Bepo used his Sulong form to save his beloved captain Trafalgar Law from certain death (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)
The official release of One Piece chapter 1081 is scheduled for April 23, 2023, but most devoted fans can already exploit the raw scans to get an overview of what happened in the latest installment of Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece.
The chapter will feature several different scenarios, including the showdown currently ongoing on Fullalead between some members of the Blackbeard Pirates and the “Marine Hero” Monkey D. Garp, and a flashback regarding Teach allegedly recruiting former Marine Admiral Aokiji.
One Piece 1081 will also reveal the outcome of the battle on Winner Island between Marshall D. Teach and Trafalgar Law. As everyone imagined, Law stood no chance against Teach, who easily overpowered him.
Law’s brutal defeat at the hands of Teach was a rather obvious outcome, but One Piece author Eiichiro Oda still managed to surprise fans. Law’s crew was annihilated along with him, but Bepo, his second-in-command, stood unexpectedly, saving his captain from certain death.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1081 and reflects the writer’s personal views.
Spoilers and raw scans of One Piece 1081 allowed fans to see Bepo’s Sulong form at last
Who is Bepo in One Piece?
Throughout the series, Bepo has never had much hype, despite being Trafalgar Law’s second-in-command (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)
Born in Zou, Bepo is a polar bear Mink. He is the navigator of the Heart Pirates, as well as the second strongest member of the crew after the captain, Trafalgar D. Water Law.
An extremely funny character, Bepo has a recurring gag where he tends to get depressed easily and apologize whenever people point out that he can talk like a human despite being a bear.
When he was 8 years old, Bepo wanted to chase after his older brother, Zepo, who left Zou after joining the Nox Pirates. Bepo arrived in the North Blue, where he eventually met Trafalgar Law, Shachi, and Penguin.
Law offered them to join him, and they agreed. As such, they became his subordinates, marking the birth of the Heart Pirates. Bepo started studying navigation since he wanted to find the way back to Zou someday.
Being a Mink, he can use Electro to channel electricity through parts of their bodies and enhance all his physical capabilities by entering Sulong transformation when gazing at the full moon.
However, Bepo’s fighting abilities were never shown for more than a couple of panels. Throughout the series, he has received very little focus, making him more of a side character.
Bepo’s poor showings, combined with his rather comical attitude, led fans to consider him a “joke character”, sort of a meme. Still, Bepo should be at least a decent fighter, given that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda revealed that he is Law’s number two within the Heart Pirates.
Oda portrayed Bepo in the color spread of One Piece 1031, which depicted the line-up of the second-strongest individuals from the most prominent crews and groups.
The first mate – also known as the vice-captain – is the top officer on board the ship, making him an individual the entire crew can rely on. He ranks below the captain and answers only to him, acting as his right-hand man.
In One Piece, the number two has the office of first mate or possesses a similar authority despite not having that formal rank. Being stronger than every other member of the group bar, the captain gets authority from his superior individual strength.
According to One Piece author Eiichiro Oda, Bepo is the number two of the Heart Pirates. Oda stated that Shachi and Penguin may be more reliable than him, but they acknowledge him as their superior because they recognize that he is stronger than them.
Regardless of this information, Bepo was handled very poorly as a fighter. Fans have always considered him an utter disappointment, especially in comparison to Killer.
With Law and Kid being more or less comparable to each other, the latter’s right-hand man, Killer, showcased great individual strength and was able to provide notable support to his captain. Conversely, Bepo never proved to be much of a help to Law.
Bepo’s Sulong makes him worthy of being Trafalgar Law’s right-hand man
Among Law’s subordinates, Bepo is the best (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)
After the Wano Alliance was disbanded, the Heart Pirates parted ways with the Straw Hat Pirates and the Kid Pirates. Unfortunately, Law and his men were attacked by Blackbeard and some members of his crew.
The “Surgeon of Death” and his crew tried to escape, but they were eventually cornered and forced to accept a head-on fight. From the start, the battle appeared to be absolutely one-sided, and the outcome confirmed such an assumption.
With Shanks and Blackbeard being sworn enemies who are bound to fight sooner or later, Law appeared to be on a ticking clock right after One Piece 1079 revealed that Kid ended up slaughtered at the hands of “Red Hair”.
One Piece 1081 certified what everyone already expected. The raw scans of the chapter showcase Blackbeard laughing and standing triumphantly over Law’s injured body, hinting at the overwhelming defeat that the latter suffered.
While Blackbeard was pondering whether or not he should take Law’s Devil Fruit powers for himself or just sell them, Bepo, who was lying on the ground seemingly defeated, unexpectedly got up and stepped in to protect his captain from certain death.
Usually, to access the Sulong transformation, Minks need to graze at the full moon. However, using the special medicine that Chopper gave him, Bepo was able to immediately enter his Sulong form despite being in broad daylight.
Before Blackbeard could steal the Ope-Ope Fruit from Law’s lying body, Bepo used his Sulong-enhanced capabilities to attack him with a fast and powerful claw. The attack didn’t seem to hurt Blackbeard, but it was enough to create an opening that allowed Bepo to take Law’s body and escape.
Bepo later dived into the sea with Law and left Winner Island. Bepo’s efforts saved Law’s life, but couldn’t do much for their other comrades. The Polar Tang, the submarine of the Heart Pirates, was indeed destroyed in the battle, and the rest of the crew lies defeated, seemingly drowning into the sea.
Final thoughts
One Piece 1081 marked the utter defeat of Trafalgar Law at the hands of Marshall D. Teach “Blackbeard” (Image via Toei Animation, One Piece)
As anticipated, Law didn’t stand a chance of winning a 1v1 fight against one of the Four Emperors, and much less one of the caliber of Blackbeard, the only known One Piece character to simultaneously possess the powers of two Devil Fruits.
Against Blackbeard, Law suffered the same dreadful fate that Shanks met against Shanks. However, the issue at least allowed fans to witness Bepo’s capabilities. To this day, Bepo’s fighting skills have received very little spotlight, so this came rather unexpectedly.
The strongest captains need powerful and reliable right-hand men on their side. Luffy can count on Zoro, Shanks can depend on Benn Beckman, and Roger used to rely on Rayleigh.
These right-hand men are even stronger than Law himself, thus no one expected Bepo to compare himself with characters who even surpass his captain. Especially given that Bepo pales in comparison not only to other right-hand men such as Marco and King, but to most Yonko Commanders.
However, it was very nice to see that Law’s second-in-command could be helpful to his captain when needed. Without Bepo’s intervention, Law – now defeated and powerless on the ground – would have been killed by Blackbeard.
Moreover, fans have always wanted to see what Bepo’s sulong form looked like. With chapter 1081, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda finally satisfied them.
