Fishman Island Homage
This chapter was packed with self-homage elements from the Fishman Island arc:
- The Saturn/Im merged octopus monster → the deep-sea monster, the Kraken
- Rocks trying to fulfill Davy Jones’s promise in place of another → Joy Boy, who couldn’t fulfill his promise to Fishman Island
- Captain John may be Kid’s father — the Jiki-Jiki ability passed down via lineage factor, just as the Mato-Mato ability passes through the Vander Decken bloodline
Even so, Im’s line — “It was you… Davy Jones!!” — is baffling. During the Egghead arc, when Emet’s body released the Haki bound by Joy Boy, you could forgive someone for thinking “Is Joy Boy still alive?” But calling out “Davy Jones” while looking directly at Rocks makes no sense — unless Im isn’t seeing with ordinary eyes at all.
Im’s eyes are famously unusual. Perhaps they can’t actually see physical appearance — or perhaps they see too much, perceiving something beyond the visible, like the shape of a soul or the signature of a will. That would explain mistaking Rocks for Davy Jones.
Rocks’s Technique Name
“Pandemonium” — the Abyss Curse. Rocks, as a descendant of Davy Jones, naming his technique after his ancestor’s curse carries a sense of pride in that lineage. And on the other end of the spectrum, Kaido — who genuinely could never come up with a creative technique name — is somehow endearing for exactly that reason.
Eustass Kid’s Father
Captain John turns out to have been a Jiki-Jiki no Mi user. If that’s the case, the connection to Eustass Kid — same ability, same distinctive lips, similar nickname — strongly suggests Kid is Captain John’s son.
If the colorized version ever shows Captain John with red hair, that would confirm it. It would also mean Kid didn’t eat a Devil Fruit at all — he inherited his father’s ability via lineage factor, just like Vander Decken inheriting the Mato-Mato no Mi. Kid is currently 23 years old, and God Valley was 38 years ago. Captain John died betrayed by crewmates over treasure — but he left a treasure mark and has hidden-treasure legends all over the world, suggesting he survived for roughly 15 years after God Valley before dying. Kid may well have been born within that window.
Teach and Luffy
Rocks and Eris risking everything to let Teach escape — it maps directly onto Marineford, where Whitebeard, Jinbe, and Law passed Luffy along in a relay to keep him alive. Two children, both kept alive through a chain of desperate sacrifices.
Luffy carries Roger’s will — and through the straw hat, Joy Boy’s — with no blood connection. Teach carries Davy Jones’s will by blood. Joy Boy’s will passed to Luffy through bonds; Davy Jones’s will passed to Teach through lineage. Was there a triangle between Joy Boy, Davy Jones, and Im 800 years ago?
God Valley’s Model: Utah, USA
As I wrote in my earlier Sorbet Kingdom analysis, the model for God Valley is the Valley of the Gods in Utah, USA.
Utah was originally Mexican territory. The Mexican-American War (1846–1848) transferred it to the United States, and when the US drew straight-line borders across the acquired land to create new states, it produced the Four Corners — the only point in America where four state corners meet in one spot. Oda modeled God Valley on Utah’s Valley of the Gods and staged four groups colliding there:
- The Rocks Pirates
- The Roger Pirates
- The God’s Knights
- Garp’s Navy
Utah was once Mexico → Mexico connects to Maya civilization → Maya pyramids → the model for Shandia in Skypiea. And the giant snake of Skypiea — the Uwabami — is a large serpent covered in feathers. That’s Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god worshipped in Maya civilization, whose image appears throughout Maya ruins.
The True Meaning of “Sky Snake Red Cannon”
Ganzui turns out to be a Bomu Bomu no Mi user. The technique name “Sky Snake Red Cannon (Sukasuneiku Reddo Kyanon)” deserves some analysis. Mr. 5 also used Bomu Bomu, and the SBS revealed that his “Nose Fancy Cannon” breaks down as: Nose → Hana (花) → Fancy → Kūsō (空想) → the combination sounds like “Hanakuso” (booger). Applying the same logic: “乃赤 (no aka)” suggests body waste, and “空蛇 (Sora-ja / Sky Snake)” = Quetzalcoatl — which in context sounds suspiciously like “Ketsu (尻).” In other words… the waste of Quetzalcoatl. Even looking at it closely, it does have that unfortunate shape.
Foreshadowing of Luffy vs. Zoro
Speaking of Mr. 5 and Bomu Bomu — he was the one caught up in the Luffy vs. Zoro fight and knocked out instantly. That brawl feels like something Oda will revisit as a self-homage. The callback targets keep getting pushed earlier in the story’s timeline.
The question has been: what would even cause Luffy and Zoro to fight seriously? If Zoro falls under Im’s Dominator Reversi — the black transformation — a Luffy vs. Zoro confrontation would flow completely naturally. Like Vegeta vs. Goku, but One Piece. Already excited thinking about it.
That’s all for this chapter. See you next week!