One Piece has skipped over a number of storyline threads as a result of its new, quick storytelling. This is especially clear when Egghead makes an appearance in the narrative.
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The Straw Hat Pirates had a lot on their plate when they were last observed. Jewellery Bonney was examining Bartholomew Kuma’s memories, the Seraphim were attacking, Vegapunk York had been exposed as a traitor, two more Vegapunks had died, three of Luffy’s pals had been petrified, and Lucci and Kaku had been released from their handcuffs. Fans were left wondering what would happen to Luffy and company for months because One Piece cut away from all of this to concentrate on battles with the other Emperors and the Reverie. In Chapter 1089, “Hostage Situation,” all the Straw Hats’ immediate issues were settled before the focus was eventually shifted back to Egghead.
The Seraphim had apparently been defeated, York had been captured, Jewelry Bonney had stopped viewing Kuma’s memories, Luffy’s pals had returned to normal, while Lucci was just there. It would be a shame to skip through so much of that, especially given it concerns the core cast. If fans were given the option of learning what happened to the Straw Hats or other fan favourites, they would probably prefer the former and make an educated guess as to what happened to the latter. However, this portion of the Straw Hats’ journey still had a lot of untapped narrative potential that now faces oblivion (unless Toei animated it).
Stopping the Seraphim
The Straw Hat Pirates faced an unexpected battle from the Seraphim. These Pacifistas’ Lunarian resilience prevented even the Monster Trio from simply harming them despite how strong they had grown to be. Sanji even took a punch to the face to flex on S-Shark; yet, the Seraphim weren’t powerful enough to do much to the monstrous three. The Seraphim were, at worst, serviceable mini-bosses for these three Straw Hats.
That’s all they needed to be, given that the Egghead Arc is still ongoing. The Seraphim, though, won’t likely be as easy to control for the other Straw Hats. S-Snake frightened three individuals (excluding York) prior to her last sighting and likely annihilated a fourth. Despite Zoro and Kaku chasing after him, S-Hawk also fled to ambush the weakened Straw Hats.
The strongest Straw Hats, in the eyes of the fans, are capable of defeating the Seraphim, but everyone else is a mixed bag. More significantly, Chapter 1089 reveals that some characters have suffered injuries. Characters like Nami, Usopp, and even Sanji were all seen with scratches, bruises, and dirty clothes in addition to Luffy and Zoro, who had already been injured by the Seraphim. This demonstrates how violent it was. And for a while, it was difficult. Fans would have been happy to see their favourite crew members, especially Brook and Usopp, get some action even if everyone came out of this predicament with only minor wounds.
Anyone could take on one of the Seraphim with just a few shots of each Straw Hat. The best way to show how far they’ve all come would be to see how each of them handles one of the World Government’s strongest combat weapons to date. Even winning wouldn’t be necessary. They only needed to be seen surviving until the Vegapunk traitor was discovered and forced to put an end to them.
Vegapunk York's Master Plan and Comeuppance
There may have been more coverage of the Vegapunk traitor as well. Prior to the change from Egghead, York the Greedy organising a cunning plan to turn into a Celestial Dragon was the final story surprise. As the story alternated between numerous subplots over the course of around 10 chapters, fans were left with many unanswered questions for months. Many details regarding York will be ambiguous for a while longer due to the abrupt cut to her capture.
Fans are still unsure of when she went rogue, how she managed to evade having her brain synced with Punk Records, or how she managed to turn on the Labophase’s defences while no one was looking. Also unknown to them is the reason behind her desire to become a Celestial Dragon, though most of them have made educated guesses. Not all of these specifics, but some of them, can be discussed later.
Furthermore, the joy of seeing York taken into custody will be lost on the audience. They might never learn how the Straw Hats discovered her or convinced her to stop the Seraphim attack. She didn’t need to be shown getting a tooth knocked out by Luffy, but maybe getting zapped by Nami or blasted by Usopp would have been fun. In addition, judging by the Satellite’s bruises, they gave her a satisfying beating for everything she’s done (giving the World Government the Mother Flame, killing Shaka and Pythagoras, etc.); she didn’t need to be shown getting a tooth knocked out by Luffy.
Fans will have to accept the Straw Hats mistreating their new prisoner in the style of Caesar Clown, whatever happened. York deserved the character growth that this omitted section of the plot would have given her, even if she is simply the Orochi of the Egghead Arc in terms of relevance. Instead of being a plot device, it would have been more of a character. It would have been a worthwhile development even if it merely served to increase fan hatred of her as a villain.
Jewelry Bonney Learning About Bartholomew Kuma
From the time jump, Bonney might have had the most story potential. It depends on what happens to her in the future. Everything that was missed on Egghead can eventually be made up for if it is handled properly. It would have been the best approach to win the hearts of One Piece fans for Bonney to absorb Kuma’s memories. Due to the fact that she will be going through her father’s lifetime of sorrow, it will be unimaginably brutal for her.
She would have gained the respect and affection of the fandom had she been able to overcome this challenge and develop from it. This project would have provided a wealth of information about Kuma. Fans could have observed his personality, his interactions with Dr. Vegapunk and Bonney, and what led him to accept to become a Pacifista.
As it becomes relevant, this material will probably be shared, but Bonney’s experience with it is essential to her character development. She could have shown the audience how it altered her if she had disclosed more of what she had seen. It’s crucial to understand what happened to Kuma since it affects Bonney’s connection with Dr. Vegapunk. She arrived at Egghead with the intent to either coerce the scientist into fixing her father or to murder him for refusing. In any case, she felt resentment against him for initially turning Kuma into a cyborg.
The events surrounding Kuma’s conversion to pacifism may alter Bonney’s opinion on Vegapunk. She wouldn’t continue to despise her father if he opted to give up his humanity or if something uncontrollable happened during the process. This change would have a major impact on their dynamic moving forward.
Will One Piece Suffer for Not Showing What Happened Between Chapters 1078 and 1080?
To be fair, there are advantages to passing through this section of the Egghead Arc. It stays away from plot twists that fans could have anticipated, such as Luffy and crew defeating the Seraphim, York being tracked down and apprehended, Stella being saved, Bonney taking care of business in the PAW Room, etc. This kind of succinct storytelling is what current Shonen Jump readers have come to expect.
Nevertheless, there is enough information in this pause in time to fill a mini-arc. Some of the most interesting story beats will probably be gone forever, but much of it will eventually need to be covered, and it probably will. At the end of Chapter 1089, it made for one hell of a reveal, but it will always left us wondering what may have been.