User blog:Fliu/Thoughts on the Reverie Arc and Expectations for the Wano Arc

First of all, I’m fine with having an arc that focuses on other people aside from the Straw Hats. Sometimes, it’s good to have a break from watching the Straw Hats causing trouble to see what else is going on in the world.

This pirate group that Garp and Hina mentioned sure is interesting. I guess this means there are still more enemies (beside the Yonko) for the Straw Hats to fight. The straw hat in the secret chamber sure was unexpected. How many more mysteries are we going to be introduced to in the future and what is this invention of Vegapunk’s that is supposed to make the Shichibukai system obsolete? Also, you don’t suppose that the fourth Road Poneglyph is hidden somewhere in the Holy Land.

I really feel sorry for Shirahoshi. She is finally free from an obsessed psycho after ten years and then she was nearly enslaved by a World Noble. Also, there is a mystery person who also has some interest in her, and apparently not in a good way considering that they stabbed her picture. Would Shirahoshi be able to live her life peacefully when the whole world discovers that she is one of the Ancient Weapons? How long is she going to be someone who needs to be protected? On a more positive note, it’s nice that Shirahoshi, Vivi, and Rebecca bonded over their mutual friendship with Luffy. It’s also good that Hancock doesn’t go to the Reverie. She’ll probably get the wrong idea if she heard them talking about Luffy and starts considering them love rivals. Coupled with the fact that Shirahoshi’s beauty is greater than hers, Hancock will put the mermaid princess on the top of her rival list.

I was surprised at how much Mjosgard changed, which shows that Otohime’s kindness wasn’t meaningless after all. I never thought that making a World Noble see the error of their ways would be possible. It’s too bad that Hody was irredeemable and that Shirahoshi’s decision to not reveal his crime ended up doing more harm than good. Even though Mjosgard can help Neptune’s family, Charlos made it clear that he’s not going to let it slide. After he recovers, Charlos will very likely make another attempt at ruining Otohime’s dream. It’s not unreasonable to believe that a World Noble can kill another World Noble. And if the Neptune Family loses the only World Noble who supports them, what then?

My hate for Rob Lucci went up after he supported Charlos’ actions. I wonder if we’ll eventually learn about the events that led him to work for the World Government again after they betrayed him. I think the reason he is willing to serve the government again is because serving the World Government was the only life he ever knew, considering he was raised by them. Anyway, when the government falls, I hope he falls with it. It’s a good thing that Mjosgard stepped in when he did. Considering how a bad back rendered Neptune helpless against Hody, Neptune would have end up in far worse shape if he had fought Lucci. Leo was also lucky that Lucci apparently did not notice the pirate symbol on Leo’s hat.

What did Shanks hope to accomplish by speaking to the Five Elders? Are they really going to be of any help at all? They may say that they care about the world, but they put their own reputation first and foremost. The World Government are a bunch of hypocrites. They say that no one should sit on the Empty Throne and yet someone does sit on it. It would be interesting if Sterry finds out about it and gets killed for it. If the World Government makes a mistake, they would just hide it in any way that’s convenient for them such as having someone else take the blame. Cobra better tread lightly and I hope he won’t die. He apparently doesn’t have any idea how ruthless the government can be in order to have things their way. After the revolutionaries make their presence known, the Five Elders can easily have Cobra assassinated during the chaos and pin the blame on Sabo and his comrades. One thing I’m still wondering about is has Shanks responded to Bartolomeo burning his flag? I thought that’s an offense that shouldn’t be left unanswered.

I’m also shocked at the state Kuma is in now. I thought he would continue serving the World Government as an obedient weapon that will eventually fight the Straw Hats again and not be reduced to a lowly slave for the World Nobles. If you ask me, that’s a huge waste of his Devil Fruit powers. Kuma could be out there crushing pirates instead of being an object of abuse. Sabo and the three revolutionaries with him better have a good plan. Sabo could fight an admiral one-on-one, but what are they going to do about two admirals? Who knows what Ryokugyu is capable of. Maybe Bonney could help in some way.

I really hope that Big Mom does not get involved in the Wano Arc. It’s far too troublesome to have two Yonko in the mix. If I were Kaido, I would tell Big Mom to shut up, sit back, and wait for her turn to get her butt kicked. I just want the next arc to simply be a war between the Samurai-Ninja-Mink-Pirate alliance and the Beasts Pirates (including their subordinate crews) with no other parties involved though I will be glad if some members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet join in. After all, it’s better to have more allies than foes if the opposition is a Yonko’s crew. If Big Mom does go to Wano, I hope Kaido kills her and saves Luffy some trouble. It will be nice if someone powerful can hold back Big Mom until Luffy is ready to go to war with her just like Shanks held back Kaido when the latter went after Whitebeard prior to the Marineford War. As for Luffy’s eventual fight against Kaido, I think it’s safe to assume that Luffy is not going to defeat Kaido on the first try. This usually happens when Luffy fought powerful foes in the past like Crocodile, Enel, Lucci, Doflamingo, and Katakuri. Even if some allies assist Luffy, they’re just going to get crushed and leave Luffy to fight Kaido himself. That’s how it’s always been: Luffy fighting the arc’s final boss one-on-one in the end. In the final round against Kaido, I’m hoping that Luffy will achieve Awakening. I don’t know if there is going to be Gear Fifth or what it’s supposed to do, but unless Luffy shows it, I’m going to believe that Awakening plus an increase in the level of Busoshoku Haki is the most plausible way for Luffy to beat Kaido. As for Sanji, he better have his own glorious victory, which he had none during the Whole Cake Island Arc (aside from breaking Yonji’s face off-panel and making a cake). As long he gets an epic win, such as defeating one of the Three Disasters one-on-one, I will be happy even if he doesn’t use his raid suit, though I think it would be awesome if he uses Hell Memories while wearing his raid suit. Assuming his raid suit is yellow, I would call him Scorching Yellow Sanji.

Another thing I’m hoping for is Jinbe joining in on the war against Kaido. I’m certain that the Sun Pirates were able to escape since they could swim away. As for the Vinsmokes, I can think of three possible outcomes for them. The first is that they’re dead. The second is that Big Mom decides to put them in books for her collection. The third is that the Vinsmokes escaped but had to abandon their kingdom and their army in order to do so. Unless the Germa ships can use Coup de Burst or teleport, I don’t see how the Vinsmokes could get away while taking their kingdom with them. I don’t know how the Vinsmokes would recover after losing everything, but if Wapol can climb back up, maybe they can too. Maybe Judge will have a better appreciation for his servants once they're gone.