ APF)
1pctheory: Woah.. how cool would it be if Jinbe did hand him over, only to completely screw Fishman Island and Shirahoshi? That would cast him in a very negative light, which I don’t think has ever been done with such a protagonist in a series. Great call! I can’t wait to see the next cover..

Comments:
\\ Why is Ceasar trying to win Luffy’s sympathy? He just tried to kill him. (everyone, everywhere)
\\ This is indeed Sanji’s bone cracking while defending Vergo’s kick.
1pctheory: You also see them being engulfed by the gas. Vergo has a line afterward but Sanji doesn’t. What happened here?

Predictions
\\ What’s inside the SAD Room?
“The most interesting thing we have seen in this arc so far is the creation of a devil fruit. Now imagine the new world being flooded with them” (Smudger @ APF)
“Kinemon’s son” (The Laughing Man @ APF)
“Drugged Candy Manufacturing” (Lord Rayleigh @ MH)
Moreover: “What if Big Mom was the first test subject of these steroid candies, explaining why she’s so big, powerful, and quick to anger” (Page356 @ MH)
1pctheory: I think it might have something to do with defrosting all the frozen giants/people in the laboratory. Maybe they’re all ex-G5 prisoners or something, and the SAD room just has a giant heater. Kinemon’s son is also a great guess; why haven’t we seen him yet? And the candies.. it could be so many freaking different things, and all of them make sense. All Together Now: Kinemon’s Son is working the machine that manufactures candy for Big Mom/the kids… uhh.. Devil Fruits somehow. Whatever, somebody is going to have guessed it correctly 🙂

// Monet: Suno-Suno no Mi (Vermouth @ APF)
–> Kamakura translates to “Snow Hut/Igloo” (CCC @ APF)
<– “Oda always gives funny names to attacks, just because that “kamakura” resembles a traditional Japanese igloo doesn’t mean it’s made out of snow” (Elfman @ APF)
<– “I’d have trouble believing Luffy would struggle to break an actual igloo made out of snow with a Jet Gatling” (czechmate @ APF)
–> “Take in to account this series and how wax can become as hard as steel.. Compacted snow can hurt like a bitch, now imagine that on a One Piece scale” (Keo2309 @ APF)
<– “Monet’s bird appearance… the thing she used to protect CC looked a lot like an egg to me” (.access timeco. @ APF)
1pctheory: No opinion, although the egg thing is a really unique and awesome take! And as far as Monet goes in general, she answers only to Doflamingo, not unlike Robin to Crocodile in Alabasta. I hope Oda does something like parallels the arcs completely (which he has so far) only to change up the endings entirely. But the Monet for next nakama theory has legs.. if the Straw Hats succeed (which they almost certainly will), Monet will, like Robin, have nowhere to go but with the Mugiwaras.

// Smoker is going after Law now (goty @ APF)
–> Smoker is after Vergo
–> Smoker thinks Law is trying to recover his heart, which Vergo has
–> Smoker hears where Law is at, and will almost certainly find Law and confront him on what he’s scheming
1pctheory: Almost certainly going to happen. I don’t know about this map business goty talks about, but the rest of it seems spot on. Good on you, goty

And good on you, Oda and mangastream/panda for the chapter! Have a great week everybody.

Chapter 680: Marine Base Captain of G-5, Kichiku Vergo

Alright. Found some time, but none to waste! All I can say is, I love this series. Sanji’s best line of all time? Thanks to PumpkinPieman @ APF for the picture on the left. Sums up this chapter quite nicely.

Revealed: Vergo is in fact using Shigan ala CP9. Also, apparently not contained in mangapanda’s translation, Vergo means “Demon Bamboo” (CCC @ APF)
Laughs: Sanji literally kicking the shit [spoon] off of Vergo (Devil G. @ APF)
Consistent: Smoker always rings doorbells and knocks, rather than kicking them in (Neferari @ APF)
More Haki Mastery: CoO from Zoro, and maybe even Sanji.. although I wouldn’t be against believing he actually learned what falling tears sound like during his Okama time-skip.
Tashigi Haters: “Tashigi is kind of the female version of Coby. Her heart is pure and she is kind, but she isn’t especially powerful compared to the monsters she is forced to face off against.” (zorospride @ reddit)
1pctheory: I feel like Smoker and Tashigi are going to become pirates.. or something. Both of them having been saved by the Strawhats (multiple times?) and seeing how corrupt the Marines really are. How can they keep on being G-5? My personal opinion is that Tashigi actually joins the Mugiwara for the Wano Arc, to help Zoro identify and upgrade his swords. Her motivations and the current developments put all the pieces in to place for it to happen!

“Next chapter, Sanji’s shoe will be stuck to Vergo’s face” (Smiley @ APF)
“Well Sanji said in TB that one day the marines will take him seriously… He said he would beat the DEMON king” (KiShiDo @ APF)
1pctheory: If Sanji is going to fight and ostensibly beat Vergo, what does that mean for Zoro and Luffy? They’re untouchable in the New World. I don’t remember what KiShiDo is talking about, but if those panels exist, Sanji should be able to do it solo. More likely, though, that it’ll be Sanji plus Smoker vs. Vergo, so that so-called individual ‘power levels’ will be hard to determine.

Otherwise, my buddy Zach has written a ton of stuff that I need to format and insert in to this site at some point. Sneak peek:

“Sea Kings can’t tell that ships are above if they have seastone in them some how. This tells us how Sea Kings sense things: not with sight, sound or smell, but by sensing some “wavelength” that makes kairoseki-coated ships seem invisible. How do they sense this wavelength? Coupled with how they can communicate with Luffy and Shirahoshi, it’s probably a form of haki. Sea Kings must be haki masters.”
1pctheory: That is a freaking awesome idea. Haki masters!? Sea Kings?! Too cool to not be true.

I hope everybody is having a great week! This chapter was nuts. Emotion, action, suspense.. it’s everything One Piece is and always has been.

Chapter 679: Determination G-5

Hey everybody! Apologies in advance for these weak updates. I mean, one, the chapters aren’t exactly lending themselves to be analyzed, but two I’ve been swamped. While neither are a great excuse, I just want everyone to be aware that I am .. also.. aware (bad phrasing) of how it has been around here lately but whatever.

We’re definitely in the middle of the arc now, and a lot of it is going to be action-packed and suspense building. I think if I were you I would come back every other week, or maybe on weeks where something really awesome was revealed (and by now I’m sure you know what is considered an awesome reveal). Anyways, enough rambling. This week:

\\ Why is Virgo so forgetful?
<-> He’s forgotten he’s not a swordsman.. on top of all the random food/utensils on his left cheek.
1pctheory: Some people are saying it’s related to his Devil Fruit ability, whatever it is/if he even has one.

More Evidence Monet Threw the Paper?
Monet noticed Chopper and didn’t do anything. (Kizuchan @ APF)

Caribou and Coribou’s Ship
Katzztar @ APF
“I think there are just two ships, one for each captain.” (steven hyde @ APF)
“Nah, Caribou and Coribou were chasing the Straw Hats with just one ship.” (Last Mirror @ APF)

The Strength of the Swordsmen
Tashigi blocked Zoro. Good to see she’s getting stronger! (Kizuchan @ APF)
3 Swords: Normal | 2 Swords: Fire | 1 Sword: Ice (KiShiDo @ APF)

Otherwise
Robin probably made a clone of herself, rather than teleported.
Law looks like he’s holding a heart. (RomanceDawn @ APF) Upon reading mangastream’s scan, it looks like it’s just part of his coat.
The dragon almost has to play a bigger role now. I’ll remind you of this: KageKageKing @ APF: “Monosuke was the dragon all along!” mangastream’s translation isn’t “blush” but “SNORE.” Very different. Damn you mangapanda.

Chapter 678: Inside the Lab, Lobby of Building A

The New World Starts Here!! Woo! But.. what kind of.. title.. for a chapter is that.

I guess it’s because close to nothing happened.

What’s about to happen?
Smoker: Fight Vergo
Tashigi + G-5: Escaping to Sea
Straw-Hats + Kinemon: Finding Kids
Luffy: Fight Ceasar
Law: Destroy the Laboratory

KageKageKing @ APF: “Monosuke was the dragon all along!”
zorospride @ reddit: “We’ve never had a Smoker fight where we are actually cheering for him to win.”

FAQs: Where are Chopper and Franky?
A: Franky is going to the Sunny, while Chopper is still working on an antidote for the kids.. or doing nothing.
KSmoria @ reddit: “We now know that Law [could have thrown the note]” in addition to Monet.
<– But Robin seems to be going with Law and Luffy.. possibly to neutralize Monet.

Can Luffy… fly?
A: I dunno, man. It looks like it.

A Boldly Stupid Prediction
I’m gonna make the prediction that Luffy and Zoro are gonna fight each other after this arc, for the title of Captain. Zoro probably feels like he’s way more serious about reaching his goals/finding One Piece than Luffy, and that Luffy is being far too wreckless with his life (and by extension the lives of his crew).

I think an event like that is important because it re-grounds the entire crew and emphasizes their purpose. More importantly, it’s something you wouldn’t expect, which is very Oda in and of itself. That also means it probably won’t happen, but I can see that fight really re-stating how mature and serious this whole journey and series is/can be.

It won’t be a stomping: even Usopp held his own against Luffy at Water 7. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Zoro won, and then Luffy just said, “F it – I’m down to keep adventuring with you guys,” only to save the day and re-claim the Captain’s seat right after. I guess the point I’m driving at is that Luffy needs a reality check, and I don’t think anybody can/has the nerve to give him a serious one except Zoro.

So the reaction to this definitely wasn’t positive 😛 Which is what I expected. And while sure, I may be having second thoughts on it, I won’t back down from it because that’d be lame and boring. With that in mind, I still stand by my prediction. In my opinion, the series has gotten a little wacky since the war. Right now it seems like Luffy can do anything and put his crew in any amount of danger without repercussion. Luffy, at this point, has yet to experience any type of real fall post-time skip. I never personally felt like he was in any danger fighting Hodi, and I think his bounds need to be re-established. Zoro doesn’t look exactly happy with Luffy in any of the panels this week.. dare I say angry.

Exhibit A: Zoro used to laugh Luffy’s shananigans off. Now it’s a grimace and a, “take it seriously,” while Usopp joins in on the zaniness.
Exhibit B: Zoro tells Luffy he’s serious, yet Luffy still goes on to use Gomu gomu no UFO. Does he feel ignored?

Zoro says it best himself: they can’t go on this way. The New World isn’t and shouldn’t be just some place the Strawhats will be able to walk through. Instead, they’ve come off as too invincible, too lucky, and too right-place, right-friends, right-time. The seriousness of the New World has to be established or else why should we as an audience even care about the changeover?

One thing I know (or at least hope I know) is that Oda won’t just recycle the same old story lines. Luffy fights the big boss, gets close to dying, busts out some awesome new move, and then it’s on to the next. It won’t happen that way – there’s too much story left to go and not enough crew members to introduce to drive the damn thing. So the only other option – to bring us closer to the crew, to make us believe that this is real, and to bring the storytelling level past the bar it has already set – is to play with the dynamic and politics of the team. I stand by my prediction, I think it’s going to happen, and I think the rationale is there. I’ll just sit here, twiddling my thumbs while I wait 🙂

Great set-up chapter, and no more breaks… I think.
As always, have a great week, and let me know if you think I missed anything!

Chapter 677: Counter Hazard!!

Oh man.. I need a better layout. The way this is now, it’s just some huge block of text. I’ll think about it once school starts back up again (and I have some real time).

Alright.. One Piece is back! And early! But I think on break again next week. Can’t control it, so whatever. Thanks to Strelok @ APF for the gif 🙂 Pretty awesome! Let’s go:

Confirmed: The underworld brokers! Kidd, Killer, Pekoms and Tamago. Also of note, not Hawkins.
Confirmed: Congratulations to everybody who predicted Smo-shigi would join Luffy and Law in order to escape. That might be.. all of you!
Confirmed: This guy in my comments made a crazy prediction: Law switched out the handcuffs for non-kairoseki ones. I’m speechless. (DragonSword @ 1pctheory comments)
De-firmed: Kidd has one metal arm still.
Revealed: Super-nov-liances everywhere!

Great Moment: I think the reason why scenes like these are so great is because Zoro breaks the 4th wall and does so in such a great way. Oda does this often, and it works in very character driven stories such as this (think Community).

Supernova Higher Bounties:
Eustass Kidd – 315,000,000B to 470,000,000 B | Change of 155M
Killer – 162,000,000B to 200,000,000B | Change of 38M
Basil Hawkins – 249,000,000B to 320,000,000B | Change of 71M
Scratchmen Apoo – 198,000,000B to 350,000,000B | Change of 152M
(Previously) Monkey D. Luffy – 300,000,000B to 400,000,000B | Change of 100,000,000B
1pctheory: Makes me think that Zoro’s is somewhere in the 180,000,000 range (from 120,000,000B, change of 60M).

\\ What is the purpose of the Ka-p-awkins alliance?
<-> Kidd already took out two of Big Mam’s ships (jathuamin @ reddit)
1pctheory: The popular theory is just that: they’re going after Big Mam, and that’s how they’ll meet up with Luffy and Co. I personally think they’ll go after Blackbeard solely because Killer has gotten as buff as Jesus Burgress (I kid).

Did Anyone Else Notice…
…Brooke’s soul was out of his body when Zoro and Kinemon are cutting through the door? (AdamEdge @ reddit)
…the supernova introductions were a lot like their originals? Kidd and Apoo getting ready to attack each other while Hawkins does his own thing? (Deity_Majora @ reddit)
1pctheory: No I did not! Makes me think that Bonney is having lunch with Capone somewhere.. And as far as Brooke goes, I have no idea what that’s about.

Alright.. I’ll try to add more on later. Have a great week everyone!

Chapter 676: Perfect Weapon of Mass Destruction

Nami’s naked again on the cover? Somebody feel like counting how many times that’s been? 😛

Crazy chapter! We have to get started, of course, with the big one:

Devil Fruits
// Devil Fruits can start out as normal fruits. Moreover, Devil Fruit powers/demons transfer in to the nearest fruit to the deceased user.
<-> Only one of the three fruits in that bag became a Devil Fruit. Notice that it’s the closest fruit to Slimey.
<-> Slimey began turning in to gas right before the DF began forming.
<– “If DF energy [possesses] the nearest fruit, how come there is a book with pictures of specific ones?” – Warp Predator @ APF
–> “Jinbe did mention that Blackbeard was hunting Devil Fruits. It’s clear they know how to obtain them once their main user is killed… Of course, the mystery is still there about how he has two fruits at the same time.” – Noqanky @ APF
1pctheory: Slimey eats the candy, turns in to gas, and must have effectively died for this theory to pan out. Noqanky makes a seriously important observation giving this theory a lot more legs than without it! That apple must now be the Sara Sara no Mi: Axolotl model (total mindf*ck if it’s not). Warp Predator comes up with a very good point though, how is a book of them possible? He goes on to say: “Maybe each DF can only possess one type of fruit.” Plausible! And I think we’ll find out soon 🙂

\\ Just what the hell is CC’s plan?
–> Jabra @ APF has an interesting take on his plan. While I don’t quite understand all of the details, I think he’s 100% on the right track. I recommend you check it out… so you can help me figure out precisely what he’s talking about 😛
The Sense I’ve Made Of It So Far: CC must have known about how Devil Fruits are “reborn” and planted those fruits on that sled so he could take back the Axolotl Zoan. CC is also able to somehow infuse the gasses in to the Devil Fruit, or feed the Devil Fruit to the gas, and re-form Slimey. Then he feeds him more candy and absorbs the gas again, takes back the Zoan Devil Fruit, and re-creates the cycle. Beautiful! I like it!
–> “Maybe CC needs the kids to eat the DF and become the next Slimey.” – Bloodman @ APF
1pctheory: I’m glad I kept reading because I was about to stop. Bloodman… awesome. I think you couldn’t be more right about that.

// The candy doesn’t kill but ejects the Devil Fruit demon/spirit from the user. (Mortea @ APF)
–> After being fed the candy, the spirit was ejected from Slimey, turning him back in to only gas.
1pctheory: I suppose this idea would be the equivalent to Funkfreed losing his DF spirit/demon and becoming a regular sword again, which would make sense. If this were true, however, I don’t see why CC wouldn’t be feeding the candy to Luffy, Law, Robin, or Smoker to eject their Devil Fruits out.

“Someone’s going to get Ace’s devil fruit. Calling it now!” – The Laughing Man @ APF
“Maybe that’s how Blackbeard got Whitebeard’s power. He was hiding a watermelon somewhere in his clothes” – King Cannon @ APF
1pctheory: I wonder who’s gonna eat that fruit, too. I think it would be so hilarious if one of the Mugiwara did – just to completely screw up the series. Don’t put it past Oda, he might! (But … almost certainly won’t).

\\ Who threw the paper?
<-> The only people who aren’t in the cage that could have possibly thrown it are Monet and Vergo… or one of the Den Den Mushi (…!?).
1pctheory: I bet it was Monet, and now that I’ve looked through some of the forums, a lot of people seem to agree. Rationale: I think she and Law were in-cahoots from the start. Why else trust him with her heart? That’s koo-koo-bananas!

Worth mentioning because it’s not obvious:
\\ What makes Shinokuni more dangerous than what happened four years ago?
A: The gas 4 years ago made people suffer, but people escaped to parts of the island the gas couldn’t reach. Those people work for CC today. This gas petrifies and poisons the people it reaches, making it inescapable. (Maju @ APF)

Great chapter! Great discussion! Great everything!
One Piece is on a break next week 😦 Again, I know. I’ll see you all here in 2 weeks! Have a good one!

Chapter 675: The Name is Shinokuni

Happy One Piece day everyone! Apologies for the late update. Let’s see…

Confirmed: Caribou is still alive and is still looking to kidnap a mermaid.
Confused: “Monet transformed to keep an eye on you.”
Convoluted: All these heart transactions.
1pctheory: Ok, so I don’t feel like all that much was answered this chapter, except for how Law was so easily beaten by Vergo. But a lot of questions have been raised.

\\ Can Cesar control Slimey?
<-> Seems like he can’t.

\\ Where is Monet’s heart?
<-> Did Law hide it?
1pctheory: Maybe it was it in his bag, and now Chopper has it. Who knows.

I’m scanning the forums and reddit (as I do), but not seeing a whole lot. Good, because I don’t think I saw a whole lot either. That being said, I didn’t think it was a bad chapter – just one that will inevitably get explained in a cool way (I hope). I didn’t think Vergo having Law’s heart was revealed all that impressively, but that’s just like, my opinion, man.

If I see anything good, I’ll definitely update again. Otherwise, I’ll be re-reading the last couple chapters to see if I can find anything good. Have a great week, everybody!

Chapter 674: The Bystanders

Happy Wednesday, all. If you’d like, CCC @ APF posted his translation of the chapter here, which is probably your best bet until mangastream releases theirs.

Revealed: Ooh, super cheap. Ceasar Clown can manipulate all gases, including the air in an area.
Revealed: … People really don’t die in One Piece. Brownbeard is alive!

Clarifications: Curly hair, Tamago, Swords-wo/man and Kidd are not at Punk Hazard, nor are they in the same place. Those are video den-den mushi and they are in “various places in the new world.”

// Caribou is back [cover page].
–> “You can see Caribou terrorizing mermaids. His clothes actually make him shine” (AkumaMiltos @ APF)

// Kidd has 2 metal arms now (Waboshi @ APF)
<-> Image 1, Kidd’s right arm.
<-> Image 2, Kidd’s left arm.
1pctheory: I don’t really see either one.. but I do think there’s a good chance they’re both right.

\\ Who are the mystery figures?
Swords-wo/man = Hawkins
<– The hilt of Hawkins’ sword doesn’t match (Jabra @ APF)
–> He could have gotten a new sword post-time skip (Lazy Ass Justice @ APF)
Curly = Shiliew
<-> Shiliew Profile
–> 3 Distinguishing Features: Jaw, Triangular Nose, Cigar (Brizan @ APF)
1pctheory: I don’t think it’s Hawkins – instead, somebody completely new. Shiliew is a really good guess for Curly, however, and I’m inclined to agree. If not him, then possibly Kaido, as a lot of other people speculate. We’ll see!

According to Ahioge_AP @ APF, despite what the chapter says, One Piece will not be on break this week.
I can’t… exactly.. figure out.. the rationale. At least not at first glance. And I’ve run out of time so I can’t right now – maybe you can 😛

Have a great week everybody!

Chapter 673: Vergo & Joker

Confirmed: Damn really close call KSMoria @ reddit, Vergo is a Vice Admiral! We can consider those shoes a dead give-away now 🙂
<-> Yes, those are fries on his face in the flashback. (Roronoa Zacho @ APF)

Confirmed: Wow.. I don’t know how many people guessed it but Joker is none other than Doflamingo!
<-> Doflamingo may want the same “key” to defeating a Yonkou as Law. (TheCrystalShip @ APF)
1pctheory: They definitely have history! Law could have heard about it from Doflamingo back in the day. Somebody else said something about Doflamingo possibly trying to become a Yonkou himself. He definitely has the influence to be one now.

Confirmed: The slime is an Axolotl. And apparently Areebee @ APF called it back on May 12th.
1pctheory: Wut. How.. did.. he?

// Chopper will save the Straw Hats (FelRes @ APF)
–> He’s right there.
1pctheory: Yeah probably. He’s right there! Of course, Zor-ji-mon-ke are on their way.

Commentary:
igetownd @ APF: “Crocodile held a major underground operation across early parts of the Grand Line… Doflamingo’s trumps it like an aquarium to a goldfish bowl.”
1pctheory: The parallels are so interesting and they keep coming up. So far the New World has been the Grand Line.. just bigger, stronger, and more evil. Awesome.

silversatyr @ APF: “Pretty sure Law was a North Blue-er.”
Igosuki @ APF: “So was Bellamy”
1pctheory: Interesting! So was Hawkins and X-Drake (North Blue @ onepiece wikia). I wouldn’t be surprised if X-Drake had some type of connection to Doflamingo as well; he just went the opposite direction (Marine to Pirate instead of Pirate to Marine).

Thanks go out to Katzztar @ APF for finding and coloring this Marine ranking chart you see above (from SBS Vol. 18).

Predictions:
“Smoker and Tashigi will become Strawhats now” (BingBang @ APF)
1pctheory: I’m happy to see I’m not the only one thinking this. If they don’t become Strawhats and indeed make it out of Punk Hazard alive, they won’t have anywhere to go to (assuming that Doflamingo doesn’t get trounced in the next 2 chapters). It’s hard to imagine Smoker doing such a 180 on the Marines and his pirate-hating ways, but I think it’s worth considering still.

And I’ll leave you with this:
“I read this on the bathroom doing a #2, was having trouble and when the last page came up, I literally pooped myself” (Aacrn @ reddit)

Amazing chapter! I love this freaking series so much.
I wish I had more to say about it but it doesn’t seem like there is just yet. I think the issue is so much was revealed and not simply hinted at 😛
No matter, still great! Have a fun 4th of July everyone!

Chapter 672: My Name is Kinemon!!

Hey all. So a couple quick things: Mangateers’ translation of this chapter is completely different than Mangapanda’s. Based on Mangateers’ translation, everything in my post completely changes. Welgo –> Virgo is actually CC’s friend and not foe (and I’ll call him Virgo, people seem to agree on it). Mangastream’s version is out (for a limited time) and I’m inclined just to go with theirs. They’ve always done a great job, and it’s very similar to Mangateers’, so my analysis below stands.

Confirmed: Sanji’s can use Observational Haki at will.
Confirmed: Fox-Fire Kinemon was born Kuri, in the Country of Wano
Revealed: He can cut through fire.
Revealed: Monet is a spy for Virgo’s group.
1pctheory: There are probably sword-styles that cut through ice/wind/water/etc. too. I imagine they developed these styles to fight logias, although the fact that Kinemon has a devil fruit at all kind of counters that argument. Either way… Sweet.

// Virgo (Welgo) is…
1. “We do not trust Cesar Clown” – This phrase makes me think he’s with some group who, at least Virgo believes, is on par politically/in strength as Cesar Clown.
2. “The Adults” – A clue in to his and Law’s relationship perhaps? Additionally, “You’re a Royal Shichibukai-sama now, eh?” which implies that they haven’t seen each other in a while.
3. Devil Fruit Ability? Or extreme Armament control?
–> Looks like Luffy’s Armament control
<– However Luffy’s Vulcanization should be specific to him because he’s Rubber (TheCrystalShip @ APF)
<– Haki-imbued arrows didn’t turn black. (Tomatosoup @ APF)
4. “What’s on Virgo’s face? Meat? If so, he’s no match for Luffy” (Massimo D Luffy @ APF)
1pctheory: Virgo might be from Law’s hometown, which may or may not be Dress Rosa (probably not). I think it’s quite clear they’ve known each other for a while. It would make sense if Dress Rosa was near Punk Hazard because then Virgo (and his group) would have a reason to keep watch on Punk Hazard and CC, although the “I was just in Dress Rosa” line kind of kills that idea: it seems like Virgo just happened to be there. Additionally, even though Virgo calls Law “Shichibukai-sama,” he still insists that Law call him “Virgo-San,” meaning Virgo outranks Law in some way. Because of that, I think it’s possible that Virgo is a Marine/World Gov’t official, even though that idea is at odds with him having not spoken with Law since he became a Shichibukai.

I don’t think we’ve ever seen anybody strengthen a weapon through Armament haki, but we’ve really only ever seen Luffy (who doesn’t have a weapon) and Rayleigh (who never used it) with CoA anyways. Is it ever explicitly stated that Luffy is vulcanizing his body? Or is that just a really good/cool rationale for the color of his armament?

\\ Mangastream’s translation, just who is Virgo referring to when he says, “Do you honestly believe he knows nothing?”

Predictions:
“Anybody else thing Virgo is the new Admiral?” (KSmoria @ reddit)
“I think the adults he is referring to is probably the five old men in the world government if virgo is working for world gov” (aaron @ 1pctheory comments)

This chapter was awesome, and I’m really excited for the next! I gotta get back to work now, but if I see anything interesting, I’ll definitely let you all know. Have a great week and weekend, all!

Chapter 671: The Gas Gas Fruit

The questions on everybody’s mind: Who is this guy and why is Law hurting? Some people are speculating that Law’s heart has been removed (why would that be?) and others that Luffy’s heart has replaced his (ok.. it’s getting ridiculous now). There’s no chapter next week so we have tons of time for speculation. Let’s see:

Who is in front of Law?
<-> He has known Law in the past (years prior, as in pre-time skip), and very casually – “It’s Me.”
<-> Wears these shoes, and a cape of sorts.
\\ Is this person causing Law pain? If so, what kind of ability is it?
<– If it’s an ability, it probably wasn’t Haki because Monet wasn’t effected (unless Monet is super-gangster or something)
<– Some other people are thinking that Law and Luffy’s hearts are connected somehow, and that because Luffy is in pain, Law is feeling it too (or vice-versa).
\\ Is this line related? “What a nasty guy you are… reminds me of someone.” (Brizan @ APF)

Vegapunk –
–> Totally possible. Robe comparison: vegapunk v. mystery. (Elfman @ APF)
<– His relationship already established with CC, and they aren’t friends. Why would he be there?

Aokiji –
<– He doesn’t really speak that way.
<– Doesn’t make too much sense that he would lose a fight with Akainu there and then just.. stick around.
–> But he does wear those shoes. (JiYan @ APF)
–> Law’s BREATH! You don’t see it prior to the mystery figure entering. (geckofishknight @ reddit)

Doflamingo –
A lot of people seem to think Doflamingo is Joker or is simply behind all this; it does reek of Doflamingo but this figure shouldn’t be him. The shoes are wrong and so is the cloak.

Joker –
We don’t know anything about him, but considering Law’s shock and Monet’s smirk, it may very well be.

Law’s Father –
Whaaat.

“Did anyone else notice law left the bag Chopper was in?” (YouDNewb @ APF)

Predictions –
“Sanj-mi will find something awesome in the Lake.” (Every @ APF)

Alright guys, I have to go but I will update again tonight.
Doesn’t seem like there’s too much more to say. I wish there was more to go on, but it seems like we’ve hit a bit of a wall. I’ll keep checking in on the various community boards and update if anything great comes along!

Have a great two weeks!

Chapter 670: Blizzards with a Chance of Slime

On the first pass, it doesn’t seem like there’s all that much to say.
I’m going to have to update again later on today.

Confirmed: Luffy has no problem grabbing Logia types.
1pctheory: I wonder what CC is going to do now.. he can’t just gas up and bounce.

// The Slime can control when it explodes. (CaptainKid/Mew @ APF)
–> It seems a lot more sentient than in previous chapters (Kizuchan @ APF)
–> We’ve seen the Slime move through fire before without exploding.
–> S’plosion.
1pctheory: I think it has been established that it’s weak to water and not fire. TheLaw @ APF points out something good here – if Jinbei had joined, this arc would have been too easy.

This chapter was really one of moments, and less plot development.
1. Luffy joking around with Smo-shigi.
2. Franky laser coolness. Does it go through anything?
3. Luffy cutting off CC’s speech.
1pctheory: Luffy actually has a habit of cutting off speeches 😛 [Mr. 3 – 1 & 2] (Jabra @ APF)

Bonus: Pandaman, Page 15 – 1st panel. (nNom @ APF)

“Franky fired his laser for a THIRD time and Luffy still hasn’t seen it. Oda’s doing this on purpose.” (Urouge @ APF)

Chapter 669: Begin Strategy

Alright I have class in a bit and some homework to finish, so expect updates to this page later on today (will be in yellow!)

Prediction Confirmed: Zoro, Nam-ji and Brooke are alive, and were shot by KYP Bullets!
1pctheory: TheRainMonster knew right away. Awesome! And since Nami was the one that ended up fighting, does that mean she has the highest tolerance?
Revealed: The Slime is the compressed gas of the 4-year incident itself.

Explaining the “Shortcut”
// Law can have several “Rooms” open at once and warp between them. (Waboshi @ APF)
// Luffy must have used one too, some how.
1pctheory: The way he understood it, one room was already open behind Cesar’s lab, and he may have used another to “warp” between them.

Law’s “Situtation” Speculation
Most people seem to think Law’s crew has been captured (evidenced by lack of Bepo). Will update.

Predictions, Predictions…
// CC will be on the verge of defeat and combine with the Slime (TheLaughingMan @ APF)
1pctheory: Freaking awesome prediction. Love it.

Pandaman: To Luffy’s right, halfway down his Torso (Primo11 @ APF/ukimix @ MH)

Doesn’t seem like there’s much more to say, other than this chapter was great. Looking forward to the next one! It’s interesting though – it’s pretty clear Smo-shigi have no chance against Luffy right now. Maybe they’ll all join up and work together to take down CC this time.

Chapter 668: Pirate Alliance

Such a tease. Such a tease. Oda does this just to cause debate for his fans, which is awesome. I think that right there is what makes One Piece so great: yes, the story is amazing, but the community interaction doubles it’s value. Otherwise, the Chopper hat was just priceless. There are always so many moments in these chapters; if I pointed them all out these updates would be stupid long for no reason. Moving on:

Confirmed: Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, and Law are Haki users.
–> Also confirms that they are “Color of Armament” Haki users (Katzztar @ APF)

// Sabo is Alive and in the New World (OldSnake @ APF)
–> The brothers’ cup on the crate next to Ace’s grave.
–> The newspaper with all the Mugiwara bounties pinned to his grave. (triforcebih @ APF)
Rationale: One of the brothers visited Ace’s grave, and is telling Ace about the Mugiwara’s exploits. It wasn’t Luffy and the other one is dead.
–> If it were anybody else, they would have put down a cup for Whitebeard as well. (Kigo @ MH)
<– The One Piece Green Databook Confirms Sabo is Dead. (Japanese Ver.)
1pctheory: I mean, this topic has been beaten to death already… but if the cup(s?) is/are in fact the brothers’ cup, it seems reasonable. But the databook says he’s dead. What can you do? 😦
This is what you can do: RobbyBevard @ APF points out a few inconsistencies from Deep Blue (a partial list, among others). “Oda doesn’t write the databooks himself.” It’s possible that the databook is just wrong.

// Something is up between Law and the Samurai (yieps @ MH)
–> Law’s reaction to Luffy talking about the Samurai
–> We already know the Samurai doesn’t like Law

Questions

\\ Which Yonkou?
<-> Nami and Luffy’s faces. Can’t really read in to Nami’s face. She’d make that face no matter who Law named.
[Shanks]
–> “The fact that Luffy was so happy/gleeful points to Shanks.” (Shuhan @ APF)
<– If Luffy teamed up with Law to do this, wouldn’t Luffy be breaking his promise to Shanks? (KaizokuJinbei @ APF)
[Teach]
<– If it were teach, Luffy should’ve gotten pissed/looked more calm. (Shuhan @ APF)
1pctheory: So Shuhan pointed out a lot of things I was going to, even though I don’t think we should be reading in to their faces all that much. I think Luffy would’ve been unphazed no matter what Law said, and that his reaction alone isn’t enough to discount what we’ve already established before. I still don’t think it’s Shanks, although one could argue Shanks has already had so many badass moments that now is as good a time as any for his sunset.

\\ Why is Oars in Law’s Gov’t Giant Research Flashback? (GomuGomuNoBigBoner @ MH [lol this guy’s name])
<-> Here’s the page.
1pctheory: I dunno. Good question.

Great chapter, too funny. Will keep scouring the internet for more!

Chapter 667: Cool Fight

Cool fight indeed! Oda is the MASTER! This is how you write manga chapters: action, comedy, suspense, plot advancement.. Bravo. Let’s get to it:

// Zoro, Sanji and Brooke are most definitely alive.
<-> Now their names, Scotch and Rocks makes so much more sense now.
<-> Aside from the obvious, you can’t just kill 3 of them right now because they’re major characters argument:
–> It makes sense that the KYP bullets wouldn’t kill Zoro or anyone in Nami’s body, because they can hold their liquor the best. (TheRainMonster @ reddit)
–> Just wanted to add: Rock is the one who got hit with the reflected bullets. He isn’t wearing a gas mask and gets back up, presumably because his tolerance to alcohol is very high (hence his name). Scotch, however wears a mask (see krule274 @ APF’s explanation), which would mean his tolerance is low and needs protection from the gas.
1pctheory: I think TheRainMonster wins. What a great explanation!

Questions
\\ What if Law is referring to a Poneglyph? (Abdura0 @ reddit)

\\ Which Yonkou does Law want to take down?
1pctheory: From what I believe is least likely to most likely..

// Teach
<– No way. This is one of Luffy’s last bosses.
<– Would be like Sanji and Zoro teaming up against Mihawk (KiShiDo @ APF)

// Shanks
–> You may be asking, why Shanks over Blackbeard? It would give Luffy and Law a reason not to ally together, and fight right here, right now.
<– Shanks’ fighting style seems to have no exploitable weakness. Unless psychological, this “key” on this island will have to help Luffy and Law in a fight. (MiyamotoMusashi @ APF)

// Kaido
<– We hardly know anything about Kaido…
–> We hardly know anything about Kaido! Golden opportunity for an introduction
–> Lots of robotic stuff surrounding Kaido. Punk Hazard could contain something relevant. (Zigee @ APF)

// Charlotte Linlin
–> Seems to be a Devil Fruit User
–> Lead in from the Fishman Island Arc
–> We know Kidd (and Jinbe soon) will be/are attacking Big Mom as well
<– Luffy could turn around and say, “Nah I’m gonna kick her ass alone” (KiShiDo @ APF)
<– Luffy wants to be the Pirate King. An alliance to escape jail with some Shichibukai makes sense, but to ally with a Supernova to defeat at Yonkou seems outside his personality. (Jabra @ APF)
–> Maybe Law intends to drug Big Mom with CC’s Candy. She’d fall for it and get addicted in an instant. (Twizlr @ reddit)
<– Almost.. too predictable

I almost want to say it’s Kaido, but I’ve fallen for that before (with me not thinking Law was on the island, on account of having TOO much evidence.) Sorry all, I’m in class right now and can’t properly update this page. Fact is, there isn’t all too much to say, but I will do my standard triple re-reads and keep scavenging the forums for more!

Have a great week everybody 🙂

Chapter 666: Yeti Cool Brothers

Another chapter with a lot of build up. Things are going to start getting crazy next chapter, with Luffy vs. the Yeti Brothers! But more on that later. Here we gooo:

Revealed: Uhh, NO WAY? Bon-chan is alive and running New-kama land in Impel Down (Level 5.5)!?! Oda really doesn’t kill anybody off, does he? That aside, I’m so happy about this development!
<-> We know that Magellan lost to Blackbeard, so it’s possible that event occurred before Magellan did anything to Bon Clay. (Jules197 @ APF)
1pctheory: That means Brownbeard probably isn’t dead either. Despite being shot in the face. Blank range. By a giant gun. And a lot of people on APF seem to think that us not seeing his face might mean something in the future. I don’t think that matters. Seeing his back is introduction enough for somebody we all thought was dead.
Revealed: The Yeti Cool Brothers’ names are “Locke” and “Scotch”
<-> Interesting that there is another character named Scotch in the OP Universe (KiShiDo @ APF)
<-> But there is also John Giant, Captain John, Catherine from Baroque Works, Catarina Devon, Nurse Marie from Sabaody, Marigold, Maria Negikuma, Maria Napole (GiantGuy @ APF)
Confirmed: The Yeti Cool Brothers “defeated” ZNB themselves.
<-> There weren’t any explosions or smoke coming from the area around them.
1pctheory: I, like many others, think that the brothers got fooled by Kinemon’s ability. That, or the Yeti brothers only checked Brooke, who is of course, dead 😀 It would make sense for Kinemon to fake Zoro and Nami while leaving Brooke behind, so that Brooke could see who they’re up against. But I disagree that ZNB would “play dead” to avoid them. To seriously predict that is disrespectful of Oda’s work.

// Law helped turn Monet in to a Harpy
–> Flashback: Monet didn’t always have her wings, or her bird-legs. (transformed)
–> On his first visit, Monet discovered Law was a surgeon.
1pctheory: Pretty convincing.

Predictions
// The Pacafista laser is nothing like Vegapunk’s laser (Schabrak @ MH)
// If the Yeti Brothers are so powerful, why do they use guns and hide in blizzards? Ussops time to shine! (Delmar001 @ MH)

Not too much to say, but it was a great chapter, as always. I wonder where Smoke-shigi is in all this, and what they’re up to? Seems like Law might run in to them again, just wandering the way he is, but he clearly has a motive/interests tied directly to the World Government’s past. Makes me think he’s a Revolutionary, because I don’t know what other group would go to such great lengths for some old information.

Chapter 665: Candy

Great chapter! Admittedly, it was relatively uneventful but it did flesh out and set up the next few chapters of the arc. And the bad guys on the last panel are in fact the Yeti Cool Brothers, which makes way more sense, so thanks to akagami7 @ APF for that!

Revealed: This NHC10 candy is addicting and makes kids grow giant.
<-> “In the middle panel, Chopper uses the word 覚醒剤 which aohige says it means strong stimulants like meth.. by the way, the formula for meth is C10H15N while Oda wrote NHC10” (akagami7 @ APF)
1pctheory: CC is doing some pretty crazy stuff. Developing WMDs and giving meth to kids. Sounds like a horrible, horrible party.

\\ Charlotte Linlin tied to all this?
–> “Big Mom is huge. Big Mom loves candy. Kids get Big on Candy.” (Cymelion @ APF)
–> Don’t forget this little number from Chapter 658: This weird tree, and this weird tree. (King Cannon @ APF)
–> All these hybrid animals on Punk Hazard (Mone) and in Linlin’s crew (Pekoms)
1pctheory: I don’t know.. this is going to bite me in the ass but I don’t think they’re tied. It seems too obvious – but then again, I was wrong about Trafalgar Law being on Punk Hazard because I thought that was too obvious as well. The candy Big Mom wants is made on Fishman Island, clearly WITHOUT any growth-meth. The only way I see them eventually crossing plot-paths is if Linlin’s crew is supplying Ceasar Clown with the candy, which is definitely possible.. and really, only if that stupid tree that King Cannon found happens to be important in the future 😛

Exploration:
// Do the footprints around ZSB 100% for sure belong to the Yeti Brothers?
<-> The Yeti Brothers aren’t wearing shoes, and there are giant footprints leading away from ZSB.
–> We know the Yeti brothers are headed towards the other Strawhats and ZSB, away.
–> It can be inferred based on the way ZSB fell that the Strawhat team & the Yeti Brothers were walking in opposing directions, which corroborates the notion above.
1pctheory: I only bring this up because I’m a total skeptic, but there’s really no reason to think they belong to anybody else. It hasn’t been “confirmed” by any means, but there evidence is overwhelming. Sure, we don’t know for fact that the Yeti Brothers are giants, but I think we can safely assume the footprints are theirs, as I’m sure a lot of people already have. I just want to make the argument clear for anybody out there like me who just keeps asking, “are we sure?” 🙂

// What happened to Zoro, Sanji and Brooke?
<-> Zoro never drew his swords (Joy Boy @ APF). Looks like Brooke may have tried, though.
<-> There seem to be no signs of struggle based on the footprints themselves – the Yeti Brothers (if those footprints in fact belong to the Yeti Brothers) simply walked past ZSB, which implies ZSB were already down when the Yeti Brothers got there.
<-> The Yeti Brothers have rifles, (HTC @ APF) but there are no gunshots on Brooke or blood in the snow. Sanji and Zoro’s injuries could be covered by their bodies.
1pctheory: The seemingly most popular explanation is that Zoro and Sanji were fighting eachother, and were taken by surprise. And I guess Brooke is fodder for these Yeti mini-bosses. The other one, which I’m more inclined to agree with, is that they shot some sort of sleeping bullet/walked in to some more sleeping gas. It’s the best explanation with what we know so far, which is not very much at all.

\\ What does Ceasar Clown want with Smoker’s heart?
<-> Law has been taking hearts for some unknown amount of time, but offered them to the Marines in exchange for his Shichibukai status (unless I’m mistaken).
–> The heart puts CC in “good spirits.” Por qhy?
1pctheory: I don’t see why CC would want hearts, because he shouldn’t have access to the 100 hearts Law previously stole. In conclusion: Ceasar Clown is doing way too much stuff. I think that he’s going to be a bad guy for a couple arcs to come, and won’t be defeated at the end of this one. That, or he’s going to join the crew. Stupid Oda, can’t figure him out.

All in all, another great chapter, and I can’t wait for Kinemon’s triumphant return. The next chapter (Chapter 666!!) may not come out until May 8th or the 9th, so I’ll finally stop being lazy and get around to adding that stuff I said I would 😛 Have a great weekend and week, all!

Chapter 664: Master Ceasar Clown

Awesome chapter. We learned so much. And okay, alright – Ceasar Clown is downright evil 😛 Killing people.. but saving lives.. but experimenting on people.. If the parallels we spoke of a few updates ago hold, he’s going to be the next nakama. But he’s literally developing nuclear-level weapons and poisoning his subordinate with hallucinogens, so I think I’ll drop the case now, entirely.

Revealed: Ceasar Clown is working under “Joker” and is the Gas Gas fruit user!
<-> Ceasar Clown can purify the air of poison.
<-> He was the original scientist behind Vegapunk’s experiment from 4 years ago.
1pctheory: Vegapunk being a good guy seems far more likely now.
Revealed: The Samurai’s name is Kinemon, but is also known as the Will o’ Wispkinemon.
Confirmed: Hawkins beat Brownbeard‘s Crew
Confirmed: There is only one research facility left.
Confirmed: The Dragon was a mechanical creation of Vegapunk’s.

About the Tanuki (Hans-A-Klaven @ e-mail)
“Reading about the Tanuki suit makes me agree on the Mythical Tanuki Zoan fruit, I’ve been reading up on the lore and the Tanuki are known as masters of disguise and shapeshifting. They also have the ability to change the shape or disguise anyone else they want.”
<-> The legendary tanuki is reputed to be mischievous and jolly, a master of disguise and shapeshifting, but somewhat gullible and absentminded. It is also a common theme in Japanese art, especially statuary. (Japanese racoon dog wiki)

About the Will o’ Wispkinemon (KiShiDo [+ Others, but by timestamp KiShiDo was first] @ APF
<-> In Japanese folklore, the Will o’ Wisp is called the Kitsune (wiki)
–> Kitsune have magical abilities and can shapeshift in to humans.
–> That shapeshifting requires “reeds, a broad leaf, or a skull over it’s head.”
1pctheory: I’m inclined to believe that if in fact the translation is correct, Kinemon is the Kitsune Devil Fruit user. There are too many connections by name there, even though the Tanuki Devil Fruit makes more functional sense to me. Whatever he is, he’s probably a Mythical Zoan Fruit User! Awesome! Samurai’s with devil fruits? Time to step up, Zoro 😛

// Ceasar Clown was developing the poison for the Longarms to defeat the Longlegs (1pctheory)
<-> The Longarms and Longlegs have been fighting for who knows how long.
–> The prisoners who didn’t die lost control of their lower bodies.
1pctheory: Lower bodies seems way too specific for me to think it doesn’t mean anything. Then again, I tend to draw really far out conclusions based on very small things 😀

Predictions, Predictions
“…I think it’s funny that the Strawhat Crew keeps pissing the Tenryubito off by killing/eating the dragon one of them has a liking in :D” (Hekti @ APF)
“Joker is Doflamingo. Calling it now.” (Enzeru @ APF)
“I have a feeling that CC won’t be poison gas, more nerve gas. Maybe–just maybe–[CC] will make Luffy hallucinate about Ace… (The Laughing Man @ APF)
…Could give the crew a chance to see what happened 2 years ago and see the extent of [Luffy’s] suffering” (Fuwa Kitty @ APF)
1pctheory: The Joker has the ability to make a mass-murder look like an accident. Sounds pretty high up in the government to me! And now that Luffy has punched a Tenryubito and Zoro killed one of their pets, I imagine Sanji will impregnate one of their daughters to complete the trifecta.. or something 😛 And I love the idea that Luffy will hallucinate about Ace. That way, CC won’t just be fodder (due to Luffy’s increased immunity towards poison from battling Magellan). I think The Laughing Man wins this one!

“This might sound like a stupid question, but why doesn’t Tashigi wear a bra?” (kaizokuo12 @ APF)

Because it’s Oda! 😛 Next week is Golden Week (wiki), which is an awesome holiday in Japan where every company closes down for a week, with paid time off. What that means for us is there will be no One Piece next week, and we still work. Shenanigans!!

Have a great two weeks all. I’ll spend next week updating the side pages a bit 🙂

Chapter 663: CC

Ok.. this has to be the funniest panel I’ve seen in a long time, which is crazy because One Piece is already so funny, all the time. Oda is hilarious – we were all expecting it, but nothing quite like that. Everything about this chapter was amazing, and worth every second of the two week wait.

Revealed: The Samurai is a Devil Fruit user!
\\ Is this the ability the Samurai used? Is he a mythical tanuki zoan? (zxcv11791 @ APF)
<-> I was wrong; there probably aren’t any other samurai on this island.
<-> There are definitely more children on the island that we haven’t seen yet, possibly being experimented on.
onetheory: I must be new to this whole anime thing because I don’t know much about this leaf/stone/poof stuff. I also don’t quite understand why people think he’s a Zoan. I kept thinking to myself, isn’t Chopper a tanuki? What does that have to do with a leaf? It must be grounded in Japanese folk-lore. I’ll update this at some point with exactly what, soonish.
exp1: Like Mario’s Tanuki Suit. You find a leaf, and poof – you have a new outfit. (Cyclone_Baroness @ APF)

Revealed: Master Slime has a name: Ceasar Crown!
<-> Aohige confirms that his name is Ceasar Crown (MasterKingJC @ APF)
<-> Ceasar Crown has some nifty looking horns and gloves (y2kyle89 @ APF), and is an expert on mass-murder weapons.
\\ Is Ceasar Crown inspired by Baphomet? (Ken-Oh @ APF)
–> Chapter 666 is coming up… 😛
onetheory: I don’t think CC is Baphomet, but I do think the horns will be distinguishing for him. Neither Law or CC seem to be in charge, and even though CC is a mass-murdering expert, I stand by my suggestion that he hasn’t done anything evil just yet.

Confirmation: Leggy has been farting, as most of you already figured out 🙂

\\ Where is Bepo? Is he being held hostage somewhere? (zxcv11791 @ APF)
\\ Does he have anything to do with what Luffy has that Law wants?
<-> Law still has Smoker’s heart in his hand on the last page. (zxcv11791 @ APF)
–> Law seemed to get upset when Luffy mentioned Bepo.
onetheory: It’s pretty clear what Law has that Luffy wants: to switch his crewmates’ personalities back, since we’ve already established that Luffy must currently have his heart. Otherwise, I think that Bepo, being such a majorly-minor character, must be involved in this somehow. Law might be doing this for his crew, as zxcv suggests. Otherwise, why would Law even tell Luffy to explore the research facility? If Law was working with CC, he wouldn’t tell Luffy anything, and turn him away.

\\ More evidence that Law is in cahoots with the Revolutionaries? (king of pirates @ APF)
–> Robin knew Law was a Shichibukai right away.
<– She also could have just read a newspaper.. or something.
onetheory: Maybe.. but I don’t know. Law knows that Luffy is Dragon’s son, and if Law was a Revolutionary, he would protect Luffy and work with him, rather than be so stand-offish with him when they met.

Great chapter, and I feel like we’ve been given so much context here. I’m surprised that I didn’t get to write more about it, so I’ll check back across a bunch of the forums tomorrow and add more and more (in yellow) soon. Have a great week, all. Hope to see you back here again!

Chapter 662: Shichibukai Law vs. Vice-Admiral Smoker

Great fight – Smoker kind of got dismantled. Law’s ability is definitely completely broken; he can switch places with whatever he wants if he’s about to get hit. I guess it’ll take an attack as big as his room in order to make sure you hit him. Gear 3 would do it! And what of Luffy’s arrival? Why does Oda have to end chapters with such great cliffhangers?

Confirmed: Both Master-Slime and the Harpy Mone are working with Law.
Confirmed: Brownbeard’s unit is also their patrol unit, and the dragon was once Vegapunk’s!

// Law took Luffy’s heart. Luffy pretty certainly still has his heart.
<-> Law can simply take hearts while the body stays alive.
–> Law is pretty damn evil and we have no idea what his intentions are.
<– It’s clear that there is a hole in Smoker’s body, and there isn’t one on Luffy. (AmyRiddle @ MH)
–> Counterpoint: Law could have just not patched up Smoker’s body and did for Luffy.
<– If Luffy can activate Gear 2nd, Luffy must have his heart (commenter dickenz)
onetheory: I think dickenz wins. Luffy could not have taken his heart and the fact that he can use Gear 2 is pretty undeniable proof. Awesome!

// Smoker will back Luffy up, Luffy will defeat Law, and Smoker will get the credit.
<-> beck26 @ MH shared a very interesting series of parallelisms between Punk Hazard, the first island in the New World, and the first islands in the Grand Line.
Quick Summary of Points:
1. First opponent after fighting fishmen (Arlong/Hody Jones) is a Shichibukai (Crocodile/Law) conducting some strange business on a new island (Alabasta/Punk Hazard).
2. The mission was discovered by a distress call from a Den-Den Mushi (Little Garden, Centaurs).
3. Strawhats are trying to help a new characters who are enemies at the start (Vivi/Samurai) from another island (Alabasta/Wano) that got involved with some organization (Baroque Works/Punk Hazarders) and their partnership (Nico Robin/M).
4. The Strawhats get split up at the beginning (Rainbase/Punk Hazard) and one of the Mugiwara come out of nowhere to save the day (Mr. Prince/Brooke).
5. Of course, Smoker has been trailing the Strawhats the entire time, and used a Black Den-Den/his instincts to find them both times.
–> If Smoker reveals that Law can take hearts, Luffy might start questioning whether or not his was taken too.
So if everything holds:
A. Luffy will invite the Samurai (Vivi) to join but he will decline.
B. Smoker will back Luffy up (Prison), and the Shichibukai (Crocodile) will be defeated by Luffy, with Smoker eventually getting the credit for doing it.
C. Strawhats will get another bounty raise, and Luffy will recruit another nakama (the partnership, Master Slime).
onetheory: Great work by beck26! If you have a MH account, thank his post. I don’t remember the Den-Den Mushi part in Little Garden, but everything else seems pretty good. This guy seems to think that the next nakama will be the female and possibly Bonney, but I disagree and think that the parallels point to Master-Slime.

// Master-Slime is somehow connected to Hawkins’ fully activated ability. (hossice @ MH)
<-> Here’s a picture of Hawkins in his transformation, and Master-Slime with a face.
–> We last saw Brownbeard with Hawkins, and Hawkins said he saw the “Shadow of Death” on him.
<– The mouth may look the same but the eyes don’t (commenter dickenz)
onetheory: Yeah, maybe! Brownbeard is fully alive despite Hawkins’ threats and Hawkins is nowhere to be found. The mouth and eyes look the same to me. pretty similar to me, still 😛

\\ Who are these, what I’m assuming, known accomplices below Luffy?
<-> New wanted posters for the first 5 Mugi’s! Sanji’s still doesn’t have a face (haha), but Sogeking now does.
onetheory: I definitely had this question too because I couldn’t really make the one on the left.. but at first glance it looks like Garp, Dragon and Ace. A lot of people seem to agree, so we’ll leave it at that for now 😛

Alright.. wasn’t too much to say about this chapter, but I’ve been told that there’s going to be no chapter next week 😦

Chapter 661: The Lake of Bandits

Revealed: The Rookies/Supernova two years ago are known as the “Worst Generation”
Revealed: Trafalgar Law ate the Ope Ope no Mi [オペオペの実]
<-> Ope [オペ] means Operations in Japanese (SH-Avenger @ apforums)
(!) “Japanese common sense says that the heart contains one’s mind, and not the brain, as us Westerners think.” (IgorGB @ apforums)
<-> He cut the Samurai to keep him quiet and even has the power to switch people’s personalities.
(!) Does the heart/personality switching explain Bepo? (FrankyCentaur @ apforums)
(!) “i can imagine Sanji’s behaviors in Nami’s body” (Neomaster121 @ apforums)
(!) “As soon as he realizes, [Chopper] will start shooting beams and run out of cola in 2 seconds” (.accesstimeco. @ apforums)

\\ Was Hawkins defeated?
<-> Brownbeard is the Boss Centaur. Here are his first and second appearances.
<-> Brownbeard’s bounty was “Over 80 Million!” Yeah, 80 Million + 60 Thousand. (Bloel @ apforums)
–> Hawkins said he saw the “Shadow of Death” on him.
onepeacetheory: I don’t want to believe Hawkins was defeated but then again, Capone Bege may very well have been defeated too (by a large.. vacuum).

// Brownbeard wasn’t necessarily a centaur before this arc! (kouch_lee @ apforums)
<-> We see two recurring characters between his first and second appearance.
<-> The blonde-haired guy cutting Whitebeard’s flag and the guy with long, flowing blonde hair.
–> They have normal legs in both the first and second appearance.
–> They are centaurs now.
onepeacetheory: Ok, great observation. I shouldn’t have wasted my time looking up his appearances because kouch already did it! Of course Law could be responsible and most likely is, but are there alternative explanations? And if Law is responsible for this, does that mean they are in fact working together? Brownbeard is, after all, a “Former Pirate..” And what should we make of his crew’s new symbol/belt? (Tjalling @ apforums) Is it a wind symbol? Or a C.C. like from earlier?

// A high level of haki allows you to resist Law’s powers
<-> Law cut Tashigi in half, as well as her sword
–> Smoker practically confirms this.
onepeacetheory: So you can’t be cut with high Haki.. does that mean that the Samurai’s is low/weak?

// Magellan is an admiral now. (One_Piece_Of_My_Mind @ apforums)
–> Hannybal makes warden! ..And really let himself go. (Oga Simpson @ apforums)
<– Wouldn’t Akainu see the events of Impel Down as Magellan’s fault? (i can be heroic @ apforums)
<– Magellan also didn’t climb the ranks as a Marine (.accesstimeco. @ apforums)
–> Counter to the idea above: Sentomaru used to be part of the World Government and is now a Marine officer (Krazykwasi @ apforums)
onepeacetheory: Dreams do come true for everyone in One Piece! Even the bad guys. But I think the Impel Down disaster argument is evidence enough for me to think he isn’t an Admiral right now.

\\ Is Brooke a good match up for Law because he lacks a heart? (Aaronrules380 @ apforums)
\\ Where is the Torso? (KiShiDo @ apforums)
\\ Is this the Harpy’s leg on the bottom-right panel? (FranzLome @ apforums)
\\ “Did anyone else notice Sanji gave Nami his coat?” (RomanceDawn @ apforums)

It’s all in the details! One Piece delivers yet again another amazing chapter, and I apologize again about the delay. Everyone is too busy, so it’s no excuse – just trust that it’ll be ready on Wednesday next week! Let me leave you with one final picture, from zachri @ apforums (seems to be from a tumblr I can’t find)

Chapter 660: Royal Shichibukai Trafalgar Law
What a tame color spread (Robin and Nami are fully clothed) 😛 Only half the Mugiwaras are shown, but somehow still tons of set-up this chapter.

Confirmed: Haz-mat suit guys are satyrs. (King Cannon @ apforums)
<-> Satyr on Wikipedia.

// The frozen people are the Impel Down Level 6 Escapees. (BingBang @ apforums)
–> They all have the prison uniforms.
onetheory: Who really knows how long the frozen bodies have been there? It’s possible that they’ve been there for a long time and that the WG have been slowly transporting bodies to Punk Hazard for Vegapunk to study/turn in to Pacafistas/whatever. I bring this up because it’s a possibility, and not because I think this is a bad theory. I personally think that they are the ID Level 6’ers 😛

// The 100 Hearts Law sent to Marine HQ are from the ID Level 6 prisoners. (verbatim @ apforums)
<-> There are a lot of them (they were above and below).
–> It’s a great strategy to become a Shichibukai: helping the Marines capture escaped prisoners. (Lord_Rayleigh @ MHelpers)
<– Law must have had some gigantic power-up these last 2 years to take down ID Level 6ers.
onetheory: Awesome idea. Law hunted down all the escapees and took their hearts. I have questions though: didn’t Blackbeard make them all fight each other to the death? If that happened, there should be one prisoner per level 6 ID cell. More interestingly, why are they frozen? Someone suggested that maybe they’re keeping the corpses for Moriah, but has Doflamingo already disposed of him? So many unanswered questions. So cool.

\\ Why did the parents themselves ask the Punk Hazarders to heal their kids?
\\ Did Law kidnap the kids?
–> Law clearly has something to do with it, because once Smoker saw the kids, he wasn’t allowed to leave. (Lord_Rayleigh @ MHelpers)
–> These kids don’t look super happy to see Law. (Schabrak @ MHelpers)
onetheory: We’ve learnt that these kids really were sick. Does that imply that weren’t chosen for any particular reason? I don’t think that can be right, but the truth is, the whole abduction series of events is confusing to me – especially since the timing is strange. The kids get sick, the parents call the Punk Hazarders, then while their parents are away/inside, the kids get taken? I don’t get it.

\\ Did Law cut apart the samurai?
<– The head didn’t say anything when he saw Law. (k-dom @ MHelpers)
onetheory: Interesting point that the head didn’t say “THAT’S THE GUY!” when he saw him. Then again, there wasn’t a lot of panel-time for him to say much of anything, so we shouldn’t read too, too far into this. Still possible that it’s someone else though!

\\ Where is Bepo? (KaizokuJinbei @ apforums)
onetheory: Good question – who knows 😛 Bepo vs. Chopper though later? Cool, and I hope so.

So much goodness this week. Not too much learned but a great chapter nonetheless.
Next time: Smoker vs. Law-service? Brooke vs. Torso? Will Luffy show up to save Law? After all, Luffy owes him one! (Resgia @ MHelpers)
Next week is going to be crazy. Have a great week, all!

Chapter 659: About My Torso
Lots of questions answered! I was totally wrong about it not being Law! And even though I kept saying, “man, if this is Law’s work, I’m going to be pissed,” I’m totally not. Here we go:

Confirmed: Trafalgar Law is now a Shichibukai, and seems to be running this operation on Punk Hazard.
<-> “Law resembles David who had to get 100 foreskins for Saul so that he could marry the girl he loves.” (Don Quichotte De Flamingo @ apforums)
<-> “Heart Pirates.” Good one, Oda. (Nefertari @ apforums)
onetheory: I was wrong. My argument went something like, why Law so soon? Why evil Law? Why save Luffy at all? Doesn’t matter now. Congrats to everyone who called it (there were a lot of you).
Further Explained: My comment was pretty horribly worded so let me add: I agree with commenter jc@ea’s belief that Law saved Luffy so he could fight him later, 100%. For me, my question is: if we look at this from Oda’s viewpoint, why would he write it such that Law saves Luffy, just to fight him two arcs later? It just seems too soon, being that when Law shows up in a chapter, people (pardon the expression) “fangasm.” It makes me think that Law won’t fight Luffy when they meet, which seems odd to me, being that Law is doing some pretty evil stuff. In no way am I speaking in certain terms – what do you all think?

Groups At Play:
1. Trafalgar Law/Vice-Master Slime/Gas Men (Confirmed) + Harpy (IMO)
2. Boss-taur/Centaurs/Guy On Den-Den Earlier: A “Crew”
3. The Samurai/San-Torso-Legs/Momonosuke
4. Smoker/Tashigi/G-5 Marines
5. Mugiwara no Kaizoku
onetheory: We’ve been pretty correct about this so far!

// Law seems to be stitching together all these animals for some reason.
<-> More hybrids.
onetheory: Wish I could write more, but I can’t just yet 🙂

// Leggy + Santorso + Just-Head = A Nitoryuu Samurai!
<-> Here’s a picture of him all put together.. sort of. (KiShiDo @ apforums)
<-> He is an enemy of/searching Trafalgar Law, the Shichibukai, and was more than most likely cut apart by him.
–> The are pretty much confirmed as the same person – they have the same clothes. (KiShiDo @ apforums)
onetheory: Although I thought the Head = Father, Legs = Son theory was really fun and awesome, it’s pretty clear that they’re the same.

Great chapter. This has the makings of a pretty epic arc. I can’t help but think that Luffy and Law are going to fight this chapter (like Alabasta – Luffy vs. Shichibukai Crocodile) and that Smoker will get the credit for saving the kids and defeating Law. Good/old times!

Chapter 658: Biscuit’s Room
YES! One Piece is back! Smoker has arrived, there might be a Shichibukai on the island, “Master Slime” as I’m calling him is something else entirely.. let’s begin!

Confirmation: Aokiji and Akainu held their decisive battle here! (KiShiDo @ apforums – 2 Chapters Ago)
Confirmation: The one that cut Just-Head is a woman, therefore not Law or Buggy. (onepeacetheory.com – 1 Chapter Ago)
Taken down because I didn’t notice Nami had hit Just-Head in the panel before that. (King Cannon @ apforums)
Confirmation: Well, more of a revelation. Vegapunk is an old geezer. (crimson589 @ reddit)
Confirmation: The island once belonged to Vegapunk. (Everyone – 2 Chapters ago)
De-firmation (?): Just-Head’s son is a child named Momonosuke, and therefore cannot be “Leggy” as we’ve tried to predict here.

// Charlotte Linlin is somehow involved. (King Cannon @ apforums)
<-> This weird tree, and this weird tree.
–> Linlin’s crew is already very chimeric (Pekoms is part turtle).
onetheory: Okay, I just kind of really like this find more than me actually thinking it’s really possible. But maybe!

// Master Slime is probably a logia.
onetheory: It’s boring to say, but I do think it’s true. Why else would a pile of slime talk? Plus, this used to be Vegapunk’s island, so if it fits, it sits.

// Just-Head and Leggy may very well be one and the same. (KiShiDo @ apforums)
<-> We now know that Leggy isn’t Just-Head’s son.
onetheory: I didn’t know the “BUH” was Japanese for “Fart Sound.” 😛 But there’s still a chest and arms running around somewhere..

\\ Could CC be the initials of the person who cut Just-Head? Or the organization that the Centaur group is part of?
// Okay. Let’s try to break this down. The centaur guy in this picture with the CC Den-Den was not talking to the Harpy.
–> The person talking to the Harpy distinctly says “I’m trying to take them down,” while Luffy and the Centaur are actually having a laugh when we see them first.
–> This implies that the Harpy is either talking to someone who is dealing with the other group of 4 Mugiwaras – Sanji, Nami, Franky and Chopper.
–> The Harpy’s Den-Den Mushi has an OC on it. It’s possible it’s a bad clean though.
onetheory: So to conclude, the Harpy is definitely related to the kidnapping group and Master Slime. The Centaurs, however, have yet to be implicated in anything the Master Slime is a part of. It is, however, completely arguable that the Centaurs/Harpy are in the same group, being that they are both Chimera-like.

\\ What “sickness” did all the kidnapped children have?
onetheory: I imagine Master Slime/his jumpsuit minions gave it to them in the first place, being that they have a history of kidnapping and gassing people. It’s boring, but likely until we learn more.

\\ Are there more buildings on Punk Hazard? At least 7 more?
onetheory: I tend not to read too much in to things like this, if for no other reason than because showing 8 other buildings, even throughout an entire arc, seems tedious.

\\ Did Vegapunk experiment with the Giraffe/Leopard fruits before giving them to Spandam? (73cat73 @ apforums)
onetheory: The connection is there!

Understanding the Groups at Play Here:
– So based on what I’ve said above, I feel like these are the groups.
Smoker & Tashigi’s Group .. Mugiwara Group .. Harpy/Master Slime/Masked Gasmen .. Samurais .. Centaurs/CC?
Trust me when I say I’ll update this soon after I ask around and get some more reactions!

Just as a note, while I recognize that KiShiDo wasn’t the only person to make that prediction, I do think he was first/I found his first & I didn’t come up with it on my own. That’s how things are being credited here: if I come up with it without reading anything, then I’ll preliminarily cite myself. If I read something and like it, I’ll throw it up here and give credit to who/where I read it first. If it’s a contended point, then I’ll keep myself as cited but if it’s widely agreed upon, I’ll cite no body/everyone. Hope that makes sense!

And finally, such a great chapter! So many funny moments – this one was just filled with them. I can’t wait for the next one. How are these centaurs related? Are there more chimeric-type beings waiting to be discovered?

Chapter 657: A Severed Head
I think in order to clean up these posts a little bit more, I’m going to stop the whole revelation business and assume you guys already know what has been revealed. That way, I can focus more on theories/predictions and not waste your time rehashing what you already know.

There are a lot of different types of people on this island: No-Torso, Just-Head, Bird-Chick and Giant Babies! Let’s get right to it:

// Just-Head = Father, No-Torso = Son (KiShiDo @ apforums)
<-> Just-Head has been cut by someone whose name he doesn’t know, is from the country of Wano (“wa no kuni” translates to “country of wa”), and is looking for his son.
–> Notice that No-Torso mentions a Shichibukai twice, while Just-Head doesn’t mention one at all, evidence that they are not the same person. (kouch_lee @ apforums)
–> Just-Head doesn’t end any of his sentences with “Buh,” more evidence that they aren’t the same person. (King Cannon @ apforums)
onetheory: I definitely don’t think they’re the same person, and I really like the idea that Just-Head is No-Torso’s son. As always, I think it’s important that if true, it would make for an interesting/cool reveal, consistent with Oda’s writing ability.

\\ Is Law Responsible for Just-Head/No-Torso?
<-> It’s a power where the pieces are interchangeable and stay together/break apart at whim (he’s “like Buggy.”)
<-> While it’s arguable that Law’s “Room” allows him to mix and match body parts like the 8 pieces of Just-Head, we haven’t seen what happens when the body parts aren’t connected and “Room” disengages.
<– We’ve never seen anyone else be able to rearrange body parts Law disconnected.
–> Law does have a sword.
onetheory: I still don’t think it’s Law. I don’t see any reason for him to do this to people. He’s been up to this point a protagonist – I don’t know why Oda would do such a 180 on his character now.
Clarification: I consider Law a protagonist in the context of One Piece. For me, someone is a protagonist if he/she generally does good, even as an enemy. For example, Aokiji lives by some sort of pirate code and has been portrayed favorably, even though he was an enemy to the Mugiwaras. In contrast, antagonists like Blackbeard/Akainu have actually done evil things, and can’t be trusted to keep their word the way Law has. So my argument goes something like: while Law will be an enemy of Luffy’s in the future, I consider it out of his character to kidnap people and hold prisoners. Thanks to commenter Kevin for inspiring this clarification!

\\ Does Bonney have anything to do with the Giant Kids?
<– … I think before people make predictions, they need to recognize that Oda writes complex stories and that shallow predictions are rarely ever correct (ex. kids? Bonney! Duh!). That statement pretty much sums up the purpose of this site: to try and make second-degree/third/fourth type connections that not everybody sees.
<– The horned skull is pretty similar to the Kyohei Pirates Jolly Roger (2 weeks ago, redon@ apforums)

Confirmation: The island is most certainly half hot, half cold.
Confirmation: They forgot Brook.

Moments:
1. Oda’s on fire: Centaur Luffy + Dragon Powerup line.
2. Yeah, Robin. What Luffy’s wearing is vulgar. 😀

Chapter 656: Adventure on the Burning Island
Great set-up chapter. I love the way Oda does this. The entire One Piece series should be a textbook for how to set-up mangas and even TV episodes in the future. Otherwise, we’ve been given a lot of vague information from which we can make inferences, but in no way is very much of anything concrete.

Major Revelation: Punk Hazard isn’t uninhabited.
–> Smoker, a Vice Admiral, didn’t even know these guys were there. The implication is that this “M” guy has nothing to do with the Marines at all, or goes much higher than the vice admiral level. This notion is corroborated by what we learn from No-Torso (explained later in this post).
–> They forgot about Brook 😛 (MisterMand @ apforums)
–> I thought this would go without saying, but apparently it doesn’t: there’s no reason to believe the PH stands for anything but Punk Hazard.

onetheory:
// Who is No-Torso hunting?
–> He says it’s one of the Shichibukai, and seems like an overall pretty good guy.
<– Let’s get this out of the way: some other people seem to think this guy has something to do with Buggy. While Buggy himself has the ability to separate his body parts, and yes, he is almost certainly a Shichibukai now, the idea that he could separate another person’s body parts would be analogous to Luffy turning someone else’s body rubber. Both fruits are paramecia type. Can’t do it.
–> He fights with his legs but is dressed like a samurai (Geta Sandals). It’s possible he’s from Wano.
–> He calls this one “foolish.” While I hesitate to read too far in to that one word, for me, it rules out Doflamingo as he is anything but.
–> Does his being on the island imply that the Shichibukai he’s hunting is on the island as well?
–> If No-Torso is in fact a samurai, the den-den mushi call from the previous chapter must be coming from someone on the Shichibukai’s crew, who may be currently being hunted by No-Torso’s samurai friends. (GJardim @ apforums)
<– Some people think that Law is a Shichibukai now and separated No-Torso, and now he wants revenge. I think that while it’s possible, I don’t think we have any reason to believe Law is a Shichibukai, which makes this theory too unsubstantiated for me to get behind.
–> Counter to my beliefs is the line that Law says pre-time skip about him “taking a seat” meant for him.

twotheory:
// Zoro will upgrade the Sandai Kitetsu to the Nidai Kitetsu this arc.
–> Zoro uses Ryuma’s sword to decapitate the dragon, creating a very interesting parallel (Mortea @ apforums)
–> The samurai should respect Zoro as a dragon-slayer, and may offer him a sword/challenge him for Ryuma’s sword after a little bit of hand waving.
–> I detail my thoughts on Zoro’s Three Final Swords here!

Moments
1. Of course Luffy asks No-Torso to join his crew. I expect absolutely nothing less from the man who will become Pirate King 😀
2. And thanks to Czechmate for pointing out that on this panel, Zoro kicks Ussop out of the way. Cool find!
3. Lastly, but not leastly, the incredibly well drawn group fight scene with the dragon. It’s been a while since they’ve had to come together and fight a team battle! (Oz?)

For the record, we never thought the dragon was a zoan because that would be boring. And I would argue that the “that would be boring” argument is an extremely valid one: Oda is a spectacular, exciting writer. It shouldn’t be so simple as “oh, it’s a dragon zoan.” Similarly, if the Shichibukai No-Torso is hunting ends up being Law, it would make for a really boring reveal. Evidence, in my opinion, that Law had nothing to do with this guy.

Also, in the pursuit of complete fairness, I was completely wrong about the dragon being friendly 😛
Oh well, onto the next! As always, expect more updates throughout the week. Have a good one!

Chapter 655: Punk Hazard
New Arc! New Islands! And so many great moments.
1. It’s just how Luffy’s going to answer the phone!
2. “Smells like trouble?” And some more Luffy Logic.
3. Fanservice: Robin’s heels and short-shorts. Nami’s bikini. And thanks to all the female readers for pointing out the shirtless dudes. I honestly didn’t give them a second glance but I’m glad Oda is taking care of ALL of his readers! 😀
4. KiShiDo @ apforums on the first line of the next chapter. Luffy: “ARE YOU MY DAD?” 🙂
5. “Just realized Zoro cut the door open like its nbd.” (franticantics @ reddit)

Major Revelation: Luffy, Zoro, Robin and Ussop will be going to Punk Hazard, their first island in the New World!
–> It used to be inhabited by people, but has been closed off since an “incident” occurred 4 years ago.
–> It is half fire, half ice. Corroborated by the cold screaming dude on the Den-Den Mushi.

Major Revelation: Dragons?!?
–> And they talk?
–> Does it remind anyone else of Lola? 😀

Revelation: Wa-No-Kuni is an island of strong Samurai that the Marines don’t even mess with.
–> It’s your time to shine, Zoro! Finally 🙂
–> It’s likely that one of the Samurai’s will recognize Zoro’s sword, Shusui (The Red Dog @ MHelpers)

Revelation: Nami can make cloud roads now!
–> Cool. I wonder how abusable this is. Can they just go anywhere they want now? Provided it isn’t locked?

Revelation: Tyrannosaurus (Iceberg’s Pet) grew a ton, as did the little girl on the cover! (Ping @ apforums)
–> I can always count on the apforums guys to be way more observant than me!

onetheory:
// Punk Hazard. Vegapunk’s Hazardous Research Site much? Is this horned skull his mark?
–> The World Government is doing something on the island, and has some sort of way of keeping islands off log poses. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vegapunk came up with that technology.
<– The horned skull is exceedingly similar to the Kyohei Pirates Jolly Roger! (redon @ apforums)
// This is island Aokiji and Akainu fought on. (KiShiDo @ apforums)
–> Makes sense because of the half fire, half ice thing.
<– This fight didn’t happen four years ago, so the fight can’t be the “incident” Tashigi is referring to. Doesn’t mean they didn’t fight there though!

twotheory:
// Vegapunk has been using these mythical creatures to create Devil Fruits.
–> I honestly don’t have any reason to think this, but I can’t help but wonder why a Dragon is on what I can almost assuredly say is Vegapunk’s island.
–> If this is true, the Dragon experiment may have gone bad and could be the “incident” Tashigi is referring to. But again, no real evidence supports this.
<– It didn’t attack them right-out. For whatever reason, I feel like that makes the Dragon friendly.
–> For the record, I do not think it’s a Devil Fruit User, but an actual Dragon. Ryuma was storied to have killed a real Dragon in the past.
–> Remember that the Dragon may not actually be talking, and that Luffy is “hearing” him or her! (GJardim @ apforums)

threetheory:
// Urogue was almost certainly on Raijin Island.
–> Lightning! *Bang* *Crash!* Trust me, I’m making these sounds in real life and it sounds way more like lightning.
–> The fact that Smoker didn’t run in to him means that he either left, got annihilated, or is being tortured by the G-5 Marines right now.

Great chapter. We learned a lot!
These first chapters in an arc are the most fun. We get to make the most predictions 😀
What do you guys think? Comment or tweet! And as always, I’ll source more info from the forums throughout the day.