#one piece chapter 1079

[dailyrebranded]

A single chancla…

[purplehairedwonder]

Chapter 1079: The Kids Are(n’t) All Right

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a chapter write-up for a variety of reasons (vacation, illness, lack of interest in the who dunnit story), but this chapter got me back on the bandwagon. Wow.

So, we get the background of how York set up the who dunnit. My main interest here is what contingency she’s talking about, especially when we see this...

This has to be Kuzan, right? Blackbeard should still be fighting Law -- but even if that fight is over, I doubt he’d have time to get to Egghead afterward. Plus, with all the references to Ohara, it really shouldn’t be anyone else.

Then we switch to the main event.

Interesting that Shanks’ fleet is actually quite weak. It seems like he takes on quirky people, much like Luffy. They are incredibly loyal to him while he has the strength to protect them.

Shanks is giving the Worst Gen respect. Him asking about Kid’s injuries reminds me of these panels from his appearance in Wano:

Shanks clearly sees fighting against weakened opponents to be dishonorable, so he steps in between Greenbull and the victors in Wano who are still recovering. But by the time the Kid Pirates run into the Red Hairs, they’ve healed so are fair game.

Also super interested in this moment. Shanks is keeping an eye on Blackbeard, but he doesn’t have the most up-to-date info about what’s happening at Winner Island. 

Interestingly, though, this does seem to explain why Shanks showed up at the end of Wano (other than to promote Film Red); he must have expected Blackbeard to show up like Greenbull did to steal Poneglyphs. And he wasn’t wrong about the plot, just the location of the ambush.

This moment is also telling to me. If Shanks is the type of person who takes the weak under his banner to protect them, he’s going to find someone like Kid, who got his bounty pre-Sabaody from killing indiscriminately, detestable.

And then he uses Future Sight to see Kid doing some serious damage to his fleet:

This would actually have been hella impressive of Kid if he’d managed to do it. Not only did he build and fire the ray gun, but he was also pulling the ships into range as he did it.

But, we’ve known Shanks’ ethos since chapter 1:

So, if Shanks’ fleet is in danger, he’s going to take care of it himself. It’s definitely a testament to the danger Kid now poses that Shanks is the one to act, rather than leave it to others as we’ve seen him do previously, and he uses this move:

EXCUSE ME, SIR. This is the same move Roger used on Oden.

So, in a twisted way, Kid’s being given his due. (I’ll also look forward to this being animated because the double page is... hard to make out in places. Oda’s action sequences are often hard for me to follow.)

Random: I still can’t help but see a comparison between Future Sight and Minority Report. Kid technically hasn’t done anything yet, but Shanks is wrecking him like he’s avenging his friends.

Anyway, Kid and Killer are in a bad way.

And neither of them can swim because of their Devil Fruit/SMILE. Which is bad because Dory and Broggy completely wreck the Victoria Punk.

And everyone goes tumbling into the sea.

This chapter has been one callback after another, and these final panels are yet another callback:

And we all know what happened after that, so the paralleled language could indicate that the Kid Pirates will come back stronger in the future, but I’m not sure how much time there is left in the narrative for that.

As for what this might mean for Law, well, I’m less worried than a lot of people seem to be. For one thing, Law got a new goal in Wano (to learn about the Will of D.), so he needs to achieve that goal before he dies. It’s important to note that Law’s goal does not conflict with Luffy’s whereas Kid’s did, so Kid not achieving his dream was inevitable. Law, on the other hand, has become the audience’s way into the Will of D. mystery by being the only D. we’ve met who is interested in his name. 

Second, we’ve still got the mystery surrounding Rocky Port and all the key players are in the same orbit at the moment. It would narratively make the most sense for Law to survive so he, Blackbeard, and Coby end up in one place so we learn what happened there.

Third, Law wasn’t the aggressor in his fight -- he was ambushed -- while Kid was. Narratively, Kid is being punished for his arrogance while Law has no such narrative dictate.

Fourth, I just keep thinking about how Cora died for Law to live. It would sure feel unfulfilling for Law to finally be free of the chains that kept him chained down for thirteen years only to die unceremoniously.

Anyway, I still think it’s most likely that Law gets taken captive by Blackbeard, leading to some interesting dynamics with Coby, Pudding, and Garp. There would be so much gold to mine there.

[akagaminolevi]

Divine Departure

[goldenandhappy]

I. am not. okay.

[joy-girl]

Okay real talk but I think it's probably safe to say that with the recent chapter, the people that will get closer to the One Piece will be the new Yonkos:

- Monkey D. Luffy has the scrams of the Load Poneglyphs and also Nico Robin who is able to read them

- Red Haired Shanks just obliterated the Kid Pirates (I hope they're still alive somehow) and took their Load Poneglyphs' scrams (I mean I think he took them, even if not shown..)

- Blackbeard based on what we saw, I think he was able to get his hands on the Heart Pirates' scrams (I hope they're not dead, but I'm scared that they got defeated too) since he's now headed to Egghead Island.. if it's him on the ship and not just some members of his crew (maybe Aokiji?)

- probably weird theory but I think Buggy will also be on the list, because he's the type of person that could stumble upon Laughtale without even trying 🤣

And also because Oda foreshadowed the new Yonkos with the cover of the 25th volume.. what if he also foreshadowed the fact that at the end they will be the only ones in the race to get the One Piece, and not just to be Yonkos?

Because Shanks and Blackbeard (probably) took out the only crews, other than the Straw Hats, that were closer to the One Piece.

Also how weird that we have two people with the D. in this list (Luffy and Blackbeard) and two people that were on Gol D. Roger's crew (Shanks and Buggy).. it probably doesn't mean anything, but mmmh much to think about.

On another note, my boyfriend made me notice how in Stampede, Buggy is the first one to actually get the chest containing the log pose to get to Laughtale, and okay we know that the movies are not really canon, but maybe this could be another foreshadow?

[missmungoe]

Spoilers for chapter 1079! Shanks x Makino, follows this is what the kids call couple goals

Coasters are non-negotiable

“Are you sure that’s all of them?”

She was moving between the pirates on deck, most of them still out cold, while some were slowly coming to, coughing up seawater. Even with Brogy and Dorry’s help, it had taken some effort getting them all out of the sea, but then she had insisted on getting every last one.

Kneeling down beside one of the pirates who’d awoken, Shanks saw him look at her in surprise. It was the guy who’d surrendered their poneglyph rubbings, his confusion evident as he looked from Makino to the crew who’d gathered around her. “W-We’re not dead?”

“You’re in luck,” Yasopp said, his arms crossed where he leaned back against the mast. “Boss wasn’t messing around.”

Seated on the crate beside him, Shanks said nothing, observing her progress as she moved between the pirates, his haki having already assured him that they were all still kicking, but then she’d insisted on checking them herself.

Her voice was pitched too softly for him to hear what she said to them, but he saw their faces, shaped first with confusion, then something akin to wonder, their hands reaching after her instinctively as she moved on, until she finally arrived at their captain where he’d been laid out in the middle of the deck.

He was coming awake, blinking blearily up at the sky. Shanks saw that he was bleeding from his head, and didn’t envy him the headache. He’d heard his haki in its dormant form described as a mild hangover. After a direct hit of the undiluted stuff, Kidd would be nursing the mother of them all.

His crew had noticed him coming to, their voices sobbing with relief. “Captain!!”

“He’s alive!!”

For his part, Kidd didn’t look it, but then he’d looked like a mess before Shanks had stepped in.

He saw his eyes moving, his brow furrowing at the sight of Red Force’s masts, before they settled on Makino where she sat on her knees beside him.

He blinked up at her, before he noticed the rest of their crew where they loomed protectively behind her, and his eyes widened, his reaction as instinctive as his anger as his mangled arm reared back to lash out at her, but Shanks had already seen it, and didn’t move, even as his crew did, but before they could intercept him, the gentle touch of a small hand to his arm had Kidd seizing.

“No need for that,” Makino said, with the inflection Shanks had once heard her use with Luffy when he’d thrown a tantrum, as she lowered the scraps of his arm back down. “You should be taking it easy.”

Sitting up now, Kidd looked like he wasn’t sure where he’d woken up. “Who the hell are you?” he croaked, the seawater in his lungs leaving his voice even rougher than usual, as blood-shot eyes took her in where she sat, pausing on her kerchief and her velvet and silver-threaded cloak, before lowering to Siren on her hip.

A barkeep with considerable experience, Makino was unfazed by the rude address, although the same couldn’t be said for the rest of their crew.

“That’s no way to address our lady!!”

“And after she insisted we save your ass from drowning, too!”

“Boss, do you want us to toss him back in?”

That last question hadn’t been directed at him, Shanks noted wryly, and saw Kidd’s confusion where it pulled at his features.

“No one is going overboard,” Makino said. Then to Kidd, still gawking at her, “But there’ll be no violence in my bar. I’ll also expect you to use coasters on my new counter. Are we clear?”

Half-drowned and beaten within an inch of his life, Kidd just stared at her, before he blurted hoarsely, “What?”

Yasopp leaned in to ask Shanks, “Is he just thick, or did you hit him a little too hard?”

Kidd’s gaze moved from Makino to Shanks, who pointed towards the deckhouse and the door to their galley, above which the sign of their bar hung suspended, the carved siren on her rock swinging gently in the breeze.

Kidd stared at it for a long beat, before looking back at Makino and the crew gathered around her, pausing briefly on Ben where he stood holding the baby, before his gaze finally settled on Shanks, still sitting on the crate, his outward ease betrayed only by the hand resting over the pommel of his sword, but then if he made any sudden moves towards her, he’d be dead before he could finish thinking it.

Smiling, Shanks made sure he knew it, but what he said was, “She’s dead serious about the coasters. I forgot yesterday and she threatened to divorce me. Do I need to remind you who built you that pretty counter, wife?”

“The coasters are non-negotiable,” Makino said demurely, the words directed at all of them, before she turned back to Kidd, whose crew had gathered around him, sobbing with joy, and who still looked like he wasn’t sure where he’d woken up.

“So what will it be, Captain Eustass Kidd,” Makino said, the tilt of her head making the gold rings in her ears catch the light. “Will you have a drink, or will you keep resisting?”

She smiled, her kind eyes curving, and with a gentleness that Shanks felt compelled to point out was far more terrifying than anything he could have managed, said,

“Choose wisely.”

[bluepecanpie]

Before we get into the chapter review, I’d just like to talk a bit about Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law, their rivalry - and their differing philosophies of combat, and how it’s served them in the New World.

I have to admit, I personally preferred Kid at first. He had a cool design, a bounty higher than Luffy’s, and I really had a preference for magnetic powers. Even his post-time skip design was visually awesome. And he served as a nice foil for Law, who could switch/remove body parts, while Kid could assemble artifical limbs out of scrap.

Kid’s situation has people wondering whether Law took a similar L, and the answer is clearly no. The reason why is because even if Law lost against Blackbeard (and I personally believe that he did), it is not nearly as brutal a curbstomp as Kid received, and chapter 1064 is clear that Law looked like he had a fighting chance. Here’s what I think the issues lie:

Kid got his bounty because of the collateral damage from his fights, not because of any specific assault on the World Government’s influence - which is where he contrasts with Luffy. He openly admits taking out his wrath on civilians as much as other pirates, or even Marines. He even attacks opponents as they flee from him. If Oda still had that old category from the pilot, Kid would probably be classified as a “Morgana” pirate i.e. evil, but even he has a sense of morals, camaraderie, and the pragmatism to ally with the Straw Hats - so it’s perhaps just as well these pirate categories were discarded. Anyway, Kid’s fighting philosophy is to attack head on with overwhelming force until the enemy is crippled, or rendered inoperable. It’s probably how he survived the Grand Line - not giving a shit about overwhelming odds against him, and just launches assaults on whoever happens to get in his way. It’s because of this mindset that he immediately set for the New World, and caught the ire of two Yonko before the story even reintroduces him. He sank three ships controlled by the Big Mom Pirates (though it’s implied that he was pushed back from arriving at Totland), and attacked the Red Hair Pirates - and lost an arm in process (Benn Beckman is implied to be responsible). I think that the only reason he agreed to an alliance with two of the Worst Generation was to get payback on the Red Hairs. He of course, also got fucked up by Kaido. So that’s three Yonko he pissed off. Kid this time didn’t even so much as agree to another alliance - one focused on Kaido and Big Mom, as much as fall into one. He in fact seems annoyed at the very concept of alliances with rivals, more so when one easily broke up in the first sign of trouble, because two of the other captains were either in on the gig, or were too cowardly to test their mettle. At least with Luffy and Law, it was more solid because they treat their word as iron clad and take seriously the trust such an alliance involves.

Law on the other hand, is much more methodical in his approach, and even sets up contingency plans if problems arise. He doesn’t strike until he knows there’s a massive pay off from doing so, and is willing to buy time before going on the offensive. He treats saving Luffy partly as happenstance, and partly as matter of fairness - believing that losing a rival in a battlefield like Marineford would just be anticlimatic. He oversaw Luffy’s recovery in Amazon Lily, and as he left - he declared that he’s going to wait a while before heading to the New World, while the others tear each other apart - declaring in the end, he’ll be the one to take the One Piece and wear the crown. This was a good call, because his Worst Generation rivals had quickly hit an ‘insurmountable wall’, and either got their asses kicked, or decided to wear the colours of a Yonko. Law, meanwhile hedged his bets with the World Government by filling a Shichibukai position - and even that primarily was to complete a long-running scheme of revenge against Doflamingo, by pitting his business partner Kaido against him. In many of Law’s fights, he’s pitted in some disadvantage and is often on the defensive, so he uses the element of surprise to quickly turn the tables. The versatility of his devil fruit power grants Law several opportunities to catch his opponent by surprise and gain the edge, as we saw against Doflamingo (though he was able to quickly recover due to his own shrewdness, and familiarity with Law) as well as Blackbeard. Law at the very least was literally trained to be a pirate by one of the most dangerous and influential prate crews at the time, and used that training to hone one of the most difficult fruit powers to control. If that doesn’t show how methodical Law is, I don’t know what does.

Both Law and Kid took down Big Mom together their approaches complemented each other very well. But since parting ways, they’ve independently being put to the test by the Yonko on their resolve -with only those who’ve taken them seriously resolving to clash against them. Only Luffy has personally defeated one and that’s why he joined their number.

It’s easy to see why Kid lost. Shanks, unlike Big Mom or Kaido - took him very seriously. Kid’s approach to conflict ensured that he’d lose, and quickly at that. Shanks even brought giants to squash the crew - not that he needed them. Law’s fatewill probably be similar or different, but it’s clear that Law has performed better because of his tactical way of fighting. I personally wouldn’t be surprised if Law emerges his fight relatively unscathed.

[cookiepie111]

And that's what I get for screaming, "My man, my man, my man" too loud. NEXT!

[elasgottoomuchfreetime]

[no arms and no wins]

[yellowblitzever]

MENTION OF SPOILERS BELOW!!!

I'm gonna cryyyy!!!!

I feel so attacked right now! I can't have a favourite character for five minutes without Oda hurting or potentially killing them off!

Haven't seen Katakuri in months, King was being hurt and arrested by Greenbull, Page One defeated, Hawkins and Drake missing, Law is fighting for his life right now (I swear if anything has happened to him now that BB ship has appeared at Egghead island), Shaka got shot, and now Kid AND Killer?!?!?!

At this point, being a favourite character of mine is a curse and a death sentence.

Only possibly good thing to come out of this chapter is that Pudding and Coby are probably on BB ship, meaning we might be seeing them too and I can't wait for that reunion!!!!!

[roydeezed]

One Piece-Chapter Round-Up(Chapter 1079)

I’m sorry, Kid fans. That’s all I can say to y’all. I can’t even clown on you cause that was brutal. But before we get to that, let’s go through everything else. The cover story of Germa 66 ended last chapter with the creation of Neo-MADS and now Oda is doing requests. The analytical part of me is like trying to figure out what it could mean, but mostly I’m enjoying squat little Luffy living his best life. Though I do want that shirt. It looks luxurious. Alright, enough fun and bush beating cause right away Oda answers some really important questions, like how York planned it and how she had S-Snake attack her and free her, but tees up another question in its stead; What is York’s contingency plan? Because everything that’s happened since the shit hit the fan has been a part of it, and that means that the Straw Hats are most definitely involved as S-Snake spared them but killed Edison. The simplest answer would be that York plans to turn in the Straw Hat crew to become a celestial dragon but is she really that naive that she thinks that she even has a chance of being a dragon anymore? So it’s gotta be something else then, probably what gets deemed this the ‘Egghead Incident’, such as a mass release of information or something. I’ll go more in depth past the ‘Keep reading’ so click to read more!

I think something akin to Whitebeard saying the One Piece is Real or Firefly’s can’t stop the signal moment could cap off the ‘Egghead Incident’ with the world learning something that demands action. Though I can’t guess what it could be. It’s gotta be something we don’t know.  Anyways as we read on, we see the island and Sentomaru evacuating while something sails closer to Egghead… Another piece of the Incident. Blackbeard’s ship! With Shanks remarking later how he was surprised that Blackbeard didn’t show up at Wano it makes me wonder what’s about to go down here. Because I think it’s more likely Blackbeard divided his forces in between Egghead and the Island shown in Chapter 1063 where he was fighting with Law. So I don’t think Blackbeard is here, as it’s implied that he was fighting Law at the same time as the Straw Hats were exploring Egghead. And knowing Elbaf is Shanks’s territory he would have given that one up as he wouldn’t want to suffer the losses. So since Van Auger, Burgess, and Doc Q were with Blackbeard fighting Law, that leaves the rest of the crew, Shiryu, Pizarro, Lafitte, Catarina Devon, Sanjuan Wolf, Vasco Shot and Aokiji available to wreck shop on Egghead. Depending on the direction Oda wants to take this, Aokiji being or not being on the ship is going to signal how this arc will unfold. Although I think the Straw Hats are outright stronger than Blackbeard’s crew; Law was holding his own against five of them by himself, the Straw Hats are severely weakened from the battle with the Seraphims. If Aokiji is on the ship I think it has a chance to go really well for the Straw Hats, with Aokiji defecting and the Seraphims falling to their side as they fight off the government. But if Aokiji is not there, as the Blackbeard pirates need somebody to stay at their base, then I think it’s worst case scenario. One of the main players on the board that a lot of people seem to be overlooking is S-Snake. Because there is a very lose-lose condition with her. She’s already captured Franky and Ussop, and if her powers work just like Hancock’s then even if she’s taken down, no one can undo their stone form. Meaning that the good guys need to gain control of S-Snake or things will be going downhill fast. There’s a lot of things that could happen if Oda goes forwards with the worst case scenario. Some Straw Hats, especially the stone-turned Ussop and Franky, could be handed over to the World Government by York, the others could lose to Blackbeards crew and they could be driven back with their tail between their legs. I also think a showdown with the aforementioned available members is going to happen simply for the fact that Oda loves to show the parallels between Sanji and Zoro by switching their opponents up and I think he’ll have them take losses to Pizarro and Shiryu here. So yeah, a lot of unsubstantiated predictions off of one panel, but that’s just how it goes sometimes with One Piece. Moving on to the main course now.

Shanks versus Kid. It wasn’t really a match though, my boy swaggered onto the deck and then one-shotted Kid in the most brutal way possible. Okay that’s not fully fair, but we’ll work our way up to it. So first of all, the one thing I want to highlight is something Oda has been doing recently, especially with fights concerning Yonkou. Did you notice it? They’re on water! That’s right, after more than 20 years of a pirate manga, major battles are finally happening over water. I jest but Oda’s making a point to have both Law and Kid’s fights take place on water, showing how tilty the fights can get when one person has solid ground. Both of these fights were really fun so I hope we have more. 

Right away, we see some fantastically goofy characters stand up to Kid in Shanks’s defense, and we soon find out how these goofy characters got so far as Elbaf. And that’s because of Shanks. Most of them are self-admittedly weak, using Shanks’s flag to be able to pirate around. This makes me think that Shanks, like Luffy, protects people's dreams, but to an outrageously generous degree, where people who want to be free on the seven seas are allowed to be simply because they want to as Shanks protects them. We also see that they were all meeting up, and it seems like Shanks was serious about going after the One Piece as that must be why he mobilized them. This also makes me think that the One Piece is time sensitive or otherwise Shanks would have gotten it much earlier. Maybe that’s why Roger laughed, he could’ve missed it by a day or so.

This chapter characterizes Shanks a lot, so forgive me for spending so much time on him. We rarely get such a detailed look at him. It also shows us how much he cares about fairness as he made sure Kid had recuperated enough from Wano, not just the ass-kicking Shanks’s men had given him earlier. Another thing that’s highlighted in this chapter is how much of an opposite Kid is to Shanks. Right away he claims he won’t hold back and is ready to fry all of the ships, but also the fact is, he is alone. He only has one ship and no allies like Luffy or any of the other Yonko do. It shows the difference between the two, with Law and Kid arguably being strong enough to be Yonko’s but not having enough political power in the form of wide spread crews to hold on to the title. It also brings into focus how important the politics of the world are, as connections and maneuverings of that sort are more important than raw strength, as can be seen with someone like Buggy.

We also see how well the crew works together and how diligent Shanks is when he’s on. He seems easy going but he had his eye on Wano and is researching the fact that Kid’s from South Blue(wonder if that’s gonna play into the story somehow). And soon, we see why he’s easygoing. As Kid prepares an attack, Shanks gets a look far into the future of him destroying the ships. That’s why he’s so chill. His future sight is so advanced he can afford to be. And this also does Kid Justice without having him massacre nine ships worth of people, as we see Shanks get serious. With one attack he cuts through Kid’s rail gun and incapacitates his crew, getting Killer in the attack as well. It’s honestly heartbreaking to see the crew beg for Kid’s life as they hand over the poneglyph rubbings. And then Shanks jumps away and Dorry and Brogy annihilate the Kid Pirates. 

I think this is Oda signaling that things are getting serious. And also potentially hinting at what could happen to the Straw Hats. Especially if we learn a familiar fate has befallen the Heart Pirates. All three prevailing crews from Wano could be decimated, with the dregs joining each other. As Kid went down near Elbaf, it’s easy to imagine him and Killer joining Luffy when he gets to Elbaf, especially if Luffy is going there with a chunk of his crew missing. Also a side note before I end it, watching Shanks protect his fleet so viciously makes me wonder about Barto, as Barto was going around messing up Shanks’s territory. Stay safe my boy. Anyways, as always, that was a great chapter and I can’t wait for the next one.

I love how cold all these panels are, absolute devastation. I'm kinda scared of Shanks now.

[sunbudc]

just read the newest chapter and

[keepcalmandbeonepiecetrash]

Me to Kid....

How you get yo ass beat by the same person...twice?

[therealsoulking]

One Piece Chapter 1079

The traitor’s been revealed, but that’s old news, though we get some insight into the plot against Vegapunk.

 BUT WAIT THERE’S A WHOLE LOT ELSE GOING ON EVERYWHERE ELSE

What could possibly go wrong...

It’s nice to see Shanks’ allied weirdos that we’ve never heard of, and probably will never hear from again (looking at you, Islewan)

It turns out the subordinate crews aren’t the kind of force Shanks uses to roll up against his enemies, kinda reminds me of Luffy’s Grand Fleet (wonder when those allied weirdos will show up). Also, Shanks seems to have Observation Haki to rival Katakuri, able to see how heavily he can fuck up if things go wrong.

It was at that moment, Eustass Kidd knew, he fucked up.

Just a flesh wound?

NOT A FLESH WOUND NOT A FLESH WOUND

KIDD GOT STRAIGHT UP WORFED BY SHANKS TOOK THE TOP FIGHTERS OUT IN ONE SHOT AND THE REST OF THE CREW AND THE SHIP OUT IN ANOTHER.

JESUS FUCK RED HAIRED SHANKS DOESN’T FUCK AROUND

Maybe Kid and Killer will join Victoria in that big junkyard in the sky

or that burning junkyard in Davy Jones’ Locker

[joy-girl]

[missmungoe]

Sooooo, any thoughts on recent chapter? I really have to say I can not stay cool with Kidd-Shanks scenes because my mind just goes

“Those are big words coming from the guy so intimidated by my tiny, pregnant wife, he’s trying to hide the fork he accidentally bent in half.”

“Daddy is already big enough, No compensation necessary. Just ask my wife.”

"Whisky or beer. You look like a beer guy"

"So just to clarify you do not want yours in sippy cup, right?"

“If the obvious hasn’t already been stated by my keeping of this bar: a barkeep"

“But speaking of chewing—I lost my arm, too, but you don’t see me swearing revenge on the sea king that ate it.”

“Listen. I get it. You’re upset you didn’t get the chance to exact vengeance while I was still an active pirate. I agree it would have made a much better headline than ‘Shameless Copycat Loses Second Arm In Fight With Local Barkeep’. "

I bet Shanks's sass is equal damage power with his haki...

And NO FIGHT IN PREMISES, PLEASE. BOSSLADY DOESN'T ALLOW IT.

I LOVED IT!! Hands down one of my favourite One Piece chapters of all time. My crew!! MY BELOVED CHIEF<3

I also feel pretty validated in my interpretation of Shanks, re: the wonderful coexistence of 'are you sure my opponent has healed enough for this?' and then absolutely annihilating Kidd's crew. He is an Emperor for a reason, which I thought this chapter showcased perfectly, while still maintaining that he's an honourable man, and showing why he's so beloved. Carefree attitude and compassion aside, if forced, he won't flinch (Patrick Rothfuss' 'the anger of a gentle man' quote comes to mind). In fact, this whole scene with Kidd just feels like an extension of the scene with the bandits at the very beginning of the series, but then it carries the same message: I won't stand for anyone harming my friends, and don't pick a fight with me unless you're willing to bet your life on it.

Speaking of picking fights, as much as I love writing Shanks brutally taking down his enemies via sass (case in point: the above quotes), as my fics can also attest to, I adore an overblown battle scene, and oh my god, THIS BATTLE. Poor Kidd didn't stand a chance. Ngl there have been times where I've wondered if I've written Shanks a little too overpowered but NEVERMIND haha, I feel justified. Also DIVINE DEPARTURE, what an incredibly cool and ridiculously extra name for an attack, which Makino will be giving him grief for later.

The man also gave some great face this chapter:

What do you mean that wasn't what he said in the middle panel