Dressrosa Arc Self-Homage
Ragnir punched Im and sent them crashing into the treasure tree Adam, then Nidhogg‘s “Thor Realm” roar hammered them as a follow-up attack — and still Im couldn’t be finished off. Remarkably durable.
This situation mirrors Luffy vs. Doflamingo in the Dressrosa arc.
Incidentally, Nidhogg shrank out of its beast form because “it’s too big and I’d lose track of them” — so it can freely adjust its size. And Im’s line “I can’t erase my presence” suggests Im is capable of using Observation Haki.
Traitor
Im calls Nidhogg a traitor and seems to already know about Ragnir. The way Im says it implies that “back in those days,” Ragnir and Nidhogg were a duo — and at the time, they were on Im’s side.
Making a betrayal accusation right after being sent flying into a wall is also identical to what Doflamingo did in Dressrosa.
But if Nidhogg was indeed Im’s ally back then — the Elbaf legend of “a war god who wielded a weapon called Ragnir, transformed into a great dragon, and clashed with the Sun God” suddenly makes perfect sense. Was it Im & Nidhogg (the war god) vs. the Sun God Nika (Joy Boy)? And does that mean this legend is actually about the great war 800 years ago?
Or is it a legend from thousands of years even before that? What’s puzzling, though, is the existence of Ratatoskr. The war god who transforms into a great dragon must have been the previous user of Nidhogg’s power — but Ratatoskr, the war god’s loyal retainer, apparently coexisted with Ragnir simultaneously.
And according to Yallu…
“Even now, without a master, the retainer Ratatoskr has possessed his weapon and awaits the master’s return.” But this week confirmed that Ratatoskr’s power is actually a Devil Fruit — the Squirrel-Squirrel Fruit, Mythical Zoan Type, Model: Ratatoskr.
So if the Elbaf war god legend is accurate, Ratatoskr voluntarily turned itself into a Devil Fruit and was then “eaten” by Ragnir. If true, it extends Vegapunk’s hypothesis that “the wishes of people create Devil Fruits” — here we’d have a precedent of an individual with an overwhelmingly strong will transforming itself into a conceptual form (a Mythical Zoan).
Speaking of Punk Hazard → Dressrosa — that arc also featured the artificial Devil Fruit “SMILE” factory.
The process: Caesar collected animal upper-halves to create the concentrate SAD, which was used to grow trees that the Tontatta harvested for SMILE fruits. Maybe that method is actually close to how Ratatoskr became the Ratatoskr Mythical Zoan? The mechanism behind Devil Fruit birth might be revealed soon.
Raining Down Powers
Ratatoskr and Nidhogg’s combination technique “Iron Thunder Five Arrows (Ragnagoarrow)” vs. Im’s “Solar Eclipse Bombardment (Tzitzimitl).” The image of both sides raining their powers down on each other also mirrors Dressrosa’s Princess Mansherry, who rained healing “Popo” from the sky to give injured townspeople the strength to flee.
Im’s Technique Name Comes from Aztec Mythology
The technique Im unleashed against Loki: “Solar Eclipse Bombardment (Tzitzimitl).” The name comes from Tzitzimitl, the singular form of Tzitzimime — the dark star demons of Aztec mythology.
Aztec Mythology: The Legend of the Five Suns
While researching Im’s technique name, I found that Zaza the rain deity also seems to be modeled on Aztec legend (though the name Zaza itself is wholly original).
The 3rd era’s rain god Tlaloc, the 4th era’s water goddess Chalchiuhtlicue, or possibly both — these could be Zaza’s models. Notably, these two are considered husband and wife, and their child is the moon god Tecuciztecatl… another potential connection to the moon people.
Furthermore, the 5th Sun, Tonatiuh — described as “the radiant one” or “the Morning Star” — has a distinctly Lucifer-like quality, which overlaps with Luffy’s name being derived from Lucifer.
- Aztec mythology → South American Maya/Aztec civilization
- Maya/Aztec → City of Gold → Shandia → Skypiea arc
- Im’s appearance resembles Enel
- The Elbaf child kidnappings
From a historical perspective, the Spanish invasion of South America — the looting of gold from Maya/Aztec civilizations — was the very opening of the Age of Exploration. And the names of those Spanish conquistadors are used for multiple members of the Blackbeard Pirates. Mythology, history, and One Piece’s story are all converging on South America.
What Is Biblo?
Biblo has been protecting the library’s books from the fire. Key traits:
- Stores important texts underground
- Has watched over the country since ancient times
- Becomes involved with Robin regarding critical documents
This mirrors Kogetsu Sukiyaki — the Karasu-tengu who hid in the depths of Wano — from the Wano arc.
So is Biblo a former member of Elbaf’s royal family, disguising itself in bird form like Morgan? But as a Iku Iku no Mi user, it couldn’t have also eaten a Zoan-type fruit. Yet could a bird really transport this many books this quickly? Maybe it’s actually human — in which case, has it eaten two Devil Fruits? The mystery keeps deepening.
Zaza, the Rain Deity
Following the Sun God Nika, we now have the Rain Deity Zaza. The BGM: “don-chan, shan-shan” — a festive, rhythmic beat. The Sun God and Rain Deity pairing calls to mind the ritual ceremonies from the Skypiea arc.
Does this mean a Forest God and an Earth God also exist somewhere? If so, the Forest God would be Chopper — I’ve long predicted Chopper’s Devil Fruit’s true name is the Forest God Cernunnos. If the Sun God is Luffy and the Forest God is Chopper, then Goddess Zaza fits Nami — controlling rain is right in her wheelhouse. And the Earth God, being close to the Forest God, would be Zoro — his hair is the color of grass, plus: King of Hell → Hell is deep underground → underground dwellers → people of the earth → Earth God.
Of course, this is all just a fun exercise in matching the gods to Straw Hats. But how would non-Devil Fruit users like Nami and Zoro actually tap into divine power? In Naruto terms: sage mode — fusing your own chakra with natural energy. In One Piece terms: fusing your Haki with the energy of nature. Both Nami and Zoro possess Conqueror’s Haki, so perhaps the idea is fusing that with natural forces.
Kind of like a Shaman King-style Great Spirits and Over Soul fusion. And both Naruto and Shaman King were created by manga artists who are close friends with Oda-sensei — he’d definitely pay homage to them.
Cover Page Theory
The bulk of the first half was Dressrosa arc self-homage — and even the final image of Zaza the Rain Deity, the sheer scale of the figure, felt reminiscent of Pica from Dressrosa.
This week’s cover page: “Issho savoring udon lovingly made by a fox and a tanuki.”
Issho eating udon is of course an iconic Dressrosa scene.
So the cover page is also a Dressrosa self-homage. That’s all for today. See you next week.