#that concludes the loguetown arc!

[brainyxbat]

Chapter 9: A New Member Joins! Head For The Grand Line

(episode 53)

"I'm the man who'll be King of the Pirates!"

"I think you should join his crew."

"A storm is coming. An unimaginably big storm is...!"

"I'm... dead."

"Y-you want me to go with them?"

"I think it would be good for you."

"I... I'll do it."

"I'm still alive after all. I got lucky."

"Are these all coincidences? It's as if heaven is trying to let that man live."

"Well... th-this is it."

"We'd better hurry, or we'll be in trouble!"

"We're gonna make it to the Grand Line like this!"

"I'm outta here, suckers!"

"Gotta get there before it's too late! Gotta hurry!"

-

The cloaked figure walked slowly through the rain. 'Inherited will... the tide of times... people's dreams... these things cannot be stopped. As long as people seek the answer of freedom, these things will never cease to be!' "A pirate, huh? Fine by me."

-

"What's with this storm?!" Zoro exclaimed.

"If we don't leave soon, we'll be stuck here," Sani fussed, "Nami-san was right when she said we should hurry back to the ship!"

"Run! Run! Run!" Luffy beamed.

-

"This is heavy!" Usopp griped, till lugging the tuna.

"The Going Merry is in danger!" Nami urged. "The Marines might be already heading toward it! We have to get out as soon as possible!"

"Nami! Nami! Can't I just ditch this thing?"

"No, you can't! Run faster!"

"I knew you'd say that." To his confusion, the load suddenly became lighter. "Hey, what's..." He turned around, and his eyes lit up with a gasp. "Venus!!"

"Need a hand, crewmate?" She grinned, now holding the tail up above her head.

Nami looked over, and perked up. "Oh, hey! You're joining us after all?"

"Yep! Mr. Rauru said I won't get anywhere with my witchcraft if I stay here; and it'd be better for me to be surrounded by nice people."

"Well, always room for one more!" Usopp beamed. "Welcome to the crew!"

Just then, Nami noticed the pet carrier dangling from one of her arms. "Oh, you've got a pet?"

"Yeah, Burton! Say hi!"

"Ooh, is it a kitty?" Eyes sparkling, Nami slowed her pace for a closer look, expecting an adorable kitten; but her excitement turned into terror when a black tarantula leaped to the door of the carrier with a loud hiss. "AAAAAH!!!" She screamed, and ran ahead of Usopp. "AH AH AAAH!!! NOT A KITTY!!!"

He turned to look with curiosity, and the now calm arachnid stared back at him silently. "You have a tarantula?"

"Yeah, he's my best friend. You're not scared of him?"

"Nope," He shrugged, "I'm good with spiders."

Venus looked at him with genuine surprise when he turned back forward, as they ran together. "Interesting..."

-

At the docks, Mohji was trying to light a match, but the rain made his efforts futile. "Dammit! What's with this sudden downpour, when we have to burn down this ship?!" He complained. Another attempt was successful... but only for two seconds, before it fizzled out. "Dammit! This is bad, Richie! We can't get a fire going like this!" He had damp, pitiful matches scattered at his feet. "One more time!" He sensed the lion thinking only about food. "Be patient, Richie! I'll feed you later."

Richie pouted in disappointment. "What're you doing?!" Usopp exclaimed, and Richie growled. Usopp, Nami, and Venus made it back to the ship, only to find Mohji and Richie sitting by it with matches.

"Mohji!" Nami exclaimed.

"You!" Venus glared.

"Oh, it's you, sneak thief woman." He stood up, acknowledging the redhead, and then noticed the short Goth. "And you; you'll pay for blasting me, little witch." He pointed to the trio. "Go, Richie!"

A scared Usopp took an egg out of his bag, and pulled it back in his slingshot. "Special Attack: Fresh Egg Star!"

He let go, and the egg went flying... two feet. "Oh," Venus grimaced.

"You..." Nami grumbled.

"Damn! The rain made my hand slip!"

Richie charged for them, only to stop and happily lap up the egg. "Richie!! You're such a...!!"

Usopp hauled the fish up on his shoulder. "Now! Let's get on the ship!"

"Yeah!"

"Hold it!" Mohji glided in front of them. "You have to get past me! I'm Mohji, Vice-Captain of the Buggy the Clown Pirates!" He made ridiculous poses. "I won't let you take one step on this..." He was interrupted by a bullet right by his head.

As everyone froze, Marines came running in with guns ready. "Prepare to fire!"

"The Marines!" Nami tensed.

"This is bad!" Usopp fussed.

"Aim! Fire!" Mohij dodged the bullets shot at him left and right. "Contact the cannon unit! We'll capture the pirate ship!"

"Yes, sir!"

"N-N-Nami!"

"Yeah!"

"Uh oh," Venus eye widened when someone rode on a motorcycle into the town... powered by smoke billowing from the rider. "Smoker."

-

"Which direction is the sea?" Zoro asked.

"I can't tell where we're going, because of this heavy rain!" Luffy said.

"There they are!" A group of Marines began pursuing them.

"What persistent bastards!" Zoro griped. "Should we stop and fight?"

"We don't have time for that," Sanji answered, before spotting a woman standing in their path, and going gaga, "Oh? Who's that lady?!"

Tashigi. "I didn't realize you were Roronoa Zoro, and a pirate to boot. You... you lied to me!"

"What?!" Sanji made them stop, glaring daggers at Zoro with a fist. He was oblivious to what had gone on with them just earlier that day: Zoro broke her misplaced glasses by accident when he realized she looked exactly like his deceased childhood friend Kuina, he cleaned the Marines base to pay for them, then picked out new swords with her help. All throughout those times, she was oblivious to his true identity. "What'd you do to her?!"

"You didn't ask my name," Zoro calmly pointed out, ignoring the cook, and stepped up, "That's all. It's not that I lied to you."

"A rogue like you can't be allowed to own a renowned sword! I'll collect your sword, the legendary Wado Ichimonji!"

Zoro gripped the handle with a smirk. "Try it." She drew her own sword, and the fight began, with them trying to dominate one another. "I see..."

"You jerk!" Sanji shouted. "How dare you attack a lady!"

"Please don't interfere!" Tashigi ordered.

"What?" Sanji and Luffy watched with awe.

"This is the fight between Roronoa and me! There's no need to step in!"

"You heard her. Go on ahead," Zoro urged.

Sanji grimaced, but Luffy grinned. "Let's go."

He continued the sprint, while Sanji hopped sideways on one leg. "Hey, Zoro! If you hurt the lady, I won't forgive you!"

"I see the exit!" Luffy pointed out. "The harbor is up there!"

But up ahead, someone else was blocking their path. "Hey, who is it this time?"

Smoker. "You're finally here... Straw Hat Luffy." He and Sanji stopped in their tracks. "Didn't I tell you that you can't enter the Grand Line unless you beat me first?"

"Oh yeah," Luffy grinned, "I forgot about it."

"You're such an airhead..."

"Hey Luffy..."

"Sanji, go on ahead. I'll be right there."

"Well, I don't know about that," Smoker stepped up, "This is the end for you."

Everyone was silent, as thunder rumbled. "Go!"

-

Meanwhile Usopp, Nami, and Venus ran for the ship while trying to evade the Marines. "Fire!" They dodged oncoming bullets, and two of the three successfully leaped up on the ship. Venus briefly stayed behind, flinging the fish up, then turned to the Marines with determination. "Witchy-Witchy Ball!" She unleashed a large ball near them so strong, it knocked them back, their guns flying away. "Yeah!" She then joined Usopp and Nami on the ship.

"Fire the cannons!"

Cannonballs were shot in the ocean; they were close to enough to make the ship rock violently, knocking the trio off their feet. Usopp flew into the tangerine trees, while Nami and Venus were flung down to the deck, the latter keeping a protective hold on the pet carrier. "If we stay here any longer, the Going Merry will be sunk!" Nami began reeling in the anchor.

Usopp ran over when he heard the crank. "A-are you going to set sail? Luffy and the others're not here yet!"

"We don't have any other choice! It's better than getting sunk here!" The sail bearing the Jolly Roger was rolled down. "Right rudder full!"

"So what're we going to do about Luffy and the others?" Usopp asked.

"We'll pick them up somehow."

"Don't let them get away!" The Marines commanded. "Follow them!"

"Nami-san!"

She heard a familiar voice; it was Sanij! "Sanji-kun!" She lit up.

"Sanji!" Usopp called.

"Nami-san, I'm back!" He ran alongside the shore, hands up in the air. He then gasped at the newcomer between them, and waved his arms maniacally with excitement. "Venus-chan! It's me! It's me, Sanji!"

"Yes, I remember you," She deadpanned with the tiniest smirk.

"Where's Luffy and Zoro?" Nami asked.

Sanji immediately became serious again. "Can we collect those damn idiots?"

Marines were pursuing him with guns and daggers. "Sanji-kun!"

"Behind you!" Usopp warned.

Sanji took them out with some powerful kicks, but more came soon after. "Dammit! This is endless!"

"I'll cover his back!" Usopp told the girls. "Get closer!"

"No!" Nami protested. "We can't head back to land because of the strong current."

"Ahhh, dammit!" Usopp leaped overboard into the ocean.

"Usopp!"

"Usopp-kun!" Venus screamed out.

"Bastards!" Braving the waves, Usopp shot at the Marines, taking them out together with Sanji.

Even more came running in. "Usopp! Sanji-kun!" Nami exclaimed.

Venus prepared another attack, now glaring. "Witchy-Witchy Ball!" She blew the Marines back, buying the guys more time, as Nami watched in awe.

From out of nowhere, an incredibly strong gust of wind blew throughout all of Loguetown. It sent everyone flying, bringing the guys together and created quite a mess of the town, while Nami and Venus gripped the ship railing. It then disappeared as soon as it came, and was followed by more rain. Zoro moved a piece of debris off of himself, and stood up, as did Sanji. "Th-this is..."

Luffy sat up, as Usopp laid nearly upside down beside him. "Wh-what just happened?" Usopp stumbled down on his side.

"Luffy!" Nami shouted from the ship.

"Luffy!" Venus shouted with her.

"Nami!" Luffy answered the call, then beamed at the other voice. "Venus!" She joined after all!

"We'd better hurry up, or the ship will be swept away!" Sanji urged.

"Okay!" Luffy agreed, but ran the opposite way from the rest. He had a plan. "Gum-Gum..." He grabbed a nearby staircase railing, and stretched back.

"Wha-?!" Usopp exclaimed.

"W-wait!" Sanij stuttered.

"I have a bad feeling..." Zoro remarked.

"... Rocket!!" Luffy launched himself right at them, and they ran in terror.

"Ahhh, I knew it," Zoro sighed, just before Luffy collided into them. They were all sent flying above the ocean, and crashed into the flag; they landed on the deck, now delirious.

"Everyone..." Nami smiled with relief.

"Nice entrance," Venus smirked.

On the island, Smoker watched the ship sail away. "That man... what was that sudden gust?" He recalled the strange, cloaked man that came and went with the wind. "He appeared and disappeared like lightning on the same day that Gold Roger was executed 22 years ago. What on Earth..." "I'm the man who'll be King of the Pirates!" Luffy's words ran through his mind.

The said figure watched the ship go as well, but from a higher point, and with pride. "If that's your decision, then go!"

"Why? Why did you help that man... Dragon?!" A Marine interrogated from the ground.

The figure stared on, as lightning flashed. "What reason would there be to interfere with a man's departure?"

Smoker watched the sky for a moment, then gave a command. "Set sail! We'll go after Straw Hat!"

"What?"

"We'll enter the Grand Line."

"B-but Captain! This island is in your jurisdiction. I don't know what the higher ups would say..."

"Tell them I said "Don't give me orders"."

Tashigi held up her sword. "I'll come with you!"

"Sergeant Major Tashigi!"

"I won't forgive Roronoa. I'll capture him without fail!"

Elsewhere, the Buggy Pirates had made it to their own ship, courtesy of the weather. "Gee, that flashy gust was lucky for us," Buggy remarked, "We were able to escape like this because I always behave well."

"Where're we going now?" Alvida asked.

"The Grand Line," Buggy announced.

"The Grand Line?"

"Yeah. This is a good opportunity. I have to settle with that damn rubber man. Let's head straight into the nostalgic Grand Line."

-

"Ugh! It's almost like the ship's gonna tip over!" Luffy cried.

Nami noticed a blinking light coming from far in the distance. "Look at that light!"

"Is that a lighthouse of the island?" Usopp asked, gripping the mast for dear life.

"It's a guiding light," She explained, "The entrance to the Grand Line lies ahead of that light."

"The Grand Line is ahead of that light..." Luffy stared in awe.

"What do you wanna do?" Nami turned to him.

"B-but there's no reason to enter during a storm like this," Usopp pointed out.

Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, and Nami all shared a glance, the same idea coming to them. "Okay then!" Sanji announced. "Shall we hold a launching ceremony for setting sail on the great ocean?"

"Hey!" Usopp exclaimed in fear.

"Sure!" Luffy agreed enthusiastically.

"Let's do it!" Nami added.

Venus watched silently.

To start, Sanji laid his left heel on a barrel. "In order to find the All Blue!" He shared his dream.

Luffy followed his lead. "In order to be King of the Pirates!"

Zoro joined in next, as Usopp stared. "In order to become a master swordsman!"

Nami then stepped up. "In order to draw a world map!"

Usopp reluctantly participated. "I-in order... to become a brave warrior of the sea!"

But one member was missing from the circle. Everyone looked over to Venus; she reluctantly stood on the sidelines, her gaze on her sneakers under her hood, and shyly holding her elbow, as her cape and pigtails blew in the wind. She wanted to be a part of it, but didn't feel obligated. After all, she had joined just an hour or two ago at most; she didn't feel like an official member. "Venus! Come on!" Luffy's voice made her look up in surprise.

"Come join us!" Usopp encouraged.

"You're one of us, Venus-chan!" Sanji added. "You're a Straw Hat now!"

"Yeah, what's your dream?" Nami chimed in.

Tears welled up and fell from her eye, blending in with the raindrops, as she took in their kind words. She wiped her cheek with a smile, and ran over between Usopp and Zoro. "Come on, short stack." Zoro turned to Usopp, and they put her arms on their shoulders. "One-two-three!" They hoisted the petite girl up off the ground, making her laugh, as her hood flew off her head.

She glanced around at everyone, keeping her gaze on Usopp the longest, then looked down to the barrel, and set her foot on the top. More tears came, as Rauru's words came back to her. "Go on, and become the greatest witch you can be." She sighed deeply, and blinked them away. "In order... to become the greatest witch I can be!"

They all eyed the top of the barrel in a moment of silence. "We're going... to the Grand Line!!" Luffy shouted excitedly, and they all lifted their legs.

"Yeah!" Everyone cheered.

It was just the beginning of their long, incredible journey together.

[random-jot]

Prediction for OPLA Season 2 episode breakdown:

*Note: this is assuming it has the same episode count as season one, 8, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Season 2 ends up having ten given both the positive reception to the first one and the amount of content from the Alabasta arc has to adapt

Episode One:

Loguetown and Reverse Mountain. Luffy & Co arrive at Loguetown, the now teamed-up Buggy & Alvida launch a surprise attack. Smoker and Tashigi introduced, each respectively has their first confrontation with Luffy and Zoro. The rest of the Straw Hats’ escapades (Usopp’d sniping duel and Sanji’s cooking contest) are downplayed/cut for time. Possible Bartolomeo cameo. Episode ends with the Merry sailing over Reverse mountain, possible cliffhanger ending as the ship sails into Laboon.

Episode Two:

Laboon, Whiskey Peak, Little Garden Start. The episode will open with a heavily abridged sequence around Laboon, then move swiftly to Whiskey Peak, which will entail the majority of the episode, big focus on Zoro solo-ing the small fry of Baroque Works, Zoro & Luffy’s fight (though likely a shorter fight than in the original) and Vivi reveal. Episode ends with crew either heading to or arriving at Little Garden.

Episode Three:

Little Garden Cont.’ Dorry and Broggy introduced, pray for the CGI budget, Zoro & Sanji have their dinosaur hunting competition, Mr. Three attacks the group. Sanji gets his first ‘Mister Prince’ moment on the snail transponder - this will play out slightly differently, possibly he steals the transponder from Three after they defeat him. Nami falls ill suddenly, Dorry and Broggy send them off to the next island.

Episode Four: 🦌❄️

Drum Island. The crew arrive at Drum Island and begin searching for a doctor to save Nami. Wapol l is downplayed as a villain with more focus on the urgency of curing Nami’s and introducing certain more important new characters. Possibly the last scene gives us our first look at Chopper.

Episode Five: 🦌❄️

Drum Island Cont.’ Chopper’s backstory is told on flashback; this takes up maybe half the episode, similarly to how Sanji’s backstory was told in season one. Wapol attacks again but is deslt with relatively quickly. Drum Island wraps up with Chopper joining the crew and the Straw Hats setting sail for Alabasta proper. Slight possibility that Wappol is near cut entirely, a la Krieg, and the villain for this arc is another member of Baroque Works.

Episode Six:

Alabasta. The Alabasta arc proper begins, much faster paced than in the source. Mr 2 meeting happens but briefer than in the source. Straw Hats aim to take down Crocodile directly. Smoker catches up to the Straw Hats. Ace is introduced and given a bigger role than in the source, helping them escape Smoker. Perhaps episode ends with Luffy and Smoker captured together.

Episode Seven:

Alabasta Cont.’ If not in the last episode, this episode will center around the Casino, we’ll get Sanji’s big ‘Mr. Prince’ moment, the various high-ups of Baroque Works will begin making their moves (Mr 2 imitating the king etc.) Luffy and Crocodile’s first fight, with Luffy being left for dead as a possible cliffhanger episode ending.

Episode Eight:

Alabasta Concludes. The final showdown to save Alabasta begins. Various Straw Hats fight the Various members of Baroque Works, the members of Vivi’s court try to stop Crocodile’s bomb, Luffy reappears at a clutch moment for his big rematch with Crocodile. Episode seems as though it ends with a slightly altered version of the “X” moment, but all of a sudden Nico Robin appears on the ship and asks to join their crew. Season Ends.

General other thoughts:

It’s gonna be a lot to squeeze into 8 episodes, so my guess is like season one, there will have to be some pretty brutal cuts. As mentioned, I feel like Wapol might be downplayed to give more room for heavier hitting villains, in addition the various Baroque Works high-ups will be downplayed, with the exception of Bon Clay and Mr 3. We will see Nico Robin doubting her allegiance to Crocodile sooner. Smoker’s role will be increased, with he and Tashigiri pursuing the crew like Garp did in season one. Buggy and Alvida will show up a few more times but continue to be unsuccessful. Koby and Garp will appear, though far less frequently than in season one.

For a possible post-credits tease, the meeting to decide who will take Crocodile’s place as a member of the Seven Warlords.

Looking forward to it airing and seeing how close I got!

[disneydeb1928]

One Piece Theory: The SWORD Initiative

The SWORD Initiative 

SWORD first appeared in Chapter 956 when it was discovered that X Drake, a member of the 11 Supernovas was, in fact, an undercover Marine. Not much is known regarding this organization other then Drake is the Captain and Koby is also a member.

Storytelling: Oda is not a newbie when it comes to storytelling. I’ve said it a million times, but I will say it again: Oda has mastered a very unique type of storytelling. Many others will tell you the same thing. He is a man who values how you feel about characters above how you may feel about his organizations overall. This is why, he always introduces characters, allowing you to make your own judgements before revealing more information on them. With that being said, some people may believe that since this is a recent addition to the plot that this organization must not have been around long. However, that just isn’t true. Oda would never create something this relevant to the story that isn’t routed deep in the past. He loves to make his reveals and have us gasp because suddenly something that happened 200 chapters ago now makes sense. With that being said, I think it is safe to say that there is more to this organization that meets the eye. Therefore, let’s first establish their existence within the established timeline.

Timeline:

X Drake was born on October 24, 1491. We know that he was taken in by the marines when he was 20 years old (in 1511) after the incident of Rosinante stealing the Ope Ope no Mi from his father’s pirate crew. The wiki says that “He [would] eventually enlist as a Marine himself” indicating that he didn’t join right away.

Drake doesn’t appear in the story until chapter 498 (in the year 1522). That means that there are 11 years unaccounted for. In that time, we know he apparently rose to the rank of rear admiral before defecting (Ch. 509)  – again no timeline specifics have been give (but I don’t doubt we will get them in the future).

However, me may be able to speculate based on other Marines.

·         Tashigi was able to go from Master Chief Petty Officer to Ensign (skipping Warrant Officer) in the couple of months that took place between the Loguetown Arc and the Post-Enies Lobby Arc. After the timeskip, Tashigi was a Captain (skipping 4 positions). Therefore, overall, for her to go from Master Chief Petty Officer to Captain, it took roughly 2 years and a couple of months.

·         Similarly, Smoker was able to from a Captain to a Commodore and then to Vice Admiral in the same time period (2 years and a couple of months).

·         Therefore, one could speculate that to go from Master Chief Petty Officer to Vice Admiral it would take around 4 years and 6 months. Since Rear Admiral is only one rank below Vice Admiral I’m going to say that the times are probably similar. [Disclaimer 1: I say this recognizing that there are probably 1000 different things that go into promotions within the Marines (such as accomplishments, age, etc) and that not every person is going to advance at the same pace. With that being said, I do think that we can still learn a lot from it – He’s not a background character after all]. In conclusion, I think 4 years and 6 months is a decent ballpark to aim for and I am willing to speculate that it would have taken Drake at least 4 and a half years to reach the rank of Rear Admiral, putting his age at around 24 (placing this in the year 1515) [Disclaimer 2: This age is completely based off the possibility that Drake joined the marines during the first year he was with them]. All this means, is that at the earliest Drake was a Rear Admiral by 1515.

We are led to believe that his defection has always been staged, and that from the beginning, everything he did was towards advancing SWORD’s goal. So that means SWORD has existed since before the beginning of the series.

We do not know how long he was a pirate before he made his appearance, however, by the time he did, he already had a full crew and a bounty of 222,000,000. We know that Cavendish became a Supernova in 1521, so I think we can make that the latest that Drake could have possibly left the Marines.  

Flashing forward, I think we can pretty much conclude that Koby joined SWORD at some point during the 2-year timeskip.

The Creation of SWORD

If that is the case, that we can conclude one of two things. Either:

1.      Drake created the SWORD organization and began his own mission alone

2.      SWORD already existed before that point and someone approached him to join and start his mission

There isn’t enough information available at this point to really say either way. However, I would speculate that SWORD wasn’t Drake’s idea.

Possible SWORD Members

1.) Issho / Fujitora & Ryokugyu

Issho and Ryokugyu are both new Admirals to replace the positions that Kuzan and Akainu left open during the 2-year timeskip. From what we’ve seen of Issho’s personality, I think he is probably one of the more likely options for SWORD members. He intentionally blinded himself when he became disgusted with all the evil and corruption he had seen in the world (Ch. 799). Some might say that he joined the Marines to fight that evil but perhaps the Marines are the evil he wanted to fight? We’ve seen multiple instances where he put the good of the people above capturing Luffy and the Straw Hats. So much so, Akainu and him got into a heated debate that ended with Issho being band from any Marine base until Luffy was captured (Ch. 801).

Outside of personality wise and evidence of him going outside of Marine orders, there is another reason he is on this list, as well as why I grouped him with Ryokugyu, who we know almost nothing about. And the answer to that is: The Folklore of Momotaro.

An excerpt of the Folklore of Momotaro:

“When he matured into adolescence, Momotarō left his parents to fight a band of Oni (demons or ogres) who marauded over their land, by seeking them out in the distant island where they dwelled (a place called Onigashima or "Demon Island"). En route, Momotarō met and befriended a talking dog, monkey and pheasant, who agreed to help him in his quest in exchange for a portion of his rations (kibi dango or "millet dumplings"). At the island, Momotarō and his animal friends penetrated the demons' fort and beat the band of demons into surrendering. Momotarō and his new friends returned home with the demons' plundered treasure and the demon chief as a captive.”

It has been said before that Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru’s Admirals alias are based on the three animals that helped Momotaro (pheasant, dog, and monkey). A fan wrote to Oda in the recent SBS (Vol. 76) and theorized that Fujitora and Ryokugyu (The tiger and ox) are based on the oni (demons) that Momotaro had to face during his adventure, which would imply that they could be against the World Government. Oda jokingly responded, “I’m not saying a single thing about whether this theory is correct or incorrect, okay? (cold sweat)”. If this is true, I think this could serve as proof that they are either members of SWORD or even the Revolutionary Army.

2.) Kuzan / Aokiji

Kuzan, very similar to Issho, has had multiple instances where he has deviated from what Akainu refers to as “absolute justice”. For starters, he was the once responsible for allowing Nico Robin to escape from the Buster Call on Ohara by providing a small boat while also a trail of ice for her to leave safely. Another example is when he (similar to Issho) didn’t arrest Luffy because he defeated Crocodile, saving Alabasta.

However, I think a big reason why many people speculate that he may be a part of SWORD are the parallels between him and X Drake. After the timeskip, we discover that after losing the Fleet Admiral fight between him and Akainu, Kuzan resigned from the Marines. Afterwards, he became affiliated with the Blackbeard Pirates, just like how Drake resigned and created the Drake Pirates. I will say, that these similarities give just as many reasons as why he would be a SWORD member as for why he isn’t. It’s possible these stories are too alike for Oda to tie them to the same cause. However, it is possible that the SWORD initiative is all about going undercover as pirates. But if that was true, then why is Koby not undercover? Just food for thought.

3.) Smoker & Tashigi

If we were to make a list of likeable Marines, Smoker would probably slotted right behind Koby. From the moment he comforted that crying little girl in Loguetown, he gained a lot of fan-fare. I think a lot of people hope that Smoker is a member of SWORD. Like the previous two Admirals above, he has had his fair share of compromising the Marines’ belief in “absolute justice” in order to do the right thing. In fact, out of all of the Marines mentioned on this list, he has done this the most. All of those moments have served as an example of his character. Outside of that, I think it is interesting that Smoker decided to request transfer to G-5 at the beginning of the timeskip, a place known for having difficulties. I think it is definitely possible Smoker is a member.

4.) Rosinante

Very similar to Kuzan and Drake, Rosinante placed himself undercover in order to stop his brother, Doflamingo. It is very possible that this was a very early SWORD mission. Or it could have what led to the creation of SWORD.

6.) Sengoku & 7.) Monkey D. Garp

Like Smoker and Tashigi, these last two are an example of ‘we like them, so we want them to be a part of this good organization’.

Honestly, I have tried to wrap my mind around why the heck Garp is even still involved with the Marines. The only other ‘D.’-bearer we know that was in the Marines, was Jaguar D. Saul, who ended up defecting in order to save Nico Robin during the Ohara Incident. If Garp is not a member of this shadow organization, then there is a deeper reason for why he joined the Marines and stayed.

[the-bejeesus]

Another One Piece Birthday that Somehow Reveals a Lot of Lore

      So about a year ago I discussed how the Vivre Card Databooks use snow men’s birthdays to prove that a pre-timeskip arc occurred specifically at a certain date, allowing us to estimate when every pre-timeskip arc took place. However, because of the margin of error in the estimations, along with the vagueness of a “two year timeskip”, it was too difficult to pinpoint dates on any post-timeskip arcs.

      Well, not anymore. You see, for awhile now we’ve known that the Straw Hat Pirates’ birthday is June 13th, but we had no clue what that meant. Well, somebody translated the page for me, and it represents the day the Straw Hats reunited on Sabaody, making the Return to Sabaody arc take place June 13th, 1524. So now all we have to is take note of the passage of time to further estimate arc dates.

Our first immediate hurdle is the Straw Hats all losing consciousness. However, it can be assumed that they didn’t pass out for an entire day.

Despite Sanji passing out from blood loss, there’s no indication that a day has passed.

Despite Fishman Island having its own underwater light source, it appears that night and day still pass. Perhaps the tree is using light from the sun, so it can’t light up the water unless the sun’s out. Anyways, I’m going to count this as one day.

Arriving on Punk Hazard, there’s a huge storm, so it’s hard to tell if it’s day or night. But I would assume it’s the morning of June 14.

Again, there’s some evil knockout gas trying to get in our way, but because not much time seems to pass in Luffy’s group between Nami’s group passing out and waking up, I wouldn’t assume much time has passed. Probably not even an hour.

But that’s not all, Luffy and co are defeated by Caesar and once again left unconscious. However, Zoro’s team is left in tact, so it’s shown that not much time passes before they wake up.

Now you would think that the aftermath at least was a long time, right? After all, Mocha took some powerful drugs and needed recovery. But actually it would appear Law’s treatment was radically successful. The Straw Hats are having a huge banquet at the beginning of the aftermath, and people are still eating just when they’re about to leave.

When they set out, that’s when they finally go to sleep, making Punk Hazard June 14th and just a little bit of June 15th.

While you may have heard the phrase “Dressrosa is 100 chapters but somehow it all covers the course of one day”, and while that’s partially true, it’s ignoring the aftermath of the Dressrosa arc.

For one, night is shown to pass, but on top of that, it’s noted that the Straw Hats have stayed for 3 days since Doffy’s defeat, making it June 18th.

Zou begins on the same day,

Only for a week’s worth of sailing to pass later, making it June 25th.

“Now hold on, a week is vague. It could be exactly 7 days, or it could be 10, or 5!” True, but the dates add up when Robin says “can you tell us everything about the last 11 days from the start?” If it’s June 25th, the last 11 days have been June 15th through June 25th.

As Nami and co go on describing what’s been happening, night passes. This is the only time they can meet Master Cat Viper, as he and Duke Dogstorm have alternating shifts, making it June 26th.

Despite treating Zunesha’s injuries, no passage of time is really indicated, so when Luffy’s group leaves, it can be assumed to still be June 26th.

Now this is where it gets confusing. The Straw Hats note it’ll take multiple days to get to Whole Cake Island.

Then we’re told that it’s still just the first day since they’ve set off, though.

Then it cuts to Sanji and it’s several days later. What do you mean several?

Then when it comes back to the Straw Hats, it’s a few days later. A few??? Is that compounded by Sanji’s “several days later” or seperate?

So now we’re in Totto Land. I would assume it’s once again a week later, making it July 3rd.

Pudding sets up a reindez-vous for tomorrow, on July 4.

We do indeed end up seeing it takes a whole day to actually get to Whole Cake Island.

After the battle with Sanji, night falls. If you’re thinking “hey it’s just a storm” this is proven wrong by Big Mom going to sleep with Brook. The next day is July 5th.

After the wedding, the pursuit of the Straw Hats is shown to go all night long. making it July 6th.

It’s extremely hard to pinpoint when the Reverie happened because the Straw Hats are barely in it, so I’m just gonna say it’s July 6th.

Going into Wano there’s already some problems. For one, there’s no mention of how long it took to get there. And on top of that, they get shipwrecked and pass out. I think it’s safe to assume that it at least took a day to get there, considering how far behind their trail Big Mom ends up being. So it’d be July 7.

Then Kin’emon goes on to say that the Night of the Fire Festival, when they will raid Onigashima, is in exactly two weeks. So the Night of the Fire Festival would be July 21.

And sure enough those two weeks pass exactly as planned.

That is essentially the most info I could find. It’s rather unfortunate that guesswork had to be laid out once we got into Whole Cake Island, but I feel like it’s still pretty accurate.

So, combining what we’ve just estimated with the list of pre-timeskip dates I determined in a previous post, here’s the unofficial complete One Piece story arc timeline:

Pre-timeskip:

East Blue Saga -January 25th, 1522 — February 17th, 1522-

Romance Dawn -January 25th, 1522 — January 26th, 1522-

Orange Town -January 29th, 1522-

Syrup Village -January 30th, 1522 — February 2nd, 1522-

Baratie -February 5th, 1522 — February 10th, 1522-

Arlong Park -February 12th, 1522 — February 15th, 1522-

Loguetown -February 17th, 1522-

Alabasta Saga -February 18th, 1522 — March 8th, 1522-

Reverse Mountain -February 18th, 1522-

Whiskey Peak -February 18th, 1522-

Little Garden -February 21st, 1522-

Drum Island -February 24th, 1522-

Alabasta -March 1st, 1522 — March 8th, 1522-

Sky Island Saga -March 11th, 1522 — March 14th, 1522-

Jaya -March 11th, 1522-

Skypiea -March 12th, 1522 — March 14th, 1522-

Water 7 Saga -March 15th, 1522 — March 30th, 1522-

Long Ring Long Land -March 15th, 1522-

Water 7 -March 22nd, 1522 — March 23rd, 1522-

Enies Lobby -March 24th, 1522-

Post-Enies Lobby -March 27th, 1522 — March 30th, 1522-

Thriller Bark Saga -April 2nd, 1522 — April 5th, 1522-

Thriller Bark -April 2nd, 1522 — April 5th, 1522-

Summit War Saga -April 9th, 1522 — May 5th, 1522-

Sabaody Archipelago -April 9th, 1522-

Amazon Lily -April 11th, 1522-

Impel Down -April 15th, 1522 — April 16th, 1522-

Marineford -April 17th, 1522-

Post-War -May 1st, 1522 — May 5th, 1522-

Post-timeskip:

Fishman Island Saga -June 13th, 1524 — June 14th, 1524-

Return to Sabaody -June 13th, 1524-

Fishman Island -June 13th, 1524 — June 14th, 1524-

Dressrosa Saga -June 14th, 1524 — June 18th, 1524-

Punk Hazard -June 14th, 1524 — June 15th, 1524-

Dressrosa -June 15th, 1524 — June 18th, 1524-

Yonko Saga -June 18th, 1524 — July 21st, 1524 (continuing)-

Zou -June 18th, 1524 — June 26th, 1524-

Whole Cake Island -June 26th, 1524 — July 6th, 1524-

Reverie -July 6th, 1524-

Wano-kuni -July 6th, 1524 — July 21st, 1524 (continuing)-

What I find most interesting about these dates is that, a year ago I concluded that the pre-timeskip ended on May 5th, so if the Straw Hats were to wait exactly two years to get back together, June 13th, is not actually that far off. If it was like April or September that Return to Sabaody was supposed to happen, I’d be in a bit of trouble. I also find it interesting that everything from Return to Sabaody to most of Dressrosa was three days, and then over a month has gone by since then, almost entirely from traveling, sleeping, and waiting for the Fire Festival to come around.

[disneydeb1928]

One Piece Theory: Rocks Pirates

The Importance of The Rocks Pirates

It was mentioned that the Rocks Pirates were said to be terrorizing the world by 1984 (Ch. 907). The God’s Valley Incident occurred in 1486, just 2 years later. Now, we don’t know much about the Rocks Pirates or their captain, Rocks D. Xebec, but by taking a look at the other members of the crew, we may be able to garner some clues.

Despite having a crew filled with powerful members, the only ones with canon ages are: Charlotte Linlin (AKA Big Mom) and Edward Newgate (AKA Whitebeard). As pointed out on Ohara Library there is heavy evidence that Big Mom was at sea from at least 50 years ago (1474), as her first son, Perospero was born on a “certain random port”. In addition, the Katakuri triplets (48), Cracker (45), and Montd’Or (38) were all born on a ship. Interestingly enough, Montd’Or was born the same year that the God Valley Incident occurred. This would mean from the ages of 18 – 30 she was at sea, with at least two of these being spent with the Rocks Pirates (1484 – 1486).

Sengoku tells us that it was Xebec’s dream to be “King of the World” and that he established a crew of fearless and ruthless pirates to accomplish it. Sengoku also says that Xebec’s ambition was involved with many of the world’s taboo subjects. We can assume that one such topic would include the “Will of D.” and the “D. Clan” , however there is a whole slew of other things he could have also had a hand in:

·         The Void Century

·         The Ancient Weapons

·         The Poneglyphs

·         The Treasure in Mary Goise

·         Im-Sama

I think it is important to point out, that by 1496, Big Mom already had a Road Poneglyph in her possession and by 1504 Kaido had managed to take the one hidden in Wano. It seems very peculiar that two of Rocks’ crewmates went after them. This leads me to believe that they had to have some type of idea regarding their use or at the very least, their importance. This is highlighted by the fact that Big Mom had one before Roger even knew what they were used for. In addition, Shiki, another ex-member of the Rocks pirates, knew enough about the ancient weapons by 1497 to want to make an alliance with Roger who was rumored to have one. This leads me to believe that the Rocks Pirates were somehow involved in at least the first three subjects listed, to some degree. Yet, they don’t appear to have any interest in collecting the other Poneglyphs. Could it be that the events of God’s Valley convinced them that Laugh Tale was not safe to go after?

As for the treasure in Mary Goise and Im-sama, it all goes back to Rocks’ goal: to become King of the World. We know, from the Reverie arc that if someone were to sit on the ‘Empty Throne’ it would symbolize that they had power over the entire world. In the next chapter, we see a figure called “Im” sitting on the throne. The fact that we were given a brief description of the Rocks Pirates in the midst of these groundbreaking chapters, is not a coincidence. Is it possible that Xebec was also aware of Mary Goise’s treasure?

[I’ll be talking about the Treasure in a different post]

Now, in regard to the God Valley Incident. We know that, for unknown reasons, the world nobles and some of their slaves were present during the events.

“Garp and Roger encountered each other on the island… and teamed up to defeat the Rocks Pirates. All in order to protect the Celestial Dragons and their slaves…”

For starters, “encountered” insinuates that neither party was aware the other was going to be there. So why the hell did Roger care so much? Why did Garp for that matter. He has, on multiple occasions shown a disgust for the Celestial Dragons, citing them as the reason he won’t accept a promotion. Perhaps this incident is the cause for that dislike. However, considering he was already 40 during the incident, that might not be the case. I guess it would all depend when they began to offer him a promotion.

On Roger’s side, we have a man who will one day be King of the Pirates. We don’t know much about his past other than he was born in Loguetown in the East Blue. Still, I can’t imagine he had the best opinions on Celestial Dragons and slavery. There must be more to the story.

People have speculated that due to the name, “God Valley” and the fact that Celestial Dragons view themselves as “gods” that the place must have had a connection to them. I think the fact that there were Celestial Dragons canonically present during the attack confirms that. The true question is: What were they doing there?

Xebec, much like Blackbeard, wanted power, he wanted to be King of the World. Whatever occurred in God Valley, it must have started with him after something.on the island. Considering what we know about his interest in “taboo” subjects it would have something to do with them. Something that would get him closer to the seat of power.

I would conclude that whatever it was, he got close. Close enough that a whole island/country was destroyed in the process. My apologies – “vanished” – the entirety of God’s Valley vanished. The easy conclusion would be that the Marines performed a Buster Call. And there sure is a lot of evidence to suggest this. For instance, the disappearance of God Valley sounds eerily similar to Robin’s story of Ohara, as both islands are no longer drawn on any maps. In addition, the World Government put a lot of effort into erasing the incident altogether from history. However, it is also possible that something else just as sinister occurred.

Heck, we aren’t even 100% sure that Xebec is dead. The people who would have the best idea to what happened would be those who took part in the incident itself: Rocks D. Xebec, The Rocks Pirates (to some extent), Monkey D. Garp, and Gol D. Roger.

[the-bejeesus]

WE GOT OURSELVES A GIANT-ASS ONE PIECE LORE REVEAL AND I’M GONNA FUCKING PEE

      There have been several upon several mysteries in the series of One Piece. Some answered, others not. Some of them we scratch our heads about it daily, sometimes we don’t think about it often. But with the recent 6th wave of Vivre Card Databooks, we just got one of the most elusive details about One Piece unlocked.

The snowmen Luffy and Usopp built were given the birthdays February 18th.

     “Hold on, are you saying this is a big deal ironically?” NO!!! HAHA!! Let me explain why

Do you see?? They built those snow men on their way to Whiskey Peak, and Reverse Mountain and Whiskey Peak happened on the same day, so those arcs occurred specifically February 18th, 1522!!! We’ve never known what date an arc occurs outside of the year, this is probably because Oda doesn’t want to accidentally make more arcs than what could possibly happen within that period of time. (Some people still can’t believe that everything pre-timeskip was 1522 but I explained why that was perfectly plausible in a previous ramble).

     Well, what other arcs can we make an educated guess on dates as a result of this? Well, the morning after Whiskey Peak they immediately leave for Little Garden. Usually, it would be indeterminable how many days the voyage took.

However, as they get near Little Garden, Usopp and Sanji are informed of what happened while they were asleep, so it’s safe to assume the voyage only took one day, making Little Garden February 19th. It also would be hard to determine how many days were between Little Garden and Drum Island. However, we can see from Dr. Kureha’s analysis of Nami that it’s only been 3 days since Little Garden.

And the Drum Island arc took one day so that was all on February 22nd, 1522.

It gets even better. The crew gets to Alabasta 5 days later so that starts February 27th.

Nighttime falls once before the Utopia clock is set.

Now I hear you say “Wait! Here nighttime falls a second time! Wrong.

Earlier the narrator set the clock back a few hours. So we simply watched it go to night twice on the same day.

The next day on the 28th they say the operation will begin tomorrow morning at 7. Since 1522 was not a leap year, that means March 1st.

And just in case you were doubtful, no, the Straw Hats did not delay the Operation at all so it’s now March 1st.

And as we all remember, when Luffy put a stop to that operation that very same day, he fell asleep for 3 days, making it March 4th.

After that, night fell once and they said they’d leave tomorrow morning, making it March 5th.

When Robin reveals herself, everyone is in the same clothes, so it has to still be March 5th.

Now they do change clothes mid-scene, but as you can see, Usopp was still interviewing Robin, so it couldn’t have suddenly skipped to a new day. In this same scene the boat falls, so Jaya must happen March 5th.

Nightfall only passes once so whenever they shoot up to Skypiea the next morning it’s March 6th.

After they split up and then meet back together and go camping with wolves, nightfall passes and it’s March 7th.

Here one might be inclined to claim nightfall occurs again, but do not be mistaken; it is simply a storm Eneru is causing.

Just to confirm this, it immediately becomes daylight when Luffy destroys his thunderstorm.

After defeating Eneru, nightfall passes once more and they leave on March 8th.

Now if you watch the anime, you might feel inclined to say nightfall occurs again,

However the colored manga debunks the idea that Doflamingo confronting Bellamy occured at night.

After this, there is a scene where Nami talks about the treasure and they eat dinner and stuff. However, the next chapter is about a sea monkey tsunami and it’s sadly impossible to confirm how long they were at sea. We could assume it was one day, but we don’t see the sea monkey tsunami in the same sequence we see them land and eat dinner, so there’s room for possibility that 1, 2, hell even 20 nights occured before reaching Long Ring Long Land. Thanks Long Ring Long Land, you ruined everything.

So now that the road ends here we should work backwards.

Sadly, we can’t work backwards either. There was a storm as they left Loguetown, and it can’t be confirmed if night passed during this time. Sure, it’s daytime before and after the storm, but we don’t know how long the storm went on for because after this page the next chapter cuts to a new scene and, again, it could’ve been 1, 2, 30 days.

However, I do have one final hoorah.

You see, Sabo, Ace, and Luffy all planned to set sail when they were 17. We can guess Ace left on his birthday (January 1st), but with Luffy it’s unclear if he left exactly 3 years later or on his own 17th birthday.

Now some translations make it sound like Luffy left when he turned 17 (So May 5th), but honestly that fan translation can’t be any more trusted than Viz can, and I don’t speak Japanese myself so I can’t interpret what the narrator said exactly. However, because of what we just learned, we know Luffy can’t have possibly left on his birthday because if he left May 5th 1522, Whiskey Peak couldn’t possibly have happened February 18th, 1522. It’s also entirely possiblethat he didn’t leave on his or Ace’s birthday, and just planned to leave that general year when he felt most ready.

So in conclusion Luffy set out to sea on January 1st, 1522 but that’s a hard maybe, it could have been anywhere between then and February 18th.

Now sadly, after Chapter 2, Luffy voyages with Coby for an indefinite amount of time, so we can’t even fill in the dates for the remainder of Romance Dawn, much less the rest of East Blue. The buck truly starts here.

But to recap, here are canonical dates of arcs we can conclude thanks to Oda giving a goddamn snowman a birthday.

East Blue Saga  ~January 1st, 1522 — February 17th, 1522~

Romance Dawn ~January 1st, 1522 — ???~

Alabasta Saga -February 18th, 1522 — March 5th, 1522-

Reverse Mountain -February 18th, 1522

Whiskey Peak -February 18th, 1522

Little Garden -February 19th, 1522

Drum Island -February 22nd, 1522

Alabasta -February 27th, 1522 — March 5th, 1522-

Sky Island Saga -March 5th, 1522 — March 8th, 1522-

Jaya -March 5th, 1522 — March 6th, 1522-

Skypiea -March 6th, 1522 — March 8th, 1522-

Water 7 Saga ~March 8th, 1522 — ???~

Long Ring Long Land ~March 8th, 1522 —

I tried my best to keep this well-researched but feel free to fact check me. I'm pretty excited I’ve always wanted to know this stuff.