Immensely popular Japanese manga One Piece is in the midst of one of the most exciting arcs. The ongoing Big Mom arc has Straw Hats captain Luffy D. Monkey conniving with Fire Tank captain Capone ‘Gang’ Bege to assassinate the Yonko and rescue the Vinsmoke clan. At the same time, Charlotte Linlin has set the stage for a brutal wedding ceremony that, she hopes, will culminate with the death of the entire Vinsmoke family.
Chapter 861 of manga One Piece confirmed that the popular series will be on a break this week. However, given the developments, it is fairly easy to predict what to expect. Here are a few of the predictions that will most likely come true in the next few episodes.
The best characters to come out of one piece today: Crocodile on the Chapter opening panel, and Charlotte Katakuri (AKA Dogtooth) pic.twitter.com/RcrYNBBYwV
— Val (@Valkayink) March 24, 2017
Chapter 860 contained a small but important detail on the very first page. The cover page shows a rather interesting character that has likely been introduced to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the series. Very few manga series have been able to achieve this milestone. According to fans, the new character has been identified as “Crocodile.” Very little is known about the character, but judging by his actions, it appears he is friendly and also seems to possess some noble characteristics. The cover page has Crocodile shielding a puppy from rain. Interestingly, Crocodile has just one hand. In place of the other hand is a hook. It is likely that Crocodile lost his arm in some battle, and replaced it with a multipurpose hook. If he is an ally, will he join Luffy’s Straw Hats gang?
While Crocodile’s induction into Straw Hats group isn’t certain, Jinbei could soon Luffy’s crew. The sharkman, who is also known as the “Knight of the Sea” and is the second captain of the Sun Pirates after Fisher Tiger, is expected to ask Luffy to join the latter’s band of pirates. If Jinbei asks, Luffy surely won’t hesitate in welcoming him. After all, it was Jinbei who busted out Luffy and Nami from Big Mom’s Prisoner’s Library, and set up the meeting with Capone to rescue the Vinsmoke clan.
happy bday jinbei u beautiful fishman???????????? #onepiece #jinbei pic.twitter.com/rT0oFcQyoz
— Gráinne???? (@granye_west) April 2, 2017
Technically, Jinbei and the Sun Pirates currently work under Big Mom. However, Jinbei’s act of busting out Luffy and Nami is tantamount to a full-blown mutiny. Taking advantage of the wedding ceremony, Jinebi managed to help the Sun Pirates escape in his ship. However, the sharkman has very few options for his survival. Aligning with Luffy will allow Jinbei to have a fighting chance for survival.
Strangely, One Piece mangaka Eiichiro Oda has been silent about Sanji’s mentor, Zeff, and the Baratie crew. It has been confirmed in the previous chapters that Big Mom has these innocent souls under her control, and is using them as bait to ensure Sanji’s compliance. They are an added insurance to make sure Sanji marries Lady Pudding. While the Big Mom’s assassination plot could ensure the Vinsmoke clan’s survival, there has been no mention of Zeff and the Baratie gang. It is still not clear how the Straw Hats and the Fire Tank pirates will rescue them, especially when they are not on the location of the wedding ceremony.
Hoy cumple años Zeff “Pierna Roja”, el que fue mentor de Sanji que le enseñó lo mas importante, perseguir sus sueños. #OnePiece pic.twitter.com/uc63IwhsQw
— One Piece ? (@CuriosidadesOP) April 2, 2017
Interestingly, Fire Tank captain Capone has carefully planned all the aspects of Big Mom’s assassination. However, there are two points that might play spoilsport. Chapter 860 marked the introduction of Commander Katakuri or Dogtooth. One of the three commanders under Big Mom, Commander Dogtooth, possesses the ability to see into the future. While the ability is restricted to a few moments, he could easily see the assassination attempt and thwart all plans even before they are set in motion. On the other hand, there’s the famous Tamatebako treasure box that King Neptune gave up and is now under Big Mom’s control. It is strongly believed that the box contains an incendiary device.
[Featured Image by Eiichiro Oda/ One Piece Manga /Shueisha]