SBS Volume 7

'''Reader: Oda-sensei! A little while ago, my friend came up and said, "I've found the perfect Devil Fruit for you", so I went ahead and ate it. Now it may just be my mind playing tricks on me, but I get the feeling that all the jokes I say aren't very funny.'''

Oda: Ohhhhhh... So you ate that one, eh... That... that's got to be the one. Yes, you have definitely eaten the "Samu Samu no Mi". If you eat that fruit, only bad jokes come out of your mouth. And to make matters worse, you can't swim. You really got the raw end of the deal there, my friend. Ha ha ha ha. Laugh it up, laugh it up. Ha ha ha.

(Note: Samu(i) means 'cold,' and is often used when someone says a bad joke. Kind of the same as when a comic says "tough audience".)

R: In the first volume, when the bandits enter the bar they destroy the door, so why is it that when they leave, it's repaired?!

O: That was his work. The carpenter "Minatomo-san." He has a short temper, so he cannot go by a broken door or what have you without repairing it. It wasn't my mistake.

'''R: Why does Sanji-san's eyebrow curl up at the end? Please give a real answer!!'''

O: Hey!! You, sit right there!! Now listen!! Everyone lives in circles!! The sun, the moon, and the earth all spin around!! And!! If the earth suddenly stopped spinning!! It would be a disaster, tidal waves everywhere!! Now remember that Sanji's eyebrow channels that circular energy!! Reflect upon this!! You may go!!

R: How old is Sanji-san?

O: 19 years old. The same as Zoro.

'''R: How many assistants do you have? What do they do?'''

O: There are four. They help me with the backgrounds and so forth. They stay at my house and help me for 3 days and 2 nights a week, but to tell you the truth, I wouldn't be able to finish a final draft without them. However, it's such a ridiculous place to work that making the draft is very fun.

'''R: I have a question. How quickly can Captain Kuro run 100 meters?'''

O: To tell you the truth, it is extremely hard to measure his speed correctly, but I don't think it would take more than 5 seconds. Think of it as around 4 seconds. Whoa! That's a world record.

'''R: Are Patty and Carne's names from "spaghetti" and "calzone"? (calzone spelled in japanese is CARUtsuoNE, and carne is spelled carune)'''

O: Hmmm! It is true that their names are derived from food-related words, but that's not right. Patty is taken from the name of a type of dessert specialist (patissiere). And Carne is taken directly from the Spanish word for meat.

'''R: Could you make the One Piece tankobon a little cheaper? (like 100 yen...)'''

O: Right now... 1 book is 410 yen. And Jump costs 220 yen... When I was in elementary school, a tankobon was 360 yen and a Jump cost 170 yen. But the price of everything rises. There's nothing I can do about it. It's the same for everyone... and 100 yen is just ridiculous.

'''R: Are those three-roped things of hair coming out of Zeff's nose a mustache? Or it is nose hair? Or fake hair?'''

O: It's braided hair. The technical name is "somehow okay hair".

(Note: Oda's answer to that question is a pun. He says "yosage" (which could mean "okay hair") instead of "osage", or "braided hair".)

'''R: Only the upper half of Buggy's body can fly around (I mean, float). So then he should be able to go on the Grand Line with only his top half. So why doesn't he go?'''

O: He cannot. Bara Bara Humans have a certain distance limit to their ability. There is a 200 Bara Bara diameter circle around the point where the person touches the ground. Outside of that distance, he cannot control those parts of his body.

R: What criteria do you use to pick your "Usopp Gallery Pirates"?

O: Of course, the skill, how fun it is, the sense... But of course, the most valuable ones are the postcards that have SPIRIT.

R: Take a Character Fan Poll!!

O: Uhhh, I won't do it in the books, but I already did one in Jump, and the results will appear on page 148. (This poll was run for about two or three weeks after Chapter 49, "The Storm".)