Man, things are moving in this arc! I expected at least another chapter of transition and chapter before Luffy and Zoro even reached Loki, let alone freed him, but Oda’s wasting no time at all on this one. And we’re still in volume 112, with at least two chapters of it to go. This book is going to be stacked.

But despite the huge plot movements, this chapter finds time for fun and characterisation as well. I loved Nami’s exaggerated and insincere insisting that she was only there for the treasure and wasn’t involved in Luffy’s Loki plan, and then a totally wasted Usopp going crazy at the party a couple of pages later. This arc is a long time coming for Usopp, so I’m glad he gets a bit of fun before it puts him through his paces.

We get a little more Adam Tree lore as Franky learns about the fallen branch of Haugen. This feels like some big, important setup. Fire and lightning being Elbaph’s weakness has to be setup for the final act of the arc. It wouldn’t be One Piece without a ticking clock to the whole island getting destroyed, and an out-of-control fire bringing down the tree could be exactly that, especially if Loki’s big hammer is about to reveal some Thor-like powers. It’s not my favourite way for things to go, feeling repetitive so soon after Onigashima turned into an inferno and Egghead burned under the Marines’ bombardment, but we’ll see what twist Oda decides to put on it. If some bits of the tree have to be lopped to stop a fire, will that maybe give Franky material for a final upgrade to the Sunny though?

I’ve seen the idea float around that we’ve just learned an unexpected weakness for the Sunny, but I don’t think the threat is any greater than to any other wooden ship. Elbaph has a weakness because every part of it is interconnected on the tree, not because Adam Tree wood is particularly flammable or conductive. Not to mention that planks on a ship will be sealed and treated and constantly damp from the seawater, making them much harder to burn than a dry land tree.

Cut to the debate over freeing Loki. I’m not usually into the idea that Zoro is a substantially different character after the timeskip, let alone a worse one, but even for me he comes across way too harsh here. Anyone else remember his first big fight, where kicking a wounded man in the wound was a villainous act? Maybe if he had just prodded the wounds to test for a reaction, or he’d just been blase about Loki dying, or he’d just suggested eating the animals, it could have been a reasonable characterisation moment, but all three of them together just scans as a big much.

(Also did anyone else notice Loki’s wearing gloves now? He definitely wasn’t at first, but they show up around the time Shamrock attacks him. Wonder if the volume release will ink his hands in properly for the early chapters.)

Hadjrudin’s arrival on the scene definitely feels a little rushed, and a little contrived, but it at least manages to be funny. I wonder if it’ll be a factor that most of his group are now “severely injured” or if they’ll shake it off when the time comes to fight. Probably worth noting as well that Sanji and Gerd both escape being hurt and should be going into any future battles at their top capacity.

The final spread is a banger. I’ve said it a bunch of times through Elbaph already, but I love the sense of scale in the art lately. Look at those details!

Some have questioned why Loki was imprisoned with Ragnir in the first place if it’s so dangerous, but I don’t think we know enough about how he was locked up in the first place to say if they had a choice or not. Look at the size of this guy – I don’t think he was dragged down here; more likely he was knocked out against the tree and the chains hastily set up around him where he fell. It might have been too dangerous to try and get the hammer out from behind him first.

A lot of questions linger about what makes both Loki and Ragnir so dangerous. What Devil Fruit does Loki have? What makes the hammer such a big deal, and does it have an inherent power outside the DF/Haki power system? Does the timeline work out for Ragnir having a Devil Fruit (probably not)?

But hey! It’s another no-break week, so answers may be coming very soon. And with the volume so close to its end, they should be big ones.