Holy crap, Egghead Island Arc is really pulling out all the stops with even more surprises than before. In the span of one arc, fans have gotten revelations about Kuma, more knowledge about the Gorosei, and now the return of characters absent for almost a thousand chapters now! One Piece chapter 1106 brings some really intense developments to the ongoing climax of Egghead Island, with nobody able to tell what’s coming next.
This article contains massive spoilers for One Piece! Catch up on Viz or MangaPlus before reading further!
What Happens in One Piece Chapter 1106?
The chapter starts big, with Luffy suddenly digesting the massive amounts of food he just took in. Meanwhile, the soldiers all around are scared to death to even go near him, knowing only that he’s a dangerous Emperor of the Sea. Before they can do anything though, he Awakens into Gear Fifth, bounding toward the main battle on the island. Meanwhile, the group of Atlas, Bonney, Kuma, and a few others are about to be shot by the entire line of Pacifista below. Things look exceptionally bleak for the group when Vegapunk tells Atlas to give Bonney some information.
Turns out Vegapunk put one more measure into every weapon created in the image of Kuma. Even above the Gorosei, Bonney holds the ultimate power to command the Pacifistas however she pleases. With the newly Awakened Luffy back in the fight, Vegapunk is taken by surprise when Saturn stabs him with one of his legs. Now things are coming to a head on Egghead Island, with Luffy facing down Saint Saturn when the strange ship that’s been wrecking Marine boats finally arrives. Turns out, there are some old friends on board there to help the Sun God Nika.
Kuma Override
The programming hierarchy for Kuma and the Pacifistas isn’t quite what Vegapunk told the Gorosei it would be. Although the official command ladder goes Marines, Cipher Pol, Vegapunk, then Gorosei, the doctor decided to go a little out of the way. Above everyone else, he gave Bonney the ability to override all the Pacifistas, turning them all into allies at her command. It comes into play at the best possible time too, with Bonney able to turn all the Pacifistas on the Marines with just a shout to them.
Vegapunk’s reasoning behind overriding the Gorose’s commands is simple, especially as he explains it. Bonney is the most precious thing on earth to Kuma, with nothing carrying more love for her than he does. As such, Vegapunk would never be able to bear the thought of Bonney’s father hurting her. He programs her in, so that in his words, when even the whole world is against Bonney, her father will always be right there to back her up. This raises a much more interesting question than the Pacifistas, too, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
Vegapunk’s Fatal Wound
As expected, Vegapunk’s good deed doesn’t go unpunished. The conscience that drives him to put the failsafe in Kuma and the Pacifistas also establishes his death in the Gorosei’s eyes. Saint Jay Garcia Saturn stabs right through the old scientist with a sharp leg, impaling him in the chest. It’s reminiscent of the wounds Ace suffers at the Marineford War, and looks to be just as serious for Vegapunk. A whole lot of questions come about from this though, especially if the main Vegapunk body ends up dying. There are still a few Satellites running around, but they only carry parts of Vegapunk.
If the main body dies, are the Satellites still able to live on? There have been talks about Atlas or Lillith taking up a spot with the Straw Hats, and they’re both very concerned about what’s happening with the main body. If only a Satellite survives, do they actually retain all the knowledge of Vegapunk or just the emotions they encompass for him? There are so many questions, but things are currently looking REALLY BAD for the good doctor. Might not be long until the Brain-Brain Fruit pops back up in the Grand Line.
Luffy Returns to Battle
The poor Marines trying to arrest Luffy while he’s lying in front of the vending machine aren’t very smart. They don’t realize he’s mostly harmless unless you attack him first, and are all scared to try and put cuffs on him. They wait too long though, and the intense bloat from everything Luffy ate suddenly disappears as he begins turning into Nika. Gear Fifth comes in full force, just in time too.
Kizaru was getting ready to go after Bonney and the others again as they were falling through the air, but Luffy came by and knocked his lights out AGAIN. For an Admiral, he’s taking L after L this arc. The others are still falling through, giving Luffy a moment to save them which he uses to turn the entire island’s ground into rubber. Everyone bounces safely off like a nice trampoline, and it might be one of Luffy’s greatest Awakening feats yet.
One of the best moments by far though, is Bonney finally getting to see who Luffy is. His heartbeat, the Drums of Liberation, begins to sound just like Kuma would tell her about. She knows now that he’s the savior of liberation that will free them all from the World Government, and she’ll back him entirely. Also interesting to note that the “Iron Giant” as he’s been called by fans, is responding to Luffy’s heartbeat as Nika once more as well. The robot stirs, eyes lighting up in time to the beat, possibly reawakening due to a presence it knew long ago.
THE GIANTS ARE BACK!!!
NOT A DRILL, FOLKS! After almost a thousand chapters since the Straw Hats met them at Little Garden, the Giant Warrior Pirates return! Dorry and Broggy arrive at Egghead in their massive ship, destroying any Marine ships in their way as they sail closer. It’s not long before they’ve broken through the main lines of the Buster Call, sinking everyone that dares to get in their way. The Marine’s reactions are probably the best, as most recognize immediately who the Giant Warrior Pirates are. They’re a bit perplexed though, since the last time they were active was almost a century ago!
It seems their time helping Shanks was only temporary, with the Giants saying they’ve come to find the Sun God Nika. They know who Luffy is, and remembering how long Giants live, they may have some knowledge. The Void Century was only a few generations ago for the Giants, and there will likely be some big reveals once the Straw Hats reach Elbaf. It’s likely that they’ve shown up for that precise reason, hoping to bring the Straw Hats back to Elbaf with them. Whether they have different plans for them though is another question entirely.
Is Vegapunk Dead?
Things don’t look good for Vegapunk with a massive hole currently making a passageway through his body. Even if he does survive the donut special like Ace got back in the day, it’s not going to be a very comfortable future for him. The only hope he may have is possibly using the Stella mainframe to keep his conscience alive. That’s assuming that’s a possibility. Otherwise, he may need to just call it and let everyone else go. It’s a sacrifice, leaving him behind to face Saturn while the others run.
Vegapunk was already doomed from the start of this arc, looking at it objectively. Cipher Pol Aegis 0 was already after him, with Lucci still off fighting Zoro somewhere over it. Then Saturn told him that he wouldn’t be making it out of this alive. Unfortunately, he may be right. Now the world’s smartest man may be dead by the end of the Egghead Island arc. Then again, there’s always the possibility he could survive much like Jaguar D Saul did at Ohara. Wouldn’t be the first time there’s been a major fake-out death in One Piece.
Will The Giants Finish the Fight?
There are two distinct ways the story can go from where the stage is set to right now. We know either way the Straw Hats get out of Egghead, the destination is Elbaf. Unless Oda is just screwing with everyone because they already said that was the next destination on the Log Pose. That said, Dorry and Broggy could have been sent as a direct escort. They may be the ones to grab up all the Straw Hats and get the hell out of there. It’s totally possible they may run from the battle with Saint Saturn. Nothing wrong in choosing to run and save Vegapunk and the others to fight another day.
Otherwise, the entire climax will rest on the Giant Warrior Pirates helping the Straw Hats overcome the Gorosei. Another Giant is already part of the Straw Hat Fleet with Hajrudin, a former crewmate under Dorry and Broggy. Perhaps now, they’ll fall in as new Fleet members, backing up their new Emperor in this fight. If there’s no full two-page spread of Luffy using Gum-Gum Giant, standing tall beside Dorry and Broggy, riots will happen. Seriously, this is some of the most hype stuff that One Piece has pulled in forever. So it’s about to get really, really chaotically exciting.
Possibility For S-Bear
When Vegapunk reveals that he overwrote the programming for the Pacifistas, he says it in a very specific way. Vegapunk mentions that any weapon he made in the image of her father contains the override. S-Bear was previously there with Cipher Pol 0, the Seraphim being brought along as a peacekeeper. We’ve already seen the reactions the Seraphim have to people they knew in their original version’s life. S-Bear could still have the drive to protect his daughter Bonney over anyone else.
This might be reaching, but considering how Vegapunk was able to use Lineage Factors to give Seraphim Devil Fruits, there’s a way for Kuma to live. Using the Paw-Paw Fruit of his originalu, S-Bear could draw all the memories from Kuma and put them into himself, becoming the new, stronger protector to look after Bonney. Even after his main body is gone, Kuma will find some way to watch over the daughter he loves more than his own life.
It’s a weekly thing to say now, but god these recent chapters of One Piece have been some peak storytelling. The intense past of Kuma with everything leading up to this moment for Bonney to see Nika was perfectly done. Now, there’s a huge battle ready to happen between Nika and Saint Jay Garcia Saturn, just the first in a line they have to make it through to fight Imu. It’s going to be a much tougher battle than Kaido, Lucci, or Kizaru though, so Luffy is going to have to pull out some crazy moves in the fight to come!
