One Piece Chapter 1146 Review/Recap
The Straw Hat Pirates are in trouble. In the middle of trying to help save the giants of Elbaph, Nami, Usopp, Brook, Jinbei, and Colon managed to run into Gunko of the God’s Knights. As strong as the Straw Hats are, no one outside the Monster Trio might be able to take them on in a fight. What’s worse is that the Celestial Dragons’ plans to blackmail the giants are starting to come together. If they are not stopped, then when the final war begins, the giants could be fighting on the wrong side! And if that happens, there may not be any hope left for the world.
Recap
The Colon Pirates are shocked by the sudden arrival of Gunko aboard the ship, realizing she was one of the intruders. In response, Gunko goes on a tangent saying how she is one of the gods, and that they were kidnapping the children to bring them back to Mariejois. Outraged by this attempt to enslave the children, the Straw Hats hit Gunko with all they’ve got. However, they discover that she can regenerate from even their worst attacks, and that her powers allow her to strike at them from anywhere. Worse, she can use her arrows to even redirect their attacks onto each other. Before the Straw Hats know it, they’re all down for the count.
As she takes Colon hostage, Gunko monologues about how the God’s Knights are doing all of this to blackmail the giants of Elbaph. They had hoped to keep the world in the dark about the impending Armageddon, but now that their hand is forced and war is imminent, they want the giants to fight for them. And with their kids about to be taken hostage, the adults may not have a choice. Elsewhere, the other God’s Knights have subdued the Giants. Qillingham is getting ready to broadcast to the entire country, and worse, Sommers has just beaten the daylights out of Saul, much to the horror of Robin and Chopper!
Review
As expected, the God’s Knights are nothing to sneeze at. Then again, given how much One Piece loved the concept of serial escalation, it makes sense that the enforcers of the World Nobles would be this powerful. What’s worse, though, is that they are every bit as black-hearted as the majority of their brethren.
Thanks to Gunko’s decision to monologue, the heroes now know that the Celestial Dragons plan to annex Elbaph. They’re going to use the kids as blackmail to force the giants to do their bidding in the final war of Ragnarok. If that happens, and the giants are forced to serve them, then there would be no hope left for the world. Everyone who doesn’t live on the Red Line would eventually die. And what’s worse is that now that they know the Straw Hats are in Elbaph, the God’s Knights could force the giants to hunt them down.
All is not lost, though. Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji are safe in the underworld for the time being. And with Loki having eaten plenty of food, the giant prince might be strong enough to get back on his feet soon. While he might not be wholly trustworthy, the Straw Hats might not have a choice but to work with Loki to kick the God’s Knights out. Meanwhile, Franky, Ripley, Lilith and Bonney dealt with their own attackers, so they could join the counterattack.
Harald Had Horrible Timing
There was one other detail that stood out st the end of this chapter, though. It was what Sommers said about the giants of Elbaph growing soft. He complained that King Harald had screwed things up for them, and that got me thinking. The big fan theory is that Harald was secretly a puppet for the World Government and weakening his people from within. But what if he was actually trying to disarm the Giants so that they would be a non-factor in the coming Ragnarok? If that’s true, then Harald was doing it to prevent countless people from dying in the final war that is to come.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: now is not the time for the giants for pursue the path of peace. The World Government and the Celestial Dragons represent an existential threat to the entire world. They will not stop until they destroy what’s left of it and rule what remains! They have made war inevitable, they need to be brought down, and the Giants need to be the ones to help!
Having managed to catch One Piece fever in the wake of the anime’s return, I can honestly say I’m looking forward to the next chapter. I want to see the God’s Knights be out in their place!
