 You know, every once in a while, I just sit and think, randomly, out of the blue, to myself, man, one piece is just so good. And then when you think that the series just can't get any better, a chapter like 1096 drops, is it even possible for something to make you feel so happy, relieved, excited and hyped, but also so scared, apprehensive and frustrated at the same time? Well yes, it most certainly is because the author of our favourite manga is the master of manipulating emotions. He's also the master of inflicting a severe case of blue balls, which is exactly what I woke up to this morning. When I woke up in the wee early hours of 6 or 7am, saw that the chapter was out, proceeded to read it, very excited to find out about the God Valley incident, get extremely hyped at seeing all those cool panels, all those big names, with all the hype and tension rising so much that I thought I was going into affixiation from all of my excitement, only for Oda to blue balls me, wrapping up the God Valley flashback as quickly as he started it. Now I am just being dramatic, it wasn't a complete tease, and once I got over my pent up emotions, I do have to say that this is the perfect way to lay some groundwork and keep us hungry for the full God Valley flashback to come, but then also keeping us equally satisfied for the time being. As we did get to see legendary characters, as well as new reveals, but the meaty juicy details about what really went down is something that we're just going to have to keep waiting for, which in retrospect, it shouldn't come as a surprise, because at the end of the day, this is Kuma's flashback after all, not Rocks or White Beards or Garps or Rogers. This is Kuma's story, and what a story that he has to tell, and we will get there, don't worry, but we do first have to talk about God Valley. So if chapter 1095 explained where and what God Valley was, 1096 explained what everyone was doing there, and basically everyone had their own agendas. God Valley was just this massive melting pot of different factions, different groups, all congregating on this one island to carry out their own, but at times conflicting missions. And I think this is important because this is likely a scenario that we will soon see again, whether it's at Egghead or Elbaf or the next island. We are going to witness history repeat itself, a legendary event of all different factions, Yonko pirate crews, revolutionaries, world nobles, and even the God Knights, all congregating as each group is trying to carry out their respective objectives, getting in each other's ways, erupting into conflict and unlikely alliances, all of this culminating in a legendary event that will change the tide of history forever. But until we witness that unfold, let's take stock of what we now know about the mysterious God Valley incident. Adding onto the reveals from the last chapter that God Valley was the island that was unluckily chosen to be the host slash victim of the cruel hunting tournament, where world nobles compete in hunting civilians and slaves to win this grand prize, chapter 1096 continues to disturb us as we now also know more details, like the hunted were called rabbits, which further dehumanizes these poor individuals whose only crime was to be born poor, and the terrorized faces of the hunted, while the holy knights and the celestial dragons are drawn to look abhorrently excited. I don't have quite the words to describe my feelings, but it's just sickening. We also find out certain rules, like the fact that there are rare rabbits and super rare rabbits that are worth more points, 10,000 to be exact. And I'm assuming that one's rareness has to do with what type of species or race a person was. So for example, I can imagine Kuma having been the last of the Buccaneers as well as his great strength making him a rarer target because of the fact that his race is near extinct, as well as him being more difficult to kill probably. But it was quite intriguing to see the beef amongst the world noble families, as those in the tournament were taking the competition seriously, determined to not let Garling win this time. And it's this sort of micro-politics that makes the characters and the world feel so interesting and real. Garling was unsurprisingly already in the lead, assumedly having disposed of the super rare rabbit, and it's an interesting animal that he's riding. Sort of like an evil spot-billed duck, like an evil Karu, which would make sense not only because we know them to be very fast creatures, which should come in handy for this sort of sport, but also very intriguing now that we know Arrabasta was originally a part of the 20 kingdoms that would go on to become the world government. And given that super spot-billed ducks originate from Arrabasta, maybe an offshoot of the species have been under the control of the world government ever since the Void Century. When they were used by other clans during the Great War to oppose the ancient kingdom, the species going on to develop into a related species, sort of how animals in the real world migrate and develop into slightly different species in their different environments through time. But my bad, overthinking things. While Garling is no doubt despicable, I have to admit that it's hard to dislike him, just because of how cool he always looks. Oda had no business making me feel so drawn to this character this way. The way that he assembles the holy knights to take care of the impending threat of fierce and pirate crews, showing no fear and only confidence. I know that he's a reprehensible character, so why does he always look so damn good? It seems like we also might have gotten a glimpse at other Gods knights in this panel, because the feminine figure beside Garling sort of looks like she's dressed in a similar uniform, meaning that she's also a knight, or that she's a Garling groupie. And similarly, there's a figure also behind them, also dressed similarly, and I swear it took me the longest time to figure out that that's a bovine head on top of him. So putting all of that together. And the Gods knights seem to be actually a very eclectic bunch. Say what you will about the very backwards, very racist celestial dragons. But the Gods knights might have actually been a bit more progressive what with women and other species in their ranks. But of course, the most exciting group that we have to discuss about this chapter is the legendary rocks crew. I mean, what a freaking panel. Whitebeard just looks so badass, definitely caught my attention first. And the detail of Buckin on his back emphasizes not only his stature, but all those freaking giants in the rocks crew. I mean, not literal giants like the species, but it's actually also possible that they did in fact have a real giant in their crew. Now seeing Buckin should come as no surprise, because we did find out that Stussy the Clone was the clone of Buckin, Whitebeard's supposed lover, and her riding Whitebeard quite literally does seem to at least support the claims that she and Whitebeard were lovers. But we also get to see Big Mom in her prime looking like a snack, might I add, who's curiously very eager to go after finding the devil fruits, which strikes me considering she already has one. And so she can't eat another one for herself. I mean, has she just been collecting devil fruits since 40 years ago? And another question I've always wondered about is, when did she find out about her devil fruit powers? Slash, what does she actually think about having those powers because she got it by eating Mother Carmel, which she doesn't know about. Anyways, there's young feisty Kaido who seems to want to go after rocks himself, which is crazy. Like, I know you're Kaido and all, but chill out grasshopper, it's not your time yet. We also see Captain John, whose design is very compelling, has this charismatic aura, maybe just because of how chill he is. Shiki, as fired up as ever, offended that Whitebeard is taking charge, and the big surprise of Granny Neon or Gloriosa of the Kuja tribe. Plus we know that these two are likely to be Wang Zi and Silver Zaks. Now noticeably, there's no appearance of rocks himself, but even that says quite a bit. It seems like rocks has rushed off by himself, losing sight of their main objective, which is a very typical Declan trait. We've seen this with Roger, very excited to fight the monster Odin, and of course, Luffy does this time and time again. But even without rocks being there in this panel. Just, oh my god, what a crew. From the sheer number of legendary names, seeing them together, their size, their presence, this is what you call a pirate crew. Even aside from their appearance, I loved their interactions. Their dialogues really sold on what type of a crew this is. The banter and the quipping really shows that they're not your average buddy buddy crew. The theory that they've all banded together, or at least Whitebeard joined them as a result of a Davy back fight, seems more and more likely, especially Whitebeard refusing to acknowledge rocks as his captain. And each of them has their own agenda, rather than working together as a cohesive team. But I have to say, isn't just me, or did you also feel that there is a slight hint of, at least an endearing affection for each other. The crew just intrigues me to no end, because on top of the hype that this page elicits, there's also a good amount of lore and mystery as well. Firstly, we see a few familiar figures from the Thriller Bark arc. We always knew that Captain John would somehow be acquired by Moria. But it seems like Moria also got his hand on a number of the other Fallen Rocks Pirates members, at least three of them, which really raises the question of how. Did all of these legendary pirates die during the God Valley incident? Did Kaido carry around his Fallen comrades eventually burying them when he settled down at Wano, and when Moria went to challenge Kaido, that's when he also found all of these members? Seems a bit unlikely and surprising to think of Kaido as being that sentimental, bringing them around and taking them with him to Wano, given what we know of the relationship between the crew members. So did Moria also hear of this legendary war at God Valley, and realize that this is going to be the perfect graveyard for him to recruit his new zombie crew? And if they did all die here, does this mean that John had already buried his treasure before the events of God Valley? The other mystery being about Gloriosa. Because although we know her as Graninon now, Gloriosa back then would have probably been also called the most beautiful woman in the world, much like her granddaughter. Or at least a very strong contender, because Linlin also does make a pretty good case. But now that we know that she was a part of Roxas' crew, while her daughter would go on to be Rayleigh's lover, who is of course in an opposing crew, Rayleigh literally got with the daughter of his enemy. And now I don't want to just trivialize or reduce their relationship, but Rayleigh, you're a dog. Seriously though, I wonder whether Gloriosa was inflicted with the love sickness during her time in this crew, maybe even with someone in this crew. I mean can you imagine if she fell in love with Roxas? The biggest mystery of all though, is what is the crown jewel of Hachinosu that they've lost and now seek to recover at God Valley. Because that seems to be the overwhelming agenda of the Rox crew. The world government somehow stole a prized possession and they're here to get it back, which somewhat makes it less likely that Rox is actually the hero of God Valley, who is here to kill all the celestial dragons in the name of good to stop the hunting games, which is what it sort of seemed like the story might be going after introducing us to the horrors of the tournament last chapter, but this chapter recontextualizes Rox and his motivations yet again. So what is it that is so important that is termed the crown jewel and that the world government would take such a big risk of trespassing onto Hachinosu, agitating the strongest crew in history by stealing their treasure. The most obvious answer would be a devil fruit, because that seemed to be the prizes being handed out for winning this tournament, but it does seem a bit too obvious. Too easy. If it is a devil fruit, it would at least have to be Luffy's devil fruit and definitely not the Nikunjikunomi or the Seiryu devil fruit that were featured in this chapter. Other possibilities might be an ancient weapon or a roadponer glyph. Maybe it's even the roadponer glyph that Big Mum has in her possession now, which might make more sense because this could have been what sparked Roger's interest in the poner glyphs or roadponer glyphs after encountering it for the first time during his clash with Rocks. And we do know that Rocks was condemned for studying the world's taboos and collecting the banned poner glyphs definitely seems to fit that sort of description. Another cool idea is that the Rocks pirates originally had the mystical giant egg that the Roger pirates would later be seen with, especially if that egg is somehow tied to an ancient weapon. As always with one piece, there are just so many possibilities. So please make sure to let me know what you think the crown jewels are by leaving a comment below. It's even possible that whatever the crown jewel is, the Rocks pirates actually stole it from Roger's crew because it's clear that there was some sort of pre-existing rivalry between these two crews at least for a year and this has been bugging Roger for the past year. Kaido seems to be agitated at the mention of Roger and Bakun is also keen to settle things, maybe settling once and for all who is the better crew. Which is actually crazy and as hyped as the Rocks crew is, I think it says even more about the Roger pirates. I mean do I have to remind you of who is in that Rocks crew? Whereas aside from Roger Rayleigh and Gabon, we haven't really seen the other members of the Roger pirates being hyped up to such great deals to make them seem like much of a threat. So for the Roger pirates to be considered worthy rivals for the Rocks pirates, it's just mind-blowing in my opinion. But the MVP that we really have to thank for gathering this wild bunch of pirates together is Ginny because apparently it's all thanks to her leaking the world government's presence at God Valley and about the games that alerted all the pirates to come this way in the first place. And so then of course adding to the chaos is motherfucking Garb. I love everything about Garb's portrayal in this chapter. He has obviously never changed and please never do change. His utter disrespect for the world government and even his superiors choosing when and where he'll mobilize according to his own interests and the complete 180 when he realizes that Roger will be there which is ultimately what motivated him to make his appearance at God Valley. Which is really funny because it means that Garb was relatively uninterested in Rocks and his fearsome crew, filled to the brim with big name pirates in their own rights. But one mention of Roger and he is roaring to go. Seriously the man is obsessed. It's the first thing that Garb says when he arrives. And it's even funnier and not the least bit ironic that Garb actually ended up with Allying with Roger instead. But you guys know how much I love Garb's character and so I just loved his entrance. So hype, his pose, the crowds cheering and then the cherry on top has to be the legendary Bogard on his side. From the panel of the Rocks Pirates to the arrival of Garb, that has to be one of the best series of panels ever. I was screaming, jumping, crying, throwing up. No I'm just kidding but seriously. So damn hype. But of course the rest of this legendary tale will have to be told on another day because this is where Oda leaves us hanging. So moving on to Kuma who to be fair has his own legendary story to tell. And so I'm not complaining at all this chapter. Going back to the tournament where things just go from worse to worse where even women and children are a part of the cruel games and extra points for kill shots. And apparently they use psychological warfare too giving false hope to the targets by lying to them that they'll let them live if they managed to survive the hunt just because the sick world nobles enjoy the extra challenge because where's the fun in hunting targets that aren't even trying? And I do mean targets by the way because they each literally have targets on their clothes. And something I didn't notice at first is that Kuma has already been shot because there's an arrow tail on his back which just makes my heart break even more. But Ivankov as always is there to keep the mood and the hopes up and it's wonderful to see him being the revolutionary that he was clearly born to be. Whether it's his oratory skills to a crowd or the way that he convinces Kuma to act. Showing his own unbreakable spirit that even in the face of tragedy and despair Ivankov sees the value in taking what some might call a small step as just saving only one soul but he sees it not as just necessary but as a triumph. I know I mentioned it last week but man I just fall more in love with him by the second. My favorite has to be that short exchange with the fishman where the fishman's never been complimented about his fish features before because that's such a small detail that says so much about who Ivankov is. Ivankov is an individual that has the power in helping people accept who they really are. And it's such a beautiful but equally devastating moment when you think about the additional layers of slavery and racial discrimination and just ah. Ginny is surprisingly the brains behind the group which was really refreshing because I didn't expect her to play such a crucial role or in this sort of way at least. But to see her as this sort of mastermind right down to the design with her glasses and her transponder snail network it definitely added more depth to her character. And then the trifector is perfected by the sweet and pure hearted Kuma who has to be the definition of too kind for this world. It was so heartbreaking but also so wholesome to see him volunteer as decoy not wanting to see any more people die after losing the ones most closest to him. And so it's so fitting that Kuma emerged as the hero of god valley or at least the people's hero of god valley. But backing up we did get a glimpse of a crazy alternate world where Ivankov could have ended up with Kaido's devil fruit. And while I do think that he ended up with the most fitting fruit for his personality, I can't get this image out of my mind. In any case we see the origin story of how Kuma ended up with the poor porno me and how big mum ultimately obtained the seiryu devil fruit which he saw her give to Kaido during Kaido's flashback. But just as we feel safe, the confrontation between Kuma and Satan begins which we know is where this backstory will culminate. Satan seems to confirm that the reason the Bokkaniers were wiped out is because of their beliefs in Nicar and this part makes me super intrigued about the way in which Kuma was able to join the warlords. Since the Gorose would be aware of its members, I wonder how they allowed a Bokkanier to not only live and survive but be a part of their ranks. It's most likely that there was some sort of agreement in place between Kuma and the world government. Perhaps Kuma knew something that's going to be a threat to them or more likely this is linked to Kuma's agreement to be part of vagabunks experimentation to develop the pacifistas. But either way, after some emotional dialogue from Kuma that shows his pure heart once again, this is where the God Valley flashback ends. And while I was at the time exasperated, I am actually fine with this level of closure or should I say lack of closure because we still do have a very engaging story to follow. A story that continues back at Sorbet Kingdom when news reports of the God Valley incident doesn't tell us any more information about what really went down apart from the fact that Morgans is a media mogul who has been around for decades. Meaning that the number of characters who might know of rocks and the truth of the God Valley incident may be a lot more than we realized. But this is probably the last of the God Valley flashback that we'll see for some time or at least while we're witnessing Kuma's backstory. The chapter continues to draw on Kuma's biblical or religious theme, seen praying at church for all the souls that he couldn't save and what did I say about him being too pure for this world. Because in fact he did manage to save over 500 people, prompting Ivankov to comment that Kuma has the hands of liberation, which is just such a fitting name and also so fitting for Ivankov to have been the person to give him this name. Making me feel for this duo so much more, so much so that I did actually feel a pang of sadness when Ivankov decided to leave and to journey the seas because I didn't want them to separate. But of course the real sadness is when Kuma says that he would never forget Ivankov's face and then this scene just hits so much harder. Ginny decides to stay back at Kuma, no doubt to go on to create Bonnie. I mean, can Oda get any more obvious than Kuma literally calling Ginny a glutton? But seriously, the two were very cute together and it was very wholesome and it made my heart swell watching their humble but happy lives at Sorbet Kingdom. A good level of little details and callbacks in this section too. Such as the fact that the two boys that bullied Kuma seems to be a part of Bonnie's crew in the present. My head canon is that these two became Kuma and Ginny's gang after Kuma took their pain away with his devil fruit and so later they swore that they would take care of Bonnie. But the thing that impacts me the most is seeing the genuine smile on Kuma's face when he sees that he's able to free people from pain. Oda even drew him as if he's shining, like a saint, a saviour, living up to his ambition of saving people just like the stories he's heard of Nika, making his whole religious theme so apt and deep on a new level. And the chapter ends on that very heartbreaking but simultaneously heartwarming note, showing more wholesome scenes between Kuma and Ginny, the duo in tears of happiness at experiencing freedom and such contentment for the first time in forever. And this level of wholesome feels does mean that I now expect more tragedy, maybe much more tragedy in Kuma's story to come. Again, my guess is that it's somehow going to involve the loss of Ginny, maybe the world government even takes her away. And that's why Kuma makes some sort of agreement with them. I mean we still have to find out why he's called a tyrant, rather than the saviour that he's being depicted to be here. And again, I can feel just so much more sadness coming our way. But for now, I just want to bask in this warm happy glow that we're feeling. Honestly, this was just such a fantastic chapter that kept on giving. It was super super long, even after we saw a little chapter 1096 logo. The chapter continued for a few more pages that I really wasn't expecting. And even though it was a lot more set up than giving us resolutions as such, I don't feel like I was just left wanting. After experiencing the continued horror at the games, the hype at all the legendary fighters, Oda completes our emotional roller coaster so that by the end I just feel so content and so warm and fuzzy inside. And nothing warms my heart more than knowing the fact that there is no break next week. And if that fact makes you happy as well, then make sure to subscribe to this channel. Also, let me know what you thought about 1096 by leaving a comment below. Again, please subscribe, please like the video, and thank you to all of our channel and Patreon members for your support. This is Joygirl, and I'll see you again soon.