Determined is her mind. Unyielding is her body. Resolute is her spirit. And inspiring is her courage. The actions of Yamato, against the force of the Beast Pirates, convey a strength sourced from the suffering of her struggles and her intense admiration for the hero of Wano Kuni. Despite the overwhelming situation she now finds herself in, the weight of what is at stake drives her forward toward a present that requires Momonosuke to survive. To a dawn that will see the liberation of Wano Kuni and its reconnection to the rest of the world.
Yamato, rather than acting as Kozuki Oden, is instead proceeding forward as herself. As an individual who is heavily inspired by Oden. While it does appear that Yamato had utilised and relied on the persona of “Kozuki Oden” to derive strength, after her encounter with Luffy, she has begun to take steps to believing in herself. Yamato has stop relying on such a mask to express her conviction and has instead chosen to confront any circumstances awaiting her directly. Her encounter with Sasaki is serving to establish that and even hint at a deeper power residing within Yamato that either connects to her blood or a Devil Fruit ability. In the hopes of adding relevance to Yamato’s mother, I would prefer if those powers Yamato was about to access related to the genes she received from her mother but I would be curious to know what Devil Fruit power (Zoan type?) she has if she is a Devil Fruit user.
Yamato interacting with Franky and showing her worth and strength through her actions signals a deeper involvement with the crew in the future. In addition, while Yamato’s reaction to meeting General Franky may not have been complete excitement as is generally for male characters, she was still left in wonderment over his form and expressed her fascination at having never met anyone like him before in her life which is quite the statement considering she has been exposed to the Beast Pirates who are unique in their own right over the past 20 years. Such a balanced reaction was great to see. I guess female characters in One Piece can appreciate the spectacle that is General Franky. As for Franky, he has become curious in Yamato and I believe such situations are indirectly crafting bonds and relationships between Yamato and the Straw Hat Pirates. Such events does expand the possibility of Yamato becoming a Straw Hat Pirate member in the future.
Franky indirectly baiting Haccha into destroying the floor was hilarious. The Numbers seem more problematic for the Beast Pirates in this war than beneficial. Even if such an action was unintended, Haccha created the path Yamato needed to escape with Momonosuke and Shinobu. And while Yamato was making her escape, she simultaneously used the moment to attack Haccha and defeat him in one hit. How intensely satisfying that moment is. In the same way Luffy and Drake defeated the Numbers they encountered, Yamato has done the same. Yamato’s strength is considerable and to know that their is a deeper level to that strength, I am left overwhelmed by excitement. The more I see of Yamato, the more I find myself engrossed and attached to her character. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing Yamato become a more relevant character within the One Piece story.
Regarding the dawn of the world, it appears Yamato’s goal aligns with that of the Straw Hat Pirates and even involves them considering Pedro did also mention the Straw Hat Pirates will be integral in guiding the Kozuki clan and the Minks to the dawn of the world. I have stated it before, but the dawn of the world that Pedro appears to have talked about seems to be the opening of the borders and the reconnection of Wano Kuni and the Minks to the rest of the world. Wano Kuni led by Momonosuke will come to stand against the World Government and be the center of the change that will engulf the world. Other nations will likely be inspired by Wano Kuni and Zou’s example. Through the World Government, Im attempts to keep the world from changing but once Momonosuke opens Wano Kuni borders, he will start to become a competing force against the World Governments reach and the embodiment of their fears.
Turning to Tama, it makes sense for her to avoid battle against the Tobi Roppo. She accomplished what she intended and now is in the process of retreating with Nami and Usopp. If Usopp was conscious and aware of Tama’s abilities, he could use his sniping skills to really introduce havoc unto the Beast Pirates. He may even be able to pacify Ulti and Page One. Such a scenario may still take place after Usopp recovers and comes to find out more about Tama. There is no point telling Tama to escape now that she is on Onigashima Island, might as well use her abilities to their advantage against the Beast Pirates. As for the enemy ship Tama boarded to get to Onigashima Island, I wonder who it was. Did she pacify a Beast Pirate crew or did she stow away on one of Orochi’s ships? It is great to see Hihimaru again even though I feel his efforts against Page One and Ulti will only serve to hold them back for a few seconds. With Komachiyo, Tama and Hihimaru on Onigashima, I wonder if we will get to see the Octopus that helped the Straw Hat Pirates reach Wano Kuni soon. Who was that Octopus and why did it help Luffy and Co.? Is it related to Yamato or someone the Straw Hat Pirates know/knew (Ace)?
Law goal is now finding the meaning of the Will of D which is natural given the history we learned about Law during the Dressrosa Arc and Law’s disinterest in the Pirate King title. Law may not be a rival to Luffy but his role working alongside Luffy to find the secrets relating to the clan of D allows for him to remain relevant. With Law having access to Robin, the only person in the world who can decode the Poneglyphs, his best chance of learning the meaning behind his name is to continue working alongside the Straw Hat Pirates. Law is on the hunt of Kaido’s Road Poneglyph but hopefully the other Poneglyphs he comes across still inspires him to create rubbings of it. The pieces of information contained in those Poneglyphs will become relevant to the later journey and helping add context to the secrets the World Government seek to hide. With Robin holding such relevance and singular importance, I fear at some point Big Mom or Blackbeard will turn their attention to Robin and ultimately capture her.
Kid is a floor above Luffy and is currently heading up to the roof of the Onigashima Skull Dome while dragging every single piece of metal he can attract. It would be amusing if Kid attracted a Meito with his ability. Kid is insane, insanely awesome, and I’m glad he is remaining a rival to Luffy. Despite the torture Kid has endured, he still maintains his drive towards the seat of the Pirate King. The momentary alliance he has with the Straw Hat Pirates is just so he can get back at Kaido for all that Kaido has done to him and his crew. Once Kaido is dealt with, Luffy will continue being a rival he needs to crush going forward. Kid won’t be able to defeat Kaido alone but the fact that Kid believes he has a chance establishes just how intense Kid’s spirit is. Kaido failed to see this and believes he broke Kid and Luffy. But in a short while he is about to realise how narrow-minded he truly was. With Kid creating havoc and clearing the path on the third floor, it should make Luffy and Co.’s run through easier. That one complication that they may run into is the person whom Sanji has heard with his Kenbunshoku Haki – likely Orochi flirting.
With such a conversation, Sanji is expectantly curious and I wouldn’t mind seeing Sanji react in character and insert himself into such a situation. If my theory is correct regarding the Orochi that was decapitated by Kaido earlier being a clone conjured by Kanjuro, Orochi may currently have no idea that his closest ally has betrayed him. Which could be why he is still acting in such a flirting manner with a courtesan. Kanjuro may still be injured and working his way to Orochi to inform him of what happened. But I wonder if the reason Fukurokuju slipped away from the live floor earlier is because he realised the real Orochi wasn’t killed. Could Fukurokuju appear when Sanji encounters Orochi? Fukurokuju may inform Orochi about what happened and stall Sanji in order for Orochi to escape (and to meet up with Kanjuro).
Big Mom intent on accomplishing a task that doesn’t involve Luffy or the Straw Hat Pirates leaves me very curious. She is heading toward Kaido and considering what Big Mom said to Marco regarding conserving her energy, I don’t believe she is heading to the roof to help Kaido. Rather, it would make more sense for Big Mom to use this opportunity where Kaido is weakened to get rid of one of her rivals and steal his forces. Even if Kaido is enduring the Akazaya Nine’s attacks and exhausting them, he has still suffered damage and if he were to fight against Big Mom, it doesn’t seem he would have the stamina to defeat her. What exactly will Luffy, Jinbe and Kid find when they reach the roof of the skull dome? And will Marco arrive to save Chopper from the Ice Oni infection? Very much looking forward to the next chapter.
12Dimension 