Limited-Cover-Series-No-25-Germa-66s-Ahh-An-Emotionless-Excursion

The 25th numbered Limited Cover (Page) Series, opening on the chapter title pages during the Wano Country arc (Four-Emperors saga) and following directly on from No. 24, “Gang Bege’s Oh My Family”. Logged so far: the opener (Ch. 1035, Vol. 1), Vol. 2 (Ch. 1037), Vol. 3 (Ch. 1038), Vol. 4 (Ch. 1040), Vol. 6 (Ch. 1042), Vol. 8 (Ch. 1044), Vol. 9 (Ch. 1046), Vol. 10 (Ch. 1048), Vol. 11 (Ch. 1049), Vol. 14 (Ch. 1052), Vol. 15 (Ch. 1056), Vol. 16 (Ch. 1057), Vol. 17 (Ch. 1058), Vol. 18 (Ch. 1059), Vol. 19 (Ch. 1061), Vol. 21 (Ch. 1063), Vol. 22 (Ch. 1064), Vol. 23 (Ch. 1066), Vol. 24 (Ch. 1067), Vol. 25 (Ch. 1068), Vol. 26 (Ch. 1069), Vol. 27 (Ch. 1070), Vol. 28 (Ch. 1072), Vol. 29 (Ch. 1073), Vol. 30 (Ch. 1074), Vol. 32 (Ch. 1077), and Vol. 33 (Ch. 1078). It follows the same two-part structure as its predecessors: the opener carries a “Limited Cover Series No. 25” banner with a descriptive “Vol. 1” title (VIZ: “Escape Whole Cake Island!”) over a fleet of Germa 66 castle-ships — their 66 flags flying — sailing away from Whole Cake Island, getting clear of Big Mom’s Totto Land after the failed assassination / Tea Party of the Whole Cake Island arc. As with No. 24’s opener, the recurring serial title was name-deferred at the framing splash — and, exactly per the two-part structure, it surfaces at Vol. 2 (Ch. 1037): the title page prints the full recurring serial title “Germa 66’s Ahh… An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 2: ‘Judge Sighs’” over three Germa figures perched on a stone rampart (the Germa King Judge is the named referent of the “Judge Sighs” caption). The thread is filed under that canonical recurring title for forward-stability.

The strip runs in parallel with the main Wano story (the Onigashima-climax chapters), building its own self-contained Germa-66 escape voyage one title page at a time. The “Germa 66” subject is on-page at the opener (the 66 flags and Germa castle-ships are drawn); only the exact recurring-title string and the individual Vinsmoke cast are deferred to later installments. Record only what each printed strip shows on-page; no forward import of where the Germa fleet sails next (§Forward guards).

Chronological log

Captions recorded verbatim from the printed strip.

• Ch. 1037 — Vol. 2: “Judge Sighs”: the recurring serial title surfaces — “Germa 66’s Ahh… An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 2: ‘Judge Sighs’” — exactly per the series’ two-part structure (Vol. 1’s name-deferral resolved). Title page of the main “Drunken Dragon Bagua” chapter: three Germa 66 figures perched on a stone rampart, the Germa King Judge the named referent of the “Judge Sighs” caption. The three rampart figures are not individuated on-page, so 1037 cover_characters: []; only Judge is named (via the title). Ch. 1036 carried NO No. 25 installment — a two-page “EVERY DROP IN THE OCEAN COUNTS” ocean-conservation color spread — so the count holds Vol. 1 @1035 → [1036 skip] → Vol. 2 @1037. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1038 — Vol. 3: “Niji & Yonji are held captive in Chocolat Town on Cacao Island”: the strip’s first plot beat — two of the Vinsmoke brothers, Niji and Yonji, are shown captive, displayed wanted-poster-style, in Chocolat Town on Cacao Island (Big Mom’s Totto Land). Reveals that the Germa fleet’s escape from Totto Land was not clean for the whole family — these two were caught and are held in Big Mom’s territory (seeding the later Vol. 6 @1042 title “Take Niji and Yonji to Whole Cake Island”). 1-page title splash on the main “Kid & Law vs. Big Mom” chapter (an unrelated main-story chapter). 1038 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji] — both individuated on-page. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1040 — Vol. 4: “A Creature Beyond the Power of Science”: 1-page B&W title splash on the main “Wasted Words on Young Ears” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated defeat of Big Mom by Kid & Law on Onigashima’s Performance Floor). The strip draws Niji and Yonji in the foreground, with Big Mom looming behind as the titular “creature beyond the power of science” — a Germa-eye-view gag casting the Emperor the Vinsmokes escaped from as a monster their science cannot fathom. 1040 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji, Big Mom]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (the chapter’s own Big-Mom defeat is a separate main-story thread that merely shares the character). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1041 — Vol. 5: “This is what you get for bullying Sanji dear! Pudding punch!”: a comic retaliation beat on the captive brothers. Charlotte Pudding — Big Mom’s 35th daughter and Sanji’s former Whole Cake Island fiancee — lands a punch on the captive Niji & Yonji, declaring “This is what you get for bullying Sanji dear!! Pudding punch!” — avenging the childhood cruelty Sanji suffered from his brothers (the two were shown captive in her family’s Chocolat Town on Cacao Island at Vol. 3 @1038). Pudding’s first appearance on the strip — the first non-Vinsmoke individuated here. 1-page title splash on the main “Komurasaki” chapter (an unrelated Onigashima-climax chapter — Hiyori’s unmasking, the Five Elders’ order to eliminate Luffy, Big Mom’s fall). 1041 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji, Charlotte Pudding]. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1042 — Vol. 6: “Take Niji and Yonji to Whole Cake Island”: 1-page title splash on the main “The Victor Needs No Epithet” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Luffy–Kaido climax + CP0 rooftop intrusion). The strip individuates its first Vinsmoke siblings: Reiju is drawn-and-recognizable (pink-haired, lower-left) before a large ornate framed “VINSMOKE” family portrait mounted on a wall, with Germa 66 figures gathered and a man at right gazing up at the portrait with a ”?”. Niji and Yonji are the named referents of the printed title. 1042 cover_characters: [Reiju, Niji, Yonji]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Vol. 7 Ch. 1043 falls between Vol. 6 and Vol. 8 and is logged by its own cover-tracker pass — slot it in chapter order when logged.)
• Ch. 1043 — Vol. 7: “Arrived at Whole Cake Island!”: the Germa escape-voyage reaches its named destination — the strip’s caption reads “Germa 66’s Ahh… An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 7: ‘Arrived at Whole Cake Island!’” 1-page title splash on the main “Let’s Face Death Together!!!” chapter (whose own story is the Onigashima Joy-Boy-returns climax). Art: a Whole Cake Island candy-scape — striped chocolate hills, pear-shaped trees, a checkered floor, arched candy structures, and a wall-mounted framed TV/screen at right — with two Germa 66 figures drawn from behind, one spiky-haired Vinsmoke brother and a slender figure running toward the screen. Neither is individuated/labeled on-page, so 1043 cover_characters: []. The destination beat brackets the serial’s bookends — Vol. 1 “Escape Whole Cake Island!” and Vol. 6 “Take Niji and Yonji to Whole Cake Island” — the Germa party now back at Big Mom’s home island. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1044 — Vol. 8: “Mama’s Away on Her Trip, Begin the Experiments!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “Warrior of Liberation” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Nika reveal / Gear-5 debut — no cover→main contact). The strip individuates all four Vinsmoke siblings for the first time on the serial: Reiju, Ichiji (his first appearance on the strip), Niji and Yonji, together with Germa 66 scientists; with “Mama” away on her trip, the Germa scientists/siblings “begin the experiments.” 1044 cover_characters: [Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Yonji]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Ch. 1045 carried NO installment: a two-page “LIBERTY” Straw-Hats carnival color spread (see Straw Hats at a carnival food-stall — the red ‘LIBERTY’ banner), so the count holds Vol. 8 @1044 → [1045 skip] → Vol. 9 @1046.)
• Ch. 1046 — Vol. 9: “Two Intruders in Pudding’s Home, Chocolat Town!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “Raizo” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Onigashima flood / Gear-5-vs-Kaido climax). The strip draws silhouette-framed townsfolk of Chocolat Town in a “WAAAAA” panic, with a volcano behind them — no figure is individuated, so 1046 cover_characters: []. The caption names two referents only: Pudding (whose home in Chocolat Town is the named setting) and Chocolat Town itself — the Totto-Land town on Cacao Island already established at Vol. 3 @1038 as the Vinsmokes’ captivity site. The serial thus swings back into Big Mom’s Totto Land. The “two intruders” are not drawn or individuated on-page (only the panicking townsfolk are shown) — almost certainly the strip’s Germa 66 protagonists, but not confirmed as specific siblings, so none is added to cover_characters. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Vols. 7–9 fall in the intervening chapters Ch. 1043–Ch. 1046 and are logged by those chapters’ own cover-tracker passes — Vol. 9 @1046 (“Two Intruders in Pudding’s Home, Chocolat Town!!”) is already recorded in the frontmatter; Ch. 1045 carried NO installment (a two-page “LIBERTY” Straw-Hats carnival color spread), so the count holds Vol. 8 @1044 → [1045 skip] → Vol. 9 @1046.)
• Ch. 1048 — Vol. 10: “I think Germa’s come to Chocolat Town!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “Twenty Years” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Luffy–Kaido rooftop climax, the 20-year Wano flashback, and Orochi’s Kazenbo death). The strip individuates Sanji for the first time — the fifth Vinsmoke sibling and first Germa 66-by-blood Straw Hat to appear on the serial — drawn seated beside a woman in a frilly room, almost certainly Pudding (the reader-hedged “likely Pudding”; strongly corroborated by Vol. 9 @1046 having named “Pudding’s Home, Chocolat Town” as the setting). The caption names Chocolat Town (Big Mom’s Totto Land), continuing Vol. 9’s “Two Intruders in Pudding’s Home” beat — the “intruder(s)” resolving to Sanji reaching Pudding’s home, the same town where Niji & Yonji were held captive (Vol. 3 @1038). 1048 cover_characters: [Sanji]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1049 — Vol. 11: “Why?! The book in the lab burned up, freeing the brothers!!”: the strip’s strongest plot beat yet — a book inside a lab burns up, and the three Vinsmoke brothers, Ichiji, Niji, and Yonji, are freed. Ichiji had already debuted on the strip upstream at Vol. 8 @1044 (which drew all four siblings, Reiju/Ichiji/Niji/Yonji), so the beat here is the freeing of the three captive brothers, not Ichiji’s debut. 1-page title splash on the main “The World That Should Be” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Kaido-origin flashback + Luffy’s Gear-5 finishing blow on Kaido). 1049 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Ichiji, Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji] — all three brothers drawn/individuated. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1050 — Vol. 12: “Ichiji and Reiju show up”: 1-page B&W title splash on the main “Honor” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Wano denouement — Kaido declared defeated, Momonosuke’s adult dragon holding Onigashima aloft off the Flower Capital, and the new-shogun reveal). The strip’s named arrivals are Ichiji and Reiju, who “show up”; the central dramatic Germa 66 figure reads as Ichiji (Germa goggles/visor, swept quiff) amid swirling smoke / spark effects, with further figures around (a smaller helmeted figure lower-left and a large rounded figure at right). Picks up directly from Vol. 11 @1049 (“…the book in the lab burned up, freeing the brothers!!”) — with the captive brothers freed, Ichiji and Reiju now appear / regroup. 1050 cover_characters: [Sanji, Vinsmoke Ichiji, Vinsmoke Reiju] (per the chapter note; Ichiji & Reiju are the title’s named referents who “show up,” with Sanji also flagged present by the reader). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1050’s own story is the Wano denouement, a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Vol. 13 Ch. 1051 (“Germa’s Escape” — the four siblings in raid suits on a battlefield) falls between Vol. 12 @1050 and Vol. 14 @1052 and is logged by its own cover-tracker pass — slot it in chapter order when logged. Vols. 10 → 11 → 12 → 13 → 14 are consecutive across Ch. 1048–Ch. 1052, no skips.)
• Ch. 1052 — Vol. 14: “The Scientist Who Failed to Escape”: 1-page title splash on the main “A New Morning” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated post-Kaido aftermath — the Five Elders reacting to Nika’s descent at Mariejois, Wano sealing itself off, an aged-up Momonosuke, and Ryokugyu flying inbound on Sakazuki’s orders). The strip draws Germa 66 (collective) chasing a fleeing scientist — the titular “scientist who failed to escape.” No individuated Vinsmoke sibling is drawn-and-labelled, and the pursued scientist is an unnamed new figure, so 1052 cover_characters: [] and no character note is minted (§Forward guards / no invented names). Picks up directly from Vol. 13 @1051 “Germa’s Escape” (the four siblings escaping in raid suits): the freed Germa now turns pursuer, running down a scientist who could not get away. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (the chapter’s own post-Kaido aftermath is a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1056 — Vol. 15: “Katakuri and Oven Arrive!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “Cross Guild” chapter (whose own story is the Wano denouement — Hitetsu revealed as Kozuki Sukiyaki, the Ancient Weapon Pluton confirmed hidden in Wano, Momonosuke crowned Shogun, and the Cross Guild — Buggy / Crocodile / Mihawk — unveiled by newspaper). The strip draws the Charlotte brothers Katakuri and Oven arriving among Germa 66 figures — both individuated/drawn on-page, so 1056 cover_characters: [Charlotte Katakuri, Charlotte Oven]. The serial keeps crossing Big-Mom-affiliated Totto Land figures: Katakuri (Big Mom’s 2nd son / former Sweet Commander) and Oven (her 4th son / Sweet Commander) join the strip’s running gallery of Charlotte-family crossings (cf. Pudding @1041/1046, Big Mom @1040, Caesar @1057). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1056’s own story is the Cross-Guild / Sukiyaki Wano denouement, wholly unrelated to the Germa strip). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1057 — Vol. 16: “Caesar’s Poison Gas Attack!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “The End” chapter — the Wano-arc finale (a Flower-Capital kabuki play retells the samurai saga; the Straw Hats with Law & Kid depart Wano; the new Shogun Momonosuke is gifted Luffy’s Straw Hat flag; Yamato stays to walk Wano like Oden). The strip draws a swordsman silhouette amid poison smoke and a hand marked “C” — Caesar (Caesar Clown), the gas-weapon scientist, is the named referent of the title “Caesar’s Poison Gas Attack!!” and of the “C”-marked hand, but is not drawn/individuated (only the silhouette + the “C” hand appear), so 1057 cover_characters: []. The swordsman amid the poison smoke is undrawn-by-identity — not asserted (§Forward guards). Continues the strip’s pattern of the Germa voyage crossing Big-Mom-affiliated Totto Land figures (Pudding @1041/1046, Big Mom @1040, Katakuri & Oven @1056, now Caesar — the scientist Big Mom held). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1057’s own story is the Wano-arc curtain call). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1058 — Vol. 17: “Take me with you!! Get me outta here!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “New Emperors” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated New-Yonko reveal — Luffy & Buggy declared Emperors, the Cross Guild (Buggy / Crocodile / Mihawk) unveiled, and the Revolutionary Army’s Reverie aftermath with Sabo, Dragon & Kuma). The strip carries the Vol. 16 @1057 “Caesar’s Poison Gas Attack!!” beat forward by drawing Caesar Clown for the FIRST time on the serial: front-and-center, crescent/curved horns, wild dark hair, a manic open-mouthed scream, pleading the title line “Take me with you!! Get me outta here!!” — Caesar begging to flee with the departing Germa 66 (the beat right before he turns on them with hallucination gas at Vol. 18 @1059). He is hemmed in by Germa raid-suit siblings (a pink-haired figure reading as Reiju; black Germa gauntlets reach in) amid swirling smoke carrying the poison-gas motif over from Vol. 16. 1058 cover_characters: [Caesar Clown] — the only firmly-individuated figure (Caesar’s horns are unmistakable); the surrounding raid-suit Vinsmoke figures are not all cleanly individuated, so no sibling is asserted (§Forward guards). This fixes the Caesar progression — named-referent-only @1057 -> first DRAWN @1058 (pleading) -> drawn again @1059 (gassing) — and makes Vol. 16 @1057 -> Vol. 17 @1058 -> Vol. 18 @1059 consecutive (no skip). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1058’s own story is the “New Emperors” main thread, wholly separate from the Germa strip). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1059 — Vol. 18: “Caesar’s Hallucination Gas!!”: 1-page title splash on the main “The Matter Involving Captain Koby” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated post-Wano pivot to Amazon Lily — Marco’s departure near Sphinx, then the Navy siege of Boa Hancock led by Koby, the first Seraphim Pacifistas, the Blackbeard Pirates’ raid for the Mero Mero no Mi, and Koby’s abduction). The strip draws Caesar again on the serial (first drawn at Vol. 17 @1058) — the white-faced, crescent-horn-haired gas-weapon scientist, gloved hands outstretched amid swirling hallucination-gas smoke clouds and scattered shocked-eye ”!!” starbursts — unleashing his “hallucination gas” on the Germa party; a Germa 66 / Vinsmoke figure in a raid suit reels/collapses at right. This escalates Caesar from his Vol. 16 @1057 “Poison Gas Attack!!” (where he was only the named referent + a “C”-marked hand, undrawn) to a drawn “Hallucination Gas!!” assault — Caesar’s second on-strip drawing (his first was the “Take me with you!! Get me outta here!!” plea at Vol. 17 @1058). 1059 cover_characters: [Sanji] per the chapter note (the reader reads the gassed raid-suit figure at right as Sanji; Caesar is the title’s named referent and drawn this installment). The serial keeps crossing Big-Mom-affiliated Totto Land figures (Pudding @1041/1046, Big Mom @1040, Katakuri & Oven @1056, Caesar @1057 named / now drawn @1059). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1059’s own story is the Amazon Lily / Koby-abduction arc, wholly unrelated to the Germa strip). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Vols. 17–19 fall between Vol. 16 @1057 and Vol. 20 @1062 — in chapters Ch. 1058–Ch. 1061 — and are logged by their own cover-tracker passes. With Vol. 16 @1057, Vol. 20 @1062 and Vol. 21 @1063 all fixed, the 1058–1062 span’s five chapters carry four volumes (Vols. 17–20), so exactly one of Ch. 1058–Ch. 1061 carried no installment (a color spread / non-serial title page); which one is left for those chapters’ own passes to pin. Vol. 20 @1062 → Vol. 21 @1063 are consecutive.)
• Ch. 1062 — Vol. 20: “Meanwhile, in Chocolat Town, Cacao Island”: 1-page B&W title splash on the main “Adventure in the Land of Science” chapter — the Egghead-arc opener of the Final Saga (whose own story is the unrelated reveal that Vegapunk is six “satellite” bodies split from one Stella, plus CP-0’s order to eliminate the Vegapunks). The strip cuts away — “Meanwhile” — to Chocolat Town on Cacao Island (Big Mom’s Totto Land): a melting / flooding candy-scape of dripping chocolate-drip spires under a huge “DO Noo!!” panic scream, with small figures fleeing across a flood of melted chocolate — one spiky/horned silhouette lower-left in the water, a slim figure running mid-frame, and a large hatted man yelling at right. None is individuated/labelled, so 1062 cover_characters: []. This is the first No. 25 installment to run on a post-Wano chapter — the serial carries across the saga boundary from the Four-Emperors saga (Wano) into the Final Saga (Egghead). The “Meanwhile” framing is an explicit parallel-cut back to the same Totto-Land town the serial keeps returning to — the Vol. 3 @1038 captivity beat, the Vol. 9 @1046 “Two Intruders in Pudding’s Home” beat, and the Vol. 10 @1048 “Germa’s come to Chocolat Town” beat — now shown melting in panic, and it flows directly into Vol. 21 @1063 (the town a ruined landscape, the Germa party collapsed, Pudding abducted): Vol. 20 @1062 → Vol. 21 @1063 are consecutive (no skip). A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1062’s own story is the wholly separate Egghead / Vegapunk-satellite reveal). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1061 — Vol. 19: “Escape!! A Successful Rescue of Niji and Yonji!!”: the payoff / resolution beat of the serial’s long-running captivity sub-arc — the two captive brothers, Niji and Yonji, are successfully rescued, and the Vinsmoke siblings escape together. 1-page B&W title splash on the main “Future Island Egghead” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Straw Hats’ arrival at Egghead, Dr. Vegapunk’s “Future Island”). Art: the siblings flee through a candy-scape, their raid-suit capes streaming with the Germa numerals “1” (Ichiji), “2” (Niji), “3” (Sanji) and “4”/“X” (Yonji) all visible, with a light-haired figure reading as Reiju. 1061 cover_characters: [] per the chapter note (the capering B&W figures were left unindividuated by the reader), though the numbered capes individuate the four brothers on the strip. The caption pays off the captivity thread seeded at Vol. 3 @1038 (“Niji & Yonji are held captive in Chocolat Town on Cacao Island”) and carried through Vol. 6 @1042 (“Take Niji and Yonji to Whole Cake Island”) and the Vol. 17 @1058 plea (“Take me with you!! Get me outta here!!”): the rescue now succeeds and the family escapes Big Mom’s Totto Land as a whole. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1061’s own story is the Egghead arrival). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1063 — Vol. 21: “Pudding’s Been Abducted!!”: the strip’s strongest Totto Land plot beat yet — Pudding has been abducted. 1-page B&W title splash on the main “My Only Family” chapter — the FIRST No. 25 installment to run on a Final-Saga / Egghead-arc chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Egghead reveal that Jewelry Bonney is Kuma’s daughter, plus the Blackbeard Pirates crushing Law’s submarine to seize his road poneglyphs). Art: a desolate, ruined landscape — melting/half-collapsed structures, rubble, drifting smoke — with Germa 66 figures collapsed/fallen among the wreckage (a face-down Vinsmoke brother center-foreground, a winged/caped figure slumped against debris at right; none clearly individuated/labelled), and an inset thought-circle of Pudding (alarmed/shouting expression) at upper-center. Pudding is the title’s named referent and the only DRAWN-and-individuated figure (in the inset circle), so 1063 cover_characters: [Charlotte Pudding]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1063’s own story is the Egghead Bonney/Kuma reveal + Blackbeard’s poneglyph hunt, a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1064 — Vol. 22: “Blackbeard Pirates, Kuzan and Augur”: 1-page title splash on the main “Egghead Labophase” chapter — the Egghead-arc opener (whose own story is unrelated to the strip: the Blackbeard Pirates ambush Law at Winner Island, Bonney is revealed as Kuma’s daughter, and Vegapunk opens a line to Dragon). The strip draws two tall figures in dramatic silhouette — Kuzan (Aokiji, the former Marine Admiral now allied with the Blackbeard Pirates) and Van Augur (the crew’s Supersonic sniper) — captioned “Blackbeard Pirates.” Both are the title’s named referents (drawn in silhouette, not face-individuated), so 1064 cover_characters: [Aokiji, Van Augur] (logged from the caption + silhouette like Judge @1037 / Caesar @1057). The first Blackbeard Pirates members on the serial — the strip’s running gallery of pirate crossings, previously Big-Mom-affiliated Totto-Land figures (Pudding @1041/1046/1063, Big Mom @1040, Katakuri & Oven @1056, Caesar @1057/1059), now extends to a second Emperor crew. Consecutive to Vol. 21 @1063 (no skip 1063→1064); since Vol. 22 @1064 → Vol. 23 @1066 are consecutive volumes, Ch. 1065 is pinned as the lone no-installment chapter of that span. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon: although the same chapter’s main story also features the Blackbeard Pirates (Blackbeard’s ambush of Law at Winner Island, and the note that his officers now all carry Devil Fruits), the cover’s Kuzan-&-Augur silhouette is a separate strip beat that merely shares the subject — not asserted as a cover→main merge (§Forward guards). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (With Vol. 22 @1064 now logged, the lone no-installment chapter of the Vol. 21 @1063 → Vol. 23 @1066 span is pinned to Ch. 1065 (a color spread / non-serial title page); Vol. 23 @1066 is logged by its own pass.)
• Ch. 1066 — Vol. 23: “Germa Returns, With Added Bonus”: 1-page B&W title splash on the main “The Will of Ohara” chapter — the second No. 25 installment on a Final-Saga / Egghead-arc chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Ohara / Void-Century reveal: Vegapunk tells Robin the Void Century was a war between an advanced ancient civilization and a coalition of 20 kingdoms, Ohara’s rescued books survive on Elbaf, Saul is alive in hiding, and a young Dragon founds the Revolutionary Army). Art: the Germa Kingdom castle-ship — its GERMA 66 / “66” flags flying — and a rank of masked Germa foot-soldiers sailing the open sea; the titular “Germa Returns, With Added Bonus” reads as the voyage heading home / back to Germa. Only the collective Germa 66 (castle-ship + 66-flagged sails + foot-soldiers) is on-page — no individuated Vinsmoke sibling is drawn/labelled — so 1066 cover_characters: ["[[World-Building/Germa 66]]"]. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1066’s own story is the Egghead/Ohara reveal, a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1067 — Vol. 24: “What’s Your Name Again?! Judge vs. Caesar!!!”: 1-page B&W title splash on the main “Punk Records” chapter — the third No. 25 installment on a Final-Saga / Egghead-arc chapter (whose own story is the unrelated reveal of the real Dr. Vegapunk + Punk Records, CP-0’s arrival at Egghead, and Kuma activating of his own will at Kamabakka Queendom). The strip stages a Germa-vs-Caesar showdown: the Germa King Judge — the large figure at right, a “66” cape, horned helm and raised gloved fist — squares off against Caesar, whose clawed black gloves and grinning horned face emerge from his swirling gas/smoke at left, across a small brick fort / arched gate (a ”->” arrow at the gate) with two tiny Germa figures near the gate below. Both Judge and Caesar are drawn/individuated on the strip — Judge’s first DRAWN appearance on the serial (he had been a named-only referent at Vol. 2 @1037, “Judge Sighs”), and Caesar drawn more fully than the “C”-marked hand of Vol. 16 @1057. (The Ch. 1067 chapter note records cover_characters: [], reader-deferred to this pass; on the strip both Judge & Caesar are drawn — a candidate correction for that field.) Vol. 23 @1066 → Vol. 24 @1067 → Vol. 25 @1068 are consecutive, no skips. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1067’s own story is the real-Vegapunk / Punk Records reveal, a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1068 — Vol. 25: “MADS, the group to which they once belonged”: a notable subject pivot — for the first time the serial turns away from the Germa-66 voyage to MADS, the banned-science collective the Vinsmokes’ Germa King Judge (and Vegapunk, Queen & Caesar) once belonged to. 1-page B&W title splash on the main “A Genius’s Dream” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead arc: Vegapunk pours out his free-energy dream + the ancient power source to Luffy, CP-0 storm the island, Lucci downs the satellite Atlas). Art (verbatim VIZ caption “GERMA 66’S AHH… AN EMOTIONLESS EXCURSION, VOL. 25: ‘MADS, THE GROUP TO WHICH THEY ONCE BELONGED’”): a wild-haired young man — goggles pushed up on his forehead — snarling mid-lunge with a blade, beside a bearded torch-bearing figure, with silhouetted figures behind a brick rampart and the recurring ”?”-marked glove at lower-left. No figure is individually labelled, so 1068 cover_characters: [] (matching the chapter note). The named subject is MADS — “the group to which they once belonged” — logged from the caption like Judge @1037 / Caesar @1057, not from a drawn-and-labelled figure. Thematic convergence: this is the first installment whose subject dovetails with its OWN chapter’s main story — 1068 is Vegapunk’s MADS-rooted free-energy dream — so the cover quietly fills in the science-collective backstory the Egghead arc is itself exploring. It is not yet a structural cover→main merge (the strip depicts MADS’s past, not a present-day cover-plot beat that re-enters main canon), so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry — but flag the dovetail to re-evaluate if a later installment hands a concrete beat to the main story. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1070 — Vol. 27: “Promising scientists brought together for the sake of mankind and the world”: the serial continues the MADS-origin pivot begun at Vol. 25 @1068 — its subject stays on MADS’s backstory, here the collective’s founding: promising scientists brought together “for the sake of mankind and the world.” 1-page B&W title splash on the main “The Strongest Form of Humanity” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead arc: Vegapunk expounds the Seraphim science — artificial Zoan fruits, his synthetic green blood conferring a Paramecia power to anyone carrying the original user’s bloodline elements — declared the “strongest form of humanity,” while Gear-5 Luffy overwhelms the awakened Lucci and the Straw-Hat side flees with the unconscious Vegapunk). Art: a science-collective tableau of scientist silhouettes that thematically rhymes with Vegapunk’s MADS-era origins and the Egghead chapter beneath it; no figure is individuated/labelled, so 1070 cover_characters: [] (matching the chapter note). The named/implied subject is MADS — the promising scientists brought together — logged from the caption like Vol. 25 @1068, not from a drawn-and-labelled figure. Thematic convergence continues: the cover keeps filling in the science-collective backstory the host arc is itself exploring (1070’s main story is Vegapunk’s MADS-rooted Seraphim / artificial-Devil-Fruit science). It is still not a structural cover→main merge (the strip depicts MADS’s past / founding, not a present-day cover-plot beat that re-enters main canon), so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry — but the MADS dovetail (watch) deepens. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• (Ch. 1069–Ch. 1071 hold the lone Vol. 26 and Vol. 27 of the Vol. 25 @1068 → Vol. 28 @1072 span — three chapters carry two volumes, so exactly one carried no installment (a color spread / non-serial title page); which one, and the Vol. 26 / Vol. 27 chapter slots, are left for those chapters’ own cover-tracker passes to pin.)
• Ch. 1072 — Vol. 28: “Mass-Produced Weapons of Slaughter”: the serial holds its MADS subject (continuing the Vol. 25 @1068 pivot away from the Germa-66 voyage) — the strip now depicts MADS at work on the titular “mass-produced weapons of slaughter.” 1-page B&W title splash on the main “The Weight of Memory” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead arc: Jewelry Bonney’s rampage through the Labophase, Vegapunk’s reveal that Kuma surrendered his own free will, and the closing reveal that Stussy is a MADS clone — “Successful Subject No. 1”). Art (verbatim VIZ caption “GERMA 66’S AHH… AN EMOTIONLESS EXCURSION, VOL. 28: ‘MASS-PRODUCED WEAPONS OF SLAUGHTER’”): a smoke/flame-wreathed MADS laboratory — a grinning wild-haired figure rearing back center, two scientist figures in the foreground (one with a tall black quiff brandishing a baton beside a cluster of dark bomb-like spheres, a slim light-haired figure at right wielding a striped weapon), round-bottom flasks and beakers of liquid held aloft, and a tank marked “13” at upper-left. No figure is individually labelled, so 1072 cover_characters: [] (matching the chapter note). The named/depicted subject is MADS producing weapons — logged from the caption + art, not from a drawn-and-labelled member. Thematic convergence deepens: this Vol. 28 strip lands on the title page of the very chapter whose main story is itself a MADS reveal — Stussy unmasked as a MADS clone, the “Successful Subject” caption echoing the cover’s “mass-produced weapons of slaughter” — tightening the Vol. 25 dovetail. It is still not a structural cover→main merge (the strip depicts MADS’s past science work, not a present-day cover-plot event that re-enters main canon, and no Germa-voyage protagonist has crossed into the Egghead main story) — so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry yet. WATCH for a true bridge. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1069 — Vol. 26: “Loan Shark King Du Feld’s Charitable Research Lab for Peace, MADS”: continues the Vol. 25 @1068 MADS pivot one chapter on. 1-page B&W title splash on the main “All Things Are Brought Into This World With Hope” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead battle: CP-0 / Lucci vs Vegapunk / Luffy, the Pacifista Authority Hierarchy + Seraphim, and the “no Gum-Gum Fruit” / Nika + devil-fruit-”fruits of hope” theory reveal). Art (verbatim VIZ caption “GERMA 66’S AHH… AN EMOTIONLESS EXCURSION, VOL. 26: ‘LOAN SHARK KING DU FELD’S CHARITABLE RESEARCH LAB FOR PEACE, MADS’”): a paddle-wheel MADS ship/lab vessel — “Presented by DU FELD,” its hull emblazoned “MADS” — steaming the open sea under a flag reading “PACIFIST,” with the grinning Loan Shark King Du Feld (suited, a wine goblet before him) drawn at right. Du Feld is the title’s named “Loan Shark King” and the only DRAWN-and-individuated figure (his first appearance on the strip), so 1069 cover_characters: ["[[Characters/Du Feld]]"]. The named subject is MADS — recast in the gag as Du Feld’s “Charitable Research Lab for Peace” (echoing MADS’s canonical “Laboratory for Peace” register). The “PACIFIST” flag ironically winks at the chapter’s own Pacifista-heavy main story (the Pacifista Authority Hierarchy + Seraphim) — a visual gag, not a structural cover→main merge. A self-contained Germa B-plot beat — no rejoin to main canon (1069’s main story carries no MADS beat, unlike 1068). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1073 — Vol. 29: “Winner of the Mobel Peace Prize for ‘GP Flowers’ That Bloom Out of Gunpowder”: a dark-comic Germa weapons-science gag — the strip awards a parody “Mobel” Peace Prize (a wink at the real Nobel Peace Prize) to Germa’s “GP Flowers,” gunpowder (“GP”) blossoms “That Bloom Out of Gunpowder.” 1-page title splash on the main “Miss Buckingham Stussy” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Egghead arc: Stussy unmasked as a deep-cover CP0 mole who downs Lucci & Kaku; the Sphinx flashback of Edward Weevil defending Whitebeard’s hometown and Buckingham Stussy’s MADS / Rocks reveal; and the first individually-named Five Elder, St. Jaygarcia Saturn). 1073 cover_characters: ["[[Characters/Sanji]]"] per the chapter note — Sanji is DRAWN-and-recognizable; the reader described the strip only loosely as “Sanji/Germa B-plot art,” so beyond Sanji the figures/setting are unrecorded — logged from the verbatim caption + that loose art note (§Forward guards: do not invent the panel breakdown). Thematically the strip holds the Vol. 28 @1072 “Mass-Produced Weapons of Slaughter” weapons-science register for one more beat before Vol. 30 @1074 swings the subject back to the Germa-brothers rivalry gag. Pinning: Vol. 28 @1072 → Vol. 29 @1073 → Vol. 30 @1074 — consecutive, no skip. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1073’s own “Miss Buckingham Stussy” story is a wholly separate Egghead main-story thread), so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1074 — Vol. 30: “Three Bitter Rivals in the Perpetual War to be No. 2”: the strip swings its subject BACK from the Vols. 25/28 MADS pivot to the Germa-66 cast proper — the three Vinsmoke brothers brawling each other in a raid-suit free-for-all. 1-page B&W title splash on the main “MK. III” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Egghead Incident: Sentomaru declares himself a rebel and deploys all 50 Pacifista MK III to protect Luffy & Vegapunk; Jewelry Bonney finds Kuma’s stored memories in the P.A.W. Room and relives his childhood abuse; the real Kuma is reported climbing toward Egghead; and the World Economic Journal newsroom reveal of Nefeltari Vivi & Wapol on Morgans’ staff). Art (verbatim VIZ caption “GERMA 66’S AHH… AN EMOTIONLESS EXCURSION, VOL. 30: ‘THREE BITTER RIVALS IN THE PERPETUAL WAR TO BE NO. 2’”): a swirling-smoke melee — a “66”-marked raid-suit chest, a tiger-striped raid-suit leg, a shouting open-mouthed brother center, blades/weapons swinging, and a black Nikyu-style paw-print silhouette at lower-left. The “Perpetual War to be No. 2” gag: with Ichiji the established Germa No. 1 (Sparking Red), the other brothers eternally scrap over rank — here the three brothers Ichiji, Niji & Yonji fight it out. All three are individuated/drawn, so 1074 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Ichiji, Vinsmoke Niji, Vinsmoke Yonji] (matching the chapter note). Pinning: Vol. 28 @1072 → Vol. 30 @1074 forces Vol. 29 @1073 (“Winner of the Mobel Peace Prize for ‘GP Flowers’ That Bloom Out of Gunpowder”; logged by its own pass) — consecutive across 1072→1073→1074, no skip. A self-contained Germa-66 voyage beat — no rejoin to main canon (1074’s own story is the Egghead Incident, a wholly separate main-story thread). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1077 — Vol. 32: “Actually, I think our real problem is Vegapunk”: 1-page title splash on the main “Should Have Noticed Sooner” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead arc: Sentomaru orders the island evacuated as the World Government deploys Pacifista everywhere to erase Vegapunk for “daring to defy” them — explicitly invoking the Ohara Buster Call as precedent — while the Straw Hats battle the Seraphim and the satellite Shaka is shot in the B1 lab). The serial NAMES Vegapunk outright for the first time — “Actually, I think our real problem is Vegapunk” — the title’s referent. Art not described by the reader this pass (only the printed title caption was captured on p. 1), so the figures/setting are unrecorded — logged from the verbatim caption only, like the named-referent installments Judge @1037 / Caesar @1057 / MADS @1068 (§Forward guards: do not invent the panel art). 1077 cover_characters: [] per the chapter note. The Vol. 30 @1074 strip had swung back to the Germa-brothers rivalry gag; Vol. 32’s “…our real problem is Vegapunk” reads as that internal squabble re-pointed at Vegapunk — and is the serial’s sharpest thematic dovetail yet with its host chapter’s main story, which is itself the WG resolving that Vegapunk is the problem to be erased. It is still not a structural cover→main merge (the strip is a self-contained Germa/MADS-side beat — no cover-plot protagonist crosses into the Egghead main story, and the main story picks up no cover-plot event), so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry. WATCH for a true bridge. Vol. 30 @1074 → Vol. 32 @1077 leaves Vol. 31 in Ch. 1075/Ch. 1076 (two chapters, one volume → exactly one carried no installment), logged by its own pass. (p. 1, title-page caption)

• Ch. 1075 — Vol. 31: “The Genius Scientist Gets An Audience With The Five Elders”: the serial holds its MADS / Vegapunk-backstory subject (continuing the Vol. 25 @1068 pivot) and lands its strongest dovetail with the host arc yet — the strip draws Vegapunk (the titular “Genius Scientist”) standing before the silhouetted Five Elders, depicting his past audience with the World Government’s highest power. 1-page title splash on the main “Labophase Death Game” chapter (whose own story is the Egghead arc: the rogue Seraphim stop obeying the Vegapunk satellites and attack everyone inside the Labophase lab — one fires Boa Hancock’s Love-Love Mellow petrification — and Lucci (CP0) proposes a truce with Luffy & Zoro). 1075 cover_characters: ["[[Characters/Vegapunk]]", "[[World-Building/Five Elders]]"] (per the chapter note) — Vegapunk is DRAWN-and-individuated for the first time on the serial (vs. the unlabelled MADS figures of Vol. 25 @1068 / Vol. 27 @1070 / Vol. 28 @1072), and the Five Elders are drawn in silhouette + named by the title. Thematic dovetail deepens to its strongest point: this Vol. 31 strip visualizes the very Vegapunk↔Gorosei past meeting that the same Egghead arc’s main story references via Saturn’s “I met him just once, a long time ago” (see Saturn Confirms A Past Encounter With Vegapunk). It is still not a structural cover→main merge — the strip depicts a past event (backstory illustration), not a present-day cover-plot beat that re-enters main canon, and no Germa-voyage protagonist has crossed into the present Egghead story — so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry yet. WATCH for a true bridge. Vol. 28 @1072 → Vol. 31 @1075 spans Vols. 29-30 across Ch. 1073–Ch. 1074 (two chapters carry two volumes → consecutive, no skip), logged by their own passes. (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

• Ch. 1078 — Vol. 33: “The Formation of Neo MADS!!”: the serial’s MADS thread (Vols. 25/26/27/28/32) turns to its successor — “the formation of Neo MADS.” 1-page title splash on the main “Escape Limit” chapter (whose own story is the unrelated Egghead arc: York revealed as the satellite traitor who means to become a Celestial Dragon, plus the CP0 three-month backstory and the Five Elders kill-order on Vegapunk). Art: the Germa King Judge and a fellow scientist drawn before the Germa castle. Judge is DRAWN-and-individuated — his first drawn appearance since Vol. 24 @1067 (“Judge vs. Caesar”) — so 1078 cover_characters: [Vinsmoke Judge]. “Neo MADS” is the title’s named subject: the post-MADS science group Judge founds (the lineage from old MADS @Vols. 25/26/27/28/32 toward Germa 66’s own science division); the fellow scientist is unnamed/unlabelled (§Forward guards — no character minted). This bridges the MADS-backstory pivot BACK to the Germa-66 voyage’s own protagonist (Judge) — but, unlike Vol. 32 @1077, 1078’s main story carries no MADS / Vegapunk-erasure beat (it is the York-traitor reveal + the CP0 three-month backstory), so the cover↔main dovetail is weaker here than @1068 / @1072 / @1077 and it is still not a structural cover→main merge: status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no technique/cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry. Vol. 32 @1077 → Vol. 33 @1078 are consecutive (one chapter, one volume → no skip). (p. 1, title-page caption + art)

Notes

• Why filed under the recurring title, not the on-page Vol. 1 caption: the opener prints only the descriptive “Escape Whole Cake Island!” Vol. 1 title, but numbered Limited Cover Series adopt a fixed recurring serial title from the second installment (cf. No. 24, whose Vol. 1 read “Escape Successful!” before “Gang Bege’s Oh My Family” took over @0950). CONFIRMED at Vol. 2 @1037, whose title page prints “Germa 66’s Ahh… An Emotionless Excursion, Vol. 2: ‘Judge Sighs’” — the name-deferral resolving exactly as the two-part structure predicted, and the merge-stable filing paying off (this Vol. 2 pass appended here rather than forking).
• Cast logged so far: Judge from Vol. 2 @1037 (named referent of the “Judge Sighs” caption); Niji and Yonji first individuated at Vol. 3 @1038 (drawn captive, wanted-poster-style, in Chocolat Town — 1038 cover_characters lists both; named again in the Vol. 6 @1042 title); Reiju (drawn-and-recognizable) from Vol. 6 @1042; and Charlotte Pudding from Vol. 9 @1046 — a non-Germa named referent (her home in Chocolat Town is the Vol. 9 setting), logged from the caption like Judge, not drawn (silhouette townsfolk only). Sanji (Black-Leg, the Vinsmoke-by-blood Straw Hat) is DRAWN at Vol. 10 @1048, seated beside a likely-Pudding woman in her Chocolat-Town home. Cast — now complete: all four Vinsmoke siblings (Reiju, Ichiji, Niji, Yonji) plus the Germa King Judge have on-strip presence — Ichiji first individuated at Vol. 8 @1044 (all four siblings drawn), re-appears at Vol. 11 @1049, freed alongside Niji & Yonji when a book in a lab burns up, and is the title’s named arrival at Vol. 12 @1050 (“Ichiji and Reiju show up” — the central drawn Germa figure reads as Ichiji, amid smoke/spark effects), alongside Reiju (the Vol. 12 title’s other named referent). (The Vol. 9 “two intruders” remain unnamed/undrawn; slot any further cast as it appears on-page, §Forward guards.)
• No cover→main payoff at the opener. Unlike the textbook Caribou→Wano case, nothing here rejoins the main manga: the escape splash is an internal B-plot framing image. Re-evaluate for a cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry if a later in-window installment merges into the main story.
• Vol. 25 @1068 — the serial’s first thematic dovetail with the main plot (watch). “MADS, the group to which they once belonged” pivots the strip’s subject for the first time away from the Germa-66 voyage to MADS, the banned-science collective Vegapunk, Judge, Queen & Caesar once belonged to — and it lands on the title page of the very chapter (“A Genius’s Dream”) in which Vegapunk pours out his MADS-rooted free-energy dream. This is the closest the serial has come to its host chapter’s main story: the cover now comments on / fills in backstory for the Egghead arc rather than running a wholly separate Totto-Land gag. It is still not a structural cover→main MERGE — the strip depicts MADS’s past, not a present-day cover-plot event that re-enters main canon — so status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, and no cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry yet. WATCH this thread for a true bridge . Vol. 27 @1070 (“Promising scientists brought together for the sake of mankind and the world”) deepens the same MADS dovetail — the strip stays on MADS’s backstory, now the collective’s founding (a scientist-silhouette tableau; 1070 cover_characters: []), landing on the title page of “The Strongest Form of Humanity” (Vegapunk’s MADS-rooted Seraphim / artificial-Devil-Fruit science). Still not a structural merge (MADS’s past/founding, not a present-day beat re-entering main canon) — keep watching.
• Vol. 26 @1069 — Du Feld carries the MADS thread forward. “Loan Shark King Du Feld’s Charitable Research Lab for Peace, MADS” keeps the strip on its Vol. 25 MADS subject: the Whole Cake underworld loan-shark Du Feld is DRAWN beside a paddle-wheel MADS ship/lab flying a “PACIFIST” flag, his vessel gagged as a “Charitable Research Lab for Peace” (echoing MADS’s canonical “Laboratory for Peace”). Unlike Vol. 25 @1068 (whose host chapter’s main story WAS Vegapunk’s MADS-rooted dream), 1069’s main story is the CP0/Lucci/Vegapunk battle — no MADS beat — so the cover↔main dovetail is weaker here; the “PACIFIST” flag winking at the chapter’s Pacifista-heavy main story is a visual gag, not a merge. Still status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, no cover-story-payoff Foreshadowing entry — keep WATCHing the Vols. 25–26 MADS thread for a true cover→main bridge (§Forward guards: Du Feld’s MADS role is shown only via the gag caption — no forward import). Vol. 28 @1072 (“Mass-Produced Weapons of Slaughter”) deepens this dovetail — it holds the MADS subject (a smoke/flame MADS lab, flasks/beakers, a bomb-sphere cluster, a “13”-marked tank) and lands on a chapter whose own main story is itself a MADS reveal (Stussy unmasked as a MADS clone, “Successful Subject No. 1”), the cover caption rhyming with the main beat — yet it is still not a structural merge (the strip depicts MADS’s past, and no Germa-voyage protagonist crosses into the Egghead main story), so the call holds: status: ongoing, no payoff_chapter, no Foreshadowing entry; keep watching. (Vol. 28’s drawn figures are likewise unlabelled — not asserted as specific MADS members, §Forward guards.)