Video version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHMP02KI9E

Cover

On the cover, Yamato has finally completed the pilgrimage, and so returns to the Flower Capital. Yamato is standing on top of a hill on the north-eastern side of the Flower Capital, which may I point out literally was not present in previous depictions of the Flower Capital, even though we’ve seen perfect bird’s eye shots of it, but we can cut Oda some slack. In the back we can see the Shogun’s Castle and Mt. Fuji as well as the Sakyo neighborhood marked by the big pagoda which is where Denjiro used to live inside of as his own residence as a yakuza.

On this hill is a shrine dedicated to Oden, as well as his “nakama” as it says, where he and his comrades are enshrined for their service to the country. You may vaguely recall this was actually mentioned during the end of Wano in Chapter 1052, where Kin’emon mentioned wanting to build a shrine to Oden on a hill with a view of the Flower Capital, where he and those who fought to defend Wano would be enshrined, including former Daimyo such as Yasuie, and presumably Shimotsuki Ushimaru, Fuugetsu Omusubi, and Uzuki Tempura too. Alongside them would also be enshrined Ashura Douji and Izou, so that they can all rest witnessing the beauty of their capital forevermore.

Buccaneer Davy Clan

Back to God Valley, the members of the Davy clan are now being shown off on stage, which as we mentioned previously should be about 12 given how there’s 13 S-Rabbits and not counting Kuma the buccaneer, but I wonder if they threw Teach’s mom into the lot with them as well. Though the numbers are hard to make out on stage, as only about 9 or so are visible, it’s possible three more could be hidden behind the big guys. Speaking of which, we do here get to see Teach’s mom quite briefly, with spiked hair and sharp eyes, though Teach clearly has inherited his dad’s eyes. She tries to shield her kid, but unfortunately Teach is exposed to the horror of the Celestial Dragons, a trauma that seems will stick with him for a long time to come…

Among the other members of the Davy clan however, we do see some fairly large guys, and interestingly, one of them even seems to carry a hat that looks like a straw hat, but I have to wonder if this has some deeper meaning or Oda’s just screwing with us. The odd thing though is the comment by one of the members in the audience, who claims “バッカニアななだろう?! お前らも!!!”, which basically translates as “You must be buccaneers too, right?!”. This comment likely seems made in regard to the larger members of the clan with bulky builds that are reminiscent of Kuma’s so the Celestial Dragon is assuming some of the Davy clan members are buccaneers. But all we have to go off of is just their assumption, so it’s hard to say for sure if they are in fact buccaneers or if this random comment is just speculating, but it would seem odd to include if that wasn’t the case.

That said, this isn’t necessarily a new idea, as for many years people have speculated whether Blackbeard does in fact possess buccaneer blood, and how that might relate to his body being different, something that Marco attributed as the reason for him possessing two devil fruit abilities. This could explain a bunch of things, as Vegapunk implied regarding Kuma that the special trait of the buccaneers appears to be something related to the concept of your will remaining even after death, though he didn’t fully elaborate as he was cut off, meaning the details are still vague. So I wonder if perhaps in some way Xebec was also a bucaneer (as his mother doesn’t seem to quite have the height for it, and while Xebec is more slender he is also quite a large man) and he ended up allowing his will to live on within Teach. This could explain how Xebec could’ve hypothetically lived on within Teach’s body as we’ve long since speculated and how two souls existing in one body could allow one to eat two devil fruits, and perhaps also be why he doesn’t sleep. Ace claiming that Teach has “lived twice as long as a normal person would”, which Oda pointed as being a very important line, could also relate not just to the not sleeping part, but also the possibility of this being the second lifetime he’s on. Still, we’ll have to see.

Also, I don’t want to really bother Oda too much with inconsistencies, but the size of the stage here is on a whole other dimension than it was seen as in Chapter 1095, where there it was just a small person-sized stage, here it’s a whole arena, but primarily it’s interesting because it makes the nine treasure chests look particularly gigantic, when they are not intended to be from what we see later. As Saturn and Garling observe, the latter says that the discovery of the Davy clan here was just a twist of fate, which is an interesting concept to talk about considering just last chapter Xebec as well was talking of fate, this being titled “the island of fate”. The dialogue between the two is also fitting as Garling would end up overtaking Saturn’s position too.

Genocide Tournament

On the other hand, as we had assumed indeed the mother speaking to Dragon was Shanks and Shamrock’s mom, though again we do not see her face. She begs Dragon to take her children away from Garling, and so left with this final wish, Dragon can’t help but spring into action. Marines are supposed to have left the island, staying on the ships to ensure no one leaves by sea, but Dragon remains to follow his own convictions.

At the same time, the Genocide Tournament begins, giving “rabbits” one hour to find a hiding place until they begin to be hunted. They are promised that if they can survive 3 weeks, they will be liberated. While such survival for so long seems unlikely already, as we were told by Ivankov, any survivors after the 3 week period will be executed regardless, but they are given the lie that they might survive in order to keep them desperately running. The sheer horror of this game can’t be put into words, in what might be one of the most difficult to read One Piece chapters in a long time. Be it families, elders, or even children, none are safe from this twisted game, all while the entire game is being broadcasted to the other Celestial Dragons at mary Geoise, who are watching it all for their personal enjoyment.

Bavette Family

Several of the families battle for glory to become the one with the highest score, but among them, we have mentions of not just the Figarland, Manmayer, or Shepherd families, but also the “Babetto” Family, which would be one of the yet unnamed families we were waiting to get the name of. The name “Babetto” バベット can be romanized in different ways, as either Bavette, Babett, Babette, or Babeth, so it’s hard to say which one Oda is intending. Beyond the exiled Nefeltari, the 19 founding families now include the Neronas, the Figarlands, the Jaygarcias, the Marcuses, the Topmans, the Ethanbarons, the Shepherds, the Manmayers, the Donquixotes, the Rimoshifus, and now the Bavettes, with another 8 still unnamed.

Speaking of the Manmayers, we do get to see Gunko, where her whole title as Saint Manmayer Gunko is displayed here. The name “Saint Gunko” is officially romanized in Japanese, showing that Oda wants to go with the romanization of “saint” be it for male or female like the official translation does. As I’ve explained before, male Celestial Dragons carry the honorific “sei” (聖, which means “saint” or “holy”), whereas female Celestial Dragons carry the honorific “gu” (宮, which is a suffix used for members of the Japanese royal family which fundamentally means “lady” or “princess”). I had proposed using “saint” and “saintess” to distinguish, which while not fully correct in English better fits that idea, but I suppose Oda is going for the more correct standardized “saint” for both, even if that means this little nuance gets lost in translation.

Gunko’s Title

Far more interesting though is Gunko’s title, as she appears to have a completely unique title given only to her: Kami no Juujin (神の従刃). This is a complicated term, so let’s break it down part by part: first of all, kami means “God”, which in this context has been often used to refer to Imu, considered the God ruling over this world. “Juujin” is a unique word Oda has made here by combining the kanji for “servant” (従) and “blade” (刃). “No” is the possessive particle, attributing the “juujin” to “kami”, meaning that “kami no juujin” translates to “God’s Servant Blade”. This term makes a lot of sense, as Gunko here is basically defined as being Imu’s personal servant, like his blade. In Japanese, to be someone’s blade or to be someone’s knife means that you are basically their servant, their guard to assist them in any situation, and so this title defines Gunko as Imu’s very own personal servant blade.

In retrospect, this explains quite a few things. It explains why we saw Gunko serving Imu in the Flower Room when Xebec invaded, kneeling to Imu while also wearing a veil quite similar to that of Imu. This also explains why Gunko has the Aro Aro no Mi, also seen in this chapter, as that same power was the one that we saw killed Cobra in the Empty Throne Room. While it’s possible that Gunko was hiding secretly in that room to bide Imu’s orders, it did seem like the arrow did come from Imu directly, but it would still make sense if Imu confered Gunko a power that they possess directly, as so intrinsically tied are Imu and Gunko’s lives. This seems to further suggest that Gunko is the only one that Imu might be able to possess directly, rather than all of the God Knights or those with the mark in general, which makes sense as she is after all Imu’s own Servant Blade.

Nonetheless, this is still a fate she doesn’t seem to be willing to follow, as glimpses into her past have suggested that she had some tragic event with her father, at a time where she was wearing the same outfit as now interestingly enough (which we can now see also has a skirt and a cape to it), but at the same time also recalled spending some time with Brook when she was younger. So the implication is that she has been somehow brainwashed by Imu and made to serve her all this time as her own personal assistant. Which would also explain why she and Commander Shamrock were sent to Elbaph as some of the two most important God Knights. However, the fact she is doing this all against her will is all the more ironic, because in Japanese, the wordplay here is quite evident. Here Oda has combined two words to create this new term “juujin”, which means “servant blade”, but usually in Japanese the word “shuujin” (written without the softening dakuten) is associated with a much more common term: the word for prisoner (囚人). Indeed, Gunko is a prisoner to Imu, forced to be God’s servant against her will. I have to wonder if Gunko even is her actual name, as like we’ve mentioned it is formed by the kanji for “military” and “child/girl”, fundamentally meaning “child soldier”.

However, what’s interesting about this title is that one of the Celestial Dragons focusing on bets refers to Gunko by saying “Are you sure? She’s still God’s Servant Blade, retained by the God Knights”. The way this is worded, seems to make it sound as if her position is one of under the God Knights. Meaning that either this position as Imu’s servant is one that is demeaned in such a way that it is not valued as highly as the God Knights, which is consistent with what we said that Gunko is basically being treated like a prisoner of Imu, or alternatively that the position of Servant Blade is more like an apprenticeship to the God Knights, where Gunko had not yet fully become a God Knight but was training to be one. This is interesting given how in her volume retcon Gunko’s title of “God Knight” in Elbaph was removed, though it is still present a couple chapters prior. Particularly as she doesn’t show up in the line up by the end of the chapter, but it’s hard to say for sure given her connection with Imu and the fact that she’s the only one so far that possesses this unique title.

At the same time, a young Sommers is also being a digusting horrid monster, using his powers, which he already possessed at this time, to torture a little kid. This makes me look forward all the more to him getting absolutely destroyed by Gabin, as the two had met at some time in the past and it’s most likely that it was here, where Gabin would leave Sommers with a trauma he will definitely not be forgetting anytime soon.

Sadly, the horrors continue, and Dragon is forced to bear witness to them all, reshaping his view of the world, and paving the way for a small spark of revolution to take flame. Part of that spark however is inspired by a young Ivankov, who holds on to hope to wish for liberation, in a scene that we had seen in Chapter 1096. What we didn’t see is that Ivankov, Kuma, and the others were almost shot to death by a rifle, but Dragon defended them by shooting the Celestial Dragon with one of his tranquilizer rounds, allowing the group to survive. Of course, in the future, Ivankov would meet Dragon again, leading to the Freedom Fighters, and later with Kuma the founding of the Revolutionary Army.

Rocks Pirates

But as all hope seems to vanish, suddenly the Rocks Pirates make landfall on the island. Xebec, Barbel, Shiki, Kyou, John, Newgate, Stussy, Gloriosa, Streusen, Linlin, and Kaidou are all here, among a couple others like Gill Bastar, but as we are told Ouchoku did in fact sit this one out with a really poor excuse. As we see, their objectives are primarily to rescue Shakky, though they also have an interest in plundering the treasures found there, which include the devil fruits. Whitebeard actually seems to view Shakky as a friend and wants to rescue her as a result, even if he does still have a crush on her, while Big Mom and Kaidou are going after the devil fruits. Interestingly, Barbel has now shaved his hair, which matches his appearance in Chapter 1096, making that difference consistent. Also, while seen before, it’s worth noting that Newgate had a unique jolly roger in the shape of a skull with his mustache that ended up being different from his symbol seen later when he formed his own pirate crew. You can also spot Shiki and Kyou in the back bickering with each other, as they were after all rivals.

Captain John is also still hitting the same bottle he was seen in not just in Chapter 1096 but also when he was still a zombie in Thriller Bark, as I suppose alcoholism sticks around for a while. I should quickly correct something that I did mention last video though, as John did seemingly survive God Valley because he allegedly died being murdered by his crew because he wouldn’t tell them where he hid his legendary treasure, leaving its location an unknown mystery to this day, which Buggy wishes to find. Though a hint to it should be in his band which Luffy had picked up during Thriller Bark and later gave to Buggy. I do wonder however if said treasure could even be one of those we see here in God Valley.

In the ensuing chaos, Dragon takes advantage to take both of the twins, Shanks and Shamrock, but ultimately we know that only one of them would end up in Roger’s hands. I do have to wonder then how the two split up, as I assume maybe Dragon was the one who put them into different treasure chests but maybe Garling kept one of the chests as it remained at God Valley while the other one ended up with the Roger Pirates. Speaking of the twins though, their existence was actually foreshadowed in chapter 1096: At the start of the chapter, Garling says “watch me, children”, which many misinterpreted as him taunting the other God Knights. But the way it was worded in Japanese didn’t sound like “watch me brats”, but rather referring to actual children given the word used. And so it makes sense that he was referring to the twins, basically telling them “look how great your father is”.

Roger Pirates

Following the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates also descend on the island, ready to take Shakky, to the point that they end up trampling over Roger. Behind him, you can also spot Rayleigh and Gabin shooting glares at each other, showcasing very much their Zoro-Sanji-like dynamic. Further behind we also Petermoo, MAX Marx, Taro, Jacksonbanner (who many said is reminiscent of Nika, and doesn’t beat said allegations by doing the iconic pose here), Rangram, Mugren, Mr. Momora, Mille Pain, and Donquino. In Chapter 1096, we heard a faint cry of Roger saying “come here Rocks” and Xebec saying “out of the way, Roger”, which makes more sense now as perhaps Xebec didn’t want to fight Roger right away due to wanting to focus on rescuing his family first and foremost.

Knights of God

To stop them, the God Knights move into action, showing us quite a few more than before. The name itself is romanized by Oda as “Knights of God”, which is basically the same definition as the God’s Knights, just written with an “of” instead. However this does show that their name is in fact referring to the fact that they are the knights serving God, in this case God of course again being Imu. The official translation unfortunately mistranslated their name as the Holy Knights, but Knights of God, or God Knights if you just want to roll it off the tongue better, is more correct here.

Among them we see, of course, Garling as well as Sommers, the latter wielding his thorny sword. By his side we also see the blue-haired woman from the Manmayer family who spoke with Gunko last chapter and first appeared in 1096, which we now have a confirmation she is in fact a God Knight too. Next to Garling is this woman with long hair that also first appeared in 1096, which while depicted as dark here, was shown to be blonde in the anime. We also see here her weapon for the first time, being some kind of spear or sword with a very triangular ege. Opposite of her is the other knight we saw in Chapter 1096, being a tall man wearing a cow skull, similar to Road in a sense, though Road was wearing a moose’s skull. As we’d previously seen, he appears to be carrying a scythe. These two had a brief voiceline in the anime if you’re curious about how they sound like, which indicates the skull guy is in fact a man.

But beyond them, we get two new God Knights. For one there’s a very tall woman (as clear by the breasts), who interestingly possesses small horns, jagged teeth, hair split into two colors, and particularly large hands, while also smoking what looks like a cigar. There’s not that much more we can infer from her, but the jagged teeth and that mouth are heavily reminiscent of Killingham’s, meaning she could be his mother, or potentially just another member of the Rimoshifu family.

And behind them is the… uuuuh thing, which kinda looks like a yeti, but at the same time also appears to have bat-like wings, with large horns, jagged teeth surrounded by a large beard, and again, the wings. The wings are the most defining detail so my best guess is that this is some kind of bat demon who is in his transformed state, much like Killingham, whether by fruit or demonic power. Which could be any variety of mythological demonic bats, like the Yamachichi yokai, the mayan Camazotz, or the ilocano Batibat.

Garp

The pirates keep advancing, as we see both Whitebeard and Shiki mowing down Marines, with Shiki in particular staying afloat with his powers. However, a cannonball crashes onto the island, as Garp’s fleet has arrived, as marked by the iconic dog head, which he had used since all the way back then. Coming on it is of course Vice-Admiral Garp, who throws cannonballs just like he did against Luffy. And by his side is his ever loyal Bogard, who clearly is way older than he appears to be, given how he was here 38 years ago.

With this, all the legends are gathered on God Valley, the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates, the God Knights, and Garp and his Marines. We know now how history will play out: Roger and Garp will team up against the Rocks to take down the crew once and for all, while the island itself will disappear without a trace. But what else lied in these historical events? What was the real truth to this era-defining incident?