Chapter 1066

Chapter 1066 is titled "The Will of Ohara".

Cover Page
Germa 66's Ahh... An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 23:

Long Summary
Franky is left incredulous at Shaka’s claim that Egghead Island resembles an ancient city, but Shaka simply says it was a theory; evidence backed up by the tale of an archeologist who risked his life to discover the Great Kingdom, and one day found a machine that had the same manufacturing date his theory. A concerned Robin asks if the machine was built during the Void Century, to which Shaka asks how much she knows about it. In turn, Nami asks Robin how much she knows, but Shaka speaks up and admits Robin may find the story painful for her to remember, as Shaka knows that Robin’s birthplace, Ohara, was destroyed 22 years ago by a Buster Call from the Marines, and he believes the reason was because they knew of the existence of the Great Kingdom.

Shaka continues saying that the Void Century is a period of war between the highly advanced civilization that once existed, and 20 other kingdoms, with the 20 kingdoms winning and eventually becoming the World Government. He also reveals that the World Government tried to erase any knowledge about the Ancient Kingdom because they didn’t want anyone to carry its ideals.

Nami and Usopp are left aghast by Shaka’s tale, though Franky finds it romantic. Sanji asks Shaka if the people who knew about the kingdom are all dead, which Shaka confirms. Usopp starts freaking out as Shaka tries to assure that it was only a theory. He turns to Robin and tells her that if the people of Ohara were killed because of this theory, then that means the World Government knows it to be true. Robin grows defensive of Shaka’s claim and tells him that the people of Ohara simply made a theory based on all the research they conducted, and with his influence, can't he simply learn the truth from the government itself?

Shaka answers Robin that if he talks, he’ll die, whether he's affiliated with the World Government or not. Robin asks how Shaka is able to know all of this since she believes that all of the books that Ohara had were destroyed. Shaka, however, states this to be untrue. He acknowledges the day Ohara was destroyed with only her as a survivor and how the World Government labeled the people as evil with a desire to take over the world. About a month later, though, he decided to visit what remained, revealing that he was actually a close friend of Clover, Robin’s mentor, which surprises her.

Shaka tells Robin that Clover was once an adventurer, and his interest in the Void Century was what compelled him to travel the world collecting books, even though it meant he would be captured by the Marines multiple times. In the end, he became the number one archeologist in the world before gathering all the other scholars in Ohara, making it a sanctuary for them, which is why he believes his ultimate fate was so tragic. When he went to Ohara, he saw that the scholars all gave their lives to save the books, which they threw into the lake to save from the fire. He surmised that if the Marines saw the books, they saw no value in them and left them, which Shaka considered a victory for the people of Ohara, to the point it brought him to tears.

Shaka’s story causes Robin to flashback to when the island was destroyed and how her mother, Olvia, told her that she believes history is an “asset” for humanity, so they shouldn’t give up on the future she would live in. As her words were very similar to Shaka’s about the importance the books had, Robin starts to cry, which mistakenly enrages the Straw Hats. Robin confesses to Shaka that Ohara did try to expose the truth about the Great Kingdom as he predicted, and asks about what happened to all of the books. He explains that at the time, he wanted to take them all to Punk Hazard, but knew it would be too risky if his superiors found out. However, he did end up meeting “those guys”.

It turns out, when Dr. Vegapunk went to Ohara after it had been destroyed, he spotted some giants salvaging the books. As he begins to wonder if they know the importance of them, he gets spotted by Monkey D. Dragon, who was also an old friend of Clover. Vegapunk was surprised to learn this as Dragon tells Vegapunk that he checked out the giants and confirms they aren’t bandits, and they know of the value of the books. He also tells him that their captain is a strange man with bandages all over his body, and who said he “won’t let the assets that Ohara left become erased from history”. Dragon concludes that he is relieved the World Government didn’t destroy the books, though he said that including Vegapunk with them.

Vegapunk tries to defend himself but Dragon refuses to hear it, as he had previously invited him to join his Freedom Fighters, yet he chose to side with the World Government. Vegapunk claims his genius wouldn’t have been able to help them and reasons that even within the World Government, there would be people who would listen to him, so Dragon shouldn’t be losing his objective. Dragon admits this to be true but can’t help himself from being angry over the fact that the World Government killed thousands of innocent and powerless people over something as trivial as an “unreasonable opinion”. As a result, he declared he will make an army who can fight it; he won’t let Clover’s death and the Will of Ohara go in vain, even if he is a man who despises war. It was from that point on that the Revolutionary Army came to be, with Emporio Ivankov and Bartholomew Kuma helping him found it.

At the end of Shaka’s tale, Nami calls Dragon a passionate man while Usopp is surprised to hear the giants came from Elbaf. Robin also admits her surprise that Dragon knew Clover, and Franky asks Shaka why he remodeled Kuma, and why he saved them that day. Shaka, however, says that since the books didn’t fall into the World Government’s hands, he secretly visited Elbaf and read them, meaning he himself knows all about Ohara and the secrets of the world, which is helping him progress his research. Robin begins to smile and asks if the captain’s name is Jaguar D. Saul, and though Shaka doesn’t exactly say that, only that he is hiding and no one knows where, Robin deeply thanks him and asks he not let Ohara’s battle go in vain. Shaka confirms he won’t as he considers himself an ally to every scholar, as is his nature as a researcher. Shaka then activates everyone’s shoes and has them follow him, wanting to show them something.

Meanwhile, down in the Fabriophase, Luffy and Chopper see no place to ride the giant robot, making them think it is automatic. Chopper tries to make it move but fails, and Luffy tries to call it by its name, which also fails, and causes Jewelry Bonney to call them children. Just then, someone appears stuck inside the robot’s armor begging for help, as his warping experiment failed. Luffy helps the man out and Bonney identifies him as Dr. Vegapunk, the main body. Vegapunk recognizes Luffy is Dragon's son and that he knew he would come, before looking at Bonney and acknowledging how grown up she is now. Luffy’s attention, however, is turned to Vegapunk’s shoes, which are making him float. Vegapunk shows him and Chopper how to do it too, but ends up shooting himself too high into the air, prompting him to ask for help again.

Chapter Notes

 * Shaka and Robin discuss the reasons behind the Ohara Incident.
 * Vegapunk is fully seen and introduced.
 * A flashback of Vegapunk with Dragon is shown several months after the Ohara Incident.
 * Vegapunk and Dragon witnessed several Giants recover what's left of Ohara's books.
 * Dragon announced his plans to start an Army in response to Ohara's destruction.
 * Vegapunk declined Dragon's offer to join him, believing he can do more good trying to change the Marines from the inside.
 * Shaka reveals that afterwards, Vegapunk visited Elbaf and memorized every book the Giants recovered from Ohara.
 * Shaka also reveals to Robin that Jaguar D. Saul is alive and was responsible for salvaging the books.
 * Luffy's group encounters Vegapunk after the gigantic, mechanized robot collapses.