If I had to describe the latest chapter of One Piece in a single word, it would be HYPE. Chapter 903 officially wraps up the Whole Cake Island arc and ushers in the long awaited Reverie arc.

So, where do I begin? With imminent death no longer looming over their heads, the Straw Hat's are able to continue their journey, and we’re gifted with another chapter from Oda-Sensei that helps to further build the already expansive world of One Piece.

But, let me get straight to it, with his bounty elevated to a whopping $1,500,000,000 the Straw Hat Skipper has proven that he’s no longer a small fish in the pond. Not only is this the highest it’s ever risen, but it’s also the highest bounty we’ve ever seen a Pirate achieve. “Big News” Morgan informs the world of Luffy’s triumphant “victory” over the Big Mom pirates’, and bestows upon him the title of the “Fifth Emperor,” which is a major development. With this, Luffy is being thrown in the same lane as the greats,

such as Shanks, Kaido, Blackbeard, and Big Mom. Is this a little premature? Yeah, I would say so; and that sentiment is shared with Blackbeard who remarks that it’s far too soon for the young pirate to inherit such a title.

While this chapter brought with it a lot of character development, not much is taking place in terms of the plot, aside from the start of Reverie arc. However, we did get a glimpse of a few familiar faces that I, for one, was pretty happy to see. On one page we see that Princess Vivi, of the Alabasta Kingdom, and her entourage are making the journey to the Reverie, and on the following we see Princess Viola from Dressrossa on her way as well. Chapter 903 is special in the sense that its the result of both excellent story telling and immense foresight from creator Eiichiro Oda. He manages to bring characters that were literally introduced in the very first chapters of the series (which was over twenty years ago, by the way) back to the forefront of the series. Characters such as Koby and Helmeppo, who were initially viewed as side/throwaway characters, have now have developed into the roles of Marine Captain and Marine Lieutenant Commander, respectively.

Another significant takeaway from this chapter is that Sanji discovers that one of his siblings hid a parting gift in Luffy’s shorts: a brand-new raid suit. Sanji, of course, abhors the idea of accepting any help from the family he despises, the Germa 66, but the majority of the crew were practically salivating at the devastating potential of Sanji’s new weapon. Frankly, I’m all for the idea that Sanji may receive a power boost with his new raid suit, and if its anything similar to what we saw on Whole Cake Island we could be in for a genuine treat. Could it possibly be fire related? I can only hope so. However, before we see anything, he’ll need to overcome his internal conflict with the idea of accepting anything from the Germa 66. Fingers crossed.

Overall, chapter 903 was a straight-up, feel-good chapter. The Straw Hats are that much closer to making their way to Wano, and with the substantial increase in bounties for the crew as a whole, spirits are most definitely running high. I can’t wait to see where this next arc will take us.