One Piece continues to deliver after passing the 1100-chapter milestone in 1101 and may have unveiled the most overpowered Devil Fruit possible. The flashbacks of Bartholomew Kuma and Jewelry Bonney are back this week, and we’re getting closer and closer to the present. Chapter 1101 goes a little wild with the reveals and information, so hold on tight.
This article contains spoilers for One Piece up to chapter 1101. Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before continuing further, or beware of major spoilers!
What Happens in One Piece 1101?
Picking up with Kuma arriving at Goa Kingdom where chapter 1100 left off, 1101 shows some surprising reveals. Turns out, every time the Revolutionaries have any sort of mission in the East Blue, Dragon makes his way to one place. Kuma even notes that he’s particularly focused on the Goa Kingdom, and takes some time to observe Luffy a year before he originally sets sail. From there the chapter follows Kuma’s time as a Warlord, undergoing enhancements for Pacifista while helping those in need. Even after losing most of his free will, Kuma still sometimes arrives to back up the Revolutionaries, leaving without saying a word.
The focus shifts halfway into Bonney back in the Sorbet Kingdom. She’s still undergoing ‘treatment’ by Alpha, who’s being much crappier than before by withholding Kuma’s letters. By the time she turns nine with no letters, she’s almost lost hope. Thankfully Dowager Conney, who’s stepped in as a grandmother figure to the young girl, figures out Alpha’s real identity with Cipher Pol and creates an opening for Bonney to run.
Dragon: World’s Okayest Dad
Look, I and many others have been… critical of the best of Dragon’s parenting skills. It’s only taken twenty-five years or so to get an answer to if he gives a damn about Luffy, but it was honestly a good payoff. Kuma takes note that anytime they’re in the East Blue, Dragon wanders off toward the Goa Kingdom, specifically around the area of Windmill Village. The warning that Dragon gives to Kuma is chilling
Telling him that a parent’s greatest weakness is their child and the menace with which he says it, proves his love of Luffy. Many of the jokes about how Dragon didn’t know that Luffy was even his son are finally put to rest, showing he’s been watching over him the whole time. Maybe there’s more to him than the rough but soft-spoken exterior, but now it’s more obvious why he doesn’t get too close to Luffy.
Kuma Sees Luffy
When Kuma goes to visit the young son of Dragon, he finds a surprising sight. The young Monkey D Luffy is training up in the mountains, practicing his Gum-Gum Ax that would later take down Arlong. Even before he sets off Luffy is training to become one of the greatest pirates in the world, and it’s no wonder he constantly improves his abilities so quickly. Kuma keeps an eye on him for a bit before popping out to some issue or another in the East Blue, helping a merchant ship under attack. Even more impressive, he resolves the attack peacefully, fitting to his pacifist nature.
This visit with a young Luffy probably shows Kuma what’s going to happen to him in the future. The rubbery abilities of the Gum-Gum Fruit would no doubt remind a preacher of Nika of his own god. Now Kuma knows something is up, and sees the signs ahead. When he arrives at Thriller Bark he has no real intention of killing Luffy, knowing that he is the one Kuma’s father told him stories about. This is the first hint at his driving mission to protect the Straw Hats.
Letters to Bonney
Throughout his travels and up until the moment he loses most of his free will and personality, Kuma keeps writing Bonney. He sends her letters about everything. A loving father constantly telling her about the new places they’ll go or things they’ll do once she’s better. The man is constantly proving himself as one of the best dads to ever exist, in One Piece and beyond. Unfortunately, it’s all being undone without his knowledge, as the Sorbet Kingdom is having some issues.
Alpha, the Cipher Pol 8 agent who’s in charge of Bonney while she’s in Sorbet Kingdom, is awful. That’s typical for Cipher Pol agents of course. Alpha is just going above and beyond by withholding the letters from Bonney. She destroys them immediately upon receipt, with Bonney none the wiser and increasingly upset that her father isn’t sending letters. It’s heartbreaking to see how upset she is since she believes Kuma has just abandoned her. Even on her ninth birthday, Bonney thinks that Kuma has forgotten his promise to come back for her.
Kuma’s Consciousness
When Kuma has finally finished his physical augmentations, it’s time to begin the mental ones. A flashback to Egghead shows Kuma getting ready for the final surgery- the extraction of his free will. There’s a pretty interesting philosophical idea behind Stussy’s question, and finding out that she has free will is a clue for what’s to come, hopefully.
Most interesting is that Kuma gets to keep a minimum level of conscious thought for the remaining year. This happens at some point between Thriller Bark and Sabaody likely. Mostly since Kuma after Thriller Bark is all but a blank face. It still lets him make decisions like sending the Straw Hats off to safety and guarding the Sunny. Though that was granted by Vegapunk as a final request. It’s his last act as a free man, in some sense. Although it remains to be seen how things will unfold at Egghead.
Bonney’s Prison
Poor Bonney is back in the Sorbet Kingdom without knowing what her father is going through. What she does know is that on her ninth birthday, her treatment is over and she wants to go outside. Of course, Alpha can’t allow that and prevents her from going outside again. This entire time she’s only been giving her syrup, and her Sapphire Scale is cured. Conney finds out about that too, and Alpha’s status as CP8. Keeping Bonney’s ability with the Age-Age Fruit a secret all this time pays off, and they begin an escape plan.
Bonney’s still keeping a smile though, bounding around as Nika just like Kuma taught her. It’s her incredible positivity and surprising advancement with her Devil Fruit that eventually allows a change in the situation. They’re able to disguise her as Conney, sneaking her out into the sunlight while the real Conney diverts everyone. Plans are finally in motion and Bonney runs off, heading toward the new ship waiting in the harbor.
The Bonney Pirates!
Turns out some of Kuma’s church that have been helping Bonney out were previously some rough and tumble fishermen. GyoGyo, Tott, and Potato set up a whole ship to resemble a pizza, one of Bonney’s favorite foods. Then they make her their captain. It’s time to run off, but Alpha finally reveals her hand as a member of Cipher Pol. She pulls out her Six Powers to chase the Bonney Pirates who are fleeing to sea. Now is the first chance for Bonney to step up, and holy crap does she ever step up.
Bonney decides that enough is enough from Alpha, and she’s pissed about all the lies she’s been fed. Jumping up, Bonney remembers a moment asking her father what Nika looks like. His response reinforces what he saw in Luffy as the chapter began. Nika has all the properties of rubber, able to jump and dance however he wants with no limits. Keeping that in mind, Bonney makes her move with Distorted Future- aging herself up into a version of herself that she imagines.
Is the Age-Age Fruit OP?
In this case, Bonney imagines herself as Nika the Sun God, pulling out a full-tilt Gum-Gum Giant Pistol. She quite literally pulls off a Gear Third move just by imagining herself as Nika. Now, if that’s not one of the most overly strong Devil Fruits in the series, then I don’t know what is. Potentially, Bonney can imagine any possible future for herself, with any sort of powers. Sure something like Distorted Future- Nika Like Future will probably drain a massive amount of stamina. Still, holy crap is it game-breaking levels of insanity.
So many questions are open now, like what determines what Bonney can become? Is it just limited to her imagination, or is it dependent on her feelings at the time? There are so, so many questions, and her Devil Fruit has the possibility, if based on her imagination, to overpower anyone as long as she can pull the transformation off. Just a transformation into a god has to take a massive toll, but the power behind it to take out a Cipher Pol agent is not to be understated. This was a nine-year-old child punching out an advanced spy skilled in the Six Powers.
These flashbacks in One Piece just keep getting better, and when the return to the present time comes, things are bound to get crazy. Chapter 1101 ends with the reveal of Nika-Future, but back in the present Bonney and Luffy are both in states of exhaustion against Jay Garcia Saturn. The Final Saga of One Piece has been a nonstop whirlwind so far, and it’s only getting faster.
