Midnight the Hedgehog

One Piece Chapter 941 Review/Recap

Do you know why Luffy and the Alliance will eventually win and liberate Wano Country? Because a tyrant like Orochi fails to understand a simple fact: if you treat your people so deplorably for too long, then they will choose to rebel. It’s a matter of finding the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

In this week’s chapter of One Piece, the straw may meet the camel.

Recap

In the Flower Capital, Orochi is still in mourning over Komurasaki’s “death”, even if she insulted his non-existent honor (personally, I respect strong-willed women).

However, the big news on the street is that they caught the famous Midnight Boy who has been stealing food and money from the wealthy in the Flower Capital. When Orochi hears who it is, he’s shocked, but then decides to kill two birds with one stone. While Komurasaki’s funeral is underway, he decides to have Midnight Boy publicly executed.

Back in Udon Prison, Queen starts crying his eyes out when he learns of Komurasaki’s “death”. The guards don’t tell him that his supply of Oshiruko vanished. In other news, Luffy and Hyogoro are stuffed.

In Kuri, a forest fire has broken out that ends up driving Shutenmaru (AKA Ashura, one of the Nine Red Sheaths) to Bakura Town to fight that Holdem guy. He thinks Holdem is responsible, but really, it was the Alliance in order to force him to fight for them.

Near the graveyard, Brook meets up with Zoro while he’s healing, and then walks into this:

After the shock has worn off, Brook not only reveals Midnight Boy’s capture, but his true identity: it’s Tonoyasu. Worse still, Tonoyasu happens to be Toko’s father.This sends Toko running back to the Flower Capital, forgetting the fact that she’s wanted for laughing at Orochi.

The news of Tonoyasu’s capture finally prompts Shinobu and the others to remember who he is: he’s actually a former Feudal Lord known as Lord Yasuie the Hedgehog who had served the Kozuki Clan.

Despite his impending death, dozens of people crowd outside the Prison House’s walls asking for Tonoyasu to be released. Yasu, on the other hand, says that he plans to apologize for two things, insult Orochi, then die with a smile on his face.

Review

I knew that there was something important about Tonoyasu as soon as I saw him recognize Shinobu and the other retainers of the Kozuki Clan. I could never figure out what it was, though. As for him being Toko’s father, that explains a lot about Toko always smiling. If her father dies, though, I don’t know how much longer she’ll be smiling.

According to Shinobu, Tonoyasu in the past was very strict, yet most of the people love him. Either he changed, or there’s more to this story than we know right now. It is telling, though, that Orochi fears Tonoyasu enough to oversee his execution personally.

If Tonoyasu is actually killed, that may end up being the spark that sets the people of Wano into revolt against Orochi. The Alliance’s plans are falling apart by the seams, but I expected that from the start. The Straw Hats and plans don’t go well.

Speaking of the Straw Hats, Luffy just ate all the Oshiruko, didn’t he? That means that when Big Mom shows up soon, she could have one of her food crazes. While that would help them escape, that makes her just as dangerous to Luffy as it would to Queen.

No matter what, though, the Wano Arc is building to an explosive climax that I look forward to seeing.

I Give “The Talk of Ebisu Town” a 4/5