#chapter 1162

OKAY SO

Chapter 1162 give us this:

Okay, so either that's just a filler background character that has Marco's hair style for laughs, or it's a new character, OR it's a glimmer of "proof" that the Phoenix DF just resurrects it's owner, and it's been Marco the whole time.

Alas, it can't really be that last one.

As best as we know, The God Valley Incident happened 38 years ago (taking the timeskip into consideration), and Marco is 45 years old.

So he was 6 turning 7 years old during the God Valley Incident.

Alright, so brother/father or maybe there's like a Clan Thing going on, who knows? The possibilities are pretty wild cause we are talking about Oda.

BUT THEN

Then we get chapter 1165 - AND THIS MFER RIGHT HERE:

Okay, let me just say, Marco's dad is not a bad looker. Sorry sir, I am completely head over heels for your son, but thank you for passing on the good genes.

Okay.

Okay, so - jesus h christmas, is he really Marco Polo? I wouldn't be telling people my last name either (okay, but also that does give me like really bad(good) one shot ideas, MOVING ON).

So, it's quite possible that Mr. Polo here is just offering Newgate a lift off the island because he is actually a fan, and hey, Newgate needs a lift. He's also stupidly strong, and it's way smarter to offer the man a ride on your ship, than it would be to have the man just take your ship over. I can see a lot of reasons for making this move.

But also

If your young son has been kidnapped by celestials and you need help getting him back, you couldn't do better than a powerhouse like Newgate. Even if steering him toward what you want of him might be a bit of a lift.

Now, I'm assuming a bit of good natured-ness on Graham's part. And it could be a LOT LESS COMPLICATED than that. It could be that Marco is just a young boy on his father's ship and that's how he gets to know Edward Newgate, and after the crew falls to something else it's just Newgate and Marco.

But Oda rarely gives people a backstory so... gentle, honestly.

It's more likely that Marco was either enslaved, and his father died trying to rescue him, OR that Graham himself is a bad man and abuses Marco who ate the Phoenix fruit, and Newgate gets him away from that, OR it can be some complicated mix of who knows what.

There's still space in this lore for my headcanon that Marco was abandoned (or left for safety reasons) on an island much like Luffy and Usopp were left behind by their fathers for similar reasons. Marco's a bit of a pariah, especially after eating the fruit, and the islanders don't treat him well.

Graham tells Newgate about his son while they're sailing, and Newgate goes to find the boy after something goes wrong with Graham's crew and finds Marco about to be sacrificed or whatever by a mob of angry islanders and decides to save him.

IN THE END

There's a lot of room for a lot of possibilities as things are right now, but honestly that we're getting Marco Lore crumbs at this stage of the story makes me feel like we're going to see Marco back into the thick of things.

I'm not complaining - let that man retire, honestly, he deserves a lot of peace and quiet - but also I'm not going to complain about more Marco. He's kind of "cursed" to survive everything, so I don't think the last battle will be his last battle, whenever that grand finale of a fight happens, but my man has suffered enough T-T

Still though, eeeeeee <3 <3 <3 Marco Lore <3 <3<3 aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh \lol/

Imu being described this way is going to make me rethink every instance of the term "world" being used. Starting with one of my favorites. Luffy's declaration to Kaido in 1049.

Kaido being the bratty younger brother of the crew is on full display this chapter and it's great. Imagine making that shit eating grin while eating one of the least tasty things in the world, just from the satisfaction of getting a devil fruit that your older sibling didn't want to give to you.

And it's interesting that Linlin knew the devil fruit was the azure dragon fruit from the moment she found it.

Seeing Garling on the ground in pain is awesome. That's all, I just like seeing him suffer.

This line about something new being born reminds me a bit of the way the Elders talked about Luffy, just before his devil fruit awakened. It makes me curious if they were potentially expecting Joyboy to appear at God Valley for whatever reason.

Bogard.

Okay seriously, screw this chapter for making me love Kaido. He was mean to my samurai babies and that is unforgivable. But they don't know about this so shh. And for everything we've said about "Dragon's Marineford" it's his too. Easy parallel when Kaido enters the dragon at this turning point in history. Or the dragon enters him, very important to properly capitalize here. But still...something seems a little off with that comparison.

This is so damn funny though. I should have noticed the discrepancy but from their relationship I still kinda thought Big Mom ended up giving it to Kaido. Maybe I don't remember the Egghead flashback well but...damn he really did just pop out and klong. No subtlety, just klong. But then the way it comes full circle...I love this shit because it's just the same theme.

Still, to get there we touch in on Dragon. And Rayleigh was cute too by the way, I like Shakky just chilling like Luffy when Sanji's getting him out of Totland. But here, it's not just the parallel between Dragon and Eris (who is quite cool) it's that they have the same driving goal as Luffy did in Marineford. The whole solo story, the intermission of the series, Luffy's driving mission changes from being the king to saving Ace. Of course, interesting Shanks and Teach are these lil babies too.

But dammit Kaido...why do you have to go all Yamato on us this chapter? I'm not wrong am I? This version of Kaido has some big Yamato energy and I don't think that's just the cover serial ending on the top. This way you're just a kid thrilled to dive into this crossroads of history...God Valley wasn't Kaido's Marineford. It was his Onigashima. But this time he isn't the monster he's in Yamato's role.

The contrast is perfect for the same reasons I talked about last chapter. It's why Kaido did not need a long flashback after the Wano he created spoke for itself. So this late in the series, you just need that little touch to make the moment speak for itself. Dragon's the scared, single minded kid trying to charge through the chaos. Kaido's doing the noble thing but he feels like a kid who wants to play with his new ability more than Newgate. I think my favorite though has to be Kuma the saint being the real version of Captain Buggy! the Impel Down prisoners perceived.