SUMMARY

Dr. Vegapunk’s message resumes by discussing the Will of D., the idea that some people are born to defy the “gods” or Celestial Dragons.
Luffy and Jewelry Bonney use their Nika forms in battle, with Luffy inventing a new move called the Dawn Balloon.
The Iron Giant returns to the fight, revealing its name as Emet.

The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1119, “EMET,” by Eiichiro Oda, available in English on Viz.

Now that Dr. Vegapunk’s dire warning about the sinking world is over and the transponder snail has been knocked out, the One Piece manga is free to focus entirely on the ongoing battle for Egghead Island, which dominates Chapter 1119, “EMET.” The manga’s heroes are still retreating from the Navy and the Five Elders, who are proving too tough to knock out in this battle, even with giant warriors and Gear 5 involved.

Chapter 1119 is a fine example of how the Final Saga is playing out so far: a winning combination of late-game revelations, ever-increasing power scaling, and the generous use of Gear 5 and Nika imagery to symbolize the final battle of freedom vs the World Government’s oppression over the entire globe. In this chapter, the Five Elders continue to throw their weight around as the embodiment of the World Government’s villainy, but if the heroes have a high-tech colossus and two Nikas on their side, then hope still lives.

Dr. Vegapunk and Kaku Have a Few Ominous Words to Share

For the most part, Chapter 1119 entertains One Piece fans with its bombastic action. Combat takes up much of the chapter’s runtime, but there is still some meaningful dialogue to be read as well. Chapter 1119’s first page is dedicated to a short, tense exchange between the CP0 agent Kaku the swordsman and Stussy. Kaku allows Stussy to go free, stating that Stussy is a “cold-blooded” person whom he personally respects, but the rest of CP0 won’t feel that way. Kaku warns Stussy that if she does not leave now, then Rob Lucci will return – and he will show no mercy to Stussy. And if Rob Lucci does show up, Kaku lacks the power to stop him, as Kaku warns Stussy. As usual, the Cipher Pol groups are ruthless and merciless, with the exception of Kaku, who’s more like an antihero at the moment.

Meanwhile, Dr. Vegapunk’s message suddenly resumes in Chapter 1119, with the transponder snail waking back up to continue its broadcast from inside the Iron Giant’s massive body. Part of the message has been lost, but at least the transponder snail may keep broadcasting so One Piece fans can get a chance to learn one or two more nuggets of vital information before the overall message is finally complete. In particular, the interrupted part discusses the mysterious Will of D., the idea that some people are born with the will to defy the “gods,” or the Celestial Dragons. With the final battle against the World Government and the Navy around the corner, now is the right time to fill in the missing pieces of the Will of D. and see what its bearers will do next, from Luffy and Blackbeard to Trafalgar Law.

Jewelry Bonney Puts Her Nika Form to Good Use While Luffy Invents a New Move

The ongoing battle against the Five Elders is the main focus of Chapter 1119. As Chapter 1118 promised, there are now two incarnations of Nika the sun god on the field of battle. One Piece fans already generally know what to expect from Luffy’s incredible transformation into Gear 5, but Chapter 1119 has a few surprises in store from both Luffy and Jewelry Bonney as they fight Mars in Nika’s style. The duo eagerly leap into battle to confront the bird-shaped Mars, when Luffy uses a daring new move to buy the Giant Warriors Pirates more time to complete the evacuation. To everyone’s shock, Luffy seizes Mars and asks all his strongest friends to attack him from behind, Bonney included. It’s a strange request, but Luffy’s allies honor it, including Bonney, Sanji, and Franky, who all give him their best shot.

All those combined attacks build up a lot of energy and pressure in Luffy’s rubbery body, and then Luffy releases it all at once with a brand-new move dubbed the Dawn Balloon. At once, Luffy’s cartoony move flings Mars away at high speed, before Luffy resumes the evacuation as planned. It’s yet another fine example of how whimsically resourceful and creative Gear 5 can be, adding a new move alongside Dawn Cymbal and Luffy’s ability to rapidly eat a tree into a baseball bat to knock away projectiles. Notably, two of those moves have “dawn” in their names, probably to honor Nika’s role as the sun god. The Dawn Balloon is also a fine example of the power of friendship and teamwork at play.

As for Jewelry Bonney, One Piece fans are already getting a better idea of how her own Nika-themed powers work, though some details remain elusive for now. Chapter 1119 shows that Bonney can perform basic punches with this new form of hers, similar to Luffy’s own stretchy punches, and she can even use Color of Arms Haki to bolster her offensive power, something she has never before been seen using. However, Bonney’s body cannot handle using her Nika form for too long.In Chapter 1119, she collapses in exhaustion, her Nika form gone and her adult form gone, too. She is currently in her true child form, with no sign of immediate recovery. Unlike Luffy, Bonney cannot simply eat meat to recharge her Nika-themed powers.

Finally, it’s unclear if Bonney’s Nika form is the result of her own training or has a deeper connection to Gear 5. Luffy obtained this power with the Human-Human Fruit’s Nika model, while Bonney has the Age-Age Fruit on her side, which has no apparent connection to Nika or the persona of Joy Boy. Most likely, this is the power of Bonney’s training and imagination at work, creating a Gear 5 lite that has limited application in battle. Still, two Nikas are still better than one, and it’s encouraging that Bonney can use Color of Arms Haki.

The Iron Giant Returns and the Five Elders Keep Fighting Tirelessly

Chapter 1119 saves its biggest reveal for the final two pages. One Piece readers are already aware that the Iron Giant is a high-tech relic from the Great Kingdom centuries ago, and it has a bond to Joy Boy, just like the living island Zunesha. Recently, the Iron Giant was knocked out of the battle and sank into the ocean, but in Chapter 1119’s last two pages, the Iron Giant triumphantly returns to continue the fight with a refreshingly simple and savage punch attack to Warcury’s boar form. The Five Elders are incredibly tough as living weapons of the World Government, but fortunately, the Iron Giant and Luffy’s Gear 5 form are just as persistent in battle, so the Five Elders won’t get their way too easily.

The Iron Giant also reveals its name in this chapter, which inspired the chapter’s title. In particular, the Iron Giant recalls a few words that Joy Boy shared with it centuries ago, with Joy Boy addressing it as Emet and telling it to remember its purpose for when the time is right. For now, it hasn’t been revealed what else the first Joy Boy told the Iron Giant or what its purpose is, but fans can certainly guess. Perhaps the Iron Giant is Joy Boy’s sidekick or partner in the battle against oppression, or perhaps its a war mount, with Joy Boy standing on its metal shoulders into battle. Also, if the Iron Giant is still intact and fighting this hard, then the Five Elders will have a rough time trying to reach the transponder snail in its chest and stopping Dr. Vegapunk’s ongoing video message to the world.

On the other side of this battle, the Five Elders remain as persistent and durable as ever, which may lead One Piece fans to wonder if they can even be knocked out and defeated at all. True, Luffy and the others can push them away and block their techniques with the likes of Dawn Balloon and punches, but aside from perhaps Jaygarcia Saturn, the Elders refuse to go down. As things stand now, they may be unbeatable in battle, and it’s all Luffy and his allies can do to stall for time and complete their retreat from Egghead Island.

Victory in this battle will likely take the form of escaping intact to arrive at Elbaph, leaving the Five Elders behind as the final war heats up. Defeating those Elders permanently will have to wait, assuming it will ever happen at all, and that speaks volumes about the overwhelming power of awakened Zoan-type Devil Fruits. No longer are Zoans the weakest of the three major Devil Fruit types – when Zoans are at their peak, they are the deciding factor in any battle, even when going up against Nika and Viking-inspired pirate crews.