Highlights

One Piece chapter 1103 reveals the truth behind the Sapphire Scale Disease and its connection to Kuma and Bonney.
The Sapphire Scale Disease is a deadly illness that spreads rapidly under natural light and can take the life of the person inflicted with it.
The disease was created by Saturn, a scientist and researcher, who experimented on Ginny and caused her and her child to manifest the sapphire scale.

To conclude the year 2023, One Piece fans were treated to an incredible chapter and that is One Piece chapter 1103 and it is safe to say that this was one of the most incredible additions to the story in the Egghead Island Arc. As expected, the story returned to Egghead and fans got a proper look at the events of the Egghead War, which is currently ongoing.

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This war has been nothing short of incredible so far, and One Piece chapter 1103 tied it very well to the Kuma flashback, where many mysteries, such as the Sapphire Scale Disease were discussed heavily by Oda. This disease has been a key part of Kuma and his family and has affected the likes of Bonney tremendously for the vast majority of her life. Now, finally, Oda revealed the truth behind the Sapphire Scale Disease and its creation.

What Is The Sapphire Scale Disease?

Simply put, the Sapphire Scale Disease was first observed in Ginny during the Kuma flashback. Ginny was kidnapped by one of the Celestial Dragons and forcibly made to wed one of them. She spent quite a long time in Marijoa and, during this time, Ginny ended up getting pregnant as well. This child, which Ginny was forced to bear, was none other than Bonney. Of course, fans only found out about this when Ginny was discarded from Marijoa. It appears that at some point after she was forcibly married to one of the Celestial Dragons, Ginny was discarded due to an illness that she suddenly manifested.

This illness was none other than the Sapphire Scale Disease. The sapphire scale manifested itself as blue gemstones all over her body. When Ginny was discarded, she used her last breath to get to the Sorbet Kingdom once again, and she also called Kuma and the Revolutionary Army and gave them her final words. Ginny crossed the ocean and finally managed to reach the Sorbet Kingdom, where she delivered Bonney safely and, when that happened, she ended up dying.

At the same time, it was also revealed that the Sapphire Scale Disease is quite deadly as it can take the life of those who manifest it. The Sapphire Scale Disease spreads tremendously fast under sun or moonlight. In fact, any form of natural light leads to it spreading tremendously fast. Once the disease spreads enough, the person inflicted with it ends up dying. Furthermore, even if the user avoids all forms of natural light completely, this disease takes their life anyway. However, in this case, the spread of the disease is slowed down tremendously, and they are given years instead of a few days to live, which is somewhat of a better deal. In the case of Bonney, Kuma managed to contain the spread of the disease greatly and that is why she had up to 10 years to live in total.

The Cases Of The Sapphire Scale

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So far, there have been only a handful of cases of the sapphire scale disease seen in the One Piece world. This is one of the biggest reasons why this disease is hardly recognizable to any doctor. One doctor who successfully diagnosed this disease for what it truly was suggested that it is a disease that existed long ago in the past. It is some form of ancient disease which isn't seen in the current times. At the same time, he was knowledgeable enough to know that this disease ends up taking the life of the user, which is why Kuma ended up risking his life in order to secure a cure for Bonney.

In One Piece chapter 1103, it was clarified that there have been previous experiments that have fallen to the Sapphire Scale Disease as well. This sapphire scale is a result of failed experimentation. Ginny ended up becoming a guinea pig and, in her case, the experimentation failed once again, which is why she manifested the sapphire scale as well. However, in her case, the sapphire scale was so strong that it also passed on to her child. Ginny herself succumbed to natural light as she sacrificed her life in order to save her daughter. However, in the case of Bonney, Kuma did incredibly well to contain the spread of the disease.

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He barricaded her inside the church in the southern half of the Sorbet Kingdom and, there, Bonney was provided with everything that she would ever need. Kuma went from place to place in order to secure a cure and, thankfully, in the end, it was Vegapunk who did a stem cell transplant and saved Bonney's life.

How The Sapphire Scale Disease Was Created

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Finally, in One Piece chapter 1103, the source of the Sapphire Scale Disease was revealed. As was hinted at previously, the Sapphire Scale Disease was created by none other than Saturn. Fans know that Saturn is a scientist himself and he has been conducting experiments for ages now in the One Piece world. This essentially means that Ginny was experimented upon by Saturn. While it isn't exactly known if Ginny was married to Saturn or if she was married to some other celestial dragon, what we do know is that at some point, Saturn put her in his grasp and then did numerous experiments on her. It isn't exactly known what Saturn was looking for. However, what fans do know is that his experimentation failed. Saturn also mentioned that they were others before Ginny whom he experimented upon and just like them, she too ended up succumbing to this sapphire scale illness. In Ginny's case, the illness was extra strong, which is why Bonney succumbed to this disease as well.

This all but confirms the idea that Saturn, as the Ushi Oni, has the power to cause diseases. Now, whether this ability is tied to his scientific knowledge or if it comes from his devil fruit remains to be seen. Hopefully, fans will find out the answer to that soon enough as One Piece progresses in the Egghead Island arc. This also calls into question the Amber Lead Disease. This is yet another disease that was life-threatening in the One Piece world and came out of nowhere. Once again, like the Sapphire Scale, the Amber Led Disease was also based on a stone. Given that Saturn has all but confirmed that he was behind the Sapphire Scale, this also solidifies the idea that Amber Lead Disease came from the Five Elders as well. Hopefully, fans will find out more about that as One Piece progresses.

Given that each member of the Five Elders is named after a planet and all the planets have their respective gemstones, it is possible that every single one of them has, to an extent, the power to create some disease. Alternatively, it is possible that the Amber Lead Disease too was caused by Saturn, but Oda will need to elaborate upon that in order to confirm or deny the claim.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1104, is set to be January 17, 2023.