Finally, the tragedy of Kuma’s backstory is given beautiful catharsis in One Piece chapter 1104. The buildup of the last ten chapters or so, revealing the machinations of the World Government in Kuma’s life, has been nothing short of terrible. The punch is only the first page of the chapter though, and things very, very quickly become even more intense. One Piece brings in Chapter 1104 swinging, and the fight is just beginning with Saint Jay Garcia Saturn.
This article contains spoilers for One Piece through chapter 1104. Catch up on Viz or Mangaplus before continuing further!
What Happens in Chapter 1104?
Kuma finally arrives at Egghead, taking a massive blow and delivering it straight to the face of Saint Jay Garcia Saturn. Things don’t go nearly as planned though. The Straw Hats are let free, but Kizaru is back on the defensive. Kuma manages to hit Saturn so hard he loses one of his arms though, which is impressive as hell. It’s no time to celebrate though, because everything is about to come crashing right back down.
Franky and Sanji do their best to hold out against the now back up and running Kizaru, but it’s not quite enough. Even worse when Saturn comes back and regrows his blown-away arm, he manages to run a stinger right through Kuma as he tries to attack Bonney. It almost looks like Ace is being hit at Marineford all over again as he protects his loved one, but Kuma looks to be made of stronger stuff than that. The chapter ends as Atlas picks up both, running off while noting that they can’t find Luffy anywhere. Saturn looms overhead though, and things are looking bad.
Kuma’s Justice
Holy crap, that massive punch to kick the chapter off was the absolute catharsis to everything Kuma has been through at this point. He’s been kicked, stabbed, crushed, humiliated… the list goes on because the Buccaneer has had a curse since birth to be an enemy of the World Government. The love of his life was killed thanks to Saturn’s experimenting after being taken as a slave. Kuma had to give up his own mind and self to even have the possibility of rescuing the daughter he loved so much, and she wasn’t even his by blood. Despite how much the world kept punching him down though, Kuma would stand strong for those he loves.
So now seeing him channel every bit of strength and rage into a punch worthy of One Punch Man Saitama himself, was glorious. It might not have been the end of the fight, but hot damn was it one of the best hits of the series right up there with Luffy punching Saint Charlos. There’s no shortage of hype in this chapter, and that was the perfect way to kick everything off. Kuma finally gets just a small sliver of the justice he so deserves, and hopefully, more is to come.
Vegapunk’s Deceit
Turns out Vegapunk isn’t as much of a jerk as previously thought. He may be an unethical scientist, but he would never explode a friend on purpose, so he really has that going for him. Despite orders from Saint Jay Garcia Saturn to install a self-destruct function for the newly mindless Pacifista MK1, Vegapunk secretly doesn’t put one in. Though he says it’s because he knew they would have turned him into a suicide bomber at the drop of a hat if they wanted to.
Instead, Vegapunk programs in a shutdown mode for Kuma, who would go into a vegetative state upon activation. Saturn reveals that he pushed the button only days after Kuma was taken by the Revolutionaries too, so he should be long gone by now. It’s a wonder that Kuma is even moving, and Vegapunk starts to reveal something about the past of the Buccaneer people before they’re cut off by Saturn’s return. Looks like that power isn’t going to be revealed just yet, unfortunately.
Saturn Regenerates
Well, this sucks. Saturn pops right back into the picture after Kuma’s punch sends him flying through three buildings. His missing arm that blew off in the impact suddenly just sprouts anew from the vacant limb though, regenerating with no issues. It’s honestly one of the more terrifying things the Gorosei have shown off, even after seeing how he so easily heals the stab wound Bonney put in him earlier in Egghead Island.
When Saturn sets his sights on Bonney once more, Franky and Sanji jump in for the save. It’s just in time, but they’re not quite enough to do any damage to Saturn. Despite Sanji’s powerful kick and Franky piercing right through Saturn with a Radical Beam, the Gorosei is unfazed. It’s terrifying and just makes things look more hopeless. Thankfully they were able to distract Saturn long enough for Atlast to run in, picking up Kuma and Bonney before taking off.
Also, serious props to Franky for having literal balls of steel taking on an Elder. The man might not be the strongest on the Straw Hat Pirates, but he’s one of the bravest.
Luffy’s Gone?
This is a new development. Last Luffy was seen he was on the ground shoveling food into his mouth that came from who knows where. Now, he’s nowhere to be found by Sanji, who even has some pretty good Observation Haki backing up his assessment. For Luffy to not be anywhere near the battlefield is strange, but it could point to a couple of different possibilities. There are a few that have been gaining steam though, both pointing to different characters.
Caribou is still somewhere around Egghead Island, very likely still on the Sunny when everything started going down. It’s not beyond him to bring Luffy food during a battle since he’s done it before, but he could also help Luffy disappear with his Logia Fruit. The Swamp-Swamp Fruit turns him into a living swamp that can hold people and objects indefinitely, much like Blackbeard’s Dark-Dark Fruit does. Could Caribou have absorbed Luffy so he could eat and regain his strength unimpeded before stepping back out against Saturn?
Kizaru: Cog or Friend
The other possibility for the one bringing Luffy food is Kizaru. He’s able to move as fast as light, totally capable of remaining invisible while bringing items over from one of the various food machines around Egghead. There’s also a posit that he could have moved Luffy out of the way before getting back up and into the battle currently. Although he seems to be working against the Straw Hat Pirates, it’s totally possible he’s putting on an act to save Vegapunk, Bonney, and Kuma.
There’s something he mentions about wishing he had brought darker glasses, and that’s the main clue. He’s crying, and knows that he’s going to have to kill a few dear friends if he keeps this up. Perhaps he’s working a little faster behind the scenes to set up the Straw Hats for safety, much like his friend Kuma did two years ago on Sabaody Archipelago.
Buster Call Begins
Here we go again. Fun fact- when Saturn calls for the initiation of this Buster Call, he’s approving Robin’s THIRD ONE. This poor woman has survived three freakin’ Buster Calls throughout her thirty years of life. That’s enough stress to take anyone out, but somehow she manages to keep going with a smile and a grim sense of humor. She’s definitely going to make it through this one, it just remains to be seen how the Straw Hats are going to make it out this time.
All things considered though, the World Government is getting pretty desperate if they’re willing to bomb Egghead out of existence. Vegapunk has years of research stored up there, and there’s no way Saturn has any kind of backup on any of it. Guess they don’t care as long as they keep power in the grand scheme of things though. They’ll wipe out as many people as it takes as long as they don’t lose their power.
Overall Opinion/Theories
Chapter 1104 delivers major satisfaction with the blow against Saturn from Kuma. It’s everything fans have been waiting for after seeing the last dozen or so chapters of Kuma’s backstory. Now it’s just a matter of finishing up this fight with Saturn. There’s no break next week thankfully, so hopefully there will be some big moments of payoff in chapter 1105. Kuma still has plenty of pain and anger stored in him that can be extracted with the Paw-Paw Fruit, too. There’s a certain Gorosei that really deserves to have it all transferred over to him.
Overall, Chapter 1104 is a great lead-up to what’s to come. One Piece is starting the major climax in the Egghead Island arc, so there can’t be too much longer to go at this point. Once Luffy gets back into the battle with his Gear Fifth ability, it should be next to over. Kuma will get to see his god and liberator in real life though, and definitely won’t let the opportunity go unforgotten. It’s going to be a wild ride to finish out this arc.
