#op chapter 1158

Gecko Moria was Born somewhere in West Blue & He Was Raised in Ringo NOT Flowers Capital where Kozuki Family lives. Moria fought against Kaido to protect HIS VILLAGE

The Answear might be Gecko Moria was Adopted By Kozuki Sukiyaku But Raised by Ringo Citizens

KOZUKI?!?!?!

(chapters 1158 and 925)

First, the cover story! Got close to guessing right, but not quite lol there are talks about this Reddit post from 7 years ago theorizing that Moria was from Wano because of his name, since the word for moonlight is 月光 (gekkou) and Kozuki is written 光月 (kouzuki). Just to be clear, though, Moria's name is written in katakana as ゲッコー モリア (gekkoo moria), so it's more that it sounds like the word that is a reverse for the kanji for the Kozuki clan, not that it was explicitly written like that. So, assuming this person is in fact Gecko Moria, either he was adopted into the Kozuki clan and then changed his name when he set out to be a pirate, or they heard his name was Gecko and assumed it was a mistake and was actually supposed to be Kozuki. It does make me wonder why he was raised in Ringo and not the capital, though

According to the cover stories then, Kozuki Moria was born in the West Blue and raised in Ringo, fought against Kaido to protect his village, but perished without leaving a body behind, and is a 正義の海賊 (seigino kaizoku), or a pirate of justice

While to me it was super unexpected, it's not out of the blue, since the issue of Ryuma and Shusui was an important plot for Zoro in Wano and Moria was stated to have clashed with Kaido there 23 years ago. Besides, something related to Moria was bound to come up again since we've been seeing many of his future zombies from the Rocks Pirates in this flashback, plus his grave was first introduced in the chapter titled "Can't Even Die", which relates to Moria's zombie powers

About the "pirate of justice" part. It's possible that Moria really was a righteous person back then and wanted to protect his former village from Kaido, we know he changed his views on his crewmates for example (probably after losing that fight to Kaido). So it's possible that he changed since then and became the selfish, power hungry and underhanded person we saw in Thriller Bark, in Marineford, in Hachinosu

(chapters 969 and 481)

But, since this cover story is taking place during the Elbaf arc, there's also always the possibility that it's more rumors and propaganda. We've seen time and again since the beginning of the arc that stories and very often manipulated to suit certain purposes (the newspapers lying about Luffy killing Vegapunk, about Harald attacking that government ship) and people's reputations don't really match with reality (Mother Carmel being a human trafficker, Loki not being as monstrous as everyone claimed, giants in general not being violent mindless barbarians)

My money is on Moria fighting Kaido for his own reasons, and just ending up with the reputation of someone who was fighting on the side of justice, since Kaido was in the process of terrorizing Wano and the citizens would be more likely to see it as an "enemy of my enemy" situation, of sorts (like Doflamingo in Dressrosa, but maybe without the deliberate manipulation). I think it matches better with the personality that we've seen Moria have already, and also he did end up using Ryuma's body as one of his zombie generals (could even be he went back to Wano specifically to rob the graves of strong samurai, who knows), which doesn't make him look too much like a pirate of justice

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I don't think anyone outside of the Kuja Pirates knows about the existence of... *sigh* love sickness, right? Even Hancock and the other women of Amazon Lily didn't know what it was, Gloriosa had to explain it to them. So either it's not actually that common, despite the four empresses we know of having had it (Gloriosa, Shakky, Tritoma and Hancock), or they try to keep it hidden. I understand not wanting to let knowledge of such an obvious vulnerability spread to people outside Amazon Lily, but why wouldn't it be common knowledge among the Kuja Pirates, since they would have a higher chance of catching it?

Originally, I tended to think of it as more like a gag than an actual illness, like if someone has never been in love or had a crush it can feel like an illness, with the sweaty palms, the racing heart, the shortness of breath, etc. Considering the target audience of this manga is still technically teen boys, it always felt more like a "haha look at the silly girls catching feelings" bit, which, while a little boring, is fine, whatever. So in my (possibly delusional) heart, I'm still holding out hope that this is the case, meaning that either Tritoma died of something unrelated or she's still alive. Especially considering that Gloriosa gets repeatedly rejected by Roger, doesn't stay with him on his ship and is still alive today

Anyway, Shakky says in the note 迎えに来て (mukaeni kite), which means to come pick someone up, but also 迎える (mukaeru) by itself can also mean to take (a wife), which is why I think Roger calls it a love letter

I feel a little bad for Rayleigh here. Even if he's lying and does actually want Shakky too (the forced-looking smile when Roger decides to keep chasing Shakky and the fact that he stayed on the ship instead of going to see her suggests that he does), his options aren't very good regardless. If he accepts her feelings, what then? Would he leave the ship and settle down somewhere? He's Roger's first mate, best friend and the first person he recruited, how could he just leave them? Should he take her onboard with them, knowing that his captain and best friend is in love with his partner/wife?

(chapters 1158 and 1156)

Roger says that pillaging, or 略奪 (ryakudatsu) is a pirate's true calling. As an aside, 略奪愛 (ryakudatsuai) means stealing someone's romantic partner, which could mean nothing lol

The word もの (mono) can mean a thing or object (物), and it can also mean a person (者)

Roger says

欲しいものは奪い取るまで!!! If you want something/someone, you take it!!!

And Shakky says

誰のものにもならない I will be no one's thing/person

Roger keeps talking about "stealing" Shakky, though neither of them say outright if they mean person or object (though it is one more association of Shakky with treasure, something to be stolen). But it's pretty obvious why Shakky would fall for Rayleigh, the only one in his crew so far who hasn't been shown trying to attack/steal/possess her

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Garling said he found a とんでもないもの (tondemonai mono), which means something/someone absurd, unexpected or preposterous. He also doesn't specify if it's a thing or a person, but he was willing to wait two years, so presumably it's something/someone that won't leave/end/finish/change/etc

[It's been pointed out that either Saturn is hidden by that bottom speech bubble or he's not present, leaving only the current members of the Gorosei in frame, which is a nice touch]

Garling is the one who wanted the game to be on God Valley, and he chose the place deliberately. He said it had something/someone that would please Imu, so I'm assuming it's not the prizes from the game (still unclear if those are the devil fruits or Shakky, or both), since those would go to the winners

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All the women had already clocked that Teach was not only involved with someone, but had the happy face of a new father. That means that Rocks wanted and was glad to have Teach. I wonder why he wanted to keep him and the mother a secret from everyone. It could be for their protection, even if Linlin was more than comfortable having at least three of her kids at Hachinosu. It does remind me of Roger keeping Rouge and Ace a secret from everyone, and it's just one more parallel between Ace and Teach

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Roger calls Rocks 山嵐 (yamaarashi), which means mountain storm. Apparently it's also the name of a judo technique. 山荒 (yamaarashi), same pronounciation, means porcupine

(chapter 764)

"Mountain storm" reminds me of what Corazon told Law, that

"D"はまた必ず嵐を呼ぶ The "D" will always cause another storm

Seeing as how Rocks is a D and his goal is to take down the Celestial Dragons, it's quite fitting, though I wonder if Roger knew about any of this

I love the contrast between them (kind of) playfully butting heads in the left panel but being serious and looking away from each other in the the right one. It makes it seem like they're literally looking in different directions to show how they have different worldviews

I'm also wondering about Roger's worldview at the time, actually. Considering this is happening at the same-ish time as Garling talking to the Gorosei, this is one year before Roger reaches Lodestar and realizes there is one more island to find (and how did he know he'd need the red poneglyphs if he couldn't read them?)

(chapter 966)

Given this talk between Roger, Whitebeard and Oden, Roger wants to be the greatest pirate crew in the world, but only as a means to do what he really wants (like Luffy's dream, which also got similar reactions from the people he told)

So is this dream of his somehow in direct opposition to Rocks' dream of becoming King of the World? Or is it more a matter of how they go about chasing their dreams? We haven't seen a lot of Roger as a pirate, he's mostly been chasing Shakky in this flashback, so it's still hard to say what his morals are like

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I don't know Roger, you're in love with a woman who is in love with your best friend, and you know that, and he knows that you know that, and you're telling me he doesn't want to spend a day stewing in the middle of all of that awkwardness? It's a mystery.

Also, I like that Gloriosa doesn't seem to hold a grudge against Shakky for being the object of Roger's attention. It could have so easily been played for catty jealousy, and yet Gloriosa jumps to her defense when she's vulnerable, it's nice

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Loki was blown away by their attack, but Hajrudin was not, so there's a chance he heard what they were talking about. It would make sense for Loki to hold a grudge against his father for his falling out with Rocks (which also meant Loki could no longer try to sail out with him), since he would have no context for their fight, and it's an olive branch that Hajrudin can offer him in the present, if it comes up

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Rocks isn't mincing his words here, but he's also not wrong. By going along with this order, Harald is essentially telling the World Government that he (and the other warriors of Elbaf) can be pressured into doing violence on their behalf, if they just dangle the right incentive in front of him, which also reminds me of what's happening in the present, with the children being used as hostages. In both cases, the government is holding Elbaf's future over the giants' heads to get them to obey

[Though it does need to be said that Rocks isn't seeing the giants much differently, for all his talk. He said before that Elbaf was a nation of warriors, that they could get what they wanted by using violence, that it was their 本質 (honshitsu), which means true nature or essence, and that it never changes

(chapter 1155)

Harald was in a very difficult position here. He's naive in believing that being made to act as mercenaries would at least be used for the good of the world, but he's not stupid, and it looks at least a little like he has to say that to convince himself of his choices, since he doesn't really dispute Rocks' claim that they're going to be used

He has repeatedly declined Rocks' offer, remaining somewhat neutral between Rocks and the WG, but if he refused the order now, regardless of what he reasons he gave, the government would definitely claim it was because he was siding with pirates. Like Harald said, he's a king and needs to think about the lives of his people. Rocks is one man, with one (albeit extremely strong) pirate crew, and his goal is to take on the government that has been controlling the whole world for the last 800 years. Can you really blame a ruler for not wanting to gamble the lives of his citizens on this?]

Harald is so single minded in his efforts to open Elbaf to the world that he fails to see that the way he does that is also important. The humans are already afraid of giants and their violence, would they be any more willing to interact with them if they knew Elbaf joined the WG by doing even more violence? Even if they were grateful to them for taking care of the pirates, would they see them as viable trading partners? Would Harald really be able to lead Elbaf towards peace like this? He's even denying the value of their history as warriors, calling it a "history of violence"

It's been said before, but Elbaf and Egghead seem to work a lot like mirrors of each other, and I think it helps to see them as kind of two sides of the same coin. We've seen already what happens when you strive towards the future without any regards for history. Vegapunk didn't care at first for what the scholars of Ohara were researching, and ended up setting the world on a path that seems very similar to what happened during the Void Century (use of the Ancient Weapons causing sea levels to rise in the past and use of weapons powered by his Mother Flame causing natural calamities now). It's important not to get stuck in the past with customs and culture that are harmful to your future (Ida vs Estrid), but it's also important to remember and learn from the mistakes of the past so you don't end up with history repeating itself

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Harald and Rocks didn't see each other again until "that incident". Given this is just 2 years before God Valley, after which Rocks disappears from the world, does that mean that Harald was also involved in that?

[As an aside, I think it's sweet that Loki is reading the paper next to Ida's tavern. He probably has to go there to get any news, but he didn't have to stay there to read it, did he? But he still chose to stay, and accepts when she offers him juice, even if he does it in the brattiest way possible lol she's breaking down those walls, at least a little]

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If Garling really is their father (and he should be, at least the twins look very much like a young Garling), then I wonder if he knows they exist. It didn't sound like he spent a lot of time there, just enough to try and convince them to join the WG and to discover whatever extraordinary thing/person he found there. It's interesting that he didn't take her with him, too. We know from Saint Charlos in Sabaody that the Celestial Dragons aren't above just taking people when it suits them, though maybe Garling has more sense and didn't want to start a conflict with the people there before the next game

(chapter 434)

So Shanks really was born in West Blue after all. Looking back, this feels like a hilarious dig at the fact that Whitebeard's former crew was defeated there lol

But also, like all things related to Shanks, it raises so many damn questions. Was he talking about God Valley here? Does Whitebeard know he's talking about God Valley? When did he go back? Was there even anyting left after the whole incident? Did Roger tell him about it in that scene from Oden's flashback where Shanks is crying? Or did Garling tell him about it when he went to Marijoa?

[Just a note: I don't think he says that it was the place were he grew up, just the place where he's from, though I could be wrong, I didn't really understand exactly what he said in Japanese]

(chapter 957)

So which one of them is lying, Shanks or Sengoku? It's possible that God Valley "disappeared" in the sense that they just don't put it on maps (like Punk Hazard) and it's possible that the fallout of the incident destroyed the whole island

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So stinking cute. But also. I'm assuming that Garling got Shamrock during the God Valley incident, and Roger got Shanks. I wonder if they were separated on purpose (by their mother, maybe?) or if fate put Shanks in Roger's hands, since he's a "child of fate"