Chapter 1096

Chapter 1096 is titled "Kumachi".

Cover Page
Cover Page Request: "Zoro lamenting losing a game of Musical Chairs to chihuahuas in the woods." by PN UCP.

Short Summary
The World Noble begin their hunting competition, during which the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates get involved, which started the God Valley Incident. During this, despite Linlin stealing one of the Devil Fruits, Kuma, steals the other one and uses it to allow his group to escape. Later after parting ways with Ivankov, Kuma and Ginny settle down in Sorbet Kingdom.

Long Summary
The World Nobles explain the rules of the Native Hunting Competition: there are thirteen “special rabbits” that are worth 10,000 points each, and the remaining 150 people are “rare rabbits.” Any one-shot kills are considered worth “excellence points” and a luxurious prize is offered for the champion of the competition. Some World Nobles try to get a head start but they are stopped and informed that the hunt begins in an hour, giving the people time to run and hide. Several of them are running desperately for their lives and begging it all to be a dream, while others claim that it isn’t right for humans to treat other humans as their toys.

Meanwhile, Kong contacts Monkey D. Garp who is currently on vacation. Kong wants Garp to go to Hachinosu but he won’t say why, just that if something happens, he’ll be in trouble. Garp surmises he is talking about the World Nobles’ “field trip” and reminds Kong that he has told him many times not to mess with Hachinosu, and not to underestimate the Rocks Pirates wanting to take back the island’s “treasure”. Garp then asks what Kong has to be scared of if he has escorts, but the minute he mentions Roger is involved, Garp immediately declares he is going. When he arrives at Hachinosu, though, the Rocks Pirates have already left.

On God Valley, while the competition is underway, Ivankov starts rallying several people by telling them that none of them will escape from this “game” alive, and when it is all said and done, the events will be hidden from the history books. Some people believed that they would go free if they survive the three weeks of the competition, but Ivankov states that is a lie to give them false hope in order to make the game more interesting. Therefore, if they want to live, they need to move right now.

With help from a shark fish-man, Ivankov escapes his chains and Ginny tells everyone that the prizes of the competition will be their ticket to escape, and said tickets just so happen to be the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu and the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. Ivankov says that with these two Devil Fruits, they can make it off the island and past the Marine blockade, but the problem is they are in the center of the island. However, Ginny reveals that she is skilled in thieving, wire-tapping, and broadcasting, and all of this information was leaked to the outside world about two weeks ago, so she is positive someone heard it. When Ginny says that they need a decoy for this plan to work, Kuma volunteers, citing that his strong physiology will protect him, and he would rather risk his own life than others. Ivankov accepts, but states he won’t let him die either.

Soon, the Rocks Pirates start attacking the Marines, catching them off guard. Not only that, but apparently other pirates have come as well for the “treasure” Garp mentioned. Rocks orders his crew to seize the treasure, and several of them, including Edward Newgate, Shiki, Buckingham Stussy, Charlotte Linlin, Kaidou, and Gloriosa make their way onto the island, and pretty soon, Roger and his pirate crew do too. The God's Knights try to defend the World Nobles and eventually Garp and his soldiers arrive to back up the Marines, leading to an all-out conflict.

During the fight, Ivankov and Kuma manage to acquire the two Devil Fruits, before Ivankov could eat the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, Linlin slams him into a wall and takes it. She tries to take the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi but Ivankov tells Kuma to quickly eat it and save himself, which he does. Ivankov cheers that they have succeeded but all of a sudden, Kuma is attacked by Jaygarcia Saturn. Saturn tells Kuma that as a member of the Buccaneer Tribe, he exists only to live and die as a slave, as decided by the course of history. Kuma, however, stands up to Saturn and tells him he doesn’t consider being born great to be fantastic, and he also sees no point in being born a slave either. He proclaims that if he has any power, he will help the weak and defenseless like Nika would, but Saturn simply says that that is why he and his people will be eliminated. Eventually, the incident on God Valley would vanish into the darkness of history.

Despite the chaos, Kuma, Ivankov, and Ginny were able to escape God Valley along with more than 500 other people, and the three went into hiding in Sorbet Kingdom in Kuma’s old house, which was a church. Ivankov realizes that no information about God Valley has been revealed to the public aside from Garp’s now legendary reputation. Kuma starts praying for a while as he states he wishes he could have saved more lives, but Ivankov and Ginny tell him that he did more than enough and that Kuma’s hands have brought freedom to the people, calling it a “Hand of Liberation”.

After that, Ivankov decides to head out on his own while Kuma and Ginny remain in Sorbet, with the three hoping to see each other again. Ginny tells Kuma that from this day forward she’ll be his big sister (even though she is younger than him). The two begin chopping wood to sell and make money, but Kuma gets accosted by some kids who call him a monster for his size. This prompts Ginny to beat them up in his defense, but when they start crying, Kuma uses his powers to push their pain out of their bodies, much to their joy.

That night the two eat dinner, with Kuma remarking on how much of a big eater Ginny turns out to be. The two then break down into tears of joy over their freedom and newfound happiness.

Chapter Notes

 * The Native Hunting Competition at God Valley begins.
 * Ginny is shown utilizing a unique Den Den Mushi as an ear piece.
 * While a hands-free version was shown before, this is the first time it appears in canon.
 * Ginny used a stolen Den Den Mushi to leak information about the competition and its prizes to the outside world.
 * Kong requested Garp to head to God Valley.
 * Garp initially refused until he heard Roger was reported nearby.
 * According to Garp, the World Nobles stole a certain treasure from Hachinosu, which served as a motivation for the Rocks Pirates to attack the Nobles.
 * The Rocks Pirates, Roger Pirates and Marines led by Garp all make landfall at God Valley, effectively starting the God Valley Incident.
 * Streusen and Gloriosa are revealed to have been part of Rocks.
 * Outside of Chapter 0, this is the first time Shiki is shown in the main series.
 * The God's Knights participated in the fight as well.
 * While the incident was ongoing, Kuma and Ivankov managed to steal the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi and the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, which were prizes of the hunting competition.
 * It is shown that Linlin obtained the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu that she later gave to Kaidou by assaulting Ivankov. Kuma ate the other fruit before she could also take it.
 * After eating his Devil Fruit, Kuma was confronted by Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.
 * Upon Kuma's declaration that he wished to save as many people as possible like Nika did, Saturn declared that is the reason why the Buccaneers have to be eradicated.
 * Kuma, Ivankov, Ginny, and 500 other civilians and slaves were somehow able to escape God Valley and reach the Sorbet Kingdom.
 * According to Ivankov, Morgans was responsible for covering up the details of the God Valley Incident and only reported on Garp's actions there.
 * Ivankov later set out to sea while Ginny went on to live with Kuma in a church at Sorbet.

Trivia

 * Roger's appearance in this chapter reveals an error in One Piece Film: Red, where at the time of finding an infant Shanks shortly after the God Valley Incident, Roger was shown with his iconic mustache and captain's hat.
 * The two kids from Sorbet Kingdom who bullied Kuma are identical to two members of the Bonney Pirates.
 * The appearance of both Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu and Nikyu Nikyu no Mi showed up together during God Valley Incident, and how in the end Kuma's group can only acquire Nikyu Nikyu no mi, is a reference to a passage of Mencius Chapter Gaozi I: "I like fish, and I also like bear's paws. If I cannot have the two together, I will let the fish go, and take the bear's paws. I like life, and I also like righteousness. If I cannot keep the two together, I will let life go, and choose righteousness." The same passage is condensed into the idiom 魚與熊掌, 不可兼得 (lit. "Fish and bear paw, cannot have both") which means "Can't have your cake and eat it too".