Highlights
- "The Sapphire Scale disease is a deadly illness introduced in One Piece chapter 1098, affecting beloved characters Ginny and Bonney."
- "The disease spreads through exposure to any form of natural light, turning the infected person's body blue and eventually leading to their death."
- "There are hints that the disease may have been caused by a Devil Fruit ability, possibly tied to the character Saturn, adding an intriguing plotline to the story."
One Piece chapter 1098 recently introduced fans to the Sapphire Scale disease. This disease was first brought up in the Kuma flashback, in which one of the most beloved characters, Ginny, ended up contracting it. Following Ginny, her child, Bonney, also ended up getting the same disease and it appears that this illness will be central to the story moving forward in this flashback.
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While there doesn't seem to be much to this disease on the surface, how it is caused and the person who caused it might actually already be hinted at in the story and that certainly makes for an interesting plotline moving forward.
What Is The Sapphire Scale Disease?
The Sapphire Scale disease was only recently introduced in One Piece and it appears to be a very deadly disease. This is a disease that doesn't appear to be all that common, given that not many characters in the One Piece world seem to have had it. In fact, this disease is so rare that not even doctors could identify it upon careful examination. Doctors from all over the world were seen observing this disease in One Piece chapter 1098, however, only one was able to identify it and even then, it was only possible after months upon months of research. It appears that this disease was more prevalent in the old times, however, now, it has resurfaced and afflicted some main characters in the flashback.
The first person who ended up catching this disease was none other than Ginny. Fans know that Ginny is a very beloved character to Kuma and her tragic fate was described in One Piece chapter 1098. After Ginny was kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons and made a slave once again, she was forcibly married to one of them. Ginny endured a very tragic life for 2 years and this was certainly heartbreaking for the fans to witness. Eventually, Ginny was freed and this only happened after she contracted a life-threatening illness. Immediately after she was free, she descended from Marijoa and sailed towards the Sorbet Kingdom. However, she ended up dying in the Sorbet Kingdom before Kuma even got to her.
One Piece chapter 1098 then went on to describe the nature of her death. She clearly died from the Sapphire Scale disease and it was made known that the Sapphire Scale spreads in any form of natural light. So, for instance, if a person has a speck of Sapphire Scale on their body, exposure to any form of natural light would then cause this scale to spread. This light isn't limited to sunlight. As mentioned in the chapter, natural light also includes moonlight or any of the forms that occur naturally. When the person is exposed to this form of light, their body reacts weirdly to this affliction.
It starts spreading all over their bodies and, eventually, the entire body turns blue. When that happens, the Sapphire Scale hardens even further and, eventually, the person ends up looking like a stone human. This disease eventually takes the life of the person who is infected and it doesn't have any cures that the fans know of so far. Even if exposure to sunlight is avoided at all costs, the user does not live forever. That means the disease can spread even without exposure, however, at a much slower rate. Ginny ended up dying from Sapphire Scale when she contracted this illness. This same illness also showed itself in Bonney a few months after she was born. Kuma tried his best to get this illness cured, however, the doctors made it clear that it wasn't possible at all and that she would end up dying eventually by the age of 10.
The Inspiration Behind The Sapphire Scale
While one might think that the Sapphire Scale disease just exists naturally, there might be a better explanation behind the existence of this disease. For one, it is quite strange that no doctor was able to identify the Sapphire Scale. Only a select few records exist of this disease and none of them are recent, to begin with. If there were, this disease would have been easily identified but it certainly wasn't.
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This indicates that the Sapphire Scale is extremely rare and likely only has ever infected a select few. It is quite possible that this disease just exists in nature. However, fans know that Ginny and Bonney both contracted this disease at some point during their time in Marijoa.
There could certainly not have been an outbreak of this disease there, or else the entirety of the Celestial Dragon kind would have been wiped out. Then, one wonders as to whether this disease was caused by a Devil Fruit ability. The answer to that question is that it is certainly a possibility.
The Sapphire Scale is a very dangerous disease and it appears that Oda certainly has taken inspiration for this disease from various things. The first thing that fans should remember is that Celestial Dragons are not all weak and some possess demonic abilities. For instance, fans have recently seen Saturn in the story using the powers of Ushi Oni. Fans know that the Ushi Oni is very powerful and in mythology, it has the power to kill people just by looking at them and, at the same time, spreading deadly diseases.
What makes this even stranger is the fact that blue sapphire is generally associated with the planet Saturn. If Saturn certainly has the ability to spread diseases and, at the same time, sapphire, which is directly mentioned in the name of the disease, is associated with him, one can draw conclusions that Saturn is the one who ended up giving the Sapphire Scale to Ginny and, through her, to Bonney.
Did Saint Saturn Cause The Sapphire Scale?
While it is unclear as to where Sapphire Scale came from, this disease is very interesting, to say the least. There have not been any known records of this disease in recent history and those that exist do not state any cure for it. In fact, even the most skilled doctors cannot recognize this, which means this disease isn't common at all. The name Sapphire itself is tied to Saturn and fans know that he possesses an ability that allows him to spread diseases. Ginny herself was taken to be married to a Celestial Dragon and while this person was likely not Saturn, he could certainly have inflicted the disease on her for various reasons.
At the same time, he could then have inflicted this disease on Bonney as well or they could both have been infected at the same time. Only Oda can answer as to whether Saturn was the one responsible for giving this disease to Ginny and Bonney and, at the same time killing, the former. However, one must also note that Saturn is actually present on Egghead Island right now, and given the fact that Bonney is actually infuriated by his presence, this could also tie very well as to why that is the case. Of course, fans know that Kuma is in his current condition because of Saturn, however, there could be more context to that and it will certainly make Saturn a very interesting villain and raise the intensity of Egghead Island even more.
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 Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1098, is set to be November 12, 2023.