One Piece Chapter 986 – The Courage To Face Your Fear

Say it! Shout it out loud for the whole world to hear. The resolve of your heart. The echoes of your suffering. The demons of your mind. Consolidate your courage and pierce through the shroud of terror crippling the conviction of yourself. In the face of the end, look straight ahead and express the unwavering will you hold. Kaido and the verisimilitude of death be damned. Who are you? Embrace your blood and burn your presence within the minds of those in attendance for your end. You are the man able to pull a country cast into ruin out from the hell it now exist in and into a reality outside exploitation, sadism and inhumanity. You are, what you believe you are!

One Piece Chapter 909 – Enter Wano Kuni

Surely there’s a Poneglyph within that castle!

The aftermath of the events concerning the Reverie will have to wait as the focus has shifted to a country long built-up through the story and an arc every reader has anticipated since Ryuma made his appearance in Thriller Bark. The Wano Kuni Arc has begun. It has finally begun!

One Piece Chapter 758 – Sniper King Usopp

With reasons behind his actions, the King of Snipers emerges…

Just when you think nothing could top the “God” Usopp moment, Oda-sensei comes and reveals the “Sniper King” Usopp. With a desire to save his captain and the urgency to put a stop to Sugar (again), Usopp lines up his shot from an outrageous distance with the help of Viola’s senrigan and out of no where, the miracle of Kenbunshoku Haki awakens in Usopp allowing him to land a perfect trauma shot on Sugar, knocking her out (again). Everything from the set-up to the execution to the situation was perfect, the representation of Usopp as the Sniper King was amazingly portrayed by Oda-sensei. Viola said it best, absolutely amazing (with a shocked expression and hand over the mouth).

One Piece Chapter 746 – Taking Down Doflamingo

Time for the villain to get a taste of defeat…

What a hilariously epic chapter, I was anxious to see how everyone would react to the chaos descending upon them and the allure of money when Doflamingo mentioned the names on his list, and it looks like all those once eternally grateful to Usopp discarded such gratitude for a chance at earning a few million Berry. Ah what a shame, don’t they know that they are fighting for the losing side now that Luffy has real incentive to want to take down Doflamingo? I am also curious to see what Isshou will end up doing, he did tell Bastille to inform the squads that the Strawhats and Law were still the targets, but I am sure he has something he wants to say to Doflamingo and he probably will when the time comes.

One Piece Chapter 744 – Sabo Makes His Move

Sabo reveals himself! The second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army

What an unbelievably amazing chapter that was thoroughly satisfying to read. Sabo was able to make himself the victor of the Corrida Colosseum and finally consume the Mera Mera no Mi. Those “dragon” themed attacks of his can now become even more fantastical and magical with the Mera Mera no Mi fire powers. Back down in the Underground Trading Port, Usopp has become a god to those cast into the pits of despair when they were enslaved by Doflamingo, but now with Usopp having saved them; their joy, gratitude and happiness is all directly associated with Usopp. From a lie told out of insecurity in the past, Usopp now has the army he always dreamed of having. And their first target of wrath is the SMILE factory.

One Piece Chapter 743 – And It Collapses…

Way to go Usopp, you did it! And what a cool way of capitalising on the situation

The house of cards Doflamingo has meticulously built over the course of ten years has finally collapsed with the removal of one key card in the house, the card known as Sugar, and he has none other than the secret weapon of the Strawhats aka. Usopp to thank for such a situation. Chaos usually isn’t a good thing, but the chaos descending upon Dressrosa given the circumstances surrounding it make for such a sweet sweet sight. The Donquixote Pirates have messed up and Doflamingo as the “Joker” with all the cards crashing down around him is going to have hell to pay, well he has already lost his head to it, I do wonder though if he has also lost his life because of it.

One Piece Chapter 742 – The Forgotten Man

How unexpected, so this is how Kyros lost his left leg

Developments sure transpired quickly this chapter, especially Kyros’s flashback and Sugar’s “demise”. But I don’t mind at all, with those relevant developments out of the way now, we can finally get into the climax of the arc – the battle with Doflamingo. And concerning that battle, with everything Doflamingo has done and the amount of people he has forced to suffer, he so NEEDS an ass-kicking this arc. Regardless of how strong and capable Doflamingo is, this arc has built him up as a villain who has accumulated too many sins to let escape or have another arc without getting his just deserts this arc. And with the cliff-hanger this chapter, Usopp has ensured that Doflamingo is half-way on his way to receiving his beating.

One Piece Chapter 741 – The Legendary Hero

Another awesome colour spread from Oda, love it!

About time Usopp threw his cowardice to the wind and got his courage together! I was waiting and waiting and waiting and now finally the unbearableness of his cowardice got through to Usopp forcing him to face his fears and stop running away. Usopp may yet still become the ‘brave warrior of the seas’ he dreams of being and amusingly he may just get that army of followers he also dreamed of having. The other legendary hero, Kyros, recalls memories of the past and the immense debt he owes King Riku. It’s tragic really, Kyros has been suffering from such a young age and even now, he is still suffering. What strength and will power lies in this man who is able to endure so much hate and negativity and still selflessly push forward with the sole intent of helping others irrespective of whether he loses his life. I can’t help but admire the man.

One Piece Chapter 740 – Faith In Usopp

C’mon Usopp, you can do it!

Looking at things from Usopp’s perspective, it must not be easy for him; an ordinary human, without any Devil Fruit powers or Haki, going up against unforgiving pirates wielding dangerous fruits, it is expected he would be fearful, yet the level cowardice Usopp is exhibiting now is shocking even me. I just hope Usopp manages to remember the reason he is sailing the Grand Line for and stop himself from running away. Right now, everyone is relying on him, they all have their faith in Usopp seeing through Operation SOP. Usopp is the only one now able to complete Operation SOP, he NEEDS to take Sugar out. I hope that voice inside Usopp called Sogeking manages to make itself heard by Usopp.

One Piece Chapter 739 – The Legendary Kyros

The Legendary Kyros, what an amazing man

Wow, Soldier-san, what a guy, to continue fighting and having such a positive outlook on life despite the hardships he has had to endure for ten years, I cannot think of anything else besides how unbelievably incredible he is. To continuously battle against reality itself in hopes of revealing the lies intertwined with the truth and ultimately save the nation and its people crippled by the tainted control of Doflamingo, what will and strength this man has. Now I know why the identity of Soldier-san was kept a mystery until this very chapter, because the impact of seeing what Soldier-san had to go through for ten years and the strength he displayed in those years created a set-up so fitting for the man he represented before being turned into a toy. That is, the strongest gladiator in history of the Corrida Colosseum, Kyros.