967- It's never mentioned what happened to the previous ruler/King of Fishman Island. But seeing how calm Neptune is with having taken the throne, I'd conclude that there weren't any fishy circumstances leading to their death; likely old age or something, as Neptune himself was quite old (50) at the time.
This chapter made me think of Joy Boy, not only for his signficance in the story and his importance to Fishman Island but also as it relates to the Ancient Kingdom and One Piece (the treasure). I, myself had never thought too much about him and the part he plays in the story but considering it's confirmed in this chapter that the One Piece treasure was left by him, I wonder if he was some sort of royalty within that kingdom?
I imagine his relationship with the past Poseidon/Mermaid Princess to be what we saw with Luffy and Shirahoshi but grander, in that he not only wanted to take her to the surface but made a promise to bring the whole island with him.
My interpretation is that during the Void Century he realised that it was still far too dangerous for that to happen, so the promise was broken, combined with the ongoing war that led to the destruction of his country; he could only leave a message that another would come to fulfill what he had failed to do.
But was he psychic and could look into the future? a devil fruit (Toki comes to mind)? or some other understaning of fate?
It could also be that while he returned to leave this message on the poneglyph for the people of Fishman Island, that he (maybe with others to help) also travelled to various islands of trusted comrades and left the poneglyph in order not only preserve a piece of their kingdom but set in place a cycle of events that would bring about the dissolution of their enemy and their re-establishment.
With that in mind, there most certainly must've been a few who came close before Roger (hence the will of D) but things didn't align for them (being able to decypher the poneglyph, having poseidon being born within that era, etc). If we remember Rayleigh even said that they were too soon, so Poseidon is definitely a key in that regard.
Looks like Scopper Gaban was the navigator of the crew, as he's the one who initially confirms with Oden that they've mapped the location of Laugh Tale.
Seeing the culmination of Roger's adventure and revisiting some of our favourite locations makes this chapter one of, if not my favourite chapter of the year.
968- One of the funniest moments of this arc; Roger's crew crying at his and Oden's separate departures. In hindsight for them, they could not have expected events to turn out like they did for both those guys. I wonder how many of them actually heard about Oden's death; that's still something that bothers me and part of the reason why I half-arsed the rest of this flashback.
969- The double page of Oden and the Scabbards marching to Udon to face Kaido is again, just such good writing and art presentation (the way their travel and movement of time is shown through individual panels). It also serves to mirror another double page from ch955; but in the latter Wano is in worse condition, with much of the country in desolation. Whereas 20 years ago Oden set off during the sunset, the Scabbard and Momo made their with "the sun at its zenith...".
Also just noticed that Raizo doesn't have his crescent scaring on the foreheard in the flashback. I wonder at what point he got it? unless I missed something else.
970- We see King and Queen's shadowy images in some panels clashing with Denjiro and Raizo but there's no sign of Jack; granted back then he would've been 8 years old. Was he kept away for some reason?
I had never noticed the change in Oden's costume during fights. He moves his nio-dasuki from his waist and rolls his sleeves, then wearing it on his back as its commonly seen. Also in this chapter, Kinemon, Denjiro and Kiku do the same with their outfits. I wonder if there's a meaning to it or simply because they wore kimono, unlike the others.
971- One thing I've come to appreciate during this batch of chapters is how amazing Toki is a character and support system for Oden, his vassals and the people of Kuri. It's said she single handledly won the people over on his behalf, after they felt they were abandonned by their lord. She worked alongside them though she was royalty and raised their children. Even after he was defeated and arrested, she maintained her undying devotion to him and not once did she lose sight of what needed to be done for the good of Wano. She is my favourite female character of this arc by a good margin, I believe.
Also Orochi is very much an abhorrent villain, though Kaido is THE bad guy. He has no redeeming qualities, whatsoever.
