#op chapter 1167

[anmechokola]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1167)

Gotta be honest, I didn't imagine that, of the two of them, Shamrock would be the one with the slutty cleavage

Though I love their matching thigh-high Chanel boots

[bambieluv]

Loki stocks down ↘️↘️↘️

[spacepolice]

Ohara got rent to pay

[draculapizza]

Have the overwhelming urge to joke “white boys get broken up with once then become evil” about a certain one piece character but not wanting to spoiler for anime-onlys. The courteous jester’s dilemma.

[moth-in-black]

Op chapter 1167 - key points

Good stuff this week ;-) 👌🏻

[anmechokola]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1167)

I love that Shanks' answer to the question "how can I get closer to my family?" is, obviously, "act like a stuck up asshole"

[anmechokola]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1167)

First off, puns and jokes!

That "hora fukime" written on the guy's head probably refers to 法螺吹き (horafuki) which means boaster or big talker, and the -me is a derogatory suffix, so it translates to "damn bullshitter"

On the shirt of the guy that's talking there is the picture of a book, which in Japanese is 本 (hon), and 本当 (hontou) means truth or fact, so 本当だよ (hontou dayo) is an emphatic "it's the truth!"

The way these rumors all mention a huge human-like shape appearing from the fog reminds me of the shadows from the Sky Islands that showed up at the beginning of the Jaya Arc

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When this guy (and the narration in the next panel) says "monster", he doesn't say the usual 化物 (bakemono) that people call devil fruit users or the 怪物 (kaibutsu) that some sailors called cordyceps Imu, he says 魔物 (mamono) which also means monster or demon, but more in the sense of an eerie apparition, like an evil spirit, as far as I can tell

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I think this part really shows how Harald's hands were tied and how fruitless this effort will end up being, in a general sense. The narration actually says that

ハラルドは"1000年分の償い"を誓い陰ながら海軍援の軍として働いた Harald's "1000 year atonement" was to work helping the Navy from behind the scenes

Which means that none of his efforts were visible to the general public. So how would that help with the peaceful, friendly image he was trying to build with the other countries? All he can achieve here is winning favor with the World Government in the hopes that if he bowed down low enough they would deign to make Elbaf a member country. While being one would certainly help to open doors, does he really think the government would ever let go of such a useful shadow? Even if Elbaf becomes a member state, they would always be subject to being treated like this, since their own king let himself be put on a leash

Like I've said before, I understand that he was desperate and used to making these kinds of personal sacrifices, but it's honestly kind of sad to see him do this because it feels so... pointless

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While it could be just a normal cheering pose, it's interesting that Buggy looks like he's doing the Nika dance here

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When the narration says the world was sent into an era of frenzied madness, it says

世界は更なる狂瀾の時代へと突入する!!! The world was further plunged into an era of turmoil!!!

The term 狂瀾 (kyouran) means raging waves, while 狂乱 (kyouran) means frenzy or madness. The meaning is similar in context, but I like the use of nautical terms in relation to the Great Era of Piracy

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I'm not sure if "faithfully serving as a tool of the Navy" captures how... demeaning Harald's treatment is here. The narration called him

海軍の手足となり従順に務めたハラルド Harald, who had been obediently serving the Navy

The expression 手足となり (teashitonari) means to follow loyally, to wait on someone hand and foot (quite literally, with 手 meaning hand and 足 meaning foot), or to be at someone's beck and call. And 従順 (juujun) means obedient, submissive, meek or docile. It's a complete reversal of the way he was initially introduced as a brash, overconfident, arrogant youth

Also, when it says that he was "given access" to the Holy Land, the term used is 昇階 (shoukai), which I couldn't really find in the dictionary. But 昇 (shou) means to rise up and 階 (kai) means storey (of a building) or stair, so it means something like rising up the ranks. Or, since he gets to rise up all the way to the Holy Land, maybe the word "ascend" would be better

Harald calls his tattoo 浅海契約 (senkai keiyaku), which literally translates to Shallow Sea Contract. The official translation went with "covenant" probably to match with Diabolical Covenant, which they used when Imu was Domi Reversing Brogy

(chapter 1150)

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(chapters 1167 and 1160)

Warcury calls Harald 従刃 (juujin), which is the same term the Celestial Dragons called Gunko during the beginning of the God Valley man-hunt. If I'm understanding this right, getting the Shallow Sea Covenant means he becomes a Devoted Blade

Warcury also calls him the God's Knights' "trusted weapon", or 懐刀 (futokorogatana), which has two meanings, actually. It means a small dagger that you carry in your pocket, but it can also mean a trusted subordinate or confidant, like a right-hand man

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I would like to take a second to be a little smug about getting the idea of contract tiers right before (here)

So there are 3 tiers, and the shallowest of them doesn't require meeting Imu, since Harald doesn't know who this true God is yet. From what Nusjuro says next, you only get to learn about Imu after you rise up (or down, using the naming metaphor) to the next rank. I'm assuming then that the Depths Covenant (literally Deep Sea Contract) is something you get when you become a God's Knight, maybe like the tattoo that Sommers has

(chapter 1140)

That would mean that the Abyssal Covenant is the one the Five Elders have, right? I'm curious how that would add up to 13, though, if there are 10 God's Knights. Does that mean not all of them have the Depths Covenant? What would be the criteria to change ranks, then?Or is the contract the Five Elders have different from these 3 tiers? That still wouldn't add up to 13, unless there are others aside from the God's Knights who have them, and it still wouldn't explain the difference between those two ranks

Also, those are interesting names, aren't they? Thematically, I mean. You "ascend" to the Holy Land, but your contract goes deeper down into the depths of the ocean the higher you rise. If we go with the idea that Imu is the symbolical Devil infiltrating Heaven, then it makes sense, since the closer you think you are to Heaven, the closer you actually are to Hell

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The narration shows Roger's execution and the recruitment of giants into the Navy to combat the Great Era of Piracy, then says that meanwhile, Harald was becoming a Devoted Blade, which means this happens 24 years ago (it's cute that Shamrock has the same hairstyle as Shanks)

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I think we can all take this to mean that Shirahoshi is Shaggy, though it still doesn't explain how they get in contact with each other. Maybe Harald gives Loki a denden so they can get to know each other? But then why wouldn't Loki know who Shaggy is?

By the way, it does seem kind of purposeful that the princess with great power from the kingdom with the Sunlight Tree Eve is unofficially engaged to the prince with great power from the kingdom with the Treasure Tree Adam

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We're getting pretty close to the end of the flashback, since Fisher Tiger freed the slaves in Marijoa 15 years ago and the beginning of the flashback is 14 years ago

The fact that you can only see the right eye, and the sword seeming like it's being held with his left hand, very much pointed to it being Shanks. By the way, what is Fisher Tiger holding in his left hand in that panel on the right that he didn't seem to be holding before? But most importantly, does anybody else see what looks like a blood spray coming from Shanks' head? Right below that "kaching!!"

Maybe it's Fisher Tiger's blood? If it is Shanks' blood, then I assume it's from the wound he gets from Teach, since we see him later with a bandaged eye. That would mean that either he came back with an open wound right at the time the slaves were breaking free (which doesn't make sense, since he specifically went to the armory, indicating some forethought into this plan) or he got that wound during this time, which would mean Teach was at Marijoa at the same time as Fisher Tiger was escaping. But at this point Teach has already been a member of Whitebeard's crew for a long time, how could he be there? Did he have a part in the escape? Was he looking for someone? We still don't know what happened to him and his mother after God Valley. If Teach was there, did he fight Shanks because Shanks is a Devoted Blade? It would be an interesting subversion of expectations, if Teach justifiably thought he was fighting with a Celestial Dragon at the time

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Again, I have to ask: did the twins' mother ever mention which one of them was older? Did Garling just decide that by himself? He specifically calls him Shamrock's 弟 (otouto), which means younger brother

When Harald asks if he's met either of the twins before, I wonder if it means Harald has met the Roger Pirates at some point and is remembering Shanks as an apprentice. Either that or he knew their mother, since she had the same red hair

If Shanks has a strength that could rival his brother, but he's still a Devoted Blade of God, then I assume he hasn't been there that long, especially because he later says he wasted 24 years of his life before going there. We know that Yasopp joins Shanks some time after Usopp is born 19 years ago. If we go by the Strong World chapter, he still looks like he did when the Roger Pirates disbanded, clothes-wise. So sometime in the next 4 years he gathers some of his crew, but then leaves them to go to Marijoa, and then leaves Marijoa again after one or two years, which would mean he went there looking for something specific (maybe knowledge about the Nika fruit? since he appears to target the exact Cipher Pol ship that had the fruit later on)

(chapter 0: Strong World)

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(chapters 1167 and 1152)

Shanks telling Gaban that he and Harald got along all right is now hilarious in hindsight (unless they get a chance to talk more later)

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I think it's safe to assume he's in Marijoa undercover. The differences between how he and Shamrock dress (Shanks being more proper and Shamrock being the one that looks laid-back), plus the overtly aggressive and degrading way he's talking makes it look like he's overcompensating (though the Celestial Dragons could just think it's a natural born trait to be an insufferable stuck-up). Though going by the silent speech bubble after this, it doesn't look like Harald is buying the act, or he's still trying to place where he's seen Shanks before

Can we take Shamrock's comment as him worrying about Shanks? Did they have any time to bond?

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I like that the village is explained as the hometown of Loki's 実母 (jitsubo), which means birth mother or biological mother, and not just his "mother", since he himself says that she was never that for him

That giant saying that both of Ida's sons love her very much already makes the chapter title hurt, but Loki's admission at the end really drives home how the title is purposefully ambiguous, since Ida in the end had two sons

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Loki calls Ida 母親 (hahaoya), which as far as I can tell is a formal, kind of cold way of talking about your mother. Maybe not cold, but like serious or without feelings, you know? Like 母 (haha), it's not a term you use when you're calling out to your own mother, it's what you use when you're talking about her to other people

My guess is that Loki is using this formal way of saying it to officially express who he considers his real mother, as opposed to his birth mother that the village called the only legitimate wife

<- chapter 1166 analysis

[anmechokola]

(SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 1167)

Shaggy reveal????