I have been wondering where Law and Kid have been for the past several chapters. Both invaded Kaido’s castle, but we hadn’t received any updates on their exact whereabouts for a while. This leads to what is in my opinion the most interesting scene this chapter in which we learn Law’s present location.
We finally learn this chapter that Law has been descending through Kaido’s castle to the lower levels. He’s now in the second basement where a Poneglyph is hidden, but to Law’s surprise, it’s not a red Road Poneglyph. I’m really happy to see that Law is seeking out the Road Poneglyph for himself.
Though he has served as an ally for the past 350 chapters, Law is still ultimately a rival pirate captain to Luffy. It’s easy to forget given the current story saga has lasted for nearly a decade. I have been wondering for a while whether Law’s presence in the Whale Tree would have any narrative ramifications.
One of my concerns about the story beyond Wano was that the Straw Hats would have what appears to be an insurmountable lead in the race to find One Piece. We learned on Zou that the four Road Poneglyphs are needed to reach Laugh Tale. At the same time, we also learned that following the log pose to the end of the Grand Line leads to a place where Roger first learned about the importance of the ancient writings.
I talked about this in more depth in a recent video about the mystery surrounding Lodestar Island.
In Chapter 966, Roger says he was the first to reach this place known as Lodestar Island. What this means is that the importance of the Road Poneglyphs is not commonly known.
Until they arrived on Zou, the Straw Hats themselves were completely unaware of this critical piece of information. The Emperors seem to be aware as Kaido and Big Mom both guard one of the four. A third is hidden on Zou, an island which is nearly impossible to reach and the fourth was moved from Fishman Island to an unknown location sometime in the past 25 years.
