'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
With One Piece chapter 1098's official release being set for November 13, 2023, fans of Eiichiro Oda's addictive series are eager to take a peek at the spoilers. Based on the leaks provided by @Pewpiece, the chapter will feature the continuation of Bartholomew Kuma's flashback, disclosing the irreparably tragic turn taken by the events of his past.
The previous chapter revealed that, 22 years before One Piece's present narration, Kuma and Ginny had joined the Revolutionary Army, but, eight years later, the latter was kidnapped by an unknown assailant. One Piece 1098 exposes the horrific fate that Ginny met and how her sad destiny is intertwined with the lives of Kuma and Jewelry Bonney.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1098.
Spoilers of One Piece chapter 1098 hint at the story experiencing a peak of darkness it never reached before
The sad story told in One Piece 1098
Trending
Titled The Birth of Bonney, chapter 1098 of One Piece promises to be one of the saddest in Oda's entire masterwork. Pending further information to come from the spoiler summary and the full scanlation, the first leaks already outlined this installment as a dark, seinen-like issue, which will leave fans heartbroken.
Ginny, who had become the commander of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern group, was about to meet with Kuma and his group the next day. However, out of a sudden, she was captured by a certain enemy. So far, the spoilers don't mention the identity of the person who kidnapped her.
What's certain is that the abducted Ginny was eventually forced to become the wife of a Celestial Dragon. After two years of such life, i.e., about 12 years before One Piece's present narration, Ginny was released for no other reason than the fact that she had contracted a deadly disease.
Several years before, Ginny was a child slave designed to die, together with many others, during the Celestial Dragons' human hunting tournament organized in God Valley.
Upon wire-tapping a communication that revealed the prizes set for the competition, she sent a signal outside the island to attract pirates, aiming to exploit the commotion caused by their arrival to escape.
Probably relying on the same talent at tapping into the transmissions of Transponder Snails and broadcasting her own messages, Ginny managed to contact Kuma. However, those were her last moments before succumbing to her illness.
During the call, Kuma managed to track Ginny’s location. Immediately, he used his abilities as the user of the Paw-Paw Fruit to travel at high speed and reach her. Unfortunately, it was too late, as when he arrived, Ginny could barely speak to him and died shortly after.
Together with Ginny, Kuma found a little child, whom he took with him, even though she was affected by the same disease that had caused Ginny's death. That kid was none other than Jewelry Bonney, the Worst Generation Supernova that the One Piece manga recently revealed to be Kuma's daughter.
In fact, Kuma took Bonney and raised her as her own daughter, even though she probably didn't have any blood relationship with him. With chapter 1098, One Piece touched a rarely reached peak of darkness, which might become even worse as the next installment sheds light on the deal Kuma made with the World Government to at least save Bonney's life.
Kuma's story can't get more tragic
The last talk between Kuma and Ginny was absolutely excruciating to see, especially in comparison with how, just a few chapters ago, One Piece showed the two living a seemingly happy life. Kuma's backstory becomes increasingly tragic, as what he had to endure is simply inhuman.
In a continuous crescendo of suffering, Kuma, as a little kid, lost his parents and his freedom and was about to become the target of a genocide made for sadistic fun. Just as he seemingly found some happiness and serenity, his life became hell once again as Ginny, the woman he loved, was taken away from him.
Based on the spoilers of One Piece 1098, Ginny suffered horrific abuse by the Celestial Dragons. Faced with the terrible option that Ginny's daughter wasn't his own, Kuma still treated her as his offspring. In fact, Bonney remembers Kuma as a tender and loving father.
The issue sounds even more tragic as, some years before being kidnapped, Ginny proposed to Kuma, but he rejected her, fearing that, if she had become her wife, the World Government might have pursued her as the spouse of a Buccaneer.
With that renunciation, Kuma aimed to protect Ginny from the terrible fate met by his parents, who were captured by the World Government and enslaved by the Celestial Dragons. Unfortunately, his efforts were useless, if not counterproductive, given what happened to the woman a few years later.
In an extreme act of generosity, Kuma not only decided to raise Bonney but sacrificed himself to save the little child. In fact, Kuma not only joined the ranks of the World Government, becoming one of the Seven Warlords, but even allowed Dr. Vegapunk to turn his body into a mindless cyborg.
Kuma probably offered himself to the World Government for Bonney's sake, making a deal with them so that they would allow the little girl to live in exchange for his services. Saint Jaygarcia Saturn was involved in the occurrence, considering that he seems to know both Kuma and Bonney well.
A truly jaw-dropping twist would be if the illness that caused Ginny's death was a result of Saturn's ushi-oni transformation. In fact, according to Japanese folklore, even simply encountering an ushi-oni would cause the unlucky victim to catch a terrible illness.
If this were true, assuming that the disease disappears as soon as Saturn dies, it would be a perfect set-up for the Five Elders member to perish on Egghead. After showcasing his dominant might by effortlessly overpowering Sanji and Bonney, it would be awesome if Saturn died at the hands of Dragon.
This way, the leader of the Revolutionary Army would finally avenge the dreadful fate suffered by his friends, Kuma and Ginny. As Clapp, Kuma's father, used to tell him the legend of "Sun God" Nika, it's also possible that the savior of the situation will be none other than Luffy. In his Gear 5 form, the young pirate is the second coming of the fabled Nika.
Oda is laying the roots for the future punishment of the Celestial Dragons
In one way or another, Saturn and the Celestial Dragons have to pay for their atrocious deeds, as One Piece 1098 highlighted once more. As if the reveal of the true reason behind the God Valley Incident wasn't enough, the series has now emphasized the inhabitants of Mary Geoise as irredeemable villains.
With Bonney possibly being the blood child of a Celestial Dragon, this would explain why the World Government members, including Saint Saturn, have been treating her with a certain degree of respect.
Regardless, the spoilers of One Piece chapter 1098 definitely confirm that Bonney's actual age is 12 years. A testament to Eiichiro Oda's amazing writing skills, he already foreshadowed the recent revelations long ago.
Using her Devil Fruit powers, Bonney can perform a move called "Distorted Future," which she uses to age herself up into several possible future versions of herself. At one point, Bonney used this technique to age herself to the version where her body became large and muscular, granting her a great boost in physical strength.
In hindsight, it's now clear that this was the trademark physique of a Buccaneer. This implied that Kuma, the latest survivor of the race, was Bonney's real father only in the alternate future.
Back then, in chapter 499, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda showed Bonney's real age. Knowing that any attack against a Celestial Dragon would have triggered the intervention of an Admiral, Bonney took the aspect of a teenager to distract Zoro, preventing him from killing Saint Charlos.
The same moment also foreshadowed Ginny's sad destiny, as Charlos decided to take Marie as one of his slaves/wives even though she was already engaged to someone else. Despite Marie's complaints and her boyfriend's intervention, Charlos had her kidnapped by his men.
This horrific event clearly recalls what happened to Ginny, further emphasizing the One Piece world as a place way darker than what one would expect. Regardless of all the fun and comedy, Oda's story is no stranger to touching on real-life issues, such as slavery and abuse, and the recent chapters prove this once more.
Pending to its conclusion, Kuma's flashback ultimately exposes how rotten the system run by the World Government on behalf of Mary Geoise's Celestial Dragons. Truly embodying the "banality of evil", these individuals destroy other people's lives without even the slightest self-reproach or sense of guilt.
As a matter of fact, Celestial Dragons sadistically enjoy treating humans as expendable animals. Saint Saturn textually declared that, from his point of view, humans are no better than insects. Hopefully, all this narrative build-up will eventually pay off, with those despicable characters being forced to atone for their sins.
Keep up with One Piece manga, anime, and live-action as 2023 progresses.
