 Kaido is an utter mad lad. The bulky dragon man thinks that he can obtain both the ancient weapons and the One Piece without even doing simple things like subscribing to the Grand Line Review, which would grant him regular One Piece content uploaded straight into his YouTube feed. And you know what? Even if he did, he certainly wouldn't ring the bell, alerting him to set content because that's just how arrogant he is. Hello and welcome to the Grand Line Review, your source for everything One Piece. And today we have a review of chapter 985, new Onigashima project. Well, right, we have a bit of a longer review this time around because there's a lot of massive stuff to cover, including ancient weapons and even the One Piece itself. But I'm going to begin with by far the most quote unquote shocking event that took place, which is Kaido murdering Orochi live on stage. So it's not the most unusual of tropes for the true villain to betray the sniveling villain. But I certainly did not predict this and if I did, then I would not have predicted it to happen right here and now. But immediately I do need to say that despite this brutal, brutal dismissal, I do not for a second believe that Orochi is actually dead. I know the rule in One Piece is that if you see the body, then it's confirmed and all of that. And I suppose that would probably work in almost any other case, but Orochi is a very special boy. It's easy to forget because he's kind of pathetic, but he did eat a mythical zoan type devil fruit, which grants him some fairly insane power. If we aren't to go by our other known mythical zoans. But more specifically in this case, Orochi just so happens to be able to turn into a legendary eight headed giant serpent, which is notable because the method that Kido chose to kill him was via decapitation. So the way I see it is that, great, we've probably gotten rid of maybe one of those eight heads, but I still have a really, really hard time buying that Orochi is indeed dead. Even in that lone shot of his head just on the ground with its eyes strategically blacked out, it looks a lot to me like he's just infuriated and probably playing dead to escape an actually lethal blow from Kido. But my stronger reasoning for his survival is mostly narrative. Orochi is a villain that has been the subject of focus during Wano, much more so than Kido actually. Time was very specifically taken during the Odin flashback to develop Orochi and his paranoia, as well as the vendetta with the vassals. So an awful lot of Wano has been very keenly focusing in on Orochi much more so than Kido, especially with the whole mysterious history behind the Kurozumi and Kozuki families. So if anything, I suspect that all this really does is create another rogue factional Wano of Orochi loyalists if such a thing exists in the face of Kido, that is. However, on the off chance that Orochi really is dead, then well, I have to give props to that being a very ballsy move by Oda. I just, yeah, I don't feel that his story ends here. All right, let's get into the biggest stuff now, the new Onigashima project, which is about the most ambitious thing I've ever heard since seeing a boy in a straw hat claiming that he would become the pirate king. And the insanity at play here has much less to do with Big Mom and Kido claiming in unison that they would acquire the one piece, but what really piques my interest is the talk of the ancient weapons. And it's because it would imply that Kido perhaps has some sort of plan surrounding their acquisition. That or it's just something that he's taken as an accepted fact because there would be no force able to topple the combined might of the beast and Big Mom pirates. And then eventually they would just sort of stumble upon them. I hope that isn't the case though, because at this late stage in the series, there is still one ancient weapon that hasn't really been expanded on at all, which is Uranus. So as unlikely as this may be at this stage, maybe one, it was a good chance for some information regarding that to be dished out in the same way that both Alabaster and Water Seven held that looming shadow of Pluton guiding their events in the background. And it's not too out of the question to ponder because it is highly speculated that Uranus is a weapon based in the realm of the sky. And Kido has previously been seen on a sky island. So maybe that was just him doing a bit of reconnaissance before promptly flinging himself off, said Sky Island. It's a big stretch, but I can't help but be excited by the fact that the ancient weapons were specifically mentioned. And I hope it's not just a bold statement being declared for the sake of it. The bigger question at hand right now though is how Kido's dream war will play out if indeed it does it all. So this chapter actually lends a supreme amount credence to the ideas of one Mr. Morge who has very staunchly thought that Wano is just part of a much bigger saga. And if Kido's plan does get properly set into motion then he may very well be correct. If this spills outside of Onigashima or even outside of Wano, then we will have a new world war on our hands. However, the alternative is that we stop both Kido and Big Mom right here and now before that occurs, which is the idea that is still more pronounced in my mind. Wano has taken it sweet, sweet time. Building up to this very supposed climax and I think that turning that into something more marine for like risks losing that connection to the people of Wano that we have quite painstakingly built over the course of this mega arc. Plus the little narrative hints of stuff like Marco saying the next time you show up the times may have moved on a bit to the Big Mom Pirates as well as this arc being introduced as a great adventure on the island of Samurai. Yeah, that sort of foreshadowing has me convinced that things are primarily going to be dealt with on Wano. But at the same time I can no longer so strongly deny the possibility of Wano becoming something even more massive than it already is. And I should mention that Big Mom had a pretty glorious entrance this week accompanied by her legion of Disney homies and it would appear that she has reclaimed Zeus which now that's a bit of a shame because he just works so well with Nami. I mean, things could still play out in a way when Nami manages to take Zeus back but it's not looking all that great for her in current right now. Although very interestingly Shinobu is nowhere to be seen and I mean, maybe I'm just a fool and I missed her in all of the chaos, it's entirely possible but it does make a lot of sense being the sneaky ninja she is. So I wonder what she's up to. Anyway, on to Yamato now and I don't actually know if I should be calling him Yamato or rather just Kozuki Oden because Yamato is taking the whole concept of inherited will to a whole new level and I'm not entirely sure what to think about that. I mean, it's one thing to be inspired by a role model but entirely another to be so driven as to become that person. And I'm not sure that this is the right term for it but the only thing that really springs to mind is the idea of memetic desire which is the idea that humans as a general species imitate the desires of others so much so that they actually end up desiring what they were imitating. Although I'm not sure that's what this is. It's just what came to mind. In any case, there was a lot more talk of ace during this chapter which was great and it makes me wonder if we will get an eventual Yamato flashback which I think is very called for with a character this suddenly prominent appearing especially one who in the space of like two chapters has become a pretty serious candidate to actually join the straw hats. And I don't wanna get too much into that in this review because it is a big topic one that I'm planning on covering in a whole video of its own but it is a very real possibility. This isn't like 99% of the times in the fan base where a new character is introduced and is met with ex-Fanakama or whatever. I mean, at this point I honestly think Yamato stands a better chance than Carrot and there's a lot of decent evidence for Carrot or maybe not become a straw hop but just someone who travels with them, et cetera. Look, I'll get around to covering that later. But let's talk about handcuffs or exploding devices in general because this chapter has made something very clear to me being that this seems to be a bit of a crutch device for Oda. There have now been at least three times in the series where Oda has encountered a pretty serious narrative problem, which is how to stop an incredibly powerful person from escaping a certain location. We saw it with Sanji on Hawkeek Island with his handcuffs. Then we also had it with Luffy in the Udon prison with his collar and now we have it again with Yamato. And I sympathize with this problem. I really do because without these handcuffs I'd have a lot of trouble thinking of a reason why Yamato just hasn't abandoned Mono yet. So yeah, it's difficult to know it has only done this a handful of times but I really hope we never see explosive items of clothing as a serious pot device ever again. Which you know, Luffy can easily take off such things now but yeah, I don't know, three times in quick succession is just a bit too many for me. So moving back to the beginning of the chapter now this was an incredibly strong opening. Something that very much gets overshadowed by the rest of the chapter but the standoff between Kandro's forces and the rest of the vassals in the slow falling snow was this perfect samurai movie moment. And quite frankly, I don't think I've ever been more intimidated by Kandro than during this very chapter. In fact, I don't think I've ever had that feeling regarding him at all before now because when he first turned traitor I thought that it was really cool and that he had potential to become a fantastic secondary antagonist. But it's only just now that he's really starting to show it. Like I know he has a whole host of forces to do his bidding but the fact that he is so confident and seemingly prepared to stand against the legion of Odin's vassals is something that just exudes power and has instantly elevated Kandro's prominence in the story to me. Which isn't to say that I necessarily think he's more powerful than any of the vassals but I definitely think he has a tactical edge because he is well aware of what the vassals can do whilst they have no idea what Kandro's true potential is. So there's this really nice element of strategy at play here. Having said that, this chapter of course also made me hate Kandro just a little bit more because Oda even made the decision to actually show a flashback panel of him literally beating the life out of Momonosuke which even in silhouette is a frankly brutal panel. So Oda really wants us to despise if not blame hate Kandro and for me that's working. That's working really well. It's making him a great villain because he has that sort of balance going on. And what I mean by balance, for example when it comes to Kaido I'm certainly intimidated by his presence but I can't say I hate him. I really can't even say that I dislike him at the moment and on the other end of the spectrum I can say that I hate Orochi due to his actions but I'm certainly not intimidated by him whereas Kandro has both qualities. I both despise and fear him and honestly at this very moment I would call him the best antagonist present on Wano and I thought I do find interesting is what Kandro would plan to do if Orochi was indeed dead. Given how unwaveringly loyal he is to Orochi and seemingly Orochi alone it puts Kandro in an interesting spot where he would either need to jump on board with Kaido or become his own third chaotic faction. It's probably not out of the question to think that he might join Kaido because all he really wants to do is take revenge on the Kozuki family and then promptly die which kind of coincides with Kaido's interests somewhat maybe so that probably works unless of course he is defeated right here and now which we'll get to but I hope not because I really like his presence in the arc but moving to someone else who stepped up during this chapter to me and it was Kiku. If not for Kandro she probably would have been the most terrifying presence for me this week. There was a really striking shift between Kiku crying for Momonosuke and then silently donning her helmet and vowing to obliterate Kandro. It was very demonic and it almost gave me a Zora sort of vibe when I saw her launching towards Kandro and this was just a great encounter in general. And then in the background whilst all of this is playing out we have the dynamic comic duo of Inorashi and Nekomomushi which does risk seeming a bit out of place because they're just kind of cheerfully talking to one another in the exact same panel when Kandro is announcing Momonosuke's execution is taking place pretty much right here right now. So it's a bit odd to see them distracted in this way but I can't deny that I enjoyed it. Seeing Nekomomushi's big old kitty smile is always fantastic but it is a noticeable break in the very epic drama I play all around them. One that I'm not convinced is a good thing but I'll take it. And I suppose it may just be one of those awkward situations where this scene just had to be somewhere and this would be that somewhere. I know that Oda can get away with off-screening a lot but the reunion of Nekomomushi and Inorashi after all of this time really did call for at least a short back and forth between them and I guess it had to be now or never. I will say that the second moment is much more enjoyable where Nekomomushi notices Inorashi's sword leg which is so cool. It reminds me a lot of Golden Lion Shiki for obvious reasons but I like that Oda is continuing this cat and dog opposite theme here. You know you have a cat and a dog, one lost an arm, one lost a leg, one got a gun, one got a sword. It's super cool and if anything I suppose this encounter with Jack has made them both much more deadly as a result and I do wonder if these items will carry on with them if they engage in this who long forms. All right, now back to something I skimmed over the first time I read the chapter which is that at the very end we cut back to Kiku later in this chapter on the very last page actually which I glanced over because upon first three through I wanted to see what Kaito was saying and then what Luffy and Yamato were doing but what the hell is this set of panels? We've got Kiku and her sword drenched in blood whilst tears are streaming down her eyes and the implication I get from this is that she has indeed struck down Kanjiro that or she has been wounded to the point of bleeding out onto her own blade but this set of two panels is just crazy because there's a whole story we're missing here and for whatever reason we were given a glimpse of it right at the end of the chapter with everything else going on although I suppose it was juxtaposed against Momonosuke which is how Kiku was first set off but look I'm almost more curious about this than resolving anything else that happened during this chapter. It's just a really fascinating storytelling choice and I cannot wait to unravel it and next up this week one piece not only had a color spread but was also on the cover of Jump which was done to celebrate its 23rd anniversary being published in the magazine which is an astonishing number but really I love this cover so much that I might have to venture out into the world to pick up this magazine because that image of Luffy is amazing on its own. Great perspective, great detail but my favorite part of the cover only becomes apparent when you start carefully looking at the background and you start to notice all of these one piece drawings by other artists collated. There's so much to look at something that took my eye was this very cute Robin as well as this random picture of Heart Tree as well which is what I love about One Piece it's lasted so long and developed such a wide pool of characters that everyone has their own personal favorite and look you'll find characters from all over the spectrum of One Piece here there's even a Stelly and Arlong and Inazuma Senyopink et cetera and yeah I had a lot of fun looking at this cover and I highly recommend that you cast your gaze upon it as well and in celebration we also have a color spread which I have to say isn't what I expected because it's surprisingly simple which doesn't mean bad quite the opposite actually the color spread kind of takes me back to the more nostalgia filled days of One Piece where Oda just took two or three characters and placed them in a fairly basic but absurd situation and in more modern times I do think I've become accustomed to these gigantically detailed masterworks featuring 10 plus characters and just as many animal friends which I do love but there is something to be said about this more paid back style with a few key areas of interest. So firstly I love that Luffy and Law are on the same parrot whilst Kid has his own. It's a really great representation of the current state of the story with Luffy and Law being allies whilst the Luffy and Kid dynamic is more that they just so happen to be in the same place flying in the same direction. I also enjoy that Law is facing away from Luffy and just casually interacting with the small parrots. It's a really great little detail because it conveys that Law's journey is now very much out of his own hands because he made the decision to become entangled with Luffy and so this rubber boy is now going to lead Law wherever he so desires. Meanwhile I also quite like the pink of Kid's shirt. I mean usually I'm not a huge fan of pink or at least not this kind of pastel pink but it works really well with his more vibrant red hair. You know the hair draws attention to Kid's face while the pink is used to make him stand out against that more sky blue of his parrot. It's a very shmick use of color as per usual for mature odor. And that pretty much does it for chapter 985. But what do you guys think? Please do leave your thoughts in the comments below or even join my Discord server. And if you'd like to see more videos like this then please do go and check out some of my other content or even subscribe to the channel for more glorious one piece business uploaded straight into your YouTube feeds. But for now this has been the ground line review and I'll see you next time.