Chapters · Four Emperors (Yonko) › Wano Country

Chapter 996: Island of the Strongest

Arc: Wano Country · Saga: Four Emperors (Yonko) · Released: 2020-11-15

Summary

The Onigashima raid scatters across the floors of the Skull Dome. On the Forehead floor’s “Animal Kingdom Bath,” Usopp and Nami are reinforced by Otama, who has ridden in on the Wano lion-dog Komachiyo with the giant baboon Hihimaru — Otama orders Hihimaru to hold the enemy beasts off for three minutes, declaring “we came here… as samurai!!” In the Right-Brain Tower’s center hallway, Yamato — whom Luffy put in charge of Momonosuke and Shinobu — fights off the Tobi Roppo Sasaki and his Armored Division, invoking that “Kozuki Oden would never” abandon a comrade; Franky (as “Franosuke”) crashes in to help, blasts a hole clean through the floor, and fires a “Nari-Kabura Arrow” at Sasaki, letting Yamato dive down the hole carrying Momonosuke while Shinobu charges the boy that he must survive to “guide the world… to the dawn.” On the Second Basement floor, Trafalgar Law tells Nico Robin his full true name — Trafalgar D. Water Law — and recalls Corazon’s words that the people of the D are “the enemies of the gods”; Robin, stunned, agrees the only road to the answers is to follow the red stones, which means beating the Four Emperors. On the Third floor, Eustass Kid and Killer magnetically drag all the castle’s scrap metal upward to forge a weapon, because “our enemy is the world’s strongest pirate.” Atop the Skull Dome, Kaido is under assault — and Big Mom returns to the fight, climbing back toward the roof “where Kaido is.” Below, Luffy (with allies) races up the stairs toward the rooftop where Kin’emon and the Scabbards are, while a seductive voice on another floor coaxes an unseen “lord” into something “naughty.”

New reveals

• Trafalgar Law’s full name spoken aloud to a crewmate: “Trafalgar D. Water Law” — Law tells Robin his hidden true name, prefacing it by recalling Corazon’s lesson: “The people of the D… the enemies of the gods… are known as…” (pp. 11–12).
• Robin and Law align on the endgame: Robin says “Luffy may not care, but I find the D name to be fascinating,” is “stunned” to learn Law is also a D, and the two agree that the only way is to follow the red stones (Road Poneglyphs) — which “means beating the Four Emperors” (p. 12).
• Yamato escapes Momonosuke downward: Luffy entrusted Momo + Shinobu to Yamato; Yamato fights Sasaki and his Armored Division, refuses to abandon “dead weight” (“Kozuki Oden… would never do that!!!”), and dives through Franky’s hole carrying Momonosuke (pp. 4–10).
• Franky’s attack: Franosuke busts a hole through the Right-Brain Tower floor and fires a “Nari-Kabura Arrow” at Sasaki (pp. 6–9).
• Kid hoards the castle’s metal: Eustass Kid magnetically drags “all the scrap metal in the castle” up the floors toward the roof — “you can’t have too much!!” — explicitly because “our enemy is the world’s strongest pirate” (pp. 13–14).
• Big Mom is back: knocked down earlier, Big Mom returns and starts climbing to the rooftop, “only interested in going… up top, where Kaido is” (pp. 15–16).
• Otama on the raid floor: Otama arrived by riding the lion-dog Komachiyo with the baboon Hihimaru, reinforcing Usopp and Nami (pp. 2–3).
• Castle-geography labels: “Animal Kingdom Bath, Forehead Floor,” “Right-Brain Tower, Center Hallway,” “Second Basement Floor,” “Third Floor,” “Performance Floor / Roof of the Skull Dome,” “Middle of Second Floor” (pp. 2, 4, 11, 13, 14, 16, 17).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

Yamato · Sasaki (named; with his Armored Division) · Franky (as “Franosuke”) · Momonosuke · Shinobu · Nami · Usopp · Otama · Komachiyo · Hihimaru · Trafalgar Law · Nico Robin · Corazon (recalled — “Hey, Cora. I’ve made up my mind.”) · Eustass Kid · Killer · Kaido · Big Mom · Kin’emon (Luffy: “Just you wait, Kin’emon!!”) · Luffy (referenced + racing up) · Blackbeard (cover only) · Animal Kingdom Pirates · Heart Pirates · Kid Pirates · Straw Hat Pirates · Akazaya Nine · Onigashima

Notable panels

• Page 1 — Title page. Reader-request cover one-shot (no ongoing cover serial this chapter): “Blackbeard and a hippo brushing their teeth” — requested by Ebi. No color spread this chapter.
• Pages 2–3 — “Animal Kingdom Bath, Forehead Floor”; Otama rides in on Komachiyo with Hihimaru to back up Usopp and Nami; “we came here… as samurai!!”
• Pages 4–9 — Right-Brain Tower hallway: Yamato shields Momo + Shinobu vs Sasaki and the Armored Division; Franky crashes in, blasts a hole in the floor, fires the Nari-Kabura Arrow.
• Page 10 — Yamato dives down the hole with Momonosuke; Shinobu’s “guide the world to the dawn” charge.
• Pages 11–12 — Law name-reveal beat: “My true name… is Trafalgar D. Water Law”; the “people of the D = enemies of the gods” caption; Law/Robin agree the red-stone road means beating the Four Emperors; “Hey, Cora. I’ve made up my mind.” (mirror-significant).
• Pages 13–14 — Kid magnetically dragging the castle’s scrap metal upward; cut to Kaido on the rooftop, “Onigashima — Roof of the Skull Dome,” “our enemy is the world’s strongest pirate.”
• Pages 15–16 — Big Mom’s return on the Performance Floor; “Big Mom’s back!!!” — she heads “up top, where Kaido is.”
• Page 17 — Luffy (with allies) races up the stairs toward the rooftop where Kin’emon + the Scabbards are (“Just you wait, Kin’emon!!”); final cut to an unseen floor where a seductive voice coaxes a “lord” (“Come, my dear… it would be so… naughty!♡”) — cliffhanger tease.

Open questions raised

• Whose lair is the final-page tease, and who is the seductive figure egging on a “lord”? (Manner matches a Beasts Tobi Roppo courtesan-type; unnamed on-page here.)
• Can Yamato get Momonosuke clear of the castle while CP0 / Sasaki pursue down the hole?
• Will Kid’s accumulated metal payload reach the roof intact — and become what against Kaido?
• Now that Big Mom is climbing back to the roof, do both Emperors reconverge on the rooftop fight?

Threads touched

• Will of D — Law’s full name + the “enemies of the gods” doctrine restated to Robin.
• What is the One Piece / Road Poneglyph — the red-stone road to Laugh Tale “means beating the Four Emperors.”
• Joy Boy Identity / Wano’s Sealed Borders And The Awaited Figure — Momonosuke charged to “guide the world to the dawn.”