#chapter 1036

I imagine that Queen would love this demon possession stuff. He loves using viruses to make his enemies fight each other like a game.

Plus, this is just a damn awesome two pager.

This line from the chief is good too. I like how it is highlighting the worst parts of Elbaf's warrior culture.

And remember, we have seen Usopp confront a similar mindset prior.

 so loyal to Doflamingo, who treated him like shit, and King who is very loyal too, but with good reason. The quality of subordinates gradually increases. So King’s out:

But Law and Kid are still fighting Big Mom, and she’s infused the girders with the souls of the Beast Pirates that she sucked dry, I guess—or her own soul, a bit of both. The homie is attacking Kid, but he’s deflecting it pretty quickly. What’s he standing on? Is that part of his awakening?

And Usopp is going to be such a major player and is the main motif of this series in many ways.

He’s been charged with protecting Kin and O-Kiku, and they urged him (and each other) to leave them behind and save themselves. Clumsy wording, right? Read the panels below (which came before the one above).

Does it remind you a bit of this from 974?

Earlier, Momonosuke did not want the Scabbards to head out on what either he or Shinobu called a suicide mission, and of course the Scabbards have been through a lot, but so has everyone, and there’s another guy adhering to Usopp’s words in another way:

Momonosuke (looking fine there) trying to redirect the downward spiral of Onigashima onto the Flower Capital. Yamato is also running with his Giant friends (who seem to be Caesar experiments on the Shimotsuki samurai and friends who were held captive in the cave with him when he was a child, which indicates that Kaidou definitely exploited Punk Hazard for the worse once he left it, but we already knew that with the SAD factory). Yamato’s trying to stop the basement from exploding.

And  of course someone who doesn’t know about Sea Hills (Usopp) wouldn’t know about Izou, and would also think his aim was to save him (which in part it was, but definitely not Izou’s main goal):

(Stripping himself for no good reason there to show his Kozuki clan affiliation (but I’m sure it pepped up our two grievously injured samurai very well. And plus, He Means Business. Hope Marco joins him)).

But Izou knows all about him!

 I love, love, love that Usopp is commonly known as God Usopp now, and I love the casual way that Law and others use it, and you never know if they’re being sarcastic or not or, once someone has an epithet that’s what you use anyway.

So Usopp has the day saved for him again 😁. Love his casual passing of the buck there (above). But he is awesome!

And Oda is surely trolling the readers after maybe reading forums or having fan reactions sent his way:

I think, according to Artur from Library of Ohara, and some other writers, that these guys in the picture above (Raizo and Fukurokuju) have not been referred to for over a year (or for some time. I thought it was less, but I supplement the manga with the anime, so maybe I’m not as aware as time). So it’s really fitting that he has them using Paralysis Jutsu. That’s why they’ve been off-screened for so long. Haha (but Raizo is losing).

Also, Orochi wants Fukurokuju (the guy above) to return soon so they can escape, and he’s in a room with Komurasaki. I thought that the song that she was playing with her reintroduction was the song she played for her father, considering it was able to reach Zoro’s sword, Enma,  but it seems that will be upcoming. It’s going to bring some witchery with it for sure.

Kanjuro’s empty but vindictive hate (fire feeds on air, after all) is racing to the basement, and Apoo and others are hotfooting it out of there. It looks like Drake’s out for the count now, and the extra-spooky CP0 agents are floating around the place like Mary Poppins looking for Nico Robin.

Both Apoo and Yamato seem to have a connection and fondness for the Numbers (but maybe not for Drake).

And I’m sorry to put in so many full pages, but they’re packed full of information. I am so happy that BEPO is on a page with Zoro, Sanji and Killer, directly after they mention the demise of the All Stars and that Luffy’s allies have a one in million chance of winning, but just in case they do, the World Government needs to be ready. Ben Ben! (Where’s Nami?) Also, edit in, it’s been pointed out in a number of posts that Sanji’s eyebrows have realigned themselves.

I wonder if Bepo and the Hearts will get a little more development. Maybe in the anime. They erased Bepo a few episodes back, so maybe not But wait! 

These two clowns:

are having a grand old time. In the meantime, who is not human who is calling the shots? Im? or someone who only thinks they’re not human (Celestial Dragons, Gorosei, etc.) It seemed to be the first CP0 guy calling the others. Are Cipher Pol Aeigis Zero  non-human?