This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.

Summary

Oda plans to take more breaks due to health complications, affecting One Piece's publication schedule.
Oda used to drop more chapters in a row in the past, but now takes breaks after every two chapters.
Jump's quality has allowed Oda more flexibility to take breaks, ultimately ensuring One Piece continues for longer.

At the moment, One Piece is in the final saga and fans know that this part of the story is the most important of all. Oda himself mentioned in the last that this is the biggest part of all, and the one that he is most excited to draw as well. Right now, the Elbaf arc is ongoing and the intensity of this arc has been absolutely incredible.

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By Rei Penber

Each chapter feels like it is on a completely different level to the ones before it, and that just goes to show that Oda's claims about it being the most exciting part weren't off the mark at all. That said, because the chapters are so much more exciting, the break weeks feel much more difficult for the fans to get through. Sad news for the fans is that Oda intends to take more breaks in this segment of the story, as has been revealed by the author himself.

Oda's Break Schedule Over The Years

Oda Used To Drop Twice As Many Chapters
Health Complications Have Affected Oda's Output

A lot of One Piece fans today have only recently caught up to the story and aren't really aware of how the publication schedule for the manga used to be. As such, fans now are used to Oda's current schedule of dropping 3 chapters in a row. Usually, Oda Drops 3 consecutive chapters, which are then followed by a two-week break, and then Oda drops 3 once again. This cycle continues, although, at times, Oda takes breaks more often. Sometimes, Oda even takes month-long breaks for various reasons, as has been seen recently.

The mysteries of the world...I'll reveal them all. From here onwards, it'll be the One Piece! — Eiichiro Oda

That said, the schedule for Some Piece used to be very different long ago. Around the time of the Dressrosa arc of One Piece, Oda used to drop 6 chapters in a row before taking a break and sometimes even 7. However, with time this number went down. Whole Cake Island saw the number drop down to 5, and with Wano, Oda started dropping 4 chapters, and eventually 3 chapters in a row before taking a break, which is quite sad for the fans to say the least.

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Posts 11

By Rei Penber

Of course, fans don't find it easy to deal with the breaks but they're necessary, as the author needs to keep his health in check. Oda's health is more important than anything else and given the event complications that he's faced and the surgeries that he has undergone, it is no surprise that he is taking more breaks. Fans should be happy for him.

Why Oda Will Take More Breaks In The Future

Oda Thinks Jump Has Changed A Lot

Oda used to take far fewer breaks long ago, but now, things have changed. Oda himself believes that he feels more comfortable taking breaks more often now, and Jump is also very comfortable accommodating more time to him. During Oda's interview with Gosho Aoyama, he had this to say about the breaks:

Until now, I have been aware readers often get disappointed if ‘ONE PIECE’ doesn’t publish a new chapter, and I felt responsible for that. It has all changed lately thanks to new, younger writers who have grown up in Jump and rather support me even when I’m on a break, taking a lot of weight off my shoulders. This is also why I have stopped caring about fighting with other manga series. It truly feels like I have finally the freedom to face my fans at my own pace. — Eiichiro Oda

According to Oda, Jump has risen in quality a lot and that makes him feel like they have interesting enough content to keep readers engaged even when he doesn't drop a chapter. This gives Oda more confidence to take breaks more frequently and sometimes even longer. Oda now has the freedom to do things at his own pace. In fact, sometimes, Oda takes a break after every two chapters, as has been the case quite often recently. In the future, this might become the norm. Fans simply have to adjust to this truth, but at the same time, this change will only lead One Piece to continue for longer, so it isn't really all that much of a loss for the readers.

One Piece chapter 1146 will be out very soon, later this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on the upcoming Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on April 20. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1146 is April 20, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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Release Date: October 20, 1999
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou