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

Man, Oda has been on an absolute roll for the past few chapters. Everything from the end of the Oden flashback on has been good, but these past few weeks have been spectacular.

It warms my heart to finally see Jinbe hanging out with the rest of the crew on a colour spread after all this time. I’m a little disappointed he wasn’t being saved for a special one of some kind, but it’s still good just to see him.

After a little recap of Oden and Kaido’s interactions, we have an interesting moment where the Scabbards’ attacks actually pierce Kaido’s skin. I’ve seen some debate as to whether the Scabbards (or at least three of them) actually have the same advanced ryuo technique Luffy learned, or if their blades only went in because Kaido’s distress weakened him the same way Big Mom’s grief did. But if you look back to the Big Mom scene, the amount of anguish it takes to lower her defences also has her in a complete mental blank, screaming and unleashing her conqueror’s haki uncontrollably. Kaido is shocked here, but he hasn’t been emotionally upset to nearly that level. So I think it’s pretty clear this damage came purely from the Scabbards’ own power.

I wonder if ryuo has anything to do with Kin’s ability to cut fire, which hasn’t really come up at all since Punk Hazard. Seemed like it was going to be a much bigger deal back then…

I appreciate that Nami and Carrot are shown to be so capable of getting away on their own, as if they were just biding their time while Big Mom claimed victory.

Kaido’s little speech really ephasises how much more interconnected the story has become through the New World – and he doesn’t even seem to know about the events on Fishman Island that rube-goldberd into his alliance with Big Mom. I’ve been in discussions about how best to classify and break up arcs and sagas but this really goes to show that there’s no easy answer because the story’s second half just isn’t built the same as the first one, which the arcs/sagas system was really built for. As much as no one likes the overdone “New World” titling on the Viz volumes, in hindsight they actually hit pretty close to how the story’s being portrayed from scenes like this.

Luffy’s big declaration is a trademark One Piece moment that’s wonderfully in-character and incredibly satisfying, and makes the perfect coutnerpoint to Kaido’s talk of betrayal. I think he’s gonna do it too, there’s not going to be any Emperors getting away to be addressed in a future arc this time. It all happens here.

Some people think they see Hawkins with Law, but the outfit is wrong and the hair isn’t long enough. And Hawkins still didn’t seem particularly like he would change sides when we last saw him, even at Law’s mercy. He plays the odds, and against the sheer power of Kaido and Big Mom, the odds are still against Luffy and co. It does reraise the excellent question of who freed law (probably Drake) and what is their endgame (when and how do they turn on Kaido).

Marco and Perospero is an interesting alliance. I have no idea how that was negotiated or what its impact is going to be…

Finally, Kaido heads for the rooftop in a pair of gorgeous spreads. I’m already absolutely certain the panel of Kaido’s dragon form in front of the moon is going to be represented on volume 98’s cover in some way (but I may be getting ahead of myself there – I was really hoping for a volume 97 reveal alongside the chapter but we don’t even have that yet.) Having the minks waiting on the rooftop under the full moon was an incredibly dramatic touch. In a normal arc, I’d be expecting Oda to cut away from Kaido for a while so he can deal with his non-Luffy foes, but it’ll be pretty upsetting to do that now and miss out on seeing everyone’s Sulong forms. Oda better commit to this!

What’s interesting about the structure at this point is that another potential cavalry option is being played seemingly too early. I think the assumed structure going into the battle was that Kaido would steamroll everyone easily, but then there would be a moment of reinforcement and troop rallying – Jinbe arrives, Marco arrives, Sulongs, a Big Mom betrayal – to lead into the final act, but it doesn’t look like that’s where we’re going anymore. We’re throwing everything we have at Kaido at once, and the endgame isn’t going to be a recovery and a renewed charge, but most likely Luffy as the last man standing, capitalising on the damage done by everyone who fell in the group attempt to weaken the big boss. That feels a tad more stale than the alternative – it’s not so different structurally from the Doflamingo fight – so it’ll be interesting to see if Oda has a twist in mind, or if he’s just planning to do the familiar thing but bigger and more explosively than ever before.