Chapters · Final Saga › Egghead

Chapter 1071: The Hero Deploys

Arc: Egghead · Saga: Final Saga · Released: 2022-12-26

Summary

At Red Port at the foot of the Red Line, the World Government scrambles as Bartholomew Kuma — recently escaped from Mary Geoise — crashes down and begins moving with evident purpose, the broadcast insisting he is a will-less slave who “no longer possesses a human will.” On Egghead, Dr. Vegapunk and his satellites plan their escape aboard the Straw Hats’ ship under Vegaforce-1 escort, while CP0 (Lucci, Kaku, Stussy) waits for the island’s Frontier Dome barrier to fail — which it suddenly does, deactivated by an unseen operator in the control room. CP0 slips in and attacks the Thousand Sunny with long-range Rankyaku, only for a napping Zoro to deflect the strike. Bonney, hunting Vegapunk, corners the old scientist and demands he turn her father back to normal; Luffy stops her from beating him. Meanwhile an unidentified ship reaches the giants’ homeland of Elbaf, and at Navy base G-14 a defiant, laughing Garp launches a rescue mission to Fullalead to save the captured Koby from Blackbeard.

New reveals

• Kuma has broken out of Mary Geoise. He crashes down at Red Port, base of the Red Line; the WG announces “Bartholomew Kuma has appeared!! …former Warlord of the Sea,” that “his current programming directive is unknown,” and that he “no longer possesses a human will” (pp. 3-5). He immediately begins moving northeast across the island.
• Vegapunk = seven scientists. The escape plan is “a voyage with the Seven Greatest Scientists in the world” — the original Stella plus six satellites (“Seven?! All of the Vegapunks?!”) (p. 9).
• The Frontier Dome is sabotaged. Egghead’s barrier defense (“Labophase defense system… Frontier Dome deactivated”) shuts off with no one visible on the monitors — “Is someone in the control room?!” (p. 10). CP0 reads it as either a trap or a golden opportunity and enters.
• Bonney’s father. Bonney attacks Vegapunk over “those bugs,” then corners him: “Can you turn my father back or not?!” Vegapunk refuses (“No, I can’t!! I’m sorry!!! But there’s a good reason!!!”) (pp. 9, 14).
• Garp deploys. At Navy HQ Base G-14, Garp overrides objections and sets sail for the pirate island Fullalead to “wipe the floor with those pirates… and rescue Captain Koby,” who has been captured by Blackbeard (pp. 16-17).
• A ship reaches Elbaf — “the home of the giants” — in a stretch of New World sea (p. 15).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (appear): Kuma (deploys from Red Port), Jewelry Bonney, Vegapunk, Shaka (restores the Frontier Dome), Lilith, Sentomaru, Rob Lucci, Kaku, Stussy, Zoro (deflects CP0’s attack), Luffy, Sanji, Nami, Nico Robin, Usopp, Tony Tony Chopper, Garp, Helmeppo
• Characters (mentioned only): Atlas (“we gotta avenge Atlas!!” — injured/down), Koby (captured by Blackbeard), Blackbeard (“Blackbeard’s got Koby”)
• Groups / tech: CP-0, the Seraphim (“we have control over the Seraphim now”), Vegaforce-1 (Sentomaru’s mecha escort), the Frontier Dome, Pacifista
• Locations: Egghead (Future Island), Red Port, Mariejois (“the Land of the Gods”), Red Line, Elbaf, Fullalead, G-14 (Navy HQ Base)

Notable panels

• Pages 1-2 — Color spread: the full Straw Hat crew (Sanji, Robin, Brook, Chopper / Franky, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Luffy) in relaxed poses against a warm desert-orange ground. Decorative; no obvious foreshadowing content. (mirror)
• Page 3 — Splash: Kuma crashes down at Red Port at the base of the Red Line under a “WORLD GOVT” sign — the chapter’s title beat, “The Hero Deploys.” (mirror)
• Page 11 — CP0 attacks the Thousand Sunny: Kaku’s “Sky Slicer!!!” and Lucci’s “Tempest Kick!” (Rankyaku-class flying slashes).
• Page 12 — A napping Zoro blanks CP0’s long-range slash mid-air (“…to disturb my nap…? Who dares…”).
• Page 15 — Establishing shot of Elbaf, “the home of the giants,” as an unidentified ship makes landfall.
• Page 17 — Garp, laughing, vows to “rescue Captain Koby” — the rescue-mission deploy that closes the chapter.

Open questions raised

• Who deactivated Egghead’s Frontier Dome from the control room, and was it a deliberate trap to admit CP0?
• If Kuma “no longer possesses a human will,” why is he moving with such evident purpose — and where is he headed?
• Whose ship has reached Elbaf, and why?
• Can Vegapunk’s refusal to restore Bonney’s father be reversed, and what is the “good reason” he gives?