Hi friends, I’ve been pretty ill for a couple of days with a really bad stomach ache. I’m doing a bit better now, but that’s why this post has been delayed, I had other priorities. Here it is, enjoy.
After a disastrous failed assassination attempt, everyone is stuck inside Bege’s body and is having a terrible time. Their escape plan seems to be doomed from the start. Have Caesar fly Bege’s body out of the wedding and get to safety that way while Germa defends them. As things are looking dire, we get a little scene off to the side where Du Feld – one of the underworld emperors – is trying to steal the Tamate box that has fallen off the side. He is then assassinated by Stussy, who is secretly a CP0 agent. Morgans – who is always in the right place at the right time – is then told by her to report that Du Feld stole the box. Which is when disaster hits. The box – which apparently contained a massive explosive – falls down even further, causing the entire Whole Cake Chateau to collapse. It is only saved by the head chef Streussen turning it into actual cake, causing everyone who fell down to still be alive, but the headquarters of the Big Mom pirates are ruined, the Straw Hat alliance has escaped and like a cherry on top, Big Mom has another one of her hunger pangs, craving wedding cake. Is this the break that the Straw Hats needed?
To deal with her hunger pangs, Pudding has a plan, her two different personalities clashing every moment they have time for. She’s convinced the rest of the crew that she can get Chiffon to help her make a wedding cake with the leftover ingredients at her pastry shop. She retrieves Chiffon from the Tank Pirates and then meets up with the Straw Hats a short moment after. Sanji goes with them as the rest of the crew escapes to the Sunny where a whole host of Big Mom’s strongest fighters await them. Chopper and Brook are in dire straits, having been the first group to get there and losing the fight against Perospero and Katakuri. Things are once again looking quite dire.
This is where Pedro makes his big sacrifice in what is one of the more shocking moments in One Piece. It turns out he came strapped with a whole bunch of dynamite, knowing he didn’t have long left to live when they got here and deciding to use that remaining lifespan to help the next generation move forward. That’s also the meaning of the Nox Pirates, the crew he led years ago. He met Roger as a child who had promised him that his moment to shine would come and he believes that this was that moment. Exploding next to Perospero causes the candy man to take a stupendous amount of damage but unfortunately he does survive the blast, losing an arm to it. Despite his survival, this gives the crew the time they need to escape with a Coup de Burst. Luffy stays behind. He can’t see a way to get Katakuri off of the ship unless he stays behind to fight the mochi man. He goes through a mirror with Brulee and Katakuri, and the two square off in the mirror world, with no escape from Luffy. There’s a moment in the opening theme that plays around this part of the story in the anime where we see Luffy smash the mirror and it’s one of the coolest shots out there.
The volume ends with a sneak peak of the duel between Luffy and Katakuri. The latter’s mochi powers seem to be able to do everything that Luffy does but slightly better. On top of that, Katakuri seems to be stronger and faster than Luffy as well as more experienced. As if all of that isn’t dire enough, he also knows the future – at least for a few seconds – and can predict what Luffy is going to do. Is this the one opponent that Luffy can’t beat? With his crew busy fighting off Big Mom’s forces, Sanji on his way to make a cake and Luffy stuck in wonderland, what will become of the Straw Hat crew? Join me again next week to find out.
Opal Kaharis 