One Piecefans were looking forward to the 2022 Jump Festa, as they were expecting new information about the future of the series. Needless to say, the announcements at the event were rather incredible.
Aside from all the announcements, Oda and his team also released official preview images forOne Piecechapter 1070. The manga had been on a break, so seeing the preview images was a blessing. The new images are of course laden with spoilers, so fans wanting to avoid them should click away right now. With the warning out of the way, it’s time to delve into these images.
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Rob Lucci & Luffy
In the last chapter ofOne Piece, Oda finally started the battle between Rob Lucci and Luffy. The two haven’t seen each other since the Enies Lobby arc, where the young pirate inflicted a crushing defeat on the World Government’s lapdog. The loss adversely affected Lucci and the rest of CP9, as they were dismissed from their positions and left without any support. Lucci was gravely injured, so he couldn’t do anything about the situation.
However, his comrades worked hard to provide him with the necessary treatment. Once Lucci healed, he was reinstated in the Cipher Pol, but instead of CP9,he was sent to CP0. At the beginning of the Egghead Island arc, it was revealed that Lucci and his team were tasked with the mission to assassinate Dr. Vegapunk. This was Oda’s way of teasing a possible showdown between CP0 and the Straw Hat Pirates.
Finally, when Lucci came face-to-face with Luffy, the former couldn’t help but engage the pirate in combat. Kaku reminded Lucci that they couldn’t fight a Yonko without orders, but his words fell on deaf ears. Within seconds, Lucci decided to reveal the awakening of his Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Leopard.
The Official Preview
Many fans were expecting Lucci to give Luffy a run for his money, but within a short time, it became clear that the Yonko was in a separate league. Lucci couldn’t land a single hit on Luffy, as the latter kept dodging. When a window of opportunity opened up, Luffy even landed a couple of blows on the assassin.
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In the official preview images of chapter 1070, Luffy can be seen usinghis devil fruit’s awakeningto land a critical hit on Lucci. Judging by the preview, it seems that Lucci won’t last for long. There is a possibility that the fight between the two will drag on for a few more panels unless someone intervenes.
The Seraphim
Toward the end of chapter 1069, Lucci was seen going after Sentomaru. The reason behind Lucci’s attack was simple: getting rid of Sentomaru would give CP0 control over the four Seraphim that are present on Egghead Island. Lucci managed to catch everyone off guard with his attack, including Luffy. On the final page of the chapter, fans saw Sentomaru passed out and bleeding profusely. It is unclear whether Sentomaru is still alive, but considering Lucci’s thirst to kill, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Marine did die.
In chapter 1070, Oda will likely clear up this mystery, and he will expand on the consequences of the Seraphim being under the control of CP0. While the assassins have beentasked to kill Vegapunk, they cannot ignore Luffy beating up their strongest fighter. So, they might order the Seraphim to fight Luffy, which will put the pirate at a significant disadvantage. There is no doubt that Luffy is freakishly strong, but handling four Seraphim and Rob Lucci at the same time will be too much even for him.
Will Sanji and co. Get Involved?
The Straw Hats are aware of Luffy and Lucci’s fight, yet they have not joined the fray. However, after seeing Luffy beingattacked by the Seraphimas well, they will have to step in. Sanji and Jimbei should be able to hold off two of the Seraphim, but there are still two more and CP0 to take care of. Zoro is still on the ship, so he cannot help them. The Straw Hats' best bet is to seek support from Vegapunk and his satellites. If they can lead one body to the location of the Seraphim, they could swing the pendulum in their favor. One might wonder why they couldn’t do it over the speaker or via a transponder snail. However, as Stussy stated, the Seraphim only take orders in person.
As the satellites have a higher authority than CP0, they can overrule their orders. The Straw Hats will have to be extra careful as one of the satellites has already been gravely injured. With the Seraphim on their side, the Straw Hats can easily obliterate CP0 andget away from Egghead Island.
There is also speculation that Bartholomew Kuma might be on his way to the Vegapunk’s laboratory, as he fears that Bonney’s life might be in danger. While it might make sense for Kuma to travel to Egghead Island, there is no possible way for him to know about the happenings on Egghead Island. There is a chance that Vegapunk might have fitted him with some kind of device that allows him to see the same things as S-Bear, who is on the island.
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