'One Piece' Manga On Week-Long Hiatus; Past Interview With Oda Explains Breaks

"One Piece" is now on its 1011th chapter, where the intense one-on-one battle between Luffy and Kaidou is set to commence. However, the manga is having a week-long hiatus and fans will have to wait a little longer before they could read what happens next.

In September 2020, "One Piece" took a surprise two-week break. According to a source, it was because the mangaka was under the weather. "One Piece" resumed the release of the manga on October 16, 2020.

Why are there breaks? It can be recalled that in a past interview with "One Piece" creator Eiichiro Oda, which was released on "One Piece" Great Newspaper Vol. 2, the mangaka talked about his work habits and why Shueisha was allowing him to take more breaks.

At some point, the interviewer asked Oda if he was having any health issues. The mangaka answered that although his health was not that good, he could still come up with an interesting manga.

"Shueisha allows him to take more breaks these days. Oda wonders if this is because they are worried that 'One Piece' might come to an end due to his health problem. Oda got hospitalized after he works in Film Z. He thought the staffs [sic] finally noticed that if he worked too hard he would be down, but after all he got involved in 'One Piece' Film again…," the interview summary said.

Prior to his current health condition, Oda claimed that coffee and cola were all he needed. However, according to the interview summary, the mangaka began paying more attention to his health. "He makes it a rule to drink water 2 liters a day. He thinks he can stay healthy if only he drinks much [sic] water. He sometimes exercises on fitness equipment [sic] in his studio," the summary said further.

The interview also revealed that Oda usually slept for three hours each day. The mangaka reportedly didn't want to spend much time on sleep. "He can sleep as much as he wants only after the day he finishes drawing every week. But he can't sleep much recently due to aging," the summary said.

In the same interview, Oda also shared some interesting insights about the hit manga. Although it took place four years ago, surprisingly, it offered some tidbits about the current Luffy and Kaidou match from the creator itself.

"When Kaidou appeared for the first time, I said that Luffy can't defeat such a strong character yet. And I'm yet to know how Luffy would defeat Kaidou. Probably my audience will not be satisfied if the reason for defeating Kaidou is just because Luffy's punch is so strong. Luffy and I have to find a solution somehow," Oda said.