Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eExkT92_tas

Cover

On the cover, Yamato finally reaches Ringo, the final destination of his great pilgrimage, and meets up with Kiku, who unsurprisingly, is now the Daimyo of Ringo, given how she was born there. As a fun fact, you may know that each of the regions of Wano are based on the regions of Japan, but more particularly, they are named after the local delicacies of each of those regions. As such, Ringo, being based on the Tohoku region, is named after apples, or ringo in Japanese, as apples are the traditional dish of the Aomori region, which I had the chance to visit the other day and taste their incredible selection of apples and juices.

Kiku and Yamato seem particularly close, even more than any of the Scabbards, to the point of leaping into each other’s arms, which seems peculiar until you consider their own shared experiences with gender as we saw when they decided to bathe in their respective baths in the Shogun Castle’s onsen. On Kiku’s cape you can also spot the symbol of the sun that is emblematic to Wano. With them is also O-Cho, the yakuza leader of the Ringo region, whose name literally just means “butterfly”, hence why her hair is in the shape of a butterfly. I’m assuming Ulti and Page One are here as well, but likely just off screen. Now that the trip has been completed and Yamato has basically accomplished everything he set out to do, I wonder where we’ll go from here, beyond maybe at most one more cover of eating with Kiku or something like that. Will the cover series simply end with Yamato having finished the piligrimage and remaining to protect Wano or will some external force drive Yamato into action to perhaps set out to sea or something like that?

Harald Piece

As the tale of Harald continues, we get to see how the young prince, and later soon to become King Harald played as a child with Dorry and Brogy, who we see in their adorable younger versions, with Brogy’s outfit even resembling that of Usopp’s current fit a little. Kid Harald carried a hammer similar to the one Loki would later carry and a belt with the symbol of two axes, a similar symbol to what we saw of his personal flag later. We are told that due to his immense strength as an ancient giant-blooded, not many could stand up to him or stop him, which ironically is a story that is very reminiscent of the tale of Big Mom, someone who was born with such tremendous strength that no one could stop her and even to this day behaved essentially like a spoiled child no one could say no to. Ironic considering that Big Mom’s own power would be what would raze the West Village some decades later.

We see Harald lackadaisically relaxing on his ship, throwing a booger into the sea which becomes as powerful as a cannonball, even sending a shark flying from the impact, a testament to his incredible size and power. His subordinates call him “bocchan”, or “young master”, the same term they would use for Loki later during the scene at the castle last chapter, which they likely still use given his youth as he’s already ascended to kinghood (and arguably is very recklessly spending his time away traveling rather than ruling his country), though later they call him “king” as well.

The group however then reaches a new location in the New World, being the Band Kingdom. In Japanese it’s the “banto oukoku” (バント王国), or “Bant”/”Bunt” Kingdom. We don’t really know if this kingdom is Government affiliated or not, but we can spot what seems to be the royal castle behind it, with some peculiarly conical roofs, while the houses have a style fairly reminiscent of central European architecture. Within a circus tent at the center of the town, a giant woman is being paraded as some sort of freak monster. The circus presenter claims that she’s 10 meters tall, though this is incredibly short by giant standards, considering someone like Hajrudin and other giants like Dorry and Brogy are around 20 meters, and later in the chapter she doesn’t seem that insanely smaller than Harald, who should be even bigger than that compared what we’ve seen of Loki vs Harjudin, but maybe the circus presenter is just throwing a random number for show. The crowds panic at seeing a giant, including a kid who jumps in the arms of her father, which laughs it off as the dad is one of the few wise enough to know there’s no real threat. Admittedly, some things are already suspicious, especially the fact that the giant screams “gao” (がお), which is basically the Japanese sound effect for “rawr”, something that sounds almost childish in how simple it is. Fittingly, her future child would eventually end up working for the circus that is Buggy’s Delivery, if by a twist of fate.

Her name is Ida, though particularly with an elongated i sound (イーダ), pronounced like “iida”. The name “Ida”, fittingly pronounced “iida” with the elongated sound in Norse as well, is a common Norse name, which is believed to be derived from Iðunn, a goddess of Norse mythology associated with eternal youth. Interestingly, in one of the myths, Loki is forced by the god Þjazi (pronounced “Thiazi”) to kidnap her, so I wonder if that might relate in any way with our story here.

Harald rescues her from the Kingdom, only to realize that she was in fact faking it all and she was willingly working with them to make some money after they rescued her. Harald looks down on the place by calling it a “Mini-Kingdom” (ミニ王国) of “chibi dolls” (ちび人形), but Ida humiliaties him by reminding him that he was simply born strong and that does not make him any greater than any other person, which makes Harald reflect quite a lot. She also adds that the arrogance of Elbaph is the reason why most people in the world think giants are all violent, which is the same thing that Saul mentioned to Robin during her flashback, as he himself claimed that he wasn’t from Elbaph and that not all giants are as barbaric as them. However, there’s actually more to this statement than you might think, as with this chapter, it seems fairly likely that both Saul and Ida actually both originate from the same country.

Ida mentions that she was born in Samuwanai Island (サムワナイ島) in the South Blue. Its name is a fairly obvious pun, as “samu wa nai” is Japanese for “not cold”, which is fitting given how the South Blue is known for being an ocean that is mostly tropical with humid and hot weather, weather that is indeed, not cold at all. However, according to Saul’s vivre card he originated from the South Blue, before eventually joining the Marines, so it makes sense than he and Ida may have been from the same country. It may even be the case they could be related in some form given that they both have puffy lips as a trait. This however explains yet another mystery, and it’s how Saul was able to ask for Hajrudin’s help, under the support of Harald, to save the books of Ohara. The then kind King Harald would’ve already had motive enough to be interested in preserving knowledge, but it would make extra sense if, being related to Ida or her homeland, Harald was extra willing to help Saul out.

Ida also mentions that to have gotten to the New World, she had to have crossed the Red Line, which Harald refers to as the “Blood Serpent” (血の蛇). This term had previously been used by Dorry to refer to the Red Line during Little Garden, where he said it was the one thing the giants could not destroy. The likening of the Red Line to a blood snake is of course a reference to the red-colored Jörmungandr, the world snake from Norse mythology, which also exists in Elbaph mythology, which is said to envelop the whole world, just like the Red Line. This also strengthens again the idea that the Hellflame Serpent mentioned in the Harley and depicted on the mural likely is an interpretation of the Red Line as well.

Eitherway, we see Ida helping out to rebuild the town, which Harald agrees to have his men help out with, comparing the town to a miniature model, which is fitting given how Road would create miniature models later on, but slowly gets fascinated by the different architectures, gastronomies, and other cultural aspects that human countries have, slowly opening his heart to the world. In the panels of the rebuilding we can spot a clown from the circus as well as later a hidden pandaman cheering alongside the townsfolk. Harald also apologizes to what is likely the king of the Band Kingdom, given his crown, and the people rejoice as they perform the Nika dance, a tradition in Elbaph as well as we’ve seen.

We see the two traveling more as they get to know each other, learning to approach humans from a more tropical settlement in the New World in peace by waving a white flag and offering to hunt for them a giant shark. The two marvel at the sunset together too, but Harald has to kneel down to reach Ida’s height. As two years pass, 105 years ago, they return to Elbaph, three years before Dorry and Brogy’s duel began. He here begins to change his policies, though the topic of Dorry and Brogy is brought up. Interestingly, he mentions that from the start they were friendly to humans, but still pillaged for the sake of Elbaph, so he considered stopping them if they got out of hand, but eventually the two would end up locked in a duel soon enough anyway. We also get a quick cameo by not just Jarul, but also Jorul, who was still alive at the time, decades before the incident. Harald’s travels of diplomacy continue, as we see him exchanging liquors with human kingdoms, presenting some authentic Elbaph liquor as indicated by the giant symbol on it. We also see another shot on his ship as he kept traveling with Ida, where staying past bedtime Harald continued to learn and write, becoming a more cultured man and thus much stronger than his physical strength could’ve ever taken him.

Estridda

We then jump further to 81 years ago, during Harjudin’s birth, matching the age Oda gave for him in the SBS. This is at a time when Dorry and Brogy have already been fighting for nearly two decades, and similarly as long after which Carmel saved the New Giant Warrior Pirates at Marineford, which was the Government’s plan to try and slowly gain more control over Elbaph. I had wondered in the past if Carmel’s ideals of equality and trading over plunder (as much of a sham as they were) had been a reason behind Harald’s change, but in reality I think it makes more sense now that it was Ida who had influenced Harald and instead because he had changed Harald was more open to the idea of welcoming someone like Carmel. Though I am surprised Oda didn’t have enough time to give her at least a cameo, but that’s more likely to happen next chapter as Big Mom’s rampage was blamed on the curse of Loki’s birth.

We cut to a new village in Elbaph, being the Ryoshi Mura (漁師村), translating to Fisherman’s Village, following the similar pattern of job related villages in Elbaph. This village, seemingly characterized for its houses elevated on platforms, is said to be located on the eastern side of the country, putting it on the opposite of the West Village and the royal castle. But some of the older people of Elbaph, while they permit Harald to have a kid with Ida, they do not allow them to get married or recognize Hajrudin as a legitimate heir to the throne, simply being treated like the child of a concubine. Ida is happy enough simply to live in the same country as the man she loves, but Harald is instead arranged to marry someone of pure Elbaph blood.

This is Estridda, stated to be the daughter of influentially powerful individuals from yet another new village, being the Sake Mura (酒村), or Alcohol Village (as remember “sake” is the generic word for alcohol in Japanese), where likely alcohol is locally produced, so you could consider it something like a Brewer Village. She says to be born from the “northern land’s Alcohol Village”, meaning it is located on the northern side of Elbaph, not too far from the Hunter village. Her name is likely based on that of Estrid, a famous figure from viking history serving as queen of Denmark who preceeded a long legacy in Denmark for centuries. She was also in fact the sister of King Harald II, so it makes sense that this historical figure was chosen to be the inspiration for the queen of Elbaph.

Her behavior is… almost unsettling frankly, as even the way that she speaks in Japanese comes off as incredibly polite, almost condescendingly regal. She even refers to Harald with the second person pronoun “anata” (貴方), which is considered polite in Japanese, but rather than spelling it in phonetic hiragana as most would, she spells it in kanji, making it sound even more polite. She also claims to have studied “chifuu”, which in this case seems to be something similar to “feng shui”, known as “fuusui” (風水) in Japanese, the art of arranging one’s own furniture and home to create a favorable flow of “energy”. Feng shui, and also when translated as fuusui, literally means “wind water”, so “chifuu”, literally meaning “earth wind”, seems to just be a variation of it, which in Chinese would be called something like “feng tu”. This is more evident as she later brings up the “luck of the earth and the land”, or literally “feng shui”, making the parallel clearer, and this concept of luck ties into what Jarul and Jorul were talking earlier that Harald’s meeting with Ida brought good luck to Elbaph, interestingly enough. She claims that Harald’s own blessing of luck is “vanishing towards the East” (perhaps due to the fact that Ida lives in the eastern village) and asks that window to be blocked. She also claims that a mirror is cursed due to being built in the shape of the “deadly five planets”, what she believes to be a bad omen… something I have to wonder if it’s some remaining myth from the horrors spread by the actual Five Elder Planets, the Gorosei.

As a gift for Harald, Estridda brings what she calls a “horse of luck” (幸運の馬), by the name of Asura. Despite it representing good luck, unfortunately this horse’s days are counted, as we were told earlier in the arc that Loki was considered the cursed prince due to a series of unfortunate events, which included the death of the royal “horse of luck”, evidently being Asura. It is evidently based on the Sleipnir, the mythical horse from Norse mythology particularly as both are said to have eight legs, having belonged to Odin (which is fitting, given how Odin is in part the namesake of Hajrudin, beyond the real life pirate) but also being considered one of the children of Loki, who ironically here is blamed for his death. Though interestingly the name Asura seems to take more from Hindi mythology than it does Norse mtyhology, though it’s more likely it’s actually translated as Asla, referencing the Norse goddess Aslaug. On its belt you can also spot the royal symbol of Elbaph once again.

Pole Star

Around 70 years ago, we see Harald continuing his travels, as he reaches the Wano Country, even meeting with some samurai there as we can spot their katana and topknots. He tells them about the “Pole Star” a star that never moves, making navigation easier as it always gives the direction of North. Its kanji reads as Hokkyoku Sei (北極星), which means North Pole Star, or “Polaris”, being the Japanese name for the star always standing respective to the North Pole’s axis, making it a useful guide for navigators. The fact this star has the exact same name as it does for us once again reinforces the idea that Bluestar and Earth are one and the same planet in some way or another. But this is in fact not the first time that this star was brought up, as in the Yellow Databook, there’s an excerpt from Nami commenting on the Pole Star, explaining its purpose for navigation just as Harald does here. Interestingly, Roger’s hometown, the Pole Star Archipelago, upon which Loguetown is built, was also seemingly named after this star, which makes an interesting parallel in how Roger’s journey took him from the Pole Star Archipelago all the way to Lode Star Island, especially as Polaris is considered a lode star, that term referring to a star used for navigation.

Harald then recounts his travels to the people of Elbaph, with many sitting in to listen, including many children, a squirrel, a whole bear, and Pandaman once again sitting next to the bear too. He speaks of having visited Fish-Man Island, having seen merfolk and fishfolk, whom interestingly he claims bear the “blood of fish”, though I wonder how literal this is from a scientific perspective and how much of it is interpretation. He also brings up a new prince having been recently born by the name of Neptune, which lines up as Neptune is 70 years old.

Loki’s Birth

And 63 years ago, finally, it happened. Loki was born as the officially recognized Prince of Elbaph, being 18 years younger than Hajrudin. However, upon seeing her son’s face, Estridda was terrified, as the child not only bore ancient giant-like horns as his father did, but also had eyes like those of a snake, of a deep dark color and shining bright. This explains why Loki covers his eyes with a bandage the whole time, and the snake-like appearance makes me wonder if there could be some connection to the Jörmungandr. So horrified was however Estridda that she did the unthinkable, and tossed her child out of the window into the Underworld below. While not so much from Norse mythology, this more resembles the myth of Haephestus being thrown off of Mount Olympus by his mother Hera for being born deformed and ugly to her.

However, shockingly, not only would the newborn Loki survive… with his bare hands he would kill a massive bear, a beast of the Underworld, and slowly claw his way back up the Adam Tree. A feat that puts even the likes of Oden throwing his wet nurse as a newborn to shame, particularly when you consider Hajrudin thought he would die for falling into the Underworld.

Soon after, Estridda would collapse of sickness, perhaps one from how emotionally overwhelmed she felt. This lines up with the fact that it was stated that Loki’s mother died a year after birth. Other calamities would follow, with that same year a young Charlotte Linlin razing the village of Elbaph as a result (which we might perhaps see acknowledged next chapter, as Loki’s birth was just mentioned in her flashback as well) and of course the horse of luck Asura dying as well. Furthermore, the country would be beset by natural disasters, and Loki himself would even use the beasts of the Underworld to ravage the villages of Elbaph, making it more thematically interesting in how he was banished to the Underworld both as a child and later as an adult too. And as a sick Estridda mentions and was said before, it was foretold that Loki would kill his father something that did end up… or maybe not end up happening, we still can’t tell for sure. Harald also seemingly suffered misfortune, as his attempts at diplomatic relations were being hindered by the World Government, perhaps why later on he would try working with them as a way to work around this.

By contrast to all this, Ida is incredibly loving towards Hajrudin, but also wanted to see his little brother, willing to love him as if he was her own son even when his very own mother wouldn’t love him. The contrast couldn’t be clearer, as Ida’s acceptance and open minded nature, reminiscent of Saul and her village as a result, showed boundless kindness even to a kid who wasn’t her own, while Estridda, interested only in the wealth and status, rejected the very existence of her child until her own spite consumed her life. Ida clearly isn’t alive anymore in the present however, so I worry what fate may have befallen her as well.

Following this is the tale of Loki Piece, as we follow along with what we were told, from the times he terrorized the villages of Elbaph as a ten year old 53 years ago, to taking an interest in Rocks D. Xebec when he visited Elbaph likely around 40 years ago or so. We know that he would also bully Hajrudin, considering him a bastard far weaker than him, and continue pranking the people of Elbaph in cruel and vicious ways, befitting of a trickster like him. All which would lead to that fated day 14 years ago, when Harald would lose his life. But even beyond that, we know that eventually Loki fell in love with Charlotte Lola, perhaps two kindred souls given how Lola also wasn’t very loved by her mother either. Which can’t have been that long ago given how Lola is 26 years old, but furthermore during the time that Lola fled from the engagement Pudding was seen to be a young kid while Lola was already fairly grown up, and since Pudding is only 16 years old this was likely at best some years ago after the incident. All until 6 years ago Shanks would defeat Loki, around the same time he became a Yonko, and returned him to Elbaph, where he was chained to the Adam Tree where he would await until this day… when the truth would arise again.