#chapter 1089

First, one little detour. Great job Doberman on delivering the recap in organic fashion. But there’s that concept of an unreliable narrator again. By end of chapter we’ll have to wonder about the possibility of bad intel. I’d also highlight there are two levels to this briefing on the WG side. It’s split between York at swordpoint pleading with the Elders and the more earnest, human exchange between Kizaru and Sentomaru below. Do I even need to comment on how steeped the latter is in our thematic bread and butter? It’s such a forlorn conversation between old friends. 

I guess from my little pet theory there’s a solid potential parallel set up here. Saturn is leading the operation while trying to obscure his involvement, content to enjoy his little sausage party. I love that everyone is having breakfast. It’s such a fun motif. Hope it runs through the rest of the chapter, but so far this isn’t enough to help me cope with such tragic circumstances...

Huh, beach? Fuck that...hello Straw Hats! If you were gonna give me one panel here to push things the direction I want to see...it’d be hard to top this. The layers, the intrigue, the sheer befuddlement of our shonen fanboy brethren! Everything’s sorted out and they’ve taken York hostage to both seed bad intel & deter overwhelming force. It’s beautiful. When I saw “Momo panel” in the spoilers I was rattled because what if that was a group shot and Kiku was included before we did this? I’d be clueless.

That said, Robin & Stussy not being in the shot temper me. They can also do what I’ll say here, but for Robin take a look at Sanji’s heart eyes and where he’s headed. She could just be with Jinbei and obscured. Stussy could theoretically be below with Sentomaru or even with the evacuees. Robin? She should be here, but I want to roll her into something confirmed here. It was not Vegapunk who parsed this one out. That tells me the turning point wasn’t Robin arriving in the basement. Multiple people, including Kaku, being out of sight for now feels like less of an impediment than a sole exclusion. Hypothetically, imagine the difference if we showed just Kin’emon and a few retainers around Momo vs. the whole gang sans Kiku.

We’re all clear where I’m going with this, right? An unreliable narrator, seeding details we skipped over during the night, and coming in like this. Looks to me like we cut in right as the Straw Hats finished going over the plan. Executing the first step. They wanted York to say what she did. Look at this scene though; the angle and the dialogue. It works perfectly for someone we can’t see giving everyone the rundown. Almost like the shot is from their perspective. Theoretically that could also justify the change in tone.

I was wondering, physics-wise, how this could work:

And then I remembered this fucked-up place:

So there are mentions of "a hole in the ocean" and "waterfalls" both times. COINCIDENCE? I THINK NOT.

By the way: 18 years passed between these two chapters 👀 As always, I'm beyond amazed by the late explanations, even if they're incomplete for now, and to me this is yet another proof of Oda's mind-blowing worldbuilding and foreshadowing skills.

I have more questions now:

How was Enies Lobby built?

What kind of island was there before?

Did the original Pluton destroy the previous island? (Since Pluton was built in Water 7 not too far I figure that's an option)

Does Water 7 keep sinking because of tectonic plates' movements influenced by the attack, much like in Venice from which the island is inspired??

Additional questions rose with chapter 1090:

Is the Mother Flame a replica of Pluton?

If so, why do the Gorosei need the power plant to create it ? Is it a single-use weapon?

Wait. Nuclear weapons are single-use. Einstein advocated against their use and Vegapunk clearly is his One Piece equivalent.

Oh, and there's this, too: