Summary

The chapter begins by showing the pirates on Thriller Bark bidding the Strawhat Pirates farewell.

Luffy then said that they don’t have to worry about Ace, since he hates to look weak in front of others. They then ‘kanpai!’ to give Brook a warm welcome.

The scene then changes to the Marines Headquarters. Sengoku was lecturing Kuma on his failure to exterminate the Strawhat Pirates. Garp, Luffy’s grandfather, was present too and was disturbing them. Sengoku said that the Strawhat Pirates are coming closer to the Marines Headquarters.

After a few days, the crew finally reached the Red Line, signifying that they have completed half of the Grand Line route. The log pose showed that Merman Island is right below them under the ocean but they couldn’t seem to find it. A sea rabbit then appeared and Luffy aimed a punch at it, causing it to spit out a mermaid and a starfish.

The mermaid is called Caimey and she wanted to repay Luffy for saving her from the sea rabbit. She offered to sell him takoyaki but was reprimanded by the starfish that this ain’t the right time to be selling takoyaki.

End

Let’s welcome Brook!!!

Garp is funny!!!

After 10 long years…

Personal Opinions

One Piece is definitely going to be the longest manga series ever, and it’s going to create a legacy even more wonderful than that of Harry Potter. After 10 years, the story is only halfway through. Judging at the current pace, I assume that it’s going to end in around another 10 to 15 years. That will certainly be awesome as I would still have something to look forward to every week even after I complete my university studies. Banzai!

So the end of the Thriller Bark story arc marks the start of the Merman Island story arc. Finally, a (more presentable) mermaid has appeared in front of us and I’m looking forward to seeing more at Merman Island itself. Also, after the Merman Island story arc, I suppose it’s time for the story arc of the Strawhat Pirates against the Marine Headquarters. I would definitely love to see Luffy fighting against Aokiji or Smoker once again. Those battles would certainly be epic.

But still, there are so many enemies to defeat in this 10 to 15 years. Blackbeard, Doflamingo, Sengoku, Mihawk, Whitebeard, Kaidou, Aokiji, Smoker… The story would definitely be even more exciting in the next half! Let’s look forward to seeing Luffy become the Pirate King!