The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1077, “Should Have Noticed Sooner,” by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul and Vanessa Satone, available in English from Viz Media.
The mystery behind the sudden attacks continues in Chapter 1076 of One Piece. The Seraphims are out trying to eliminate Dr. Vegapunk, his Satellites and their allies. S-Bear and S-Hawk have found their way to the main control room where Luffy, Zoro, Shaka and the Cipher Pol agents are situated, forcing a confrontation between the two sides. Since fighting the Seraphims and keeping an eye on the two government agents are quite a handful, Luffy agrees to Lucci and Kaku’s unexpected proposal. The Emperor uncuffs them, and the two aid them in their fight against the Seraphim. While that is happening, Vegapunk Stella finds himself with the other captives, and he learns the shady operation happening right under his nose.
In another part of New World, Shanks is catching up with some old friends. He is drinking in a bar on Elbaph, where another kid is trying to join the Emperor’s pirate crew. Shanks, of course, not-so-politely declines the kid’s application. Just then, a report about the Kid Pirates’ arrival. Shanks halts his conversation with his friends, who turn out to be Dorry and Brogey, and heads out to face the young pirates. But before doing so, he asks his humongous friends to lend him a hand. He also extends an offer to the Kid Pirates: fight the Red Hair Pirates or surrender and leave their Ponegliff. Needless to say, Kid rather dies than run with his tail between his legs.
Sentomaru is already up and moving in Chapter 1077. He is telling the citizens living in Fabriophase to escape from the island. Of course, the citizens and workers aren’t just going to accept such an unusual command, so Sentomaru briefs them on the situation. He tells them about what sad fate Ohara has met, as well as warns them about the possibility of Egghead meeting an even worse end. After all, the World Government seems very set on eliminating the genius scientist despite how much it can disrupt the world’s scientific progress. Knowing that Sentomaru can only rely on Luffy and the others.
Back in the command room, Luffy and Lucci are still bombarding S-Bear with their signature attacks. Similarly, Zoro and Kaku are teaming up to deal with S-Hawk. They’ve landed numerous attacks, yet the Seraphims still manage to get back on their feet. So much so that Luffy openly expresses his discontent over his opponents’ cheat-like endurance. Zoro, however, has a different sentiment. The Seraphims’ endurance reminds him of King, Kaido’s right-hand man.
Shaka deducts that Zoro may be referring to a test subject who escaped Punk Hazard with Kaido, a Lunarian named Alber. It turns out that Alber’s blood is part of what makes the Seraphim very strong. And so, Zoro ultimately tells them to watch for the flames on the Seraphims’ back. As long as they are blazing, the Seraphims won’t be receiving any injury.
On the 3rd floor of Building A, Nami has already summoned Zeus. She is mustering up all her courage to convince herself that the Seraphim in front of her is not a child, and Zeus supports her. The cloud tells her to simply close her eyes and shoot it. Zeus assures her that he will handle what comes after. And that’s what he did. Zeus toasts S-Shark, though it turns out to be in vain. The Seraphim dives under and simply re-appears shortly after. But before S-Bear can attack Nami, Sanji appears. The cook lectures the Seraphim about the Sanjitution and dishes appropriate punishment.
On the same floor of another building, Lilith and the others are engaging S-Snake. Lilith attacks the Seraphim with a bubble gun that shoots bubbles made of sea energy. According to the Satellite, earning a Devil Fruit power is also accompanied by its risks. Since all the Seraphims possess Devil Fruit powers, their weakness remains the sea. Franky then takes that chance to restrain the Seraphim. However, S-Snake turns out to have also inherited Boa Hancock’s arrogance. The Seraphim pouts and attacks the Straw Hats’ resident shipwright as Franky tries to restrain her.
Since Franky has already tried to touch her, S-Snake is pretty much infuriated. The Seraphim unleashes her laser beams. Fortunately, Franky is a veteran fighter. He sneaks up behind S-Snake, then encapsulates her in a gigantic sea energy bubble. Lilith and Usopp compliment him for his ingenuity. There is, however, one character who isn’t so happy with the turn of events — S-Snake herself. She then resorts to using her charm, telling Franky that he is hurting her. Being a kind cyborg, Franky feels a little guilty. S-Snake then uses that opening to kick Franky’s face, effectively petrifying the point of contact. As Usopp and Lilith panic, S-Snake shifts her attention to them. She winks, and that has created an opening. She then uses her Devil Fruit power, turning both Usop and Lilith into stones.
While all of that is happening, Shaka has finally reached the place where the Stella is being held copy. Upon hearing Shaka’s voice, the other captives immediately plea for help. Shaka recognizes them to be the Cipher Pol agents from before. Just then, Dr. Vegapunk finally speaks. Shaka immediately locates him, asking how the Stella ends up being held captive. The Stella, however, has other worries. He asks Shaka who he came with. But before the Satellite can respond to the Stella’s question, the poor Shaka gets shot in the head.
To make it worse, everything happens right before Dr. Vegapunk. Needless to say, everyone present is shocked. The scientist reasonably panics and worries about the Satellite. The Stella then hears the sound of footsteps, and he seems to have recognized the mysterious person behind them. And so, the hunt for the traitor continues in future updates of One Piece.