The Port Mafia Presents

He only appeared for two chapters but I already love Gaban

Since Teruko's story was revealed, I've seen some people saying that she wasn't twelve years old in the present day, but in the Great War, and since that was my first impression when I read the chapter, I wanted to talk a little bit about why this wouldn't make sense if we take into account the timeline that had already been established by the manga up to that point.

Because of Yosano's backstory, we know that the Great War began fourteen years before the current timeline, assuming that Mori recruited Yosano at the beginning of the conflict. (It's said that she was eleven years old when she entered the war, and as she is currently twenty-five years old, it is safe to assume that the war began, at least, fourteen years ago. Mori's age also agrees with this assumption.)

Back to Teruko's backstory, we are told that she started fighting in the war in her first months of life, as her ability meant that she could mature her body and mind, so she was already considered fit to be a soldier even though he was literally a baby. Just like Yosano, it's never stated that she was there from the beginning, and the chapter itself refutes this later, somewhat.

At the beginning of her flashback, the narrator talks about how Teruko's only childish characteristic is her appearance, which imply the idea that she is an adult today, and even the speech that she is only twelve years old, that she really is a child, can also be ambiguous as the scene changes to show Teruko during the war, giving the idea that during the war she had a childlike appearance because she was a child, but that now she uses that form for convenience, or any other unspecified reason.

However, if we consider everything we know about the war and when it occurred, it's possible to see that Teruko couldn't have served in the army while she was only a few months old and be over fourteen/fifteen years old, and we also know that the the war didn't last long enough for Teruko to have joined it when she was a few months old, and be twelve years old when it ended, at least according to what was shown in the manga.

Of course, she could be thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen, but the manga itself states that she is twelve, despite her ability being able to change her physical and mental age, so I see no reason to believe she isn't that age.

Also, the fact that she is twelve now only adds to the tragedy. She is a child who has only known war all her life and who died (as far as we know) to avenge the person who saved her life when she was just a few months old and had already seen people dying, already had to kill enemy soldiers, and was almost killed by them. It was supposed to be something sad, her life was destined to be a fight until the end, and not by her choice, because she had no choice to be here, to begin with.

the fact that atsushi saw akutagawa was alive and thought 'i must save him', not out of 'i must save him so we can defeat this villain' but simply out of 'alive. must save'

which is his default thinking at any point but isn't it ✨️refreshing✨️ for akutagawa to be part of this mindset

for atsushi to comment on akutagawa’s eyes here makes me crazy because of how much it means

in a manga where the artist visually portrays character mood and morality in their eyes, especially during key moments, this means a lot

atsushi recognizes those eyes… he recognizes akutagawa’s true character and his virtue, he’s no longer holding a morality bias over him

he understands him, finally…

akutagawa might not recognize him but atsushi remembers

and he understands now.

Congrats sskk for reaching 10,000 works on ao3!!! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

its my birthday!!! so my fav one piece girlies are having a tea party!!!

cage of the soul

Some nikolais because it was his birthday two days ago

Though the latest chapter was relatively short and rose more questions than it gave answers, I believe Fyodor's speech about the "dimensions" is hinting Atsushi's role in the upcoming fight against Amenogozen.

In this panel, Fyodor is clearly talking about Akutagawa, who is able to block Amenogozen's space and time attacks. What's interesting here is the choice of words.

The individual inhabits "the paper world".

Ofc, this could only be a callback to the paper that magically popped out of thin air right into Fyodor's hand, and which he stabs to demonstrate that a two-dimensional character cannot escape an attack coming from someone outside the paper.

But! It is interesting to note that it can also call back the The Book, which Fyodor referred as "our origin" in chapter 119.

Akutagawa, like any other character in BSD (minus some exceptions), is part of the Book. Therefore, that would mean he is a two-dimensional character, since his life is part of a piece of paper. Now that Fyodor controls Amenogozen a singularity which defies the logics of the BSD world, he is "a dimension higher" than the Book. Which allows him (through Amenogozen) to land attacks that seemingly "come out of nowhere" (in the panel below Amenogozen's arm comes from Aku's belly instead of piercing it from side to side)

Now, back to Atsushi. In chapter 119, Fyodor said something that I believe is the hint for Atsushi's role in the fight against Amenogozen.

Atsushi is a bookmark. Therefore, that means he's not completely part of the Book, but outside the Book. Thus, a dimension higher than the Book, on par with Gozen (dimensionally speaking, at least).

It's also interesting to note that, in the panel below, Fyodor says "us three-dimensional beings", which could mean he's including Atsushi in this label - but this is kind of a stretch imo, since he could also just be referring to Gozen and himself.

At any rate, Atsushi's role as a "bookmark" has to be relevant for the upcoming final clash against Gozen. Especially if he fights alongside Akutagawa (forget that the latter has been stabbed. He is fine. The anime says sskk will fight together and I believe it. RYU IS FINE 🥲🥲)

After all, chapter 119 has already showed us that Aku can fight on equals terms with Gozen in terms of space and time (the first two dimensions).

All he lacks is the ability to counter the thrid dimension, "depth", that only the people "outside" the Book possess. In other words, people like Atsushi. We already know that the tiger's claws can erase abilities, so I think Atsushi is able to counter Gozen's 3D attacks... theoretically speaking.

So in conclusion, I think that chapter 119 and 120 gave us the hints of what the cast needs to defeat the divine being: someone who can counter him in the two dimensions of space and time (Akutagawa), and someone who can block the attacks coming from the third (Atsushi). Which would eventually lead to the final clash the anime has teased, with sskk facing Gozen, and this famous sentence finally taking on its full meaning:

No. Technically, there is no need for more than Atsushi and Akutagawa.

Technically. As long as they manage to complete each other's weaknesses with their own strengh.

Please note that this post is merely my own interpretation of the recent chapters, from which I've built my theories. They could be a total stretch and be proven wrong in the upcoming chapters. But I firmly believe that the elements from Fyodor's villain monologue have to be relevant at some point in the future. Hopefully chapter 120.5 and its successors will provide more answers than questions...