What Happened in Chapter 1109 of One Piece?

One Piece Chapter 1109 does what the last few chapters have been doing, and does it well: continue the rapid, intense battle of the Egghead Island arc while ratcheting up the sense of urgency throughout. This is clearly one of those One Piece scenes where the battle can be won in an afternoon — but it feels like a lifetime from start to finish, with many important things for every character to say and do. It’s similar to the climaxes of the Dressrosa arc and the Wano arc, with a variety of major characters engaging in a chaotic battle to decide an island’s fate in the span of just a few hours at most. And while the Dressrosa and Wano climax battles had a greater number of fighters, the Egghead battle focuses on a large handful of the most consequential and important characters.

Chapter 1109 and the chapters before it are a partial proxy war between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government — or at least an openng salvo from each side. In this case, it’s Jaygarcia Saturn of the Five Elders and Admiral Kizaru and his terrifying Devil Fruit who fight for the Navy/World Government, along with a small fleet of ships for a Buster Call, fighting against the Straw Hat Pirates crew, Vegapunk’s group, and the Giant Warrior Pirates from Ebaph. Chapter 1109 slightly advances what each of those three parties are doing, with Luffy using Gear 5’s incredible power to fight both Saturn and Kizaru, while the Giant Warrior Pirates continue to escort the Straw Hats to their massive pirate ships. But Chapter 1109 adds two more major plot twists.

One of Chapter 1109’s biggest developments is Dr. Vegapunk’s side preparing to broadcast a highly consequential message to the entire world’s transponder snails, both in video and audio formats. There’s no clear way for anyone — even the Navy — to block or shut down the transmission. Chapter 1109 teases the reader as various parties around the world, from Water 7 to the Goa Kingdom, chatter excitedly and nervously about what they’re about to hear. It’s likely that the message will begin in Chapter 1110, meaning Chapter 1109 serves as a highly effective cliffhanger. Also, given how many mysteries still remain in One Piece, it’s probable that Dr. Vegapunk’s dying message will shed fresh light on topics such as the One Piece treasure, the World Government’s founding — possibly even the important Void Century and the iron giant on Egghead.

But past those big-picture implications, Chapter 1109 teases One Piece readers with yet another cliffhanger on its last few pages. Jaygarcia Saturn declares his intent to make some “summons,” and right after that, four black lightning bolts land on Egghead Island, with Sanji noting that they resemble the same lightning bolt that had heralded Saturn’s arrival a little earlier. Given the willingness of Saturn the Elder to fight the heroes in person and the arrival of four more lightning bolts, One Piece fans can easily presume that the four bolts are the four other members of the Five Elders. They will likely start fighting in person with as yet unknown powers — potentially some awakened Devil Fruits to match Saturn’s own.

Monkey D. Luffy Briefly Fights With a New Gear 5 Technique

The main strike against Chapter 1109 is the fact that Luffy doesn’t do a whole lot – which is a shame, seeing how he’s starting to make regular use of Gear 5. This is forgivable enough because the New World story arcs are more crowded and chaotic, with lots of plot points to hit and characters to show. But for now, Luffy is simply buying his allies time by fighting an Elder and Admiral at the same time — which is actually a remarkable feat. It’s two versus one and Luffy is holding his own. It’s no wonder Luffy earned the title of Emperor after defeating Kaido and saving Wano from tyranny.

Luffy’s limited time in Chapter 1109 does include more of what One Piece fans hoped to see: Gear 5 in action. There’s still immense potential for what Luffy can do with is awakened Gum-Gum Fruit via the power of cartoon physics, and he briefly but wonderfully delivers in Chapter 1109 with the Dawn Cymbal technique. Luffy claps his hands together to squish both Saturn and Kizaru into paper-thin forms, and he even spins them like raw pizza dough before throwing them at Navy ships with incredible force. Dawn Cymbal doesn’t win Luffy the fight, but it’s still a fun new move that serves its main purpose: keep Saturn and Kizaru busy and on the defensive. It’s unlikely Luffy can maintain this against all of the Five Elders as the World Government’s greatest weapons and Kizaru, but for now, it’s enough. Fans can hope to add even more to the list of Gear 5-exclusive techniques as the arc continues.

One Piece Is Focusing On the Most Important Players, Not the Coolest

Every story arc and saga in One Piece strikes a balance between showing off the coolest versus the most important characters, hoping to both entertain fans and move the franchise’s complex plot forward. Arcs like Skypiea focus more on style, while arcs like Marineford focus more on important characters. Based on Chapter 1109 and other recent chapters, the manga story is currently centered on the most important characters. This will almost certainly keep up until the very end, since the final saga has the immense burden of both finishing the story and wrapping up many plot threads. That doesn’t mean it will be a dry or rushed affair, but it also means One Piece can’t easily get sidetracked with fun, quirky side quests or characters.

Chapter 1109 is an example of this narrative efficiency, based on the characters who appear and those likely to appear next. Chapter 1109 and the overall Egghead Island arc focus mainly on the characters who are all essential players for the final war, including the World Government’s highest echelons, Dr. Vegapunk’s group and of course, the Straw Hat Pirates — plus the weird yet powerful Blackbeard Pirates crew, who have recently joined the party.

Fans must know what these parties are doing, thinking, and planning at this critical phase of One Piece‘s endgame, and Chapter 1109 does a fine job of making those plot-oriented characters entertaining to watch. Readers can hope that the Elbaph warriors and the remaining Five Elders will do the same as Vegapunk’s much-anticipated announcement airs. Chapter 1109 is One Piece at its best: making minimal sacrifices in entertainment to keep hitting those plot points during the manga’s most important phase.

One Piece Chapter 1109 is now available via Shonen Jump and Viz Media.