This text was originally written for Arlong Park forums’ discussion thread.

Man, I was starting to wonder how close we were to getting an unprecedented whole volume of flashbacks for volume 96, but it’s not even close. This is only the fourth chapter of the book. All the end of year breaks have thrown my sense of time off so badly. Every year, it never gets any easier!

Shanks question to Roger is something we’re definitely coming back to. Is it about what he expected the One Piece to be? Was he hoping the last island would have a cure for Roger’s illness? Does his question and the answer he received have anything to do with his current role in the world and he relationship with the Five Elders?

The treasure being dubbed the One Piece while Roger lives is a really interesting point. I kinda liked the idea of the name coming from his last words (as per the 4kids intro I guess) but it seems to have just popped up on its own. Meh. At least the line “and they have no idea” reads like the name is somehow fitting for what they found. Maybe it leaked from the World Government, after some meeting from the upper echelons who might actually know what it is they’re covering up.

I’m seeing a lot of people feeling real unhappy about the second Neptunian sovereign and the talk of the return of Joyboy and the implication that either or both could be Luffy, but let’s be real, One Piece has always had talk of destiny and inheriting the will of your predecessors. Luffy was accepted as the inheritor of Roger’s will long ago; does it make all that much of a difference if he’s inheriting from Joyboy as well? Or inheriting Roger inheriting Joyboy? And in terms of being a chosen one, we’ve got the Will of the D, the King’s Haki and the Voice of All Things before you factor in being the son of Dragon the Revolutionary and the grandson of Garp the Hero. Listen, I think chosen one tropes are as boring as everyone else, but Luffy has always been a special little guy. The interconnected lore of big fantasy stories always seems to end up tying the hero back to important figures and concepts. It’s something you learn to live with in the genre I guess.

I did see the counterpoint to Luffy being the sovereign/Joyboy that the Neptunians didn’t really care about him being at Fishman Island or making contact with Shirahoshi. They were surprised he could hear them at all, so that doesn’t scan him being the one they’re expecting. What I think would be neat would be a royal sovereign for each of the ancient weapons. Perhaps in form of the three princesses Luffy’s saved over the years. The royal family of Alabasta was entrusted with the location of Pluton, which is interesting, but there’s little to connect Dressrosa to anything else. And also, if the Neptunians knew about two sovereigns it would make sense for them to know about the third as well, but they don’t mention them. Another mystery for the ages.

And then we’re back to Wano and as much as I’ve been keen to see how things got the way they are in the present, it can’t help feeling slightly flat after all the Roger stuff. Especially factoring in the knowledge that the pivotal moment of the story is still five years away. What could possibly come from Oden’s raid on the palace that would be both a satisfying outcome and still allow the next five years to happen. I think we’ve got at least another chapter to get through one way or the other before we’re close to Kaido arriving. That said, the run to the palace was a pretty great sequence, and the storytelling through the damaged environment as Oden makes his way in were pretty great.

I’m looking forward to the next chapter, but not expecting anything super huge from it. Just a transition between where we are now and the climax of the flashback. Gotta adjust my level of anticipation from Roger’s journey back to the Wano plot. Hopefully no breaks until until we reach the final stage of the story.