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Continuing to bridge the gap between One Piece chapter 1053 and One Piece chapter 1054, the scanlations for One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 were released last night. The second volume in the lookback at the series so far in preparation for the final saga primarily focuses on the Yonko, especially Shanks and Blackbeard.
One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 also looks at Kaido and Big Mom. The guidebook also addresses the now-disbanded Shichibukai system and its members, as well as the various sword grades in the series, and more.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2.
One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale Volume 2 teases readers on Blackbeard, Shanks’ world-changing history
Former Yonko and Shichibukai detailed
One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 begins with two pages detailing the fall of Kaido and Big Mom during the Onigashima Raid. One specifically interesting line mentioned in these pages, “the New Generation storms in as a prelude to the world’s collapse,” is likely indicative of whatever various Marines have been recently referencing, something world-changing.
The page also explicitly details how the fall of these two Yonko involves nearly every active party in the political scene of the series. This includes the former Shichibukai, the remaining Yonko, the Worst Generation, the Revolutionary Army, and the Marines. Whatever awaits the Straw Hats beyond Wano appears to have the fate of the world at risk.
The following page features an image of the Gorosei at the top, with two lines of text underneath and to the side of their images. Said texts mention that the world’s equilibrium can’t be maintained forever, and that the time has come for a great cleansing. The last line, in particular, references Im-sama’s introduction, where the Gorosei ask him what light should be next cleansed from the world.
The rest of the page essentially acts as a summarization of events that have taken place around the world during the Wano arc. One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 seems to be specifically aimed at intertwining all the world’s latest events for readers.
As a result, the page begins with the Reverie recap, detailing the attack led by Sabo to liberate Kuma from the Celestial Dragons. However, as the page also discusses, the plan seems to have gone awry, with Sabo suffering some unknown and tragic fate as a result, based on clues from characters in the series who have read the news.
The page also discusses the other Reverie-related incident, which involves the Kingdom of Alabasta. The exact details are unknown, but three aspects of the event that Big News Morgans announced were an attempted assassination, a fatality, and the voting results. The lattermost point most likely references a topic which was voted on at the Reverie.
The most likely topic is also discussed on this page, that being the abolition of the Shichibukai system for pirate privateers. The point is said to have been raised by the Kings of Alabasta and Dressrosa, Cobra Nefertari and Riku Dold, respectively, after both had their countries nearly or fully taken over by a Shichibukai abusing their power.
The page finally reaches the end with the discussion of the defeat of Big Mom and Kaido, and how the latter’s loss specifically affects the plans of the World Government. It’s reconfirmed that the Government was in business with Kaido’s Wano, and had designs to bring the isolated country “under their thumb” until the unexpected resolution of the battle.
Blackbeard and Shanks’ mysterious past
One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 then shifts perspective to Shanks and Blackbeard, the two remaining Yonko of the previous generation who have a history much older than their Yonko status. The page begins by detailing Blackbeard’s never ending quest for more power, which seems to have influenced his latest departure from Fullalead.
The page also discusses his reaction to recent big news reports, questioning whether or not they’re part of an elaborate scheme of his. They also emphasize that he left Fullalead after reading the news of the Reverie, perhaps indicating some yet-unknown connection between those events and his goals.
The rest of Blackbeard’s page reintroduces nine of his ten ship captains, with the tenth one being a mystery. However, this is most likely Kuzan, the former Admiral Aokiji, who joined the Blackbeard Pirates after defecting from the Marines.
The next page of One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 focuses on Shanks, beginning by saying that “ a dormant lion makes quiet moves to maintain the world’s balance.” It then highlights that he typically enjoys observing from the New World, but can be threatening when pushed, as the Gorosei have noted. It also discusses how his actions have the power to cause ripples throughout the world.
It continues by looking into what fans have recently seen from Shanks, beginning with his attendance for the wedding of an unknown couple, alongside his crew. He’s then seen having his face-to-face with the Five Gorosei, where many fans theorize he either discussed Luffy or Blackbeard with the group.
The page also reminds readers that, while they may view him as Luffy’s friend and mentor, he is a fierce and dangerous pirate in his own right. His taking of Eustass Kid’s arm and Bartolomeo’s thrashing of his territory was subsequently brought up, emphasizing that he can be dangerous when provoked.
Finally, the page addresses the two’s long-standing history, going back to their younger days on their respective, legendary crews. The page interestingly says that the scar Shanks has “ties his fate” to Blackbeard’s, also emphasizing that it was Blackbeard himself who gave him that scar.
Sword grades and sketches
One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 then begins discussing the various swords and sword grades seen in the series thus far. It once more emphasizes that the series’ named blades are broken into three graded categories, those being the 12 Supreme Wazamono, the 21 Excellent Wazamono, and the 50 Fine Wazamono.
There are also ungraded blades and blades of an unknown grade in the series, which are also indexed here. Of particular note is Whitebeard's Murakumogiri and Gol D. Roger’s Ace being part of the 12 Supreme Wazamono, alongside Mihawk’s Yoru and an unknown wielder’s Kitetsu I.
Nearly every blade used by any significant character in the series through chapter 1053 is included here, even if its name or grade is unknown. The page is incredibly informative, but much too dense in terms of information to describe here in a timely manner. Fans of the series should certainly check out One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2, even if only for this page.
After discussing the swords of the series, One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 then begins showing concept art and sketches for various characters. This section focuses primarily on Kaido’s crew and Big Mom, showing different concept designs from Eiichiro Oda for each captain and the major members of Kaido’s crew.
Kaido’s page sees various concept arts of his hybrid form, as well as the concept art of his Conqueror’s Haki activating. The next page details various concepts for the Calamities, Jack the Drought, Queen the Plague, and King the Wildfire. Various concept art for all three can be seen here, but something of note is their original planning to be called the Face Cards, thus explaining their names.
The page subsequently shows concept art for the Flying Six, showcasing many of them with different names, designs, Devil Fruits, and more. Nothing of particular interest is mentioned here, but the page is nice to get an idea of could’ve been, as well as the evolution of the characters through various concepts.
Finally, One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 ends with the concept art of Big Mom’s various potential Wano outfits. One particularly interesting tidbit here is a tease of what happened to them on the day of Rocks’ collapse, with the text present seeming to indicate a potential hint hidden among the issue’s concept arts.
With this, One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 comes to a close, giving fans another fantastic guidebook to look at in preparation for the series’ return. Thankfully, One Piece: Road to Laugh Tale volume 2 will also be followed by a third and fourth volume, giving fans weekly material to read while awaiting chapter 1054’s release.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2022 progresses.
