Now Stay Down Already, Big Mom!
One Piece Chapter 1040 Review/Recap
Good grief, Big Mom, just what will it take to take you down for the count? We all knew that the Yonko were the toughest pirates alive; Whitebeard was a testament to that. However, I don’t think any of us guess just how stubborn they could be. No matter what gets thrown at her, Big Mom refuses to quit. It would be an admirable quality if she wasn’t such a horrible person. That no longer matters, though. No matter how much she wants, her era, and Kaido’s era, is coming to an end. The Worst Generation will rise in their place. Big Mom Falls today!
Recap
Despite Kid and Law hitting her with everything they got, Big Mom manages to hang on for dear life, much to everyone’s shock. Now enraged beyond all reason, the Yonko gives the two pirates a choice: either serve her, or let her take fifty years of their lives as she starts sucking the souls out of everyone nearby. However, Kid and Law don’t flinch, not even for a second. They know that Big Mom’s on her last legs, and that this is a desperate gamble to win; a gamble that they won’t fall for. Law uses his powers to silence her while Kid hits her with another Damned Punk, sending her falling into the hole created earlier.
Down, down Big Mom goes, past the armory room, taking Kanjuro’s fire demon and one of the bombs with her. Utterly powerless to do anything, Big Mom can only curse at Roger and the legacy he created while also promising to get revenge on Kid and Law no matter what while she falls into the hole outside the Flower Capital. The battle between the Yonko Big Mom and the Worst Generation of Pirates is over. The winner: the Worst Generation.
Review
Holy snap, that was epic! We all knew that taking down the likes of Big Mom would take everything the Worst Generation had, and they managed to deliever on it, and then some. Seeing the horrible old hag utterly helpless was so satisfying to watch. However, I won’t believe she’s dead until I see her body in front of us. My guess is that she’ll retreat to Whole Cake Island in defeat.
As a bonus to all of this, Big Mom’s defeat also gave Yamato the opening he needed to freeze all the bombs in the armory. With Kazenbo gone, Orochi’s mad plans can no longer succeed. And his ninja crony seems to have lost to Raizo. I’m a little worried about Zoro, though. You guys saw the part of the island he was on begin to give way, though I think he’ll be fine.
In any event, the final page of the chapter had Momonosuke bring up Joy Boy for the third time this arc. What’s more, he reveals that Zunesha was Joy Boy’s comrade 800 years ago. Another piece of the puzzle of the Void Century and One Piece has just been revealed. Just what could it be, though, will have to wait. We got another two-week break for now. And I’m fine with that. Oda deserves to rest.
I Give “Wasted Words on Young Ears” a 4.5/5
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Top Dogs in Udon Prison
One Piece Chapter 926 Review/Recap
This chapter of One Piece continues to set up the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance (which I will just call the Alliance for simplicity’s sake) plan to launch an all-out rebellion.
We know it’s Usopp, and that he’s the one who gave him the message 
Thus, allies begin to gather from around Wano
There are a lot more samurai loyal to the Kozuki Clan left than I thought there would be, but that is an excellent thing. That just means there are a lot more people ready to put Orochi’s head on a spike where it belongs. The rest of the Straw Hats have split up to do their part:
What Is the Alliance Doing?
Nami is working with Shinobu to gather intel. For the moment, Shinobu seems to panic easily.
Sanji is doing what he does best and what he’d like to do best: cooking for people and flirting with girls.
Despite Nami’s frustration, though, I think there’s a purpose behind Sanji’s actions. He could be trying to a.) gather intel by filling people’s bellies (full bellies can lead to loose lips), b.) win people’s support for the rebellion or c.) just flirting. Probably all three.
We then are given a glimpse of the prison where Kid and Luffy are being held. Backtracking for a minute, though, remember what I said in my recap of Act One of the Wano Arc? About how they would be running the place within a week?
Yeah, I was right. Though if you stayed with the story long enough, you’d know that Luffy wouldn’t break. Bonus, he and Kid seemed to be fully healed.
The guards can’t believe how much work the two captains are doing even with seastone handcuffs on them. Far from breaking, the two remain as defiant as ever, beating the crap out of the sub-warden. Their actions are winning over the other prisoners pretty quickly, which I think is Oda’s plan. Why? Think about it.
New Allies for the Alliance
Every single one of those prisoners will have an axe to grind against Orochi and Kaido for turning them into slaves. Until these two came along, they probably gave up any hope of living. But now they have two people willing to openly defy Kaido, and that will inspire them to do the same. When Luffy and Law get out of prison, and we KNOW they will, those prisoners are gonna follow them. Speaking of which, there’s a familiar face among them:
That’s Caribou, all right. He’s that pirate with the swamp-swamp fruit that tried to kidnap all those mermaids on Fishman Island. After a series of misadventures, he got captured by Kaido. And I know he’s gonna want to get payback!
In less than two weeks, the rebellion against Orochi and Kaido will begin. The Alliance is going to need all hands on deck to take down the Beast Pirates. Here’s who they got so far: The Straw Hat Pirates (minus Jinbei); the mink warriors of the Mokomo Dukedom; the Kozuki clan’s retainers; the Heart Pirates, and several ninja. Now add in the samurai they’re recruiting, and the prisoners, which include Kid and Caribou. That’s an army, and they’ll need one if they want to stand a chance. I have confidence in them, though.
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