The One Piece Podcast

Episode 900: “10k Ton Hammer”

Release Date: January 5, 2026
Special Guests: Geoff Thew (Mother’s Basement), Miles Atherton (Anime by the Numbers), Greg Warner

Episode Overview

The crew celebrates their milestone 900th episode with a lively panel including regulars Steve, Ed, and Alex. Although co-host Zach is out sick, the rest of the team powers through a dense manga recap of One Piece Chapter 1170, “Contrary,” joined by returning guests Geoff Thew, Miles Atherton, and series expert Greg Warner. The discussion travels across the latest chapter’s dramatic beats, ponders Norse mythology connections, muses on Devil Fruits and powers, and mixes in plenty of inside jokes, speculation, and listener Q&A.

Main Segments & Key Discussion Points

Opening: Marking 900 Episodes

• [00:00–05:00] The team reflects humorously on hitting 900 episodes, sharing memories of meeting their guests at conventions, and poking fun at podcasting longevity:
  Steve: “Miles gets to join the exclusive club along with Steve Martin. Tom Hanks.” Alex: “You can wear this jacket, but then you have to give it back!”
• Zach’s illness gets mentioned as the reason for restructuring the episode, but spirits remain high.

Manga Recap: Chapter 1170 “Contrary”

[10:53–43:00, 50:00+]

Cover Page & Author Comment

• [10:53] Oda’s author comment: “I watched the Amy Winehouse movie and I learned the meaning behind the lyrics. Now I like the music even more.”
• [12:00] The cover: A reader request for Jinbe as an eel railway worker, with all Straw Hats drawn chibi/childlike, prompts jokes over why it “feels last minute.”
  • Greg: “I think the 10 on the eel is for unagi joo... a pun on the meal’s name and the bento specifics.” [16:42]

News Bits

• [05:00–10:20]
  • Egghead arc's OST by Kohei Tanaka is now streaming.
  • New LEGO One Piece sets get praise:
    Jeff: “They very faithfully recreated Nami’s horrific trauma in tiny bricks. Then you can smash it.” [07:34]
  • Joking speculation about a LEGO One Piece movie or video game, with lament about One Piece’s spotty video game history.

The Chapter: Plot Breakdown

• [17:50+] The story resumes with Loki and Harald’s confrontation.
  • Loki faces an animated hammer defending the national treasure Devil Fruit; the hammer is ultimately revealed to have eaten a beefy squirrel Zoan fruit.
    • Geoff: “I'm not sure if that means he's a squirrel who ate the hammer-hammer fruit, or a hammer that ate the squirrel-squirrel fruit. But he looks like the squirrel from Summer Wars.” [24:18]
  • Harald, powered by the “Depths Covenant,” is nearly unstoppable but is weakened by attacks infused with Supreme King Haki.
    • Gabon (to Shanks): “If these guys have any weaknesses, it’s against those of us who can infuse our attacks with the color of the supreme king.” [19:02]
  • Shanks’s own celestial heritage and the origins of Supreme King Haki are debated. Flashbacks show Roger Pirates battling the Holy Knights to protect Shanks.

The Devil Fruit & Transformation

• Loki eats the dormant “national treasure” Devil Fruit. The group speculates on the Norse/mythic inspirations behind Loki’s transformation.
  • Greg: “The easy one to go for is Nidhogg. He was literally at the roots of the tree; Nidhogg gnawed on the roots. The cry is otherworldly.” [43:44]
  • Alex: Links to previous arcs’ dragons and Vegapunk’s artificial dragons.

The Climax: Father vs. Son

• Harald regains clarity in his final moments, thanks Loki for acting out of love, and accepts his fate so Loki can save Elbaf.
  • Greg: “Steven made a great choice with the line, not ‘I love you, son,’ but ‘I love you too, son.’ There’s a very clear difference... he realizes everything Loki is doing is out of love.” [40:36]
• Loki, now bursting with Supreme King Haki, delivers a massive hammer blow—emotionally highlighted in a powerful two-page spread.
  • Geoff: “Beautiful spread... what a way to end it.” [41:58]
  • Steve: “I love the messiness... you can feel the movement. The impact kicks ass.” [86:38]

Analysis, Lore Speculation, & Tangents

Mythological Connections

• [43:00–54:00] Intense debate over whether Loki has eaten a Nidhogg, Fenrir, or Jormungandr-based fruit, or perhaps something that ties even more deeply into One Piece’s mythos.
• Discussion around how Devil Fruits, the Adam & Eve trees, and ancient murals tie together.

Haki & The Knights of God

• Supreme King Haki’s special role: Only those with this inherited willpower can truly hurt the Holy Knights.
  • Geoff: “Supreme King Haki is a specific hereditary thing that some people just have.” [57:01]
• Are the Knights Nepo Babies? Audience jokes at their expense as spoiled, untested, semi-immortal elite.
  • Miles: “Pages like this make me proud to be an American, which is hard to say normally, because in Japan, it’s very hard to get proper black ink in print…” [32:20]

Theories on IMU, Devil Fruits, and Haki

• Several rounds of theorizing on the nature of Imu, connections to Joy Boy, and whether Haki itself is rooted in Imu’s power.
• Greg: “IMU was the Abomination, and they supposedly beat the Abomination, but it got trapped inside Lily’s body, and through the power of the Op-Op Fruit… became an eternal body.” [59:51]
• Geoff: “Supreme King Haki… could be an equal and opposite power that can temporarily disperse Imu’s influence.” [63:44]

Old-School One Piece & Oda’s Planning

• The group muses on Oda’s improvisational genius, how he’s paid off plot points after decades, and whether certain locations/arcs were in mind from the start.
  • Alex: “Oda is a fantastic improviser and knows how to make lemonade with all the lemon trees he’s planted.” [77:32]
• Skypiea, Little Garden, Water Seven, and the Florian Triangle are referenced as seeds with long-term payoff.

Listener Q&A: Piece Together Segment

[112:02–134:54]

• “What will Bellamy do with the unbreakable fabric?”
  – Steve: “He will make men’s underwear. Because we all know men will continue to wear underwear even after it’s ripped.” [114:49] – Miles gets more practical; Geoff proposes a gift for Gladius, the hat-popping villain whose hat could finally survive.
• Why does Imu call Luffy “Joy Boy” and not his real name?
  – Theorized as Imu seeing souls/auras, stuck in cycles, perhaps suffering memory degradation. – Greg: “Joy Boy just sounds like a title… I think we will find that Joy Boy is a title as well.” [117:46]
• Devil Fruit Taxonomy Details:
  – How can an object “eat” a fruit? How is taxonomy determined? The group agrees these are prime SBS material.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (Selected with Timestamps)

• On the spread:
  “That hits you in the hard hole.” – Greg (68:59)
• On LEGO One Piece sets:
  “They faithfully recreated Nami’s horrific trauma in tiny bricks. Then you can smash it.” – Geoff [07:34]
• On the squirrel-zoan hammer:
  “He looks like the squirrel from Summer Wars.” – Geoff [24:18]
• On the Elbaf Devil Fruit debate:
  “To me, it seems like Nidhogg is the obvious choice, but I do enjoy thinking about what the other options are.” – Greg [49:21]
• On Oda’s planning:
  “Oda is a fantastic improviser and knows exactly how to make lemonade with all the lemon trees he’s planted.” – Alex [77:32]
• On the flashback’s power:
  "I'm so glad the five elders might actually have been kind people originally... there's that spark of a person in there." - Greg [106:51]

Closing Thoughts and Roundtable

[71:34–111:20, 137:14+]

• All panelists agree the emotional stakes and the art have rarely been better.
• Greg offers praise for Oda bringing God Valley into the flashback to flesh out the Knights of God:
  “He needed to craft the Knights of God, and God Valley does a decent job of setting them up...” [98:58]
• Wistful praise for Oda’s longevity, humor about being dads, banter about Magfest and the anime industry.
• Steve, Alex, and guests thank each other and the audience, promote their various projects, and look forward to the next 100 episodes.

Important Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00–05:00 – Celebrating 900 episodes, guest introductions, podcast memories
• 10:53–43:00 – Manga Recap of Chapter 1170, with Norse myth and power system discussions
• 43:00–54:00 – Detailed Norse mythology parallels and what Loki’s fruit really is
• 57:00–65:00 – Theorizing Haki, Imu, Devil Fruits, plot structure
• 77:32–81:40 – Oda’s improvisation, worldbuilding, old arc callbacks
• 112:02–134:54 – Piece Together Q&A from listeners
• 137:14–end – Wrap-up, plugs, closing banter

Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• Chapter 1170 brings a dramatic, emotionally charged climax to the Elbaf flashback, introducing a new giant-scale Zoan user (a hammer with squirrel powers), a heartfelt father-son confrontation as Loki is forced to strike down Harald, and pivotal lore about how Supreme King Haki can counter the Knights’ unkillability.
• Podcast tone remains light and irreverent, filled with deep canon speculation, Norse mythology, and in-jokes, making it welcoming for both hardcore and casual fans.
• Greg, Geoff, and Miles contribute uniquely informed perspectives, from mythological deep-dives to meta-commentary on manga publishing and even One Piece’s reach into pop culture and collectors’ items.
• The episode blends celebration, high-level analysis, and the community spirit the podcast is known for, while never shying away from critical analysis of both story and Oda’s methods.

Quick-Reference Quotes

• “They very, very faithfully recreated Nami’s horrific trauma in tiny bricks. And then you can smash it.” – Geoff Thew [07:34]
• “Not ‘I love you, son,’ but ‘I love you too, son.’ There’s a very clear difference in the Japanese.” – Greg Warner [40:36]
• “Oda is a fantastic improviser... knows exactly how to make lemonade with all the lemon trees he’s planted.” – Alex [77:32]
• “Supreme King Haki is a hereditary thing… that’s been passed down possibly from the original supreme king who was usurped by the celestial dragons.” – Geoff [57:01]

In Summary

Episode 900 is a fitting tribute to the podcast’s longevity, combining intense and heartfelt manga analysis, mythology geekery, and the warm camaraderie that has made The One Piece Podcast a fan institution. Chapter 1170’s flashback is unpacked in detail, shaping new lore for the One Piece world, and the hosts—joined by guest experts—juggle serious commentary with classic podcasting silliness.