For an avid manga-reader like me, there are times that your week of waiting is not paid by a chapter-worthy-read released. Well, this is not the case for One Piece’s chapter 957. This chapter which was released last week got me on my feet as I was and other One Piece lovers were in for a treat. And let me tell you more about it in the next couple of blocks.
Chapter 957 greeted us with 2-color pages of our beloved Strawhat Pirates members. The first one consists of Luffy, Chopper, Nami and Robin in a very hot outfit. The second image is where the fun stands out as the Mugiwara pirates are enjoying the time of their lives in a customized speed boat with a live Swan as its head. Captain Luffy is still at his usual spot clinging to the swan’s head while the navigation duty shifted to Sanji, our beloved chef. Accompanying their joyous ride is a family of turtle. And Nami our navigator happily handing out food to one of the baby turtle.
Ultimate Content:
On this chapter we did not get to see a mini-story from around the One Piece world as Oda normally does every chapter and maybe because of the content of this whole chapter. The next 2 pages showed Fujitora calling Fleet Admiral Sakazuki from the new Marine HQ. He is in some sort of a battle in the sea as Sakazuki informing him of the abolition of the Shichibukai. He was telling Fujitora that it is a news that will be pleasing to him since he has been campaigning to remove these powerful pirates from the protection of the World Government. Also, we saw Fujitora’s shocked reaction on the news of Big Mom and Kaido forming an alliance again while Sakazuki tried to jinx Fujitora’s thought about Rocks second-coming.
The remaining 14 pages were being dominated by former Fleet Admiral Sengoku narrating the incident that happened 38 years ago. In here, we get to hear the real story behind Monkey D. Garp’s legendary status in the marine and the truth about the Rocks Pirates. In previous chapters, the Rocks Pirates have been foreshadowed already to be one of the worst group of pirates ever existed. Sengoku explained further that this group of pirates housed 3 Yonko of the old pirate era – Whitebeard, Big Mom and Kaido. It was also a shocked for lower ranked marines (and readers alike) that Garp did not fight Gol D. Roger rather they fought alongside each other in defeating the Rocks Pirates.
By far, this is one of the best chapter of One Piece that came out this year. Chapter 957 – Ultimate is ultimately ultimate in its content. All panels were utilized efficiently and not a single page is wasted. Eventhough this chapter is more on narration but it does not seem like it as you visualize everything in your head as you go read along Sengoku’s narration. Another important thing to note how great chapter 957 is, is that I did not even realize that not even one page showed the Strawhat Pirates. This alone is a reflection on how good Oda built up the narration of this chapter that I was lost for a moment that this is all about Luffy and his crews adventure, and forgot the cliffhanger Oda left 2 weeks ago. It’s greatest revelation includes the actual figure of the Yonko or the 4 great powers that can greatly affect the balance of power in the One Piece world. This is a highlight to readers especially that their bounties are hidden for the entire 23-year run of the series.
For the entirety of this chapter, Oda once again proves himself as the God of Manga. He was even tagged as Goda (a moniker that is a combination of ‘god + oda’). Well, if you are a fan of One Piece you will definitely agree to that moniker knowing how vast One Piece world is yet he managed to link them altogether. To end this, Ultimate is a chapter that will be a hot topic in online groups and forums in the next couple of weeks and to Oda, glory to the god of manga!
PS: I have their bounties displayed below.
| Affiliation | Bounty | |
 | Pirate King Gol D Roger | $5,564,800,000 |
 | Former Yonko – Edward ‘Whitebeard’ Newgate | $5,046,000,00 |
 | Yonko – Hundred Beast Kaido | $4,611,100,000 |
 | Yonko – Charlotte ‘Big Mom’ Linlin | $4,388,000,000 |
 | Yonko – Red-Hair Shanks | $4,048,900,000 |
 | Former Yonko – Marshall ‘Blackbeard’ D Teach | $2,247,600,000 |
