Thread by @TypicalJAnt

One Piece Chapter 1054: Analysis & Review

The Beginning of the End

#ONEPIECE #ONEPIECE1054

The chapter begins in the Flower Capital. As Greenbull approaches, we see that the Scabbards have noticed his approach and are going to intercept him.

As Greenbull approaches, he is talking to himself about the significance of the ability to sway people.

This is a call back to Mihawk's comments during Marineford, that Luffy possessed the ability to make all those around him in to his allies.

Evidence of this is shown immediately after he says this, as the Scabbards arrive to confront him.

Greenbull then monologues & gives us a great insight in to his philosophy.

Greenbull believes that the Celestial Dragons are Gods & that order is kept in the world by discrimination & inequality being enforced.

This philosophy of Greenbull's could be defined as 'Discriminatory Justice'. It is in many ways like a combination of Akainu's 'Absolute Justice' & Lucci's 'Dark Justice'.

It's clear that Greenbull is loyal to the World Government & will not betray them as many hoped & theorised

As the fighting begins, Greenbull declares that he is willing to massacre everyone in Wano in order to get to Luffy.

We get some interesting visual information here as well, as it seems that Denjiro is the only one capable of cutting through Greenbull's branches.

Suddenly Yamato jumps in & hits Greenbull with an ACoC attack. GB acknowledges this power but seems unphased.

Yamato makes a speech about protecting the freedom of Wano & declares that she is Kaido's son.

Just before Momo arrives to take charge of the situation, we see Greenbull's reaction to the revelation that Yamato is the child of Kaido.

Admitting this was likely a mistake as it is now very likely that the Gorosei will find out & place a bounty on Yamato.

After failing to use Blast Breathe, Momo follows through by attempting to bite Greenbull & vowing that he won't allow him to get to the capital.

Greenbull comments on Momo being a pink dragon & notes that it's the first time he's heard of such a thing.

This is important to remember because it connects back to the scenes with CP0 in which it was revealed that Momo's fruit is a copy of Kaido's & that it was believed to be a failure.

Greenbull not being aware of it reiterates that the WG are not yet aware of it being a success.

Cutting back to the action, we see that Greenbull has quickly got Momo in to a chokehold. Yamato attempts to jump in to help but Momo tells her to stay out of it.

It seems that Momo intends to take on Greenbull 1v1. If this is the case, it will be a true show of Momo's potential

This leads me to a prediction for 1055.

Earlier on in the arc, we saw Momo training using the word 'Sunacchi'. This is a shout that Momo learned from Zoro.

Momo is an adult now & he has the Ame No Habikiri, I believe he will use it against Greenbull.

Momo may unlock Ryou

I'm sure everyone else had the same reaction as me when we turned the page & saw Shanks' ship.
'It's time!'

Shanks reminisces about his time with Oden & remarks that Momo & Hiyori must be grown up by now.

This makes me think that he will meet them both again before he leaves.

We see Shanks' crew all excited to see Luffy, although Yassop is not ready to meet Usopp again & Limejuice seems more concerned about Kid being there.

That sounds like a rematch is coming up to me but meanwhile, Shanks is distracted by the wanted poster of Luffy's awakened form.

As Shanks looks at the poster we transition to a short flashback of when he stole the fruit from a CP9 ship.

This was referenced all the way back in chapter 1 of the story & again in 1018 by Who's Who, whom we see here on the ship.

It's also worth noticing that it's reiterated here that Cipher Pol were not aware of the fruit's true significance.

Of course, they could not know, because even the Gorosei did not realise it.

As we saw toward the end of Onigashima, the Gorosei only just realised the truth

With a quick montage of Shanks' time with Luffy everything comes full circle.

Shanks smiles whilst junior members of his crew moment about the legends of Luffy.

But then suddenly, Shanks turns around & says that he does not intend to meet Luffy here.

Shanks comments on Bart claiming one of his territories & seems to sarcastically say that they have to deal with that for the sake of his reputation.

I don't think Shanks really cares about this, it's just that now he wants to position himself as a legitimate antagonist to Luffy

Shanks sits & drinks some sake with Beckman, as if to renew an oath. He asks Ben, 'Isn't it about time to claim it?'

Shanks confirms that he will join the fight for the One Piece!

There's a small detail here that adds weight to this moment.

Oda has been using symbolism of a closed left eye throughout the story.

This is the first time he has flipped it to the left eye being opened.

From there we cut to Navy HQ.

Akainu is in a meeting with Kizaru & a new character named Kurouma aka 'Black Horse'

They are discussing the events of the Reverie & the problems caused by the Revolutionaries led by Sabo, now known as 'The Flame Emperor'!

In this meeting we get updates on the mysteries from the Reverie, starting with confirmation that Sabo is being framed for the murder of Cobra.

Despite even Kurouma thinking Sabo actually did it & the RA planned it, we know this is not the case based on their reactions.

Next we learn that just before Cobra was killed, Sabo & the others raided the Holy Land & destroyed the emblem of the Celestial Dragons.

This makes a clear parallel to the moment during Enies Lobby when Luffy & Usopp burned the WG flag.

Despite the efforts of Fujitora & Greenbull the Revolutionaries succeeded in freeing Kuma from slavery and managed to escape.

This is a massive win for the Revolutionaries & has potentially huge implications given the Vegapunk connection.

The chapter ends off with a few more reveals and a lot more questions.

First we get confirmation that Vivi has indeed disappeared. It seems most likely that she has been kidnapped by Imu & that this is being kept secret.

We also learn that the attempted murder reported by Morgans was on Saint Charlos.

Donquixote Mjosgard helped the suspect escape & was put to trial but the 'Knights of God' intervened.

It seems that Bonney was most likely the culprit of this assassination attempt.

Finally we learn that Kurouma is investigating the connection between all of these events including 'The Rebellion of 8 Nations.'

During the Reverie, revolutions were incited in 8 nations whilst their monarchs were away. Supposedly, Sabo orchestrated these events.

Sabo is now known as 'The Flame Emperor' and he is regarded as the face of the Revolution. His popularity has surpassed even that of Dragon himself!

Oda has made sure that we are aware of the true extent of Sabo's significance going forward.

The chapter ends with an ominous declaration from Akainu. No matter where the fight comes from, he swears that he will strike back on all fronts.

Perhaps this is Oda's version of 'The Empire Strikes Back'

One thing is for sure, we are truly in the end game!

I'll leave you with one final thought.

How could Sabo have coordinated all of these events?

Aside from the two Nefertari incidents, how can he have incited these rebellions?

I believe it was actually someone else using his face.

Has Bon Clay joined the Revolutionary Army?!