#chapter 913

The girl will get help

He's close, you guys, he's close omg.

//Well gosh golly, this weeks chapter, is it just me or was it aside of Hawkins appearance...kind of...dull? Dunno, after a break, transition chapters always appear kind of miffy for me. Also the Tea Lady, Kiku, it seems Wano wont be an Arc where Oda crams out his most versatile female character designs, i mean i can’t even blame him, old japan wasnt really that full of strange creatures or beings but this is Grade A typical Oda doll design aka Pudding/Nami etc.

Also i dread when Law will appear again, the wanking about him will start again and probably even worse as before. Judging that Bepo and Co. appeared it can’t take much longer until Law itself appears. Hope after the break it goes on a little better, more interesting, because of now, while i am aware we are just at the beginning of the arc, is kind of lackluster.

The good news is we are back with more One Piece after a week break. The bad news is there’s another break next week. In Oda’s defense, it’s due to a holiday week and this chapter is released in a double issue. He knows how to time his fans’ patience, that’s for sure. With that said he did leave a fun chapter for us to enjoy as well as another reunion inbound.

Right from the start, I’m reminded that Luffy and Zoro are about to fight against Hawkins and his crew. You can bet I was interested to see Luffy using a sword, which we will get to that in a moment. Hawkins asks if they are aware of the ruler of Wano Country behind the scene. Zoro lies, claiming he does not, but not only Luffy yells yes, but he bluntly say he will kick his ass with firing determination. I got a good laugh at that, especially when Zoro corrected him, he redo the scene with a no. Only Luffy.

I recalled Hawkins to be the guy who uses the cards to determine fate and use it as ability. He reads the chance of Luffy’s survival by the end of the month, which is 19%. That’s not too bad. At least Oda isn’t going to pull a total miracle, like “Amazing! Luffy broke the determined fate like breaking the future prediction! It’s a miracle!” I’m fine with this realistic chance. Before the battle breaks out, Zoro takes notice of Luffy’s sword. I thought this is where Zoro will get the sword and use it throughout the arc, but instead, comedy ensues.

I got a good laugh with this segment with Luffy hyped up to use the mighty cursed sword. He’s so hyped, he threw the sheath away. If a sword could cry, they would. Just looking at the panel makes me laugh at the stupidity. What’s even funnier (worse) is his first strike is Pistol Punch; fist to the enemy’s face with a sword happened to be held. Zoro’s reaction made me laugh as well. I imagined the anime version will be hilarious. Fun fact: Zoro is voiced by Kazuya Nakai, who also worked as Hijikata from Gintama. You could imagine the comedy execution already.

Luffy takes down a lizard with a toss; still holding a sword like its doing wonders. He knows how to make a sword unnecessary. Hawkins, on the other hand, knows how to make it useful and what way to start than an unusual ability that is Warabide Sword. It’s so weird that his sword is basically straws or something; nothing like a blade. Pretty harsh he used it on the lizard, who was only coming because of the toss. Even Luffy didn’t understand why he would do that.

Zoro strikes from afar and lands a hit right across Hawkins’ face. That was pretty damn cool. Sadly, it was a fake, but it’s not just a fake. It’s one of Hawkins’ men that takes the fall. His Straw Straw Fruit (Wara Wara no Mi) ability allows him to disguise one of his men, up to ten he claimed, as himself. So on one hand, that’s an impressive move to deceive anyone. On the other hand, that’s foul play to use a person to take the hit or kill for your benefit. What a terrifying technique.

Speaking of terrifying, he summons a death reaper-like creature out of nowhere, made out of straws no less. Oda and his imagination continues to astound me. Apparently, he wants to play a game with them for this is their end. I guess he’s channeling Jigsaw. The game is simple but freaky. He draws a card and whatever it represents, it will happen. When he draws a fool card in reverse, it’s a friendly-fire move that forced his men to attack each other. In other words, in his game, literally no one is safe. It’s sadist to even have a card that harms allies, and believes that he will draw a better card next time. Cool?

He then draws the Hierophant card in reverse, which means his summon can attack now. This sounds straight out of RPG gameplay with a powerful summon, but the cost is gamble. It mimics the movement of Hawkins, so if he swings, so does it too. Zoro blocks barely since it’s really strong. It even shoots nails from the mouth. Get it? Straws, nails. Oh Oda. But it won’t be for long until Zoro attacks with Nigiri Toro Samon. Now I’m hungry for one. As usual, Zoro is impressive enough to cut it down with ease. Before the battle can continue, Hawkins draws the Hierophant card, which means someone will aid them; thus, the battle ends here. That was fun while lasted.

A woman names O-Tsuru who mimics the Japanese cultural art design, which needless to say amusingly charming, appears behind them. It turns out that she’s the same woman who Zoro saved a chapter ago. I remember saying that maybe she is relevant later on, but who knows. Now we do. Oda and his ways to make every moment counts never cease to amaze me. She was just hiding in the dog’s tail. Luckily for them, she has the cure with the medicinal herb tea as well as a safe haven for them to stay. Funny how Zoro thought drinking normal tea is the cure, which made him livid. Hey, tea is a wonderful drink.

We are introduced with new area, Okobore Town, the town of leftovers. That sounds so sad. O-Kiku is being flirted by a sumo wrestler, Urashima. He looks like if Jinbei was a human. I’m not sure what this will lead to, outside that Kiku is the helping hand for Tsuru to save Tama. All I know is the town is literally filled with leftovers materials, including the recipe.

The chapter ends with another reunion inbound, but it’s not with Strawhats crew. Instead, it’s Law’s crewmates which includes Bepo, now portraying like a Samurai. The image kills me on how silly he looks. Standing out is right. It doesn’t specify on where exactly they’re at other than they’re at a top of a certain mountain, so it’s hard to say if they will approach to Luffy and Zoro immediately or continue to wait.