One Piece - Chapter 981 [manga]

[marvelB]

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How's it going, guys? We've got ourselves a nice early spoiler summary! Credit goes to Redon and co. from AP for the info:


-Chapter title is "Engagement". Splash is a color page.

-Apoo survives Kid's assault on him from last chapter, but not unscathed. The magnetic one then insults Apoo for becoming Kaidou's crony, and the two fight. According to Killer, the range of Apoo's DF ability reaches as far as you can hear the sounds he produces, so the best way to deal with him is to keep one's ears covered while fighting him.

-Queen gives the enemy pirates further incentive to take down the supernovas, saying it's fine to kill them. We soon see that among the enemy pirates taking part in the battle is one of the Numbers, whose name is Hatcha. His name also doubles as his laugh (hachacha). On the other hand, Who's Who of the Tobi Roppou has no interest in the fight, instead focusing on his search for Kaidou's son Yamato. He gathers his subordinates and sets out, saying he wants to find Yamato before Sasaki does. He also mentions that he too, has someone he wants to get rid of among Kaidou's forces....

-And on the subject of the flying six, Kinemon's army attempts to sneak through Black Maria's quarters, which happens to be a brothel (which naturally excites Sanji, heh). However, it's unpopulated at the moment due to the ruckus that Luffy and co. started. However, there's still an unexpected guest who stayed behind due to her still getting dressed for the banquet..... BIG MOM!! Most of the army manages to hide when they notice her, but Chopper, who's still in the tank, just so happens to make eye contact with the empress.....!!!

-And while we're still on the subject of Big Mom, her offspring make another attempt to climb up Wano's waterfall. While they find the idea of the alliance dubious, they're still more focused on getting revenge on Luffy. However, they once again face an obstacle preventing them from entering the country, this time in the form of..... MARCO THE PHOENIX!!! And the former Whitebeard commander is not alone, as among his companions are the two missing vassals of Kouzuki Oden: Boss Nekomamushi and fellow WB commander, Izou .....!!!!

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[Rainbowman]

This may be a coincidence but Hatcha’s signature laugh makes me think of Jimmy Durante with his iconic sound “ha cha cha cha” for some reason.

[Ramero]

I feel sorry for Chopper and Usoop...

[Kanon]

I didn't expect spoilers this early.

The prospect of Big Mom's children being knocked off the waterfall again by a flying zoan with fire powers is funny to me. What are the odds?

Glad Izou is there as well, it would have been really weird for him not to come.

[Itsmepatrick]

Marco will be a great addition to the Alliance.

[mickbis]

There seem to be two ship in the last panel....
Whitebeard Allience Survivor going to join the party not just Marko and Izo???????
Damn 2 Yonko Fleet against former Yonko Fleet + Worse Generation + Samurai huh?
Big Mom crew totally gone from the picture tho

[Theia_Loki]

Originally Posted by mickbis

There seem to be two ship in the last panel....
Whitebeard Allience Survivor going to join the party not just Marko and Izo???????
Damn 2 Yonko Fleet against former Yonko Fleet + Worse Generation + Samurai huh?
Big Mom crew totally gone from the picture tho

To be fair to the Big Mom Pirates, things have been slowly turning pear-shaped for them ever since Luffy managed to throw one of their weddings down the crapper and leave a huge gaping mess of their reputation (and that's putting it mildly, considering that wasn't the Straw Hats' intention from the start, as hilarious as it sounds). It was just bad luck that Marco came along to boot them off the waterfall almost two weeks after King had already done so before.

[Kanon]

They really did get knocked off again
That's one problem solved.

[marvelB]

Well, I believe I've mentioned it before, but IMO it was pretty much natural that Marco would arrive at Wano once the Shichibukai abolition became official. He won't have to worry about Edward Weevil hunting him down now that the guy's got the marines to deal with. And besides, this is just Nekomamushi keeping the promise he made at Zou, so no problem there! Also, I think I like Marco better with glasses, but that's probably just me.

Anyway, checking out his design, Hatcha, despite looking a bit goofy, seems like a normal (giant) human to me..... he doesn't bear much resemblance to those bestial silhouettes from the Numbers' first appearance. But then again, if he is an Awakened Zoan (as I suspect the Numbers to be), then he probably isn't in his transformed state yet. Also, lol at Sanji for rushing straight into a red light district. I see he has no qualms at all about spending time with working girls (which I guess was already evidenced by him fawning over Hiyori "Komurasaki" earlier, but still!).

Anyway, despite Linlin locking eyes with Chopper, I don't think our reindeer friend is in big trouble just yet. Chances are, the empress may remember the kindness he showed her when she had amnesia, so she'll consider sparing him. And even if that's not the case, remember she has a hobby of "collecting" creatures she considers unique, so she may simply capture him without harm. Of course, one more option to consider is that she'll hold him hostage in exchange for Zeus' return, but we'll see, I guess...

And on a related note.... poor Big Mom Pirates. Fifty chapters later and they still couldn't reach the top of that fall. They really should've taken Katakuri with them.

Originally Posted by Kanon

The prospect of Big Mom's children being knocked off the waterfall again by a flying zoan with fire powers is funny to me. What are the odds?

Another 50 chapters later: The BMP nearly reach the top once more before getting knocked down again by the duo of Sabo (fire) and Karasu (bird) of the RA, or as I'd like to call them, Team Golden Crow.

[Kanon]

The numbers are obviously all zoans, but what I found interesting is that Kid described him as bigger than a giant. Well, I guess it could simply be that there are tall people among giants, just like there are freakishly tall people among regular humans in OP.

[mickbis]

Now that you talk about it..
remember giant human kid that grow from Ceasar experiment?

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by mickbis

Now that you talk about it..
remember giant human kid that grow from Ceasar experiment?

He never completed the drug though, right?

[mickbis]

... ah that seem like it

[Nostxlgia]

I love how Luffy just blamed Kid for ruining the plan... Zoro's reaction to it was even better lmao.

[mickbis]

Originally Posted by Nostxlgia

I love how Luffy just blamed Kid for ruining the plan... Zoro's reaction to it was even better lmao.

and how Kid yell at Zoro for that lmao
hope they stay as official allience after this
but their personality seem to made it not possible lol

at least Kid and Luffy might acknowledge each other more....
Luffy just score a good point when he saved Kid just right after Kid bring told by Apoo
how Pirate allience didn't have good ending

[Kanon]

The previous chapter hyped Apoo's power, only to reveal this week there's an extremely simple way to be immune to his attacks. Bring a pair of earplugs and you've got nothing to fear. Surely it can't be that easy, right?

[Nostxlgia]

Originally Posted by mickbis

and how Kid yell at Zoro for that lmao
hope they stay as official allience after this
but their personality seem to made it not possible lol

at least Kid and Luffy might acknowledge each other more....
Luffy just score a good point when he saved Kid just right after Kid bring told by Apoo
how Pirate allience didn't have good ending

Like Mihawk said during the Marineford arc, Luffy has this special power which makes other people help him (even if it's not intentional) and somehow he always pinches through difficult situations.

This is what will make him Pirate King, the power of making allies.

[~Yami~]

lmao chopper nooo... I hope chopper is exotic enough to attract Big Mom like Brook was
These chapters are so fun lately... pure chaos everywhere although Luffy and Zoro played same role as usual.. baiting the enemies while others are completing their own mission

[marvelB]

Originally Posted by Kanon

The previous chapter hyped Apoo's power, only to reveal this week there's an extremely simple way to be immune to his attacks. Bring a pair of earplugs and you've got nothing to fear. Surely it can't be that easy, right?

Well, at its core, sound is merely vibration, yes? So if Apoo's ability is sound-based, then in theory he should have a greater control over vibration to some degree, as well. Like maybe he can damage opponents internally through shockwaves or something like that. Though in the end it ultimately depends on how far Oda is willing to go as far as the limits of Apoo's ability is concerned, I suppose....

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by marvelB

Well, at its core, sound is merely vibration, yes? So if Apoo's ability is sound-based, then in theory he should have a greater control over vibration to some degree, as well. Like maybe he can damage opponents internally through shockwaves or something like that. Though in the end it ultimately depends on how far Oda is willing to go as far as the limits of Apoo's ability is concerned, I suppose....

I thought the same, but the chapter clearly showed his attack had no effect after they plugged their ears. And he doesn't really have a reason to pull his punches.