Warning: contains spoilers for One Piece chapter #1055
After 25 years of adventures, battles, and struggles, the Straw Hat Pirates have finally reached the pinnacle of the after beating Kaido in his Awakening Form, they are ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the most powerful pirates and Marines in the world, and the manga found the best way to show that.
Like in every other classic shonen manga, the protagonists of One Piece experienced a long process of growth and self-improvement, mostly through battles against progressively stronger foes. In that regard, there were two major turning points in the story. The first was when the Straw Hats sailed into the Grand Line, the most dangerous sea in the world, and their real adventure actually started. Then, after landing at the Sabaody Arcipelago, the crew got a taste of the New World, the second half of the Grand Line, the battleground of the most powerful individuals in the world. The Straw Hats were not ready, so each member took two years to train alone and to prepare for the most dangerous part of their adventure. Since then, the biggest challenge they encountered on their path were two of the Yonko, Kaido and Big Mom, the most powerful pirates in the world.
In chapter #1055 of One Piece, the author Eiichiro Oda uses just one to tell readers how much the Straw Hats have grown. The Marine iral Ryokugyu invaded Wano, hoping to catch the Straw Hats while they were recovering from their hard-fought victory against Kaido. Ryokugyu is stopped by Wano's new shogun, the young Momonosuke, and his surviving retainers, the Red Scabbards. The samurai seem unable to stop the powerful iral, until Red-Haired Shanks, another Yonko and Luffy's old friend, intervenes and sends Ryokugyu scurrying away. After that, readers see that Luffy and the strongest Straw Hats, Sanji, Zoro, and Jinbe, were actually aware of what was going on, and they simply observed the battle from afar, trusting Momonosuke to fulfill his duty as shogun and protect his country.
The with the four Straw Hats chilling and smiling despite the threat must be one of the most significant in the series' long history. In the past, when Luffy and his crew met a Marine iral, they were almost wiped out and had to run away. This happened with Aokiji first, and then on Sabaody with Kizaru. Now, despite being aware that another iral is hunting for them, the Straw Hats are so confident in their strength that they don't even bother interfering, preferring to encourage Momo's growth instead. This is also the first time that the Straw Hats look like a proper Yonko crew, after Luffy's recent "promotion" to the ranks of the most powerful pirates in the world. This really reinforces how important the battle against Kaido, called "the world's strongest creature", was, and how overcoming that obstacle put the Straw Hats on top of the world.
Of course, Luffy and his friends will meet many other challenges and powerful enemies, but the message that this chapter transmits is that they are no longer the underdogs. They are now playing on the same field as Shanks, Blackbeard, and the mighty Marine irals. This was also an amazing treat for fans who still have not forgotten the humiliation suffered by the Straw Hats at Sabaody, or how much Luffy cursed his own weakness when he couldn't save his brother Ace. The Straw Hat Pirates have reached the top of the One Piece world, and from now on they won't be fighting to survive, but for supremacy.
Look for One Piece's newest chapter when it releases on Viz Media's Shonen Jump app!
