One Piece - Chapter 996 [manga]

[marvelB]

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Ready, guys? Once again, credit goes to AP's Redon and co. for the spoiler info:

-Chapter title is "Island of the strongest". Splash features Blackbeard.

-As Tama and Komachiyo rescue the Nami/Usopp pair, the former asks the little girl how she managed to reach the island. Tama answers she traveled aboard an enemy ship, but gives no further explanation. Ulti and Page One are about to give chase, but the sibling duo are stopped by Hihimaru (the baboon Tama tamed earlier this arc), whom Tama instructs to stall the enemy for three minutes. Nami doesn't think the beast stands a chance against the enemy pirates, but Tama tells her not to underestimate her group!

-Meanwhile, back to Yamato vs. Sasaki, Kaidou's "son" is too busy shielding Momonosuke from harm to attack properly. Shinobu asks her to take Momo and leave her behind, but Oden's #1 fan refuses to abandon the kunoichi. Sasaki sees that his armored troops are dwindling in number, so he decides to join the fray as he grabs his sword. Noticing this, it appears that Yamato starts getting serious as she begins transforming into some sort of beast.... until the fight gets interrupted by the arrival of Franky (still in Shogun mode) and Haccha of the Numbers! The floor gets destroyed during the confusion, giving Yamato an opportunity to escape with Momo and Shinobu in tow! She requests that Franky take care of Sasaki in her place, and takes out the giant Haccha in a single blow in order to lessen the cyborg's burden! She then tells Momo that he must live on, in order to bring "dawn" to the world....!!!

-Elsewhere in the castle, Trafalgar Law makes a startling discovery: A Poneglyph!! He briefly flashes back to a conversation he had with Robin where he discloses his full name to her (Trafalgar D. Water Law, in case anyone forgot), in the hopes that she may answer what the meaning of "D" is. While she doesn't know either, she too is interested in finding the truth behind it, and says that finding the red (aka Road) Poneglyphs is the key to solving the mystery. It doesn't appear that the one Law found is red, though. As he stands in front of the stone, he thinks of his old savior Rosinante (aka Corazon), who once told him that the D clan are considered "enemies of god".....

-Meanwhile, at the castle's 3rd floor, Kid and Killer are also making their way to the roof! As it turns out, Kid gathered every piece of scrap metal he could find in the castle, and assembled a gigantic arm out of it! Amusingly, he asks Killer if he went overboard with this stunt, but his partner tells him it's better to be safe than sorry, considering who they're up against. Up on the roof, the Scabbards are still battling Kaidou, but are struggling against the emperor, despite him being in his human form....

-Back down below, Big Mom swoops into the castle on Zeus! Everyone starts panicking at first, but she ensures the crowd that her business lies solely on the roof.... where Kaidou is. Finally, we cut back to Luffy's group, who are on the 2nd floor. They're about to reach the next floor when Sanji hears an alluring singing voice from upstairs (presumably Black Maria's), stopping him in his tracks.....!!!!

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[Ramero]

Black Maria or Gecko Moria?

I do hope Law got the Red one and snatch it for Robin.

[marvelB]

Alrighty, OP updated! Quite a bit of info to take in this chapter. So, it looks like Yamato's a Zoan after all (possibly another dragon-type?), we have Franky vs. Sasaki now (hope this match sticks), Law's hunting Poneglyphs, both Kid and Big Mom are on their way to Kaidou, and it looks like Sanji's being seduced by Black Maria. I hope this doesn't turn into another Califa situation as far as that last part is concerned.....

[Kanon]

This chapter sounds really good.

[Ramero]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Alrighty, OP updated! Quite a bit of info to take in this chapter. So, it looks like Yamato's a Zoan after all (possibly another dragon-type?), we have Franky vs. Sasaki now (hope this match sticks), Law's hunting Poneglyphs, both Kid and Big Mom are on their way to Kaidou, and it looks like Sanji's being seduced by Black Maria. I hope this doesn't turn into another Califa situation as far as that last part is concerned.....

Don't get his balls kicked again... Still, that will makes the fans like Ugh... and to fortify Sanji that he's still a man to his word that he will never kick a woman even it means his death.

[Rainbowman]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Alrighty, OP updated! Quite a bit of info to take in this chapter. So, it looks like Yamato's a Zoan after all (possibly another dragon-type?), we have Franky vs. Sasaki now (hope this match sticks), Law's hunting Poneglyphs, both Kid and Big Mom are on their way to Kaidou, and it looks like Sanji's being seduced by Black Maria. I hope this doesn't turn into another Califa situation as far as that last part is concerned.....

Are we sure that Yamato is even a Devil Fruit user? 🤨 As for the confrontation between Sanji and Black Maria, that would depend on Black Maria’s Devil Fruit powers which is most likely a Zoan much like the rest of the Flying Six (Five now that X Drake has been kicked out).

[Kanon]

I'm happy Franky gets to fight a Tobi Roppo, and that Oda didn't go with the fishman vs fishman by having Sasaki be Jinbe's opponent.

As for Yamato, I thought it was obvious she had a DF, we'll just have to wait to find out what it is. Anyway, damn, she's strong. I definitely want her in the crew.

[Hoodspirit]

Tama's 3 minutes seem oddly specific, there might be preparations going on for a second wave of this raid.

[marvelB]

If Yamato really is a Zoan, I wonder how long she had her power? Because it must have been suppressed for quite a while by those cuffs that Luffy removed (actually, were those cuffs confirmed to be made from sea stone?). Also, I reckon that Kid and BM going to the roof at the same means they'll most likely cross paths. Didn't Kid apparently steal something from her, even? Sounds like a good enough reason for them to tangle to me....

Originally Posted by Hoodspirit

Tama's 3 minutes seem oddly specific, there might be preparations going on for a second wave of this raid.

Perhaps so. After all, Tama was pretty vague about how she arrived on Onigashima in the first place. Who exactly was commandeering this "enemy ship"....?

[Ramero]

Can we think of the possibility Tama got a ride or probably bribing the gifters with Kibi Dango? For a Demi-Human, it's clearly effective like what happened to Speeder.

[Theia_Loki]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Tama was pretty vague about how she arrived on Onigashima in the first place. Who exactly was commandeering this "enemy ship"....?

I'm guessing Babanuki, the guy with the Elephant head on his chest was involved. Maybe even Speed if she's alright at this point. After all, those two did eat Tama's dangos even if it wasn't shown with the former, though considering his actions in his fake report to Queen most likely.


I'm also curious as to what kind of Zoan DF Yamato ate. Considering the teeth got pointier, I'd say carnivorous at least. Didn't realize at first that those teeth were his until I reread the chapter and took a closer look (Yamato's hair strands, Sasaki's is wavier).
Yeah, I really hope Yamato's is an Ancient Zoan...unless it turns out to be a mythical zoan like Kaido's, but that's hoping for too much.

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by Theia_Loki

I'm guessing Babanuki, the guy with the Elephant head on his chest was involved. Maybe even Speed if she's alright at this point. After all, those two did eat Tama's dangos even if it wasn't shown with the former, though considering his actions in his fake report to Queen most likely.

Ah yes, I nearly forgot about the Udon crew. Indeed, it's very much possible she could have reached the enemy stronghold with their help. And speaking of Speed, I wonder if Tama could have rounded up the rest of Wano's Gifters during the days leading up to the raid? Boy, it sure would be ironic if she managed to convert Holdem (the tummy lion guy) to her cause, considering he wanted to try exploiting her ability for the enemy side....

[Tommy]

Looks like Kaido has taken out a few more of the samurais... I just hope that Oda does at least one dedicated chapter for Nekomamushi and Inuarashi fighting Kaido or maybe even Big Mom by the looks of it... Or will she go after Kaido right off the bat? Can’t wait to see what happens.

Also with all these off screen battles I hope the anime fleshes them out... If done right it could be pretty cool, but I feel like Oda hasn’t left much for a “moves list” if you will for many of these characters.

[grey_1960]

Chapter 996
Were almost getting there to the final battle. Has for who will show up to the top still to remain. Luffy has finally fixed his 10 min weakness and is he familiar with the advance form of Busoshoku Haki finally that Hyogoro taught him(I am curious how well that will level the playing field). I wonder if he will pull out 5th gear in this situation? His forth gear is not enough.

Has for Jimbe(former Shicbukai) I am curious to see how powerful he has gotten over his two year time skip. He escaped Big Mama twice during the Sweet Kingdom Arch. He even pushed Big Mama off the Straw Hat ship. Jimbe in my opinion is over 1 billion Belli.

Has for Hunter Zoro I am still waiting for a Oda to put him to the test. Oda has built Luffy up but Zoro has not faced off against any of the all-stars or the sweet commanders. What the hell is Oda waiting for? If Oda keeps going down this route I bet he will give Zoro a mytical Zoan fruit and Zoro would never use it. Can you imagine of one piece ending with Zoro never using his devil fruit? I know this much Zoro will be able to open and cut Kaidou deeper then Oden did. He the only person to wield Enma(Sword) besides Oden. In chapter 996 Kimone said he would never have accepted Enma. Which means he never had a chance against Kaidou. Same goes for the rest of the Scabbards. If they could not wield Enma then they never had a chance against Kaidou. It will be a duel combo between Luffy's advance Busokoku Haki and Zoro's sword Enma.

Players
Kaidou, King, Queen, Flying Six, Big Mama, Smoothie, Luffy, Jimbe, Zoro, the remaining Straw Hats, Marco (I wonder if Diamond Jose will show up or any other former White Beard pirates). Has for the Scabbards there done for and probably Perospero too.

[Ramero]

I don't think we're entering the final battle yet considering we haven't met any Marines or more bigger force from the Government.

[grey_1960]

^
Why would the marine show up? Number two how do we know the alliance between Big Mama and Kaidou will last long at all? If the Marines go in they risk uniting all the pirates against them. It’s better to let them destroy each other. Also looking at The big picture there’s still two of the Yonkous(Black Beard and Shanks) out there.

[The Small One]

On the case of Yamato's transformation: Did we ever got a confirmation, that Kaido is a Zoan user? I got the impression, that he is a Dragon by birth and therefore Yamato as his child should be one as well.

I'm a bit confused about the match up though: Obviously Yamato was in a pinch against Sasaki, but defeated Hacha, who was to much of an opponent for Franky with a single strike. So how can she leave Franky with Sasaki?

[Tuor]

^ Her problem seemed to be fighting them *while protecting Momo and Ninja-lady*. I think it was just the match-up involved, not the power level, and the ensuing chaos of Franky's arrival gave her the opportunity to get off a clean shot. Franky was taking on one opponent and she was fighting several, after all.

[Ramero]

Originally Posted by grey_1960

^
Why would the marine show up? Number two how do we know the alliance between Big Mama and Kaidou will last long at all? If the Marines go in they risk uniting all the pirates against them. It’s better to let them destroy each other. Also looking at The big picture there’s still two of the Yonkous(Black Beard and Shanks) out there.

You know that WG always keeps them in check. Blackbeard possibly also heading to Wano to interfere while Shanks probably got some Black Ops mission from Gorosei. I mean, every time big shots make their move, the Marines are always assembled to intercept. The only thing they caught off-guard is where Straw Hats was able to cripple Big Mom Pirates.

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by grey_1960

Why would the marine show up?

Uh, two of the most powerful pirates in the world teaming up and conspiring to use the Ancient Weapons to wage war against the whole world isn't enough to ring alarm bells for you?

Originally Posted by The Small One

On the case of Yamato's transformation: Did we ever got a confirmation, that Kaido is a Zoan user? I got the impression, that he is a Dragon by birth and therefore Yamato as his child should be one as well.

Pretty dang certain Kaidou's a Zoan. It's a pretty logical assumption considering that most of his crew are comprised of Zoans (both legit and SMILE users alike), so why wouldn't the leader follow suit?

However, your assumption about Kaidou actually does remind me of a theory I've seen floating around about him originally being a dragon who ate a humanoid-type Zoan fruit. While I think it's an interesting theory, I'm still leaning towards him being a human (albeit a large one, which is pretty common in the OP world, anyway,) who's a dragon Zoan.