Aside from the excitement of seeing Franky, Robin and Jinbe being SUPER or the entire crew together, my biggest takeaway from this chapter is that Punk Hazard is very important.
So many people overlook or disregard that arc but fail to realize it’s a prologue to Wano more than Whole Cake Island or even Dressrosa or Zou are.
This is the second chapter in a row containing a Punk Hazard reference, if we count Franky’s line about flowers in 988 (a callback to his Franky Tank song from back then).
Punk Hazard introduced us to the SMILEs, gigantification experiments, Momonosuke’s prototype fruit– all connected to Vegapunk’s research on the lineage factor that Caesar stole and tried to replicate with much less success.
These plot threads are all coming up in Wano one after the other, and I think they’re also going to be resolved in Wano: the SMILE affliction will be cured, we’ll learn more about the Numbers and artificial giants, Momonosuke’s “failed” fruit will come into play.
This is why I believe Vegapunk himself will also make an appearance in this arc, bringing full circle everything that was introduced in his ex research facility.
Oda has been delaying showing us the Punk Hazard children for too long, and I think that’s because he’s waiting for the right moment when Vegapunk’s appearance (along with Smoker and Tashigi’s return) will make the most sense.
*Theory by akazaya9
