In One Piece’s Chapter 1112, the Five Elders gain the upper hand and are poised to thwart Vegapunk’s plans, all while a messy fight rages on.

The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1112, “Hard Aspects,” by Eiichiro Oda, available in English from Viz Media .

After a few weeks hiatus, the One Piece manga finally returns with Chapter 1112, “Hard Aspects,” but the chapter is largely similar to the last few that came before it. The current One Piece chapters depict what will probably be the final battle for Egghead Island and may even conclude the Egghead Island arc of the Final Saga. The results are certainly entertaining, but otherwise mediocre so far.

Chapters like “Hard Aspects” might be necessary when One Piece is juggling so many characters and plot threads, but even then, Chapter 1112 makes for a surprisingly underwhelming read where no character or plot thread has room to shine because the narrative is so crowded. Even the arc’s best plot twists easily get lost in the noise, such as the Iron Giant’s recent awakening. At least the Five Elders are delivering as living weapons to keep the tension high, on par with anything Dressrosa and Wano had to offer.

Stussy’s Planned Sacrifice Makes Her the Next Bon Clay

Chapter 1112, “Hard Aspects,” may be too stuffed for its own good, but it does make time for some intriguing and heartfelt side plots that add new layers to the narrative. Granted, the story is packed to exploding with its many layers, but if the newer layers inject some much-needed emotional depth and give the non-fighters a chance to shine, then these are welcome additions to the chaos. The main example in “Hard Aspects” is Stussy’s brave plan to stay behind in the command center to deactivate the Frontier Dome of the Labophase, thus allowing the increasingly desperate, time-pressed Straw Hat Pirates to escape Egghead Island as their many enemies close in.

It’s a fine reminder that even non-fighters can make all the difference in One Piece with their words, ideas, or in this case, sacrifices. Stussy’s sacrifice may remind fans of Mr. 2 Bon Clay from the Alabasta and Summit War sagas, where Bon Clay risked it all to help the Straw Hats escape the Alubarna blockade and helped Luffy escape the undersea prison Impel Down by staying behind in his Magellan disguise. Most likely, Stussy’s actions will pay off and help the Straw Hats flee Egghead Island alive. If so, she is due a fond salute from the entire fandom, just the way fans salute Bon Clay as a noble ally of Luffy’s. This may be a brief part of “Hard Aspects,” but if readers may close attention, they will recognize it as the chapter’s subtle emotional core.

The Five Elders Are a Credible Threat in the New Chapter

The last few chapters of One Piece‘s manga are a stunning example of how powerful the Five Elders are, with those high-ranking men being far more than armchair generals who hand down orders from their cozy chambers in Marijoa. The Five Elders are all proper warriors and living weapons, with Jaygarcia Saturn proving that firsthand with his awakened Zoan-type Devil Fruit in recent chapters. Now all five of the Elders are fighting, and as of Chapter 1112, they’re still at it and slowly but surely gaining the upper hand – which helps drive up the tension even more. That is the single best aspect of “Hard Aspects.” Even with Jaygarcia Saturn falling behind, the Five Elders feel like a more credible threat than ever. With the power levels now so high, that’s essential.

Incredibly, even the legendary transformation Gear 5 is only slowing the Five Elders down and starting to falter. Luffy shoves a building in the Sandworm’s mouth to stop its air suction technique, only for Luffy to wear out and become a weak old man. The giants feed him meat to restore his vitality, but now Luffy is using weaker Gears, which definitely won’t be sufficient to defeat any Elder. “Hard Aspects” also threatens the heroes with Mars’ actions, aided by York, who is still supporting the Elders however she can. Mars takes the lead in this chapter in a big way, using his hunter’s cunning rather than brute force to threaten the heroes. He even locates the live-stream transponder snail that Vegapunk needs to broadcast his mysterious message, the note the chapter ends on. Even when distracted with a gurgling noise above him, Mars is poised to ruin everything.

Luffy Doesn’t Deliver With His Gears

In Chapter 1112, Luffy’s Gear 5 finally fails him, which increases the tension yet again. With One Piece‘s power levels being so high by this point – with mythical Zoan-type Devil Fruits becoming routine – Luffy can’t afford to use anything less than Gear 5’s cartoon power, but he has little choice. This chapter cranks up the stakes even more when Luffy uses his middle-strongest Gear, Gear 3, to punch the Five Elders to little effect. On the upside, that’s good for the tenson in battle, where the outcome is never certain until the last second, and not even Luffy the Emperor is entitled to have an easy time. On the downside, Luffy seriously underperforms in “Hard Aspects,” even when the giants feed him shark meat to restore his vitality in his old man form.

In previous chapters, Luffy got too little screen time, but at least he entertained fans with his Dawn Cymbal attack and improvised baseball bat, complete with a coat of paint, to knock away some incoming poison balls. It may be necessary to show Luffy faltering in battle sooner or later, but it still makes for a disappointing read when One Piece‘s manga returns and Luffy accomplishes nothing even using two different Gears. It can be hoped that within a chapter or two, Luffy will perform another incredible feat and buy his pirate crew enough time to flee the island, with everyone together. Luffy probably can’t defeat the Five Elders, but he can settle for reuniting his entire crew to escape Egghead Island together — if he ups his game in battle, that is.

Egghead’s Narrative is Overstuffed and Neglects Characters Like Kizaru

It’s practically inevitable that an arc’s climactic fight will be a crowded and chaotic affair, like in the Dressrosa, Whole Cake Island, and Wano arcs. The sheer size of One Piece‘s cast makes it even more likely to happen. That said, it feels awkward to have so many characters involved if fan-favorite characters get lost in the noise or if certain angatonists show up, only to swiftly get rotated out to make room for even more. The supposedly terrifying, powerful Admiral Kizaru is the most recent example.

Kizaru is a peer of powerhouses like Aokiji, Fujitora, and Akainu, and wields an amazing Devil Fruit, but he keeps underperforming in the Egghead Island arc. This may be Kizaru’s last chance to be a credible threat alongside the Five Elders, but he’s dropping the ball. In fact, Chapter 1,112 doesn’t even make time for him, nor does it find time for Jaygarcia Saturn, for that matter. They could always appear in the next chapter or two, but with how stuffed this narrative is, they just as easily might not.

Chapters like this also don’t have room for fan-favorite powerhouses like Roronoa Zoro, Sanji, or Nico Robin to do much besides shout a little dialogue or perform a single, token attack to keep the enemies at bay. They may get their time in the spotlight later, but for the time being, it’s clear the story is overcrowded, whether it’s necessary or not. Not even Jewelry Bonney, who’s important in this arc, doesn’t get more than a panel or two to herself. So, “Hard Aspects” has no standout star unless fans count Mars approaching the transponder snail at the end.

Chapter 1112 Is Merely a Slice of the Ongoing Action

Similar to how “Hard Aspects” doesn’t have a standout star to hold it all, the chapter also does not have a memorable plot twist to bring it all together in fans’ minds. Chapters like this are merely a slice of the ongoing action and fighting, like a single round of combat in an RPG that continues the fight without any knockout blow being delivered. Once again, such chapters are necessary for a sprawling narrative like One Piece‘s. However, chapters like this might as well be titled “the big battle, part 6” or something equally generic.

This chapter is also just a slice of the ongoing bundle of plot threads. Aside from Mars approaching the transponder snail on the last page, nothing in particular happens to push the story forward. Vegapunk’s message is still poised to air, the Iron Giant is still standing around, the Straw Hats are still trying to reach the giants’ ship and possibly journey to the land of Elbaf, and the Stellas are still trying to figure out how to support the Straw Hats with the power of science. Not every chapter can have a game-changing plot twist, of course, but with a bloated narrative like this, chapters like “Hard Aspects” feel like borderline padding, and that makes for a mediocre weekly read, no matter the explosive action.