One Piece Fans Are Stunned by Shinobu's Gorgeous New Look

One Piece has a thing for spicing up its heroines. Back in the day, characters like Nami and Robin leaned more cute than sexy, but that all changed after a long time skip. These days, fans know One Piece for its - uh - exaggerated curves when it comes to women. That is why a recent chapter has fans geeking out as they finally got to meet the Shinobu of years long past.

Recently, the series put out a new chapter, and it was there fans met Shinobu in battle. Chapter 970 takes place in the far-flung past as Kozuki Oden is around stirring up trouble. The rightful leader of Wano is determined to take back his home in this chapter, and he receives aid from an unlikely source.

The chapter shows Shinobu swinging into battle, and she helps take down some of Kaido's crew. Her sharp aim makes her deadly in battle, and Shinobu's acrobatics make her nearly impossible to track.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm joining your side," the young ninja tells Oden in the flashback. "You may not remember me, but I served back in the days of Shogun Sukiyaki."

As it turns out, this young girl was one whom Oden knew well years ago. She helped protect the man's father when he ruled, and Shinobu has decided to turn her back on her clan so long as it means serving someone who is worthy. While her people are dedicated to the Shogun, Shinobu made the choice to fight for Oden. The choice got fans all emotional, and they admit they are surprised to see her design.

The heroine is no older than 25 in this image, and her adult design is striking. Fans are used to seeing the heroine as an old maid, and her whacky attitude made fans question whether she was ever the beauty queen she bragged to be. Looking at this new chapter, fans have zero reason to ever doubt Shinobu again, and they'll write off anyone who gives Shinobu grief moving forward.

What do you make of this character design? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Eiichiro Oda's One Piece first began serialization in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1997. It has since been collected into over 90 volumes, and has been a critical and commercial success worldwide with many of the volumes breaking printing records in Japan. The manga has even set a Guinness World Record for the most copies published for the same comic book by a single author, and is the best-selling manga series worldwide with over 430 million copies sold.