One Piece on break this week: Chapter 971 spoilers and official release date revealed

The saddest week of every month is upon us again with One Piece taking a break this upcoming week. But after enduring this, the wait will surely be worth it. Chapter 971 will be upon us again in no time and we wouldn’t even notice it.

So while waiting for this brief pause to be over, let us review first what happened in the previous chapters. Some of those details may lead us to speculate on what the upcoming events will be. Not that we don’t have an idea of it already, but we might be surprised to find out more.

Oden’s return recap

So let me bring you back to five years ago in Oden’s flashback when he had just returned to Wano. After a brief reunion with his family and closest friends, Oden attacked Orochi, enraged with what the fake shogun has done to the country.

But for yet unrevealed reason, Oden held back and made a fool of himself by dancing naked in the capital while begging for money. This continued for five years during which certain important events transpired. The two most notable events were Roger’s execution and the robbing of Ryuma’s grave after Moria’s attack on Kaido.

Five years from Oden’s return, Hyogoro is captured and believed to be executed by Kaido. Then Oden finds out that whatever truce he and Orochi had was not just broken, but Orochi also never intended to comply with his side of the bargain.

Oden and the Nine Red Scabbards attack

With the truce broken, Oden finally decided to make a move with his retainers. Upon facing Kaido, Oden realized he has been tricked all along so that Kaido and Orochi could maintain power and authority. Then the battle begins which would be Oden’s last.

Yet by another form of trickery, Kaido and Orochi managed to beat Oden in a dirty fight. This particular moment made many fans doubt Kaido’s strength. Then we are taken to the part where Oden and his gang were taken prisoners soon to be sentenced to death by boiling alive.

Unsolved mysteries of Oden’s flashback

Throughout this journey, we learned some things that need further explanation for us to fully understand. Will we finally be able to understand them in One Piece chapter 971? Here is a list of some of those mysteries that still need solving.

1. What was the agreement between Oden and Orochi? We only know that it has something to do with boats and kaido.
2. Why did Moria attack Kaido? And how did he manage to find and rob Ryuma’s grave?
3. Kaido revealed that he had a spy in Oden’s castle. Who could it have been?
4. It seems like Shinobu’s name is now clear as the spy as she never lived in Oden’s castle in Kuri. But why did she remain silent in all those five years while Oden danced like a fool?
5. This is about to happen next so I will just include it in the list. Why did Toki not send both her children and all the retainers to the future?

These are just some of the mysteries that we want answers to. Hopefully, some of them would be answered in the upcoming chapter. One Piece chapter 971 will be officially released on February 16, 2020. Spoilers are expected on February 12-13, and raw scans are expected on February 14, 2020.

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Image credits: One Piece official Twitter account

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