Oda’s on Fire With One Piece

One Piece, Chapter 957 Review/Recap

Three for three, people. Three weeks in a row I’ve woken up and found One Piece trending on Twitter. I think that’s a testament to how invested people are right now in Eichiro Oda’s epic. While Act Three of the Wano arc doesn’t start this week, we get something just as amazing: vital world building. What we learn in this chapter ties not only to Wano, but to the past and future of One Piece.

Recap

Around the world, the Marines are stretched thin trying to capture the former Warlords. When news reaches them about Kaido and Big Mom’s alliance, many are shocked. Issho even fears it’s the second coming of the Rocks. Who are the Rocks, though, and why do so few know of them, though?

Forty years ago, the Rocks were a pirate crew that formed and ran wild. Among their number included:

• Big Mom
• Whitebeard
• Kaido
• Shiki the Golden Lion
• John

According to Sengoku, it all came to a head when they attacked the Celestial Dragon’s on an island called God Valley. Officially, they were defeated by Garp, which gave him his nickname “Hero of the Marines”. The Rocks were then covered up by the World Government, and God Valley vanished without a trace. The truth’s more complicated.

The reason why few know of the Rocks existence is their leader, Rocks D. Xebec. He delved into things the World Government forbid knowledge of. What’s more, Garp didn’t defeat Rocks alone. He defeated him by teaming up with none other than Gol D. Roger, with Rocks being Roger’s greatest enemy.

The alliance between Kaido and Big Mom as they are now, though, is worse than anything the Rocks were. With so few forces, all the Marines can do is wait for what may come.

Review

Wow, just wow; where do I even start? With the fact that three of the Yonko, Shiki, and other heavy hitters served in the same crew? That their captain was so dangerous the World Government wiped him from history? So many revelations, I can’t keep my head on straight.

Well, I found it easy to accept that Roger and Garp teamed up to defeat Rocks. One Piece has seen temporary alliances between pirates and the marines before. Luffy and Smoker did team up on Punk Hazard, so I’m not surprised. Plus, I’ve thought that if they weren’t on opposite sides of the law, Roger and Garp would have been best buddies.

On the surface, I can see why the WG would keep quiet about Rocks. It would be embarrassing to say he got taken down with help from the future Pirate King. Underneath that, though, I have my theories. I think Rocks tried to learn more about the Void Century, and longtime fans know how far the WG will go to keep that a secret.

As storytelling elements go, I found this chapter to be another great round of worldbuilding. I now want to see a prequel series about this conflict, and I bet many fans want the same thing. We’ve gotten flashbacks and glimpses before, but a prequel would be epic!

Largest Bounties Ever

Even cooler, though, is how the chapter gave us a little something fans have wanted. We got to see the bounties of the Yonko and Gol D. Roger.

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While I don’t expect this to really impact Act Three, it’s nice to see context behind Big Mom and Kaido’s relationship. The chapter also drives a big point home: Luffy and his friends are facing one of the greatest challenges ever. They’ll be pushed to their limits and beyond. I’m giddy with anticipation.

I give “Ultimate” a 4/5. Great World building but I want Act Three already

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