Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 981: Joining the Fight

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2020-05-25

Summary

On the Onigashima floor, Eustass Kid’s surprise attack reveals Scratchmen Apoo as Kaido’s informant — the man who lured the Worst-Generation alliance into a trap (pp. 3-5). Queen grants “permission to kill,” and a brawl erupts as Apoo’s hearing-range sound attacks rip through the crowd; Killer (his defective SMILE forcing constant laughter, “one of the Pleasures”) and Zoro and Luffy are dragged in (pp. 5-9). A rampaging giant Number, Haccha, can’t be controlled (pp. 6-7). Meanwhile the Beasts hunt for Yamato and the Tobi Roppo (Sasaki named) jockey for glory; Big Mom notes there are “no signs of ships at the main port” and that she has “gotten in touch” (pp. 10-11). Kin’emon’s samurai split into two groups for a pincer attack on Kaido and Orochi, blending among the enemy and infiltrating the Skull Dome from the side (pp. 11-15). Their route runs past the newer Pleasure Hall of Black Maria of the Tobi Roppo on the wisteria bridge, and Sanji is nearly sucked in by “woman trouble” (pp. 12-14). On the outside of Wano, Big Mom and her crew climb the falls to re-enter the country after King knocked them off before — but at the top, the one waiting for them is not King: it is Marco the Phoenix, who unleashes his blue phoenix flame to knock the Big Mom Pirates back down (pp. 16-19).

New reveals

• Apoo = Kaido’s informant. Kid’s attack exposes Scratchmen Apoo as the spy who steered the Worst-Generation alliance into Kaido’s hands (“…an informant for Kaido!!! That you were already…”). Apoo’s sound attacks “carry anywhere in hearing range” (pp. 4-5, 9).
• Killer’s defective SMILE restated. Killer “ate one of the failed Smile fruits,” which “turned him into one of the Pleasures” — locked into involuntary laughter (p. 9). (First revealed Ch. 944.)
• Haccha, a “Number,” named. A giant-sized berserker the Beasts can’t restrain; onlookers wonder “Is he a giant?! He looks even bigger!!” (pp. 6-7).
• Tobi Roppo named: Black Maria (her Pleasure Hall on the wisteria bridge is shown; she appears only as a screen-silhouette) and Sasaki (named only) (pp. 10, 12-13).
• The Akazaya pincer plan is recapped: split into two groups, blend among the enemy, half peel off to infiltrate the Skull Dome from the side, to execute a pincer attack on Kaido and Orochi (pp. 11-15).
• Big Mom Pirates re-enter Wano by climbing the outer falls; King had knocked them off the island earlier (pp. 16-17).
• Marco the Phoenix is in Wano, guarding the top of the falls; his regenerative blue flame is unleashed as “Phoenix Brand” (pp. 18-19).
• The Beasts are searching for Yamato (“focus on finding Yamato and reporting in,” p. 10) — named, not shown.

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters (shown): Eustass Kid, Killer, Scratchmen Apoo, Zoro, Luffy, Queen, Haccha, Sanji, Kin’emon, Big Mom, Marco
• Characters (named / referenced, not shown): Yamato (named — “find Yamato”), Black Maria (Tobi Roppo — hall shown, figure only a silhouette), Sasaki (Tobi Roppo — named), King, Kaido, Orochi, Momonosuke
• Crews / groups: Kid Pirates, Animal Kingdom Pirates (Tobi Roppo, the Numbers, the Pleasures), Big Mom Pirates, Whitebeard Pirates, Straw Hat Pirates, Akazaya Nine, the Worst Generation
• World-building: SMILE, Wano Country Waterfall Entrance
• Locations: Onigashima (Skull Dome, the wisteria bridge, Black Maria’s Pleasure Hall), Wano Country, the outer falls

Notable panels

• Pp. 1-2 — Color spread (decorative): a music/DJ club scene — Usopp at the turntables in headphones, Luffy reading, Chopper, Brook, animals; caption “Music doesn’t have to…” Thematically resonant with Apoo’s sound-attacks this chapter but reads as decorative, not foreshadowing.
• P. 7 — Name box: NUMBERS — HACCHA, the out-of-control giant.
• P. 12 — Black Maria’s Pleasure Hall (sign 女羅) revealed on the wisteria bridge; “*Woman Trouble” caption as Sanji is drawn toward it.
• P. 15 — A seated female silhouette behind a paper screen (Black Maria, design concealed); the disguised cart/eyes of the infiltration team.
• Pp. 16-17 — The Big Mom Pirates climb the outer falls; “Climb the falls!!!” / “You haven’t seen the last of us, King!!!”
• P. 18 — Splash intro box: “MARCO — THE PHOENIX · FORMER WHITEBEARD PIRATES, LEADER OF THE 1ST DIVISION.” Marco descends in blue flame; ”…Brand!!!”
• P. 19 — “Look upward. It was Marco’s work.” / “Why is Marco heeere?!” Cliffhanger.

Open questions raised

• Why is Marco the Phoenix in Wano, and on whose side did he arrive — is the Whitebeard remnant now part of the raid alliance?
• What does “no signs of ships at the main port” mean, and who has Big Mom “gotten in touch” with?
• Where is Yamato, and why are the Beasts so anxious to find them and “report in”?
• Can the Numbers (Haccha) be controlled at all, and what are they?