WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece, Chapter #994 by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul, and Vanessa Satone, available in English now from Viz Media.
Just when we think we know where an arc is heading in One Piece, Eiichiro Oda throws a curveball at us. Nobody could have expected the Onigashima Invasion to be interrupted by a zombie outbreak that turns people into ice-encased oni, but that's just what happens in the manga's latest chapter.
In the last chapter, we caught a glimpse of this Ice Oni virus when Queen, one of Kaido's closest allies, released it on enemy and ally alike. Now, in Chapter #994, we witness the larger consequences of it as the remaining Straw Hats face the oni, Night of the Living Dead-style. If anyone gets bitten, their bodies become frozen over, turning them into mindless zombies who attack anyone and anything in sight. Obviously, this hits all parties, with both Beast Pirates and the Wano Samurai trying to fend off the oni attacking them while desperate to help their own allies.
This is actually a genius tactic from Queen as he's now turned his enemies' focus completely on this virus and away from trying to get to Kaido or any of the other ranked Beast Pirate officers. It doesn't matter that his own men also caught in the crossfire of this frozen-over plague.
Luckily, our favorite reindeer Straw Hat doctor, Chopper, realizes that the person who made the virus, Queen, must have the antibodies that can be used to synthesize a vaccine. This entire outbreak, in fact, does a great deal to show off Chopper's medical knowledge, as he's the first to point out that the ice oni's stamina and power are far beyond normal human limitations. This causes irreversibly damage to the infected's bodies, which Queen confirms -- letting them know the infected have just one hour before the virus kills them.
This is enough reason to go after Queen for the antibodies, but the "loud and proud" All-Star is too smart to let himself become a target. When his "brother" Apoo calls out to Queen for sanctuary, the All-Star simply tosses Apoo the antibodies instead. This results in everyone on the palace's first floor chasing after Apoo while Queen gets to sit back and watch. It's honestly pretty entertaining, and this literally chilling scheme by Queen, along with his annoying bravado, demonstrates he's a villain you just have to love to hate.
