One Piece Chapter 1186: ONE MORE TIME

We reach the close of Brook’s flashback. And it is, and has been very emotional. Brook’s brother figure has been killed by a girl he considered a daughter. Her personality has completely changed, and the man who is presumably her birth father. The disdain with which Reuven is treated really hurts, especially for Brook. We can also see Imu’s presence, watching the scene unfold as Brook cries for his fallen friend. Shuri won’t even call Reuven by name, the man she considered her father and for all we saw, truly did love.

Manmeyer Gurou. Another with ‘bipolar irises’ and a Holy Knight. What do these eyes signify? I’m sure many people will be quick to draw Naruto parallels, with ‘eye powers’ being a core component of that series, and Oda having respect for Kishimoto as a colleague and friend. This wouldn’t be the first ‘eye power’ in One Piece, if we consider the Three-Eye Tribe’s ability to read the Poneglyphs, which also requires some kind of unlocking process, that Pudding has yet to achieve in the story. Imu wants this ability for himself. I guess we now know why he has kept her on such a short leash for all these years, as his personal vessel, but what exactly she provides for him is unclear.

We then see how Brook gained his forehead scar. A feature I definitely took for granted, which is silly, when scars in One Piece are almost always important and carry weight, Luffy and Zoro are key examples of this. For Brook, this scar is a reminder of the family that was taken away from him. It’s hard for me to say just how much I believe Shuri is completely evil, and it seems Brook feels the same way, willing to put his faith in Shuri once again. Brook is clearly traumatised by these events, still crying to this day. Unsure of what was real, the supernatural still being something far beyond him. Oda again emphasises the importance of found family, those that love and care for you being far more important than blood relatives. Brook put his faith in Reuven, and loved his daughter as his own. Even if Shuri isn’t Reuven’s blood daughter, he still believes in this family.

Brook begs for the help of his crew, the Straw Hats, naturally, will aid him without question. We’ve learnt from Loki that his ice can only be melted by himself. So it’ll be interesting to see what the crew can do to even make a dent in it. Luffy is finally, after all these weeks, back to full strength. Ready to take on Imu once again, declaring him his enemy. Imu states that 800 years ago, these very same events took place, he knew that the Giants would fight tooth and nail (and in his mind, die) in order to save their children. Imu is definitely a character who believes in fate, that because of his long life, and the ebb and flow of history, he knows how the story will go. Luffy is not a character who can be tied down by such things.