In the final page of Chapter 1105 we see the Marine battleship that was sent by Saturn to sink Egghead’s evacuation ship.The Marine battleship has been destroyed by an unknown enemy.

So who are they? The ones arriving are Rayleigh, Shakky, Nyon, Sandersonia and Marigold. Hancock came in their ship as well, but she left for Egghead when the ship was nearby in the previous day. I believe they intercepted and questioned the escaping workers, and Hancock left when she learned Luffy was on the island, while Rayleigh and the others moved away to wait for the marine fleet without being seen by it.

So, how did I come to that conclusion?

It’s simple: in Chapter 1059, Hancock contemplates leaving her island and questions where to go. By the end of the chapter, she, Rayleigh and the others all are talking about how Vegapunk’s creations are a threat to Amazon Lily. Hancock also is shown thinking while hearing about S-Snake. That establishes the desire for Hancock to want to deal with Vegapunk before she leaves on her own, while Rayleigh and the others decide to tag along to help.

The ship? Blackbeard left his ship in Amazon Lily. We saw him taking a marine battleship and it’s 800 crew as hostages, when Koby steps in to offer himself instead. We don’t see Blackbeard agreeing to Koby, but instead he says Koby “gave himself too high a price”. So, Blackbeard exchanged Koby for the 800 marines, but kept the marine battlechip for himself, while leaving his own ruined ship in Amazon Lily.

So, Rayleigh is smart, so he suggested fixing and taking the Blackbeard ship, as it would allow them to move incognito and unbothered by both marines and pirates.

The last time we saw Hancock and the others, it was 6+ days before the current events, which gives them time to reach Egghead while not needing to know Luffy was going to be there (because they went for Vegapunk’s head).

Rayleigh appearing would bring further parallels to Sabaody, and, to cap it off, not only Hancock, as a slave, has thematic relevance to the current arc, but there’s still an unexplored connection between her and Kuma, as the later must have had some reason to send Luffy, the son of his friend and the one to change the world, to Amazon Lily. We saw Kuma visiting most of the islands he would send the Straw Hats too, but not Amazon Lily. So, what connection is there to explain his decision?

And as if all that wasn’t enough, the story has been dropping small hints of Kuja lore here and there. First, Shakky was revealed as a former empress. Then, S-Snake’s presence made characters remember Hancock. Later, we found Nyon/Gloriosa was a Rocks Pirate. And there could also be a connection between Nefertari Lily and Amazon Lily. Queen Lily disappeared, after all, and not even Imu and the Elders knew what happened to her. Where did she go? What if she established the Kuja with a purpose related to the Dawn of the World?