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

I’m glad we get at least one chapter of proper post-arc before the break. It’s so refreshing to be back in this phase of Oda’s story structure and I’m glad to know there’s more of One Piece’s best on the horizon. I had the impression going in that this week’s colour spread would be Oda’s recently revealed Film Red poster, in much the same way his Stampede poster opened chapter 945, but we get a full spread for the Odyssey game instead? Neat! Interesting that Odyssey gets this treatment when other titles Oda contributed character designs to like Unlimited World Red and World Seeker didn’t. Maybe Oda just wanted to show off his monster designs. Can’t really blame him for that.

I’m loving that Morgans is now totally rogue after his falling out with Cipher Pol over the Reverie’s details in chapter 956. Given how quick and easy it was for the World Government to alter the news as part of Doflamingo’s scheme at the start of Dressrosa, we can assume that Morgans was the Government’s mouthpiece for a long time before the past few weeks. We don’t often circle back to Luffy’s greatest strength being his ability to win people over to his side, but this is a super underrated example of it, him unintentionally drawing in the best hype man he could have hoped for.

It’s also cool to see the Government trying to give Luffy the same treatment they gave Roger – subtley retconning the D initial out of the public consciousness. It’s obviously not illegal to have a D, though some families definitely choose to keep it secret, but it makes sense to see the downplay it if someone starts to too much embody the folklore about bringing forth a storm.

Oda’s also doing a quick job of wrapping up the loose ends people have been talking about. What happened to Big Mom’s crew? They crossed paths with the incoming World Government fleet and had a little bit of a battle. That’s pretty logical considering the pieces in play and where they all were, I’m surprised I didn’t see it pop up more often as a theory.

Three billion each for the captains, with some great new pictures to boot. I guess the random panel of Guernica fleeing Onigashima in chapter 1049 was to set up him having been in the right place at the right time for that picture. I’m a little surprised not to see four billion, given the number of the Film Red tie in volume, but who’s to know the mind of Oda. It’s cool that Luffy, Law and Kid get to remain rivals in at least some sense here.

I almost feel a little bad for Jinbe having his fancy meal alone waiting for the others. But he seems happy, so I guess festivals just aren’t his thing. I hope the events at the end of the chapter don’t keep them from reaching him. Cool detail: this seems to be the same room from Orochi’s introduction scene in chapter 929, the start of the party at which Hiyori and Denjiro would eventually fake Komurasaki’s death.

Luffy’s new kimono and Jinbe’s new cape have pretty similar motifs with the hexagons. That’s a cute detail. Wonder if the colours will match too.

The kokeshi dolls and the Poneglyph under the palace were first mentioned by Brook back in chapter 934 after he scoped out the place in soul form. It’s important to remember that this isn’t the country’s Lode Poneglyph – but I imagine it’s being kept alongside Pluton, wherever that is. Hitetsu’s identity is one we were definitely given enough information to guess. The question of where he was all those years and why he didn’t seek out Oden is immediately answered with the revelation he was imprisoned until after Orochi had fully consolidated his power. I feel like I saw at some point that something in the Vivre Card databook made this reveal impossible, like it gave Hitetsu and Sukiyaki different birthdays or made Hitetsu too old or something, but when I look back over the information we had I can’t find anything that could possibly have brought anyone to that conclusion. It might feel a little cheap to have Sukiyaki alive after all this time, but since Momonosuke was never taught the art of crafting Poneglyphs or writing in the language used for them and Sukiyaki presumably was, there’s a very good narrative reason to have kept him around.

Aramaki makes a commanding first impression for the series’ final admiral. I’m not even talking about him attacking the leftover Beasts Pirates, just look at the establishing shot of the prison mine. Compare the environment around it to how it all looked in chapter 946. That would be a tremendous and terrifying amount of power even without all the pirates he beat.

He’s got a fantastic, memorable design as well, but it strikes fear into my heart that he seems so dead set on capturing Luffy and winning Sakazuki’s approval. I don’t think Wano has another full-scale fight in it and I don’t think anyone wants to see Aramaki beaten by the combined powers of the alliance immediately after his introduction. So what’s happening? Will he be talked down? Driven back for political reasons by the new shogun standing up to him and declaring Wano’s sovreignity and protection of the pirates? Or maybe something out of left field like Luffy fleeing all over Wano, leading him around so his out of control plant powers can bring greenery back to the land.

It’s cool to see Luffy sticking with his not being a hero thing even now. It’s obviously as much for Momo’s sake as it is self-serving, letting the new dynasty start with a win the citizens can feel their new leader is responsible for, but it’s still nice. Goes a long way in justifying not putting Kaido’s defeat where the citizens can see, something a lot of people were expecting.

Absolutely loving the spread of Luffy and Kid dancing under the fireworks. That’s a moneyshot as far as post-arc party scenes go. It’s gorgeous! I can’t wait to see the colour version! And so great to see all the crew and their allies celebrating alongside them, including Kin’emon and Otsuru reunited at last. It’s one small panel for the last two, but it’s surprisingly heartwarming after all this time.

And then the end of chapter stingers – the new Emperors and the admiral’s approach. It must suck for Law and Kid feeling left out like that, but it makes sense. The Emperor position isn’t just about might, it’s about territory and influence. Luffy, having claimed Fishman Island, invaded Tottoland and inspired the Straw Hat Grand Fleet (including Bartolomeo running around trying to conquor other Emperors’ territory in Luffy’s name in his cover story) is legitimately much more representative of an Emperor than the other Supernova captains, who’ve kept their sights much more squarely on Kaido without getting distracted. Buggy is… well I saw people speculating it during the week, but I never thought they could be right. The obvious answer is that he somehow united the other betrayed Warlords behind him, but I’m very interested to see the truth. Aramaki hints again that the status quo outside has been shaken up big by the Reverie and the aftermath of the World Government’s attack on the Warlords. I’m so excited to see what that means, and so hurt for a month off to happen here of all places.

So what’s next? I can’t wait to see what Pluton really looks like and confirm another Lode Poneglyph for the set! I want to see the new geopolitics! I’m looking forward to seeing how the crew and the locals handle Aramaki! This is such a massive, frustrating cliffhanger for a month off. And given the next chapter is likely the last of volume 104 it’s all the more reason to be on the edge of our seats for it.

Horrible place for a break, but at the same time maybe the best time for it. I know my hype is going to stay strong during the gap after this banger chapter, rather than the lingering concerns of a few weeks ago when the end of the fight didn’t quite touch the series’ other emotional peaks and it was starting to feel like the post-battle lore dump would never come. Better to be left on a high note than a low one I guess is what I’m saying. Looking foward to seeing what Jump fills the next four weeks with, doing a reread of Wano up to this point during the interrim and of course getting back to Aramaki and the festival in a month!