One Piece Chapter 998: "Ancient Species" (Official Release)

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Friday the thread will be updated with fan translations for chapter and on Sunday the official release will be out.

No Break this week

Official Release: Viz, Mangaplus

Spoilers could potentially be discussed in this thread, also try not to derail this thread.

 

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The title is a reference to King's unknown race or the Tobi Roppo's devil fruits.

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Hype.

Sanji vs Black Maria (Ennies Lobby situation)

Jinbe vs Who's who

Franky vs Sasaki.

Sasaki and Who’s Who have been consistently portrayed next to one another and as the only members genuinely interested in challenging a calamity. Their devil fruits are also literally being introduced in the EXACT same position, a clear portrayal indication.

So Jinbei and Franky are relative. Sasaki and Who’s Who have been consistently portrayed next to one another and as the only members genuinely interested in challenging a calamity. Their devil fruits are also literally being introduced in the EXACT same position, a clear portrayal indication.

Sanji will also probably fight Queen after Black Maria's stuff, since Queen knows Judge. That's pretty clear, Sanji still the 3rd strongest in the strawhats, he has always been well above Franky so I don't wanna read stuff like Jinbe > Franky > Sanji lmao.

 

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Seems to be the case, Franky was always portrayed to be one of the strongest strawhats so this shouldn't be surprising.

 

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Also looks like we will be getting an Ace flashback for the following chapters up to chapter 1000. I'm guessing we'll see Ace vs Yamato and hopefully some hype stuff

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Seems to be the case, Franky was always portrayed to be one of the strongest strawhats so this shouldn't be surprising.

That's true, but him being comparable to Jinbe who Is a beast? I didn't expect that. Franky truly is a chad, he first challanged a Yonko with a motor bike and now he's fightning against one of the strongest Tobi Roppos. That's hype.

So now we have a solid strawhats power hierarchy. Yamato also appears to be stronger than Sasaki to me, so if the self proclaimed Oden will join the crew I think we will have:

Luffy > Zoro > Sanji > Yamato > Jinbe > Franky > the others.

 

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Personally I'd say Yamato = Jinbe since both fought Ace or whatever.

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Personally I'd say Yamato = Jinbe since both fought Ace or whatever.

For sure comparable, something like:

Luffy
Zoro
Sanji
---
Yamato
Jinbe
Franky
---
Brook
Robin
---
Weakling trio


I want to see Usopp, he said that he didn't want be part of the weakling trio anymore, so now with Franky being that high maybe our sniper will grow strong enough and be comparable to Brook and Robin. Who knows, let's wait and see (maybe Tama will join and She will be part of the weakling trio, replacing Usopp).

 

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Alot is still up for speculation but I think this is how I see it (obviously this assumes Yamato joins the crew, personally this is something I'm for):

Luffy
Zoro
---
Sanji
Jinbe
Yamato
---
Franky
Brook
Robin
---
Weakling Trio

Of course this is all just speculation at this point but I think Jinbe and Yamato are shown above Flying Six in strength and Sanji will as well but will fight Queen who's above the flying six, so they'd all be around that strength.

I'm assuming if Luffy and Zoro fought against Kaido or Big Mom they wouldn't be one shot so I've got them higher.

I think Robin and Brook might get flying six feats, maybe Robin Vs Black Maria since it's unlikely Sanji will actually defeat her. I suppose Brook would be the only one that would be hard to find a fight for unless he fights Ulti or Page One.

 

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Turns out Sanji has a fear of spiders:

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Turns out Sanji has a fear of spiders:

That's hilarious. Sanji will be attracted and scared, at the same time! I am laughing too hard.

 

[Ryuga21]

Seems like Zoro he was unable to defeat Apoo completely, even though he was distracted. Lol.

 

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Seems like Zoro he was unable to defeat Apoo completely, even though he was distracted. Lol.

Wait for the scans since Marco supposedly used his flames all around the floor to prevent the ice Oni virus; which hold accelerated healing properties.

But even so just like with when Queen got two shot, Luffy got one shot & Ulti got one shot this just means Apoo has high recovery speeds which is a stamina feat.

 

[Lgamer099_99]

High recovery speed is zoan's peculiarity actually, so I don't know..

 

[CyborgSakumo]

Ok, this is an honest question, what is up with Zoro's profile.

3 big issues.
First, he didn't one-shot Apoo, Apoo was wounded not knocked out.

Second, that technique he uses was clearly shi Shonson, the form, and way he holds his sword in the reverse grip is identical.

Third, his speed justification is off both Apoo and drake were clearly distracted when he attacked him, and Apoo was able to defend against Zoro and Drake prior in the fight so this justification is very iffy.

Zoro should be at least Mountain level, Mountain level+ with Shi Shonson higher with Asura.

 

[Eminiteable]

High recovery speed is zoan's peculiarity actually, so I don't know..

It's still a stamina feat even if Marco didn't heal him, Zoans having good recovery speeds =\= they're the only ones that can have high recovery speeds.

Luffy for example was knocked out by Apoo previously but recovered quickly & against Katakuri the same happened after the mochi thrust but Luffy recovered quickly despite being knocked out.

We know that Apoo went down and wasn't just injured, we see it last chapter:

 

[Eminiteable]

Ok, this is an honest question, what is up with Zoro's profile.

3 big issues.
First, he didn't one-shot Apoo, Apoo was wounded not knocked out.

Second, that technique he uses was clearly shi Shonson, the form, and way he holds his sword in the reverse grip is identical.

Third, his speed justification is off both Apoo and drake were clearly distracted when he attacked him, and Apoo was able to defend against Zoro and Drake prior in the fight so this justification is very iffy.

Zoro should be at least Mountain level, Mountain level+ with Shi Shonson higher with Asura.

There's a thread covering High 7-A characters and they cover all the things you just brought up, if you see these as issues with the profiles I suggest you go have a read there.

 

[Ryuga21]

So, Zoro did not faint Apoo but I don't think that invalid a justification for his profile. I mean, Apoo certainly was seriously injured by that attack (As much as I think the fact that he was distracted may take Zoro's merit a little, since distracted characters in One Piece are more likely to take more damage than normal. Ex: Aokiji being damaged by Jozu, Drunk Kaido by Luffy, Big Mom by Queen, Whitebeard by Squardo and so on).

 

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So, Zoro did not faint Apoo but I don't think that invalid a justification for his profile. I mean, Apoo certainly was seriously injured by that attack (As much as I think the fact that he was distracted may take Zoro's merit a little, since distracted characters in One Piece are more likely to take more damage than normal. Ex: Aokiji being damaged by Jozu, Drunk Kaido by Luffy, Big Mom by Queen, Whitebeard by Squardo and so on).

We discussed characters durability lowering in the High 7-A discussion and the conclusion was that their durability shouldn't magically lower (and for an extended period of time that Apoo's guard wasn't lower).

We still don't have information on if Apoo wasn't fainted yet, only that he got back up and is very damaged.

 

[CinCameron20]

"Apoo is wounded but gets up, Drake defeats him." Another example of people jumping the gun on upscaling characters.

I'm glad that we get to see the other Tobi Roppo DFs. All 6 have now been shown, and sadly I was wrong about Who's Who being an Owl (though it was a pipe dream).

Since Jinbe is going to be halted by Who's Who, I suspect Hawkins to find Law later on (if he doesn't stop to talk to Luffy--though we only have 2 chapters til 1000, so i doubt it). Luffy might encounter Jack awaiting at the gate leading to the dome in the next chapter

 

[Dr.Fix]

"Apoo is wounded but gets up, Drake defeats him." Another example of people jumping the gun on upscaling characters.

I'm waiting for someone to give Apoo regeneration to support their bias assumption.

 

[CinCameron20]

I'm waiting for someone to give Apoo regeneration to support their bias assumption.

Also i can't tell because of the monochrome, but didn't Zoro's haki slash in the earlier chapter cut slightly into Apoo's weapon anyways (when Drake + Zoro attacked and we see the panel of Zoro using Haki on his blade)? I could be wrong.

And I doubt Apoo will have regen (or reason to give someone a laughable excuse) since we'll probably just see him sitting there all bloody before being KO'd by Drake.

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Who's Who Is just so cool, he is my favourite Beast Pirates' member without a doubt.
Sanji's observation haki being better than Luffy's.
Sanji withstanding blows from a Tobi Roppo (stronger than Page One), while suppressing himself and without the raid suit, people who claimed Page One > Sanji should hide somewhere else.

 

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Brook used aramament hardening on his soul solid sword I think, maybe when the chapter comes out it will be more clear but it sort of looks like it's got hardening.

Marco covered the entire floor with his regenerative flames(we see in Sphinx near the start of Wano these allow others to get accelerated healing); which we then see the silhouette of Apoo next page get up. Personally I'm still for this being a stamina feat since we saw him go down last chapter and there was no sign of him getting up then; will have to wait for what the dialogue is since it could give more insight.

 

[CinCameron20]

Sanji's observation haki being better than Luffy's.
Sanji withstanding blows from a Tobi Roppo (stronger than Page One), while suppressing himself and without the raid suit, people who claimed Page One > Sanji should hide somewhere else.

You're jumping the gun and wanking Sanji a lot.

Jinbe's comment about Sanji is wrong and we all know this. And the only thing this would even prove (if Luffy's serious about his Haki being inferior) is Sanji has better sensory prowess.

You also bring up Sanji taking hits from a Tobi Roppo, but we don't see this (he's running away and being chased quite playfully), and Black Maria is also taking this "fight" very casually. Nothing shows how Sanji is stronger than Page One yet, and I don't think anyone has said that Page would defeat Sanji currently. I at least only stated that Sanji would get a rematch with him to give us a clear look on how strong he's gotten, and how much he has mastered the suit during training.

@Eminiteable - I still wouldn't say Apoo is much weaker than Zoro or Drake given how he was taken down. There's also the case of that panel in the following page that might suggest Zoro's Haki slashes did damage to Apoo's weapon before he swooped in with the (haki) attack that wounded him. I can't say Zoro's AP being upscaled a whole tier is justified, especially when we do not place Haki on tiers unless it is directly stated on said tier https://s6.mangabeast01.com/manga/One-Piece/0995-009.png .

 

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I still wouldn't say Apoo is much weaker than Zoro or Drake given how he was taken down. There's also the case of that panel in the following page that might suggest Zoro's Haki slashes did damage to Apoo's weapon before he swooped in with the (haki) attack that wounded him. I can't say Zoro's AP being upscaled a whole tier is justified

Regarding Haki we have no evidence for himusing it when he went serious, also I can't really tell if he did damage Apoo's weapons previously.

If Apoo wasn't knocked out (although I still believe he was until further evidence) Zoro's tier would change to "at least 7-A+" since he didn't take out Apoo with a single attack, personally I'm waiting for the dialogue to get translated.

 

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Marco says he will fly Zoro up to the roof.

 

[Lgamer099_99]

Jinbe's comment about Sanji is wrong and we all know this. And the only thing this would even prove (if Luffy's serious about his Haki being inferior) is Sanji has better sensory prowess.

Exactly.
Never said otherwise.

You also bring up Sanji taking hits from a Tobi Roppo, but we don't see this (he's running away and being chased quite playfully), and Black Maria is also taking this "fight" very casually. Nothing shows how Sanji is stronger than Page One yet, and I don't think anyone has said that Page would defeat Sanji currently. I at least only stated that Sanji would get a rematch with him to give us a clear look on how strong he's gotten, and how much he has mastered the suit during training.

The problem Is that: I think Sanji doesn't need his suit against Page One.
Why so? He has seen dinosaur form Drake, took a tail swing attack, never felt like he needed the suit.
He has seen Page One, told Usopp to take care of him.
Even now, he's running away from Black Maria because she's a women, but he still doesn't feel like he needs his suit, but he used It against King.

 

[Dr.Fix]

Also i can't tell because of the monochrome, but didn't Zoro's haki slash in the earlier chapter cut slightly into Apoo's weapon anyways (when Drake + Zoro attacked and we see the panel of Zoro using Haki on his blade)? I could be wrong.

And I doubt Apoo will have regen (or reason to give someone a laughable excuse) since we'll probably just see him sitting there all bloody before being KO'd by Drake.

Hard to tell honestly. If they broke that quickly after a couple hits I don't think they scale regardless. Maybe partially but that is about it. Also iirc Law scaling to his sword's durability was rejected before so same applies to Apoo.

 

[CinCameron20]

@Dr.Fix - Only thing I'm implying is that maybe Zoro weakened the left Tonfa before later zooming in with Shi-Shi Son Song to cut threw the "weak-spot" since that technique involves the breath of all things and he clearly knows where he chipped Apoo's defenses.

Apoo's Tonfa Durability would still scale partially to Zoro's base AP (Which imo should still be "At least 7-A" for skirmishing with Drake) and Hybrid Drake's AP (Likely/Flat 7-A+ via scaling to Ulti), but that's pretty much it. Zoro's Haki strikes are clearly above both mentioned though.

Either way:

1) Apoo is base-line 7-A+ (and a 2x multiplier for Zoro is a little strange given the context),

2) Zoro likely used Haki with that attack (thus wouldn't scale his flat AP--only stat-amp),

3) Apoo wasn't KO'd, granted he was injured, but we don't know how much actual damage he has sustained. It really doesn't help that we only see him as a silhouette in this chapter, but there's still enough to suggest Zoro is "At least 7-A+" since he'd probably 2-shot him when serious anyways.

4) The possibility of Zoro's previous strikes chipping away at the Tonfa (again, hard to tell with the shading) lowers the credibility of "upscaling to the next tier".

^A couple of these are reaching slightly, but still worth considering if they're later proven true.

@Lgamer099_99 - Your comment stated "Sanji's observation haki being better than Luffy's" based on a comment made by both Jinbe and Luffy assuming that Sanji detected a high level of power and went to intercept it despite this clearly being false since we know he simply heard the cry of a woman.

Whether Sanji needs his suit to fight the Tobi Roppo or not remains to be seen, but considering 2 Smile Users managed to hurt him, I don't like his chances at least with durability.

@Eminiteable - I thought Marco said all of the Straw-Hats while Drake sits and protects Chopper, but it could just be the translations. Either way, Zoro is probably going to get some good feats (at least in the Haki department if he does better than the Scabbards--assuming Kaido doesn't just club him).

Apoo definitely fainted at least for a moment (either due to shock, the damage he took, or both), but I really wish he wasn't a literal shadow in this chapter before Drake popped him.

 

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Bump fan translations

 

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Apoo was knocked down, we see four lines above someone on the floor previously, which is most likely Apoo. We saw last chapter he was downed by Zoro with no indication of him moving. And the fact that he only now gets up after Marco covers the room in his regenerative flames probably isn't a coincidence.

Marco says "Roronoa, if you want to go to the roof, I'll fly you there. You guys too! You aren't here to fight small Fry's are you?" Brook responds "but we need to help chopper" personally i think Marco will take Zoro up but obviously would get intercepted by King or even Queen if he has other weapons, Marco will probably then be stuck fighting most likely King, although I could still see him kicking Zoro up to the hole in the roof.

As for the fight I'm just gonna wait and see what Oda does.

 

[CinCameron20]

@Eminiteable - Marco is definitely getting stopped by King, but I don't think it will stop there. Queen's most likely going to attack Marco as well out of anger, so I'd expect Zoro to change his plans and stay to help Marco by stopping Queen (this is assuming no one else shows up. At this point, only Kid or Law could possibly stop him since literally every other notable character is pre-occupied atm).

Zoro could reach the roof first, and if that's the case, he's 2v1ing the Yonko, gg. Top tier Zoro incoming lmao.

I don't think Apoo got touched by the healing flames since we see him in a fatigued state.

 

[RoyGundam]

Apoo was KO'd by Zoro in the previous chapter the same way Sanji was KO'd by King and Usopp was KO'd by Ulti. Going by how we have treated every such clash in recent times Apoo getting up has to be a stamina feat. A significant amount of time has passed between Zoro slashing Apoo and him getting back up in this chapter, he's also shown to be unsteady initially with the squiggly lines around his silhouette and Apoo is Huffing as well. Going by the current standards, it is a stamina feat

 

[RoyGundam]

Also this chapter shows why it's ultimately futile to try and predict matchups in One Piece

 

[Eminiteable]

@Eminiteable - Marco is definitely getting stopped by King, but I don't think it will stop there. Queen's most likely going to attack Marco as well out of anger, so I'd expect Zoro to change his plans and stay to help Marco by stopping Queen (this is assuming no one else shows up. At this point, only Kid or Law could possibly stop him since literally every other notable character is pre-occupied atm).

Zoro could reach the roof first, and if that's the case, he's 2v1ing the Yonko, gg. Top tier Zoro incoming lmao.

I don't think Apoo got touched by the healing flames since we see him in a fatigued state.

Check the first chapter of Wano, it's not instant healing or recovery like the effect it has on Marco, it supposedly has a small effect so Apoo would still be fatigued and injured since the flames only just activated.

I don't see the Ace flashback lasting particularly long so I could see in 999 Luffy and Kid at floor 5 making their way to the roof and Zoro flying on Marco to reach the roof that way. With all three parties reaching the roof by chapter 1000, could be wrong though.

 

[Dr.Fix]

@CinCameron20 The whole issue I saw for this up-scaling was that some extreme cases were low-balled. They literally used the example of an evolved pokemon and less than 1% difference iirc. Originally 2x was used but was considered too extreme. Than that went down to 1.5x and finally some consideration for case by case basis. One thing everyone agreed on was that it has the potential for abuse and I think someone mentioned not to stack up-scales on top of one another. Given several users jumped the gun assuming this was a 1-KO AND given the sheer number of confounding factors you and I listed, I can't in good conscious see how anyone would think scaling Zoro all the way up to High 7-A is a good idea.

As @Damage3245 said we should wait till all is said and done because people keep jumping the gun, forming their own theories, and finally twisting facts to suit their theories.

Note: I don't have the thread for up-scaling right in front of me because I'm getting ready and don't have time to comb through this huge thread.

 

[Eminiteable]

assuming this was a 1-KO

How is it not a 1-KO? Because he got up again? Check the stamina page because they literally list "recovery time" as a stamina feat and in previous cases in this verse we have considered characters surviving attacks they shouldn't as stamina feats.

It also doesn't help Apoo's case that we literally see him stand up after Marco covers the whole room floor in his regenerative flames, and again the boost given to Zoro isn't a 2 times increase and was granted due to one: 1-KOing Apoo & the fact we know he's stronger with higher sword stances.

I initially waited before commenting since I believed many the scans or dialogue would make it clear that Apoo survived off his own merit, but based on what we have that definitely doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[Crabwhale]

Stupidly good splash pages. STUPIDLY. GOOD.

That is all.

Oh and yeah my boi Drake should've eaten Apoo entirely.

 

[RexofLM]

out of curiosity. Are we sure Marco used healing flames particularly? It seems that he can distinguish what his flames do to some extent to me at least as all of his flames don't heal (like the ones that hurt Prometheus didn't seem to be healing flames.) and they only mention these ones as warming up the body no one mentions feeling refreshed or healed or anything. It also doesn't make sense for marco to use a wide range move that heals the enemy team in addition.