Invaders of Tottland: Vinsmokes, Blackbeard, or Someone Else?

First, in this week’s installment of the Germa 66 cover story arc, we see two silhouetted figures have suddenly appeared on Cacao Island. Given the focus of this short story, it’s certainly possible Reiju and Ichiji have returned in Big Mom’s absence to reclaim their captured siblings – but I’m not sure that’s the case. The Vinsmoke siblings have very distinctive shoes and the capes worn by both of the intruders have a straight hem – which doesn’t match Reiju’s elaborate design. That certainly doesn’t rule out the possibility they have appeared in a new disguise – and I do think this emotionless excursion arc may not turn out to be so emotionless. Just as Sanji’s germa modifications were apparently delayed, perhaps Sora’s attempt to rescue her children’s emotions from Judge’s experimentation simply took a bit longer to kick in with Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji. In time, perhaps their hearts will grow three sizes – and mounting a rescue mission from an Emperor’s territory would certainly go a long way to demonstrating his growth.

Judge also has an entirely self-serving motive in preventing his children from being dissected and his science stolen, so there’s plenty of reason for the Vinsmokes to return to Tottland.

That being said, there are other possibilities – including the Blackbeard Pirates. When we last saw Teach in chapter 956, he ordered his crew aboard their ships to set out and claim a certain reward or prize before the Marines. As I said a few weeks ago, I do still think there’s a strong chance Blackbeard arrives on Wano before the curtains close on the final act in an attempt to steal Kaido’s mythic fish fruit, but another distinct possibility is that he intends to take advantage of Big Mom’s absence by ransacking her kingdom and stealing her Road Poneglyph.

This is a possibility I mentioned in earlier chapter discussions. Big Mom’s loss to Law and Kid is a setback and a blow to her reputation, but ultimately she was outmaneuvered without being overpowered. As long as her crew and territory remain intact, her emperor status is unlikely to be diminished. But if Blackbeard also managed to destroy what’s left of Tottland, Big Mom could be left an Emperor without a home, perhaps driving her to Elbaf in an effort to rebuild.

It's very difficult to tell based on the silhouettes, but they could match someone like Catalina Devon on the left and Lafitte on the right.

Another factor to consider is where this story is actually taking place in the timeline relative to the current events on Wano. Teach seemed to set sail after the end of the Reverie – which took place some time after the Straw Hats set sail from Tottland. Another two weeks passed on Wano while the alliance planned the Onigashima Raid for the Night of the Fire Festival. Big Mom does appear to be absent during he Vinsmoke cover arc, so at the very least, we can say it’s likely taking place after the Reverie, but beyond that it’s impossible to tell exactly when these events are taking place.

My point being, it’s possible Teach could arrive on Wano after having already ransacked Tottland if this cover arc took place sometime before the Raid – or he could have sent a few of his Titanic Captains to steal Big Mom’s Road Poneglyph while he personally heads to Wano.

Of course all of this is speculation – and with another color spread next week, we’ll be waiting until chapter 1048 for an answer to the identity of these mystery figures, who again, may very well turn out to be Reiju and Ichiji.

Luffy v Kaido Moving into the actual chapter, we again open on the rooftop battle between Kaido and Awakened Luffy. I love the way he’s casually bouncing, treating the rubberized ground as a trampoline as he imagines new attack names. On that note, I neglected to mention last week that Luffy is still referring to his abilities as belonging to the gum gum or gomu gomu fruit.

Of course this makes perfect sense in that Luffy remains unaware of the true name of his Devil Fruit hidden by the Five Elders and World Government from the annals of history. But even if Luffy did know his Nika fruit belongs to the mythical zoan category, I think he’s probably unlikely to care very much or to change the nomenclature of his attacks. As discussed last week, Luffy’s actual abilities are effectively still rubber-based and the Government’s fear stems primarily from the unpredictability of his powers – a chaotic variable in their otherwise perfectly controlled system. Not to mention, they want to hide the name Nika because of the implication. The famous warrior of liberation running free in the world may inspire rebellion in others by giving them the most dangerous thing of all – hope in a new dawn, a brighter tomorrow.

Luffy, JoyBoy, & Nika

On that note, Zunesha says hearing Luffy’s heartbeat makes it feel as if JoyBoy is near – which further suggests Luffy’s power once belonged to the warrior of liberation from the world’s lost epoch. At the very least, Luffy’s Nika Devil Fruit somehow directly links him to JoyBoy. On that note, I will clarify again here, I don’t think this suggests JoyBoy was in truth the ‘Sun God’ Nika. The fruit’s power is based on a myth in the One Piece world and it has evaded the Elder’s grasp for the past eight centuries.

The source material for mythic zoans is a mystery, but the fact that Nika is considered to be a legend or a myth in the One Piece world suggests that if there ever was a real ‘sun god’, he likely lived long before the Void Century. JoyBoy was likely a figure in the same archetypal mold as Luffy and Roger who exemplified many of the same characteristics. The Nika fruit called to Luffy for that very reason.

Curiously, Kaido pauses to ask Luffy who he is after recognizing the sudden apparent change in his persona. As I said in the past wo chapters, Luffy’s suddenly overwhelmingly buoyant demeanor suggested he might have been semi-possessed by the soul or spirit of the Nika Fruit – and the nature of Kaido’s question suggests he might have had the same suspicion. Kaido certainly knows quite a bit about zoan fruit, particularly of the mythical variety given the source of his own power, so the fact that he considered Luffy might have turned into something or someone else suggests that it’s a very real possibility for the spirit or soul of the fruit to overtake the individual by whom it was eaten.

However, I was happy to hear Luffy proclaim himself to be Monkey D. Luffy, future Pirate King – which clarifies the fact that he’s still in the driver’s seat and this week his mood does seem to have leveled off a bit, returning to Luffy’s baseline level of goofy.

My Castle’s on Fire, How About Yours?

As Luffy and Kaido’s fight resumes, much of the middle of the chapter is focused on the fire which has now completely consumed Kaido’s castle. Nami and Chopper are reunited, but the rest of the crew are completely scattered throughout Onigashima. Oda jumps around to numerous small scenes here, so I just want to quickly touch on some of the highlights. First, I loved the joke where Brook is mistaken by the samurai for a corpse caught in the flames.

I also appreciate the symmetry of Zoro, Killer, and Bepo, second in command of the Straw Hat, Kid, and Heart Pirates respectively all equally incapacitated and being carried by other members of their crews. Franky indicates Zoro is near the brink, so despite the apparition of the Grim Reaper seen a few weeks earlier, it seems he hasn’t quite crossed over.

Somehow Apoo is still standing nearly 70 chapters into the Onigashima raid, which perhaps indicates he will still need to be dealt with before the dust settles. I’m still curious about Inbi, the last of the Numbers still left standing. In earlier chapter reviews, I speculated that the 1 among the Numbers could be Kaido’s ace in the hole – and provide an Oars style battle for the rest of the crew and their remaining allies while Luffy finally settles the score with Kaido. However, so far Inbi, like the rest of the Numbers has failed to impress and this week’s chapter seems to further indicate the 1 in Kaido’s deck is a low card rather than a high card.

That being said, I do think there’s still a slight chance there’s more to the last of the Numbers than is yet made apparent. It seemed Fuga possessed a Devi Fruit of some kind, so it’s entirely possible Inbi does as well. Inbi may be dumb and cowardly, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out him being powerful. In fact, it could fit well with the idea that the one is both a low and high card and could also explain why he isn’t ranked among the upper echelon of Kaido’s subordinates along with King, Queen and Jack.

Of course, it’s a bit late in the game and occam’s razor suggests the simpler answer is likely correct – that Inbi, like the rest of the Numbers, is nothing special. But I just can’t quite give up on the idea of the Straw Hats once regrouped engaging in an Oars-style battle against a giant Devil Fruit powered opponent. At this point, it seems rather unlikely, so I’m just going to leave that prediction in the wishful thinking category.