Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5h5dc1pBFcQ

KUMA VS AKAINU

So before the iron giant, we have to contend with another type of iron fellow, being Kuma arriving at Mary Geoise, only to be stopped by Sakazuki, in an incredible showing of the fleet Admiral actually leaving his office for the first time in a decade. Kuma having climbed to the top of the Red Line though makes for a very interesting parallel, especially in this chapter, because it mirrors the story of the Iron Giant who, 200 years ago, climbed the Red Line to attack Mary Geoise, but ran out of power before it could cause any damage and collapsed right then and there. 

The iron giant serves as a big point of question across this entire chapter, as Vegapunk explained how the robot appears to be autonomous, without needing a pilot inside, and was instead powered by a power source the ancient kingdom had discovered, which Vegapunk believed to be available across the whole world. Interestingly, Robin also brought up how around the time of the iron giant incident 200 years ago was also the period when the Government decided to let Fishman Island join the World Government and attempted to lessen the discrimination against seafolk. Was this simply a reaction by the Government wanting to amass more allies, or could it perhaps be connected? Is the fact that the iron giant wears a mask identical to that of a fishman like Jack just a coincidence… or is there more to it?

And beyond all that… what was the Iron Giant doing in Mary Geoise? Maybe it recognized the Government as its enemy, but unless the robot is smart enough to deduce that, it shouldn’t know it, as Mary Geoise did not even exist 900 years ago when the Iron Giant was built and programmed. Rather, it’s likely that it originally existed to protect what laid before Mary Geoise, being the technologically advanced God Country, the settlement of the genetically enhanced Lunaria who came from the Moon, and it likely attacked Mary Geoise to drive away the intruders from its homeland.

But regardless, the connection between Kuma and the Iron Giant hardly feels like a coincidence, as not only does the Iron Giant become relevant again this chapter, but the moment that Kuma first left Kamabakka and started flying towards Mary Geoise was the same exact chapter that the Iron Giant was properly introduced and when Luffy was first interacting with it, so no doubt Oda is brining attention to the parallel.

Could the two events somehow be connected? Two giant robots, capable of moving on their own but having lost their will and emotions, climbing to the heavens where the God Country once stood? At the very least, Kuma’s intention appeared to be different to the Iron Giant’s, as its final destination appears to be somewhere in the New World, only having climbed to Mary Geoise as his powers did not let him cross over the Red Line. Keep in mind that this also took place yesterday, so Kuma should be bound to arrive at his destination fairly soon. At this point, everything just seems to point to that destination being Egghead, but it once again makes us wonder what is Kuma after and what reactivated him? Was it somehow Bonney, or perhaps maybe even the robot or Joyboy directly?

His connection with Bonney is certainly interesting, as we even get a flashback of when Sakazuki found Bonney after her encounter with Blackbeard, explaining how Kuma died. During that scene, Sakazuki also mentioned how worried he had been that Bonney escaped the Government, which brings into question just what exactly their purpose with her was. Both Lucci and Saturn mentioned that her use had ended. Does it have to do with her powers, wanting her to alter the age of something, or maybe something related with Kuma?

ADMIRAL KIZARU

Meanwhile at Egghead, we finally have Luffy clashing with Kizaru. This is highlighted by a very iconic quote where Luffy states that now they are 100 times stronger than they were on Sabaody. This is a reference to the fact that in Sabaody, Shakky had stated that Rayleigh was 100 times stronger than the Straw Hats and Rayleigh was the one who saved them by being able to go toe to toe against Kizaru for a while. So in this case, Luffy being able to clash against Kizaru is a neat reference to him being able to stop Kizaru now in much the same way that Rayleigh did back then.

Kizaru in turn responds by saying “Very bad manners”. More specifically, in Japanese, this is the first time that Kizaru has started speaking in a more curt and fast manner. As you may know, in Japanese Kizaru often speaks very slowly, dragging out the end of his sentences and speaking very casually. But as he enters the Labophase, he begins speaking more briefly. Personally thinking, this could be a result of him having had to take down Sentomaru and not being in a good mood, being frustrated that this mission has to drag on further than it was intended. However, by the time Kizaru and Luffy fight in this chapter, he begins dragging his sentences again, showing that he feels more in control once more.

It’s also interesting how he is familiar with Bonney, which makes sense as his familiarity with Vegapunk and Sentomaru means he was likely familiar with Kuma and his daughter too, which makes the whole dynamic of Kizaru, Sentomaru, and Kuma at Sabaody all the more fascinating in retrospect. Bonney tries attacking Kizaru with an attack called “Toshitsuki”, which reads with the kanji for “deadly thrust”, but is a pun on the Japanese expression “toshitsuki”, which refers to the passing of time over the years.

Kizaru however ends up kicking Bonney into the Frontier Dome, destroying the Vegaforce, and makes it all the way to Stella, ready to complete his mission, but gets stopped by Luffy who enters in Gear 5th in time to take hold of him. But all of a sudden… hearing the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation… the Iron Giant awakens!!

THE POWER SOURCE OF THE IRON GIANT

It’s very clear by the layout of these panels that the Drums of Liberation are what awakens the Iron Giant, with the sound effect for the Drums of Liberation being overlayed over the giant as it wakes up. This brings up as to why it wasn’t woken up when Luffy and Lucci were fighting last time, maybe the fact that he’s bigger now makes the sound of the Drums of Liberation run farther, but realistically the most logical answer is that as Luffy mentions, he fell all the way down to the Fabriophase after being fried by the Frontier Dome, and had to climb back up using Gear 5th. So it’s possible that he fell transformed in front of the Iron Giant, resulting in it beginning to activate. But regardless, not only will the Iron Giant help in turning the tables during the Egghead Incident, helping the Straw Hats escape in the place of the Vegaforce 1, but the implications of the Drums of Liberation being what awakens the Iron Giant of the Void Century are already massive on their own, but this actually may be an even bigger deal than you might first think.

There is one point of contention we need to think about first and that is the fact of if the Drums of Liberation are the actual power source of the Iron Giant or simply something that is waking it up. It’s still possible that the iron giant is powered by a separate source, the eternal energy Vegapunk spoke of, and simply reacted to the presence of Joyboy from the Drums of Liberation. Personally I’m still of the speculation that the infinite energy found all around the world could be the energy of the sun.

Perhaps, given the parallels with Kuma, it even kinda works like a Pacifista authority chip, as given the importance of the figure of Joyboy in the ancient kingdom, perhaps a robot like this one would only listen to someone like Joyboy and thus react to the Drums of Liberation as the signal of its commander. This is fairly similar to Zunesha, who could only obey in authority to Momonosuke, and largely ignored Luffy during all of Zou and Wano until he awakened, with Zunesha having a similar reaction to the Drums of Liberation, even sporting the same glowing eyes as the iron giant.

But alternatively, maybe it is the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation that fuels it and music was the power source of the ancient kingdom. At the very least, we can conclude that when the giant woke up 200 years ago, it wasn’t woken up by Joyboy’s heartbeat, as the Gorosei mentioned how the Nika fruit has not awakened in the past 800 years. This would corroborate the idea that the Drums aren’t its power source, just simply something it’s reacting to, but it could also be possible that someone played the rhythm of the drums to wake it up rather than hearing the specific heartbeat.

But why is all of this important? Well, for that, we need to ask ourselves… what exactly are the drums of liberation? We know they are music, the music of a party, as Oda indicated in the panel of the party at Skypiea, but could they be of a song we already know…? Well, if we pay attention to the rhythm of the Drums of Liberation in Japanese, “Don do to to”, you can realise it has a very similar rhythmic pattern to Yo ho ho ho, the rhythm of Binks’s Sake. But sure, you might just say that’s just a big stretch, it’s just a coincidence, but once you start to think about it, it really isn’t. Because after all, why else would Luffy start chanting literal lyrics from Binks’s Sake when transformed in Gear 5th, word for word?

Because Joyboy is undoubtedly connected with Binks’s Sake itself, as after all even the song’s lyrics mention the laugh tale of Joyboy, proving that all of this somehow ties together.

So in other words, if the Drums of Liberation are the rhythm of Binks’s Sake, the rhythm of Joyboy incarnate, then the implications of it being able to power the ancient giant could be massive. Maybe it just reacted like Zunesha did to the appearance of its leader, but what if maybe the rhythm itself is what is powering the ancient giant? Could that mean that the power source of the ancient kingdom… was none other than Binks’s Sake? And if my idea that Binks’s Sake could be the One Piece could potentially be true… then suddenly the idea of the One Piece helping connect the entire world together in prosperity would not just be symbolically speaking, but perhaps very literally.

But then, what exactly is the connection between Joyboy and Binks’s Sake? Why are they so intrinsically connected? Well, I hope to get the chance to share my thoughts on that very soon, but no doubt, this creature from the Void Century will bring out answers of his own!