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The official release of One Piece chapter 1080 is scheduled for April 9, 2023. While the usual spoiler summary is expected in a few hours, the first leaks are already circulating. The chapter will mostly be set in Fullalead, the island in the New World where the Blackbeard Pirates are based.
One Piece 1080 will feature a battle between a portion of Teach's crew and some officers of SWORD, the secret unit within the Marine. The protagonist of the chapter is Monkey D. Garp, the Marine Hero, who arrived on Fullalead to rescue his disciple Koby, whom Blackbeard had kidnapped.
Garp has a big entrance, stealing all the spotlight. The chapter will also reveal interesting details, such as the peculiar abilities of some members of the Blackbeard Pirates and the Marines from SWORD.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1080 and reflects the writer's personal views.
One Piece 1080 will disclose new Devil Fruit powers for the Blackbeard Pirates
Teach and his men are all Devil Fruit users
Devil Fruits grant permanent superhuman capabilities to those who eat them in exchange for their ability to swim. However, the deciding factor in most battles, surpassing even Devil Fruits, is Haki, which is portrayed as the strongest power in the series.
Haki allows users to utilize their own spiritual energy to perform exceptional feats and increase their effectiveness. The most resolute individuals have a greater drive, which results in a more powerful Haki, enabling them to overwhelm others.
Among the strongest characters in the series, many aren't Devil Fruit users. None of them, though, rose through the ranks lacking a powerful Haki. Still, unlike their sworn enemies, the Red Hair Pirates, who rely on their Haki mastery, the Blackbeard Pirates are Devil Fruit users.
Since the time skip, the Blackbeard Pirates have been hunting and stealing Devil Fruit powers to increase the crew's overall strength. Following the example set by Teach, who stole Whitebeard's Tremor-Tremor Fruit, they have made a name for themselves as "Ability User Hunters."
Shiryu, the second strongest member of the bunch after Teach, gained the Clear-Clear Fruit, which allows him to become completely invisible. Catarina Devon showcased the powers of the Mythical Dog-Dog Fruit Model: Nine Tailed Fox, which gives her the ability to perform shapeshifting.
Jesus Burgess ate the Power-Power Fruit, which amps up his physical strength even further. Van Augur gained the Warp-Warp Fruit, which enables him to instantly teleport a person of his choosing anywhere he decides.
Doc Q owns the Sick-Sick Fruit, which gives him the ability to infect a target of his choice with a specific disease. Stronger ate the Mythical Horse-Horse Fruit Model: Pegasus, which allows the animal to transform into a mythical winged-horse creature with the ability to fly.
Based on the first leaks of One Piece 1080, the chapter will reveal the Devil Fruit powers of Avalo Pizarro, Vasco Shot, and San Juan Wolf.
Avalo Pizarro owns the Island-Island Fruit, which allows him to manipulate an island. The vicious Vasco Shot possesses the Liquor-Liquor Fruit. San Juan Wolf ate the Inflate-Inflate Fruit, which allows him to swell greatly, becoming the largest giant to have ever lived.
As of now, the only member of the crew whose Devil Fruit ability has not been disclosed is Lafitte. He can sprout wings and fly, but the name and class of this Devil Fruit power are yet to be revealed.
The abilities of the members of SWORD
An old acquaintance of Luffy and Zoro, Koby was inspired by the duo to follow his dreams. Aiming to become an Admiral, he joined the Navy together with his friend Helmeppo. The two trained hard under the supervision of Monkey D. Garp, which helped them improve immensely.
During the time skip, Koby played a major role in the Rocky Port Incident. He saved many civilians and enabled Blackbeard to defeat former Rocks Pirates member Ochoku. Following the abolition of the Seven Warlords, Koby headed for Amazon Lily to capture Boa Hancock.
Unfortunately, Teach also arrived on the island. He defeated Boa and was determined to steal her Devil Fruit Power. The situation was saved by the sudden appearance of Silvers Rayleigh, the man hailed as the "Dark King."
Rayleigh's outstanding reputation for strength was enough to intimidate Blackbeard, who agreed to make a deal. He gave up his intent and left the island, freeing Hancock. However, during his getaway, Blackbeard abducted Koby.
One Piece 1080 revealed that Teach kidnapped Koby to negotiate with the World Government, with the aim of making Fullalead officially under his control. However, former Marine Admiral Aokiji, now allegedly working with the Blackbeard Pirates, explained that such a thing wouldn't be possible.
According to "Aokiji" Kuzan, the World Government would not bother to negotiate in order to save someone who is a member of SWORD. This may corroborate the speculation that SWORD has gathered the officers who are disappointed with the Marines' allegiance to the World Government.
The poor relationship between the Marines and the World Government isn't surprising. Marine officers are seemingly uninformed of the covert activities implemented by Cipher Pols, secret agencies employed by the World Government to conduct investigations and assassinations.
Moreover, the SWORD name clearly contrasts with that of the CP0, the mightiest of all Cipher Pol, whose full name is Cipher Pol Aigis Zero. The word "Aigis" comes from the word "Aegis," meaning "Shield" in ancient Greek.
There seems to be manifest opposition between the sword and the shield, hinting at a similar contrast between the two secret organizations. Aokiji's words in the latest chapter appear to substantiate this theory.
Helmeppo, who was extremely worried for Koby's well-being, immediately joined Garp on the rescue mission. The team also included other Marine officers from SWORD, such as Prince Grus, Hibari, and Kujaku.
Grus initially rejected Helmeppo and Hibari's requests to invade Fullalead in search of Koby, instead suggesting that they calm down and wait. However, he likely changed his mind when Garp, the legendary Marine Hero, made his appearance.
Leaks of One Piece 1080 have disclosed the fighting styles of Grus, Hibari, and Kujaku. Prince Grus owns the power of the Clay-Clay Fruit, while Kujaku uses the Whip-Whip Fruit. Hibari is a skilled sniper whose weapon of choice was created and developed by Dr Vegapunk.
What may happen now?
Many One Piece fans doubt that Kuzan, the former Marine Admiral Aokiji, has truly become an ally of Blackbeard. He is likely trying to infiltrate his organization on behalf of the Marines, either behaving in agreement with Akainu or as a member of SWORD.
Given Koby's friendship with Luffy and Zoro, some readers assumed that the Straw Hat Pirates may have attacked the Blackbeard Pirates to free the former, but this seems out of the question now. The Straw Hats have their hands full on Egghead Island, where a big incident is about to happen.
Admittedly, Blackbeard and his men are always on the move. Their attempt to seize Boa Hancock's Devil Fruit power was halted by Rayleigh's providential intervention, which forced them to retreat. Shortly after, though, they ambushed the Heart Pirates, with the intent to steal Trafalgar Law's Road Poneglyphs.
Despite being a prominent member of the Worst Generation, Law doesn't stand a chance of winning a 1v1 fight against Blackbeard. He is likely going to meet the same fate that Eustass Kid suffered against Shanks. However, the game is still on.
Based on the leaks, neither Teach nor Law will appear in the current narration of One Piece 1080. Thus, the outcome of their fight will remain undeclared, unless the characters featured in the chapter release some information about it.
Garp arrived on Fullalead to rescue Koby. The mission, however, doesn't seem to be an easy challenge, even for an individual of his caliber. Rayleigh was able to intimidate Blackbeard, forcing him to leave Amazon Lily. Still, he had to admit that, due to his old age, he couldn't have won a 1v1 fight against Teach.
Blackbeard preferred to give up his intent and leave Amazon Lily rather than take the risk of fighting Rayleigh. This time, it seems that a confrontation with Garp is unavoidable, given the latter's intent to save Koby, who Blackbeard captured.
However, it's not clear how the conflict will play out. Garp has arrived on Fullalead, but Teach is currently fighting against Law on Winner Island. Teach is expected to make short work of Law, but at the moment, he is in a completely different place than Garp.
One Piece 1079 showed a ship with the flag of the Blackbeard Pirates near Egghead. Admittedly, if Teach arrives on the island, where Five Elders member Saint Jaygarcia Saturn and Admiral Kizaru are heading with a massive Marine fleet, the situation could become explosive, considering that the Straw Hat Pirates are also there.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately, One Piece will be on a break next week, but fans won't be left feeling deprived. Based on the initial leaks of chapter 1080, a big fight is about to start on Fullalead, with Monkey D. Garp, the strongest Marine ever, being the main protagonist.
In his prime, Garp was powerful enough to fight on equal grounds with Gol D. Roger, the late Pirate King. As he got older, Garp, who is now 78, lost some of the power he had in his prime days, but he remains a top-tier character nonetheless.
A testament to this, Garp was able to easily overpower a pirate as experienced as Marco, the right-hand man of Whitebeard. With a simple jump, Garp outmaneuvered Marco. He then damaged him with a basic punch, despite the latter's regenerative abilities.
Hopefully, the next chapters of One Piece will allow the legendary Garp to shine. Being the father of Dragon and the grandfather of Luffy, he played an important role in the series. Moreover, his feats earned him immense notoriety and prestige.
