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One Piece Chapter 1160 Review/Recap

I used to think that the execution of Gol D. Roger was the most important event in the history of One Piece, but I think we may have to rethink that. Instead, I think the most important event that sets up the story as we know it was the God Valley Incident. At first, we thought God Valley was just the latest victim of the World Nobles’ sick, genocidal tournament. However, the reveal of Rocks’ and the future Blackbeard’s lineage has turned the God Valley Incident into something else: an execution for their family. What’s even crazier, though, is that this was probably the event that set Monkey D. Dragon down the path to becoming the Revolutionary we know.

Honestly, I don’t think any of us can blame him.

Recap

The sight of the Davy Clan is enough to drive the Celestial Dragons into a frenzy, calling for their blood. Yet their deaths will not come so soon. The victims of the hunting tournament are set loose to run from their doom. One hour later, the hunt begins.

What follows is nothing short of horrific. Innocent people are slaughtered by the Celestial Dragons without mercy. Families watch each other die. And amidst it all is Dragon, trying to fulfill the dying wish of Shanks and Shamrock’s mother to save them. Amidst all this, Dragon sees a Celestial Dragon about to kill Kuma and Ivankov’s group, prompting him to shoot him with tranq darts. Luckily for him, his luck is about to change.

To the east of God Valley, the Rocks Pirates and an army of pirates come charging in, to take the treasure, save Shakky, and for Rocks, to save his family. On the opposite side of the island, the Roger Pirates make landfall with the same goal in mind. With the God’s Knights distracted, Dragon takes the chance to grab Shanks and Shamrock and make a run for it. Right as the Marines are outnumbered, the cavalry arrives in the form of Vice-Admiral Garp! The God Valley Incident has begun!

Review

Holy moly, this is epic. The War at Marineford-levels of epic. In fact, with hindsight, the God Valley Incident might be to Roger and Rocks’ generation what Marineford was to Luffy. As if to emphasize that point, it has Dragon, someone young and out of his depth, running through the chaos, trying to do something that we know is destined to fail. At least, partially destined to fail.

I don’t think it needs to be said at this point, but I’m saying it anyway: the Celestial Dragons are the worst. We got glimpses of the tournament from Kuma’s flashbacks, but this just drives home how despicable it is. They’re hunting down sentient beings for sport, and they’re laughing about it. Sommers makes a father watch as his son is killed right in front of him! I don’t know how Oda comes up with people so vile, but he’s great at it. If this isn’t what causes Dragon to desert the Marines, then I will be disappointed in him!

As horrifying as this chapter was, though, the real highlight was the ending as the main players arrived. Rocks, Kaido, Big Mom, Gloriosa, Whitebeard, Shiki, Roger, Rayleigh, Gaban, Dragon, Garp, Garling, Gunko, Sommers! There are so many legendary influential people taking part in the God Valley Incident that it’s mind-boggling! This is pretty much a canon event! And it looks like Oda intends to show us everything! While part of me wishes that this could the subject of its own miniseries or film, I can understand why Oda’s doing this. He’s using the Elbaph Arc to tie up as many loose ends left as possible. That way, he can focus on the grand finale. These next few chapters are going to be some of the most important in One Piece history, and I cannot wait!

I Give “The God Valley Incident” a 4/5

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One Piece Chapter 1159 Review/Recap

The God Valley Incident. Ever since Oda name-dropped it back in the Wano Country Arc, he’s been slowly revealing why it’s one of the most important events in the entire series. When the Celestial Dragons came to hunt down the people of God Valley for cruel sport, the island became the site of a battle between the Navy, God’s Knights, and the toughest pirates in the world. Fans already figured out that this whole thing started because the World Nobles kidnapped Shakky; that much is certain. We also knew that this would somehow lead to Shanks, the child of a Celestial Dragon, to be adopted by Gol D. Roger. However, Oda has proceeded to drop two more bombshells about it with this chapter. This incident wasn’t just a canon event for Shanks, Kuma, and others. It was one for the future, Blackbeard, and one other character: Monkey D. Dragon!

Recap

Thirty-nine years ago, the entire world was thrown into chaos. In the middle of the night, someone had infiltrated Hachinosu and had kidnapped their beloved treasure, Shakky!

Pirates everywhere were wracked with rage and despair when they heard the news. It was so bad, the economy ground to a halt for weeks! But no trace of Shakky could be found.

A year later, Garling returned to God Valley and met his sons, Shanks and Shamrock, for the first time. However, he wasn’t there to visit his former flame. He was there to annex the island for the Human Hunting Tournament. So he stabbed the boys mother and left her for dead while the Marines came in to capture all the islanders while the other slaves were brought in. Yet thanks to Ginny and Ivankov, the news got leaked to a young Morgans, who then leaked it to pirates everywhere, including how Shakky was being offered as the grand prize! Outraged, the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates, and most of the pirates at Hachinosu set sail for God Valley.

Before Rocks could make it to God Valley, though, he was intercepted by Harald, tasked by the Government with killing him. Taking him aside, Rocks revealed the real reason he was headed to God Valley: it was his hometown, and where he sent his son and his mother. Moreover, he revealed his real name: Davy D. Xebec, descendant of the legendary pirate, Davy D. Jones. The Government had been hunting his family for centuries, and now his wife and kid were in danger. After hearing this, Rocks and Harald “fight,” but Rocks wins and sails away.

Meanwhile, the Human Hunting Tournament is about to begin at God Valley, with Shakky being shown off as the grand prize, along with an announcement about members of the Davy Clan being targets. Meanwhile, Monkey D. Dragon, still a young Marine cadet, finds Shanks and Shamrock’s mother begging for someone not to let their father take them away.

And with that, the curtain rises on the God Valley Incident.

Review

If I’m being honest with you guys, when we started this flashback, I thought that this would just be about Loki’s life. I expected this to tell us more about Harald, as well. However, I never expected this to also give us more details about the legendary Rocks D. Xebec, or about the God Valley Incident. To be honest, I was hoping that Oda would save all of that for a spin-off prequel miniseries. The fact that he’s including all this now, though, can only mean one thing: he really is getting ready for the endgame. And that means he needs to tie up whatever loose ends that won’t be covered in the Final War. And the series is all the better for it. Especially since we now know that a big reason the God Valley Incident took place was because of simping.

Admit it: We all Knew Shakky was the Reason

Like I said earlier, most fans had already put two-and-two together the minute the story called Shakky the treasure of Hachinosu. We knew that this meant she was kidnapped by the World Government to be offered as a prize in the World Nobles’ genocidal tournament. Yet actually seeing what happened is even more hilarious than we thought. The fact that it wasn’t just most pirates, but the entire world, that was heartbroken over Shakky’s abduction is some god-tier levels of simping! And it only got funnier when you saw how almost all the big-name pirates at the time went on the warpath to get her back. Even Rayleigh, who is normally very composed, was ready to go to war. It’s hilarious, but also heartwarming, to see how much Shakky meant to all those people.

This chapter also all but confirms how Shakky got kidnapped: Ochoku sold her out to the World Government, and likely stayed behind. With Rocks out of the way, he would become the new ruler of Hachinosu until Blackbeard took over. Considering how the God Valley Incident led to Rocks’ apparent death, I’d call that belated karma.

This was a Canon Event for Dragon and Shanks

What makes the events about to take place a canon event isn’t just how it leads to the fall of Rocks, though. It’s about how it will define the story of two of the series biggest supporting characters, Dragon and Shanks.

We learned from Kuma’s memories that Dragon did try to follow his father’s footsteps in the Marines at first. But he left when he couldn’t tolerate how corrupt they and their masters were. I wasn’t expecting him to be among the Marines sent to annex God Valley, but him being there and seeing the evil the Celestial Dragons will likely be the turning point in his life. Most fans have already guessed that the God Valley Incident will lead to Dragon deserting the Marines in favor of trying to save Shanks and Shamrock. It’s highly possible that he was the one who ensured that the infant Shanks found his way to the Roger Pirates, and Roger basically adopted him as his son. Thanks to that, Shanks was able to grow up to be everything the Celestial Dragons aren’t: kind, selfless, humble, and strong. Yet Dragon’s inability to save Shamrock would put him down the path to becoming a revolutionary.

The Fans Were Right About the Davy Jones Connection to Blackbeard

Lastly, we need to talk about the big reveal about Rocks D. Xebec, or rather, Davy D. Xebec. Many fans have speculated that Oda would eventually include Davy Jones in One Piece. After all, Davy Jones is a mythical figure often associated with pirates. Given how Blackbeard, another legendary icon of piracy, is in One Piece, fans speculated that the two had a connection. They were right. Davy Jones was a D. carrier, and Rocks and Teach are his descendants. Rocks might think the Celestial Dragons targeting God Valley was a coincidence, but the readers know it isn’t. They did it on purpose as a trap.

In the last chapter, Garling said he found something at God Valley that Imu would be interested in. There’s no doubt that that had to be Teach and his mother. Given how Rocks is the only known outsider to make it to Imu’s inner sanctum, you can bet they would use this to their advantage. Thus, the tournament in God Valley was an elaborate trap to lure Rocks so that they could finally kill him and wipe out the bloodline of Davy D. Jones for good. And while we don’t know the full details, we know that their plan was only partly successful. Rocks would fall thanks to Garp and Roger, but he likely did so ensuring that his son would escape. Now that son has grown to become a threat to everyone in the world, with only Luffy able to stop him.

This is Gonna be Good!

When Oda first introduced the God Valley Incident, it was a means to provide context about how Big Mom and Kaido served on the same crew. In true Oda fashion, though, he’s turned it into one of the most important events in One Piece’s backstory. Now we may get to see just what happened, if only partly. There’s a good chance he’s saving the rest for Teach’s backstory, but with Shanks appearing in this flashback, there’s a good chance we’ll see how he got to safety. And I, for one, cannot wait to see what happens! This really is the Island of Destiny!!!

I Give “The Island of Destiny” a 4.5/5

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One Piece Chapter 1158 Review/Recap

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Rocks and King Harald have finally had their falling out! Thanks to Harald wanting to have Elbaph join the World Government, the Elders gave him an ultimatum: kill Rocks D. Xebec for them. Meanwhile, events continue to unfold in this flashback, which, at this point, isn’t just about how Harald died. It’s obvious by now that we’re seeing just how the Rocks Pirates came to be and how their leader eventually fell. This week’s chapter, though, added another layer to things. We might be seeing the origin of Shanks and one of the reasons behind the God Valley Incident.

Man, this is good!

Quick sidebar, by the way: I’m aware of what people are saying about Gecko Moriah really being Kozuki Moriah. I do not see it. Moriah did steal Ryuuma’s sword, after all. If that is him, the Wano is in for a rude awakening.

Recap

Ever since the news of Shakky quitting piracy came out, Roger had been in a bad mood. The reason was that, despite knowing where she was, Roger had learned that Rayleigh had gotten a love letter from her. He was bummed that she chose his best friend over him! Not one to be deterred, though, Roger had his crew set course for Hachinosu. After that, Roger proceeded to mow through the line waiting to get in, where the Rocks Pirates were already hanging out and gossiping. Rocks didn’t like it, but Shakky had decreed anyone visiting to come to her bar couldn’t be harmed. She was so upset that Rayleigh stayed on the ship, though, that she passed out.

Sometime later, the clash between Rock and Harald takes place in the Underworld of Elbaph. Both combatants hold nothing back, both physically and verbally. Harald says that he’s genuinely trying to change how the world views the Giants of Elbaph. However, Rocks calls him a fool for thinking they’ll welcome them as equals. All they want is to enslave the Giants for themselves. In the end, neither of them won, but their friendship had come to an end. They wouldn’t see each other again until a certain incident.

A short time earlier, a young Garling was telling the Five Elders about a brief stay in God Valley where he found something Imu would be interested in. At the same time, on God Valley itself, a mother was showing off her two infant children to people, Shanks and Shamrock.

Review

Dang. That is a lot to unpack, but it was fun!

Firstly, i liked how this chapter serves to set up how things will turn out for the major players of this era. Its confirmed by this point that Teach was born, making Rocks a father, though I doubt we’ll know the identity of his mother just yet. In addition, it seems like Roger will not stop pining for Shakky for some time, despite knowing she likes his best friend. That’s the kind of love triangle that could destroy most bromance, but thankfully, Roger and Rayleigh are tighter than that. Plus, Rayleigh did admit that he didn’t want to be tied down, and that holds true. The two are married in the present, but they have an open relationship. Good for them.

On the flip side, though, we saw the end of Rocks and Harald’s unlikely friendship. And the sad thing about it is that neither is wholly right nor wrong here. Harald is right that his people need to show they’re not just violent killers but have more to offer the world; he just chose the worst time to do this. On the other hand, Rocks is right with what he says about the Giants. The World Government only wants them for the power they bring and nothing else. They’re playing Harald, and he likely knows it; he’s just that desperate to make up for who he was when he was young. With what’s happening in the present-day, though, Rocks was right. And they can’t be allowed to get away with their takeover.

So Shanks is From God Valley?

The biggest surprise about the chapter, though, was the reveal of baby Shanks and Shamrock. This chapter pretty much confirms that they were born in God Valley. It also all but confirms that Garling is their father. If that’s true, then it’s likely the God Valley Incident led to Shanks being abandoned while Garling took Shamrock with him.

This flashback has quickly evolved from simply being about Loki. It’s now telling the life story of King Harald and Rocks D Xebec. It seems like Oda is determined to get everything out of the way before the final war begins, and he’s doing a good job of keeping people invested. If things keep going this way, then we might end up seeing more of the God Valley Incident, and I can’t wait for that!

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One Piece Chapter 1157 Review/Recap

Have you ever heard the story of the Trojan War? In modern terms, the whole reason it was started was from simping. The Greeks and the Trojans started it because they were simping over Helen of Troy, the most beautiful woman in the world. Why bring this up now? Because I think that the whole reason the God Valley Incident ended up taking place was because the Celestial Dragons kidnapped the Pirates Helen of Troy.

Recap

After the Rocks Pirates were officially formed, no one on the seas was safe. Over the course of the next two years, they proceeded to rob anything that crossed their line of sight. Ports and villages were destroyed, dozens of ships sunk, and an entire nation was leveled. They committed crimes so bad that they had to be covered up! And all the while, Rocks was still trying to get Harald to join him.

For his part, Harald had kept trying to get the World Government to let Elbaph join. But because he refused to turn a blind eye to their bullying of unaligned nations, he kept hitting roadblocks. Not even giants joining the Marines helped. Eventually, the Gorosei made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: if he killed Rocks, they would let Elbaph join.

Meanwhile, the pirate world was rocked by scandal. Shakky, captain of the Kuja Pirates, had quit! Her fans were devastated…until she showed up on Hachinosu saying she wanted to hide out there and start her own business. The pirates didn’t hesitate to help her, and by the time the Rocks Pirates had returned, Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar was open for business. Thus, she became the treasure of Hachinosu.

…uh-oh.

Review

I think most of the fandom already thought this, so I’m only saying it: Shakky is the cause of the God Valley Incident.

It makes sense, when you think about it. Like Helen of Troy, Shakky was the most beautiful woman in the world in her youth. The Celestial Dragons would be arrogant and stupid enough to kidnap her. That would lead the Rocks Pirates and every other pirate to storm God Valley in search of Shakky. In a weird way, it’s funny to think that the incident that ends up bringing down Rocks D. Xebec, the man who ran roughshod over the world, happened because of a Pirate Helen of Troy. I guess simping is a constant in every reality.

Then there’s also the Five Elders’ ultimatum. I know that Rocks and Harald’s friendship is a little one-sided on Rocks’ part, but really? Are they really so cowardly that they’re resorting to this? On second thought, of course they would. There’s no level that they’re not willing to sink to. Rocks is right about one thing, though: the World Government doesn’t deserve Elbaph. They never have. This was a nice way to learn the origin of Shakky’s bar, though. I know I would visit, if only for the ambiance.

I Give “The Legendary Bar” a 4/5

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