One Piece by Eiichiro Oda is the world’s best-selling manga that has been ongoing for almost three decades now, and is serialized in Japan’s biggest manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump. Eiichiro Oda, the creator of the story, has been consistently delivering high-octane action and a captivating storyline for a long time now, and despite his tiring work, he rarely goes on extended breaks.
With that being said, Oda going on short breaks is a common occurrence now, and they typically happen every 2- 3 weeks. With Oda’s last break being on June 21, 2026, we now have a confirmed new break incoming on July 19, 2026. This break comes with quite a cliffhanger, and we can’t wait for the return of the story right after on July 26, 2026.
One Piece Officially Announces New Two-Week Break Starting July 12, 2016
Eiichiro Oda started the One Piece story when he was just 22, on July 19, 1997, in the Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #34. 29 years have passed since, and Oda is now over 50 years old. Oda has worked tirelessly for a very long time, and due to his age and health issues, he sometimes has to take quick breaks. Due to his many longstanding issues, Oda absolutely has to rest every now and then to recuperate and return stronger than ever the week after.
One Piece’s last break came on June 21, 2026, during the Esperia Kingdom flashback, which focused on the story of Brook and Shuri. Since then, Eiichiro Oda has released a total of 3 chapters consecutively, those being One Piece chapters 1186, 1187, and 1188 later this week. As was expected, now, One Piece is set to go on a break following the official release of One Piece chapter 1188 on July 12, 2026, on Manga Plus and Viz Media internationally, and on July 13 in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #33 in Japan. As such, One Piece will be skipping the Jump Issue #34, releasing on July 19, 2026.
The One Piece Manga Returns With Chapter 1189 on July 26, 2026
One Piece is going on break next week, but luckily, it’s one of Oda’s regular breaks that runs as always scheduled, at least once a month. With that in mind, we know that Oda will return next week as scheduled with a brand new One Piece chapter. As One Piece leaves Jump with chapter 1188 on July 12, we can expect One Piece chapter 1189 to be released on July 26, 2026, which will fall in Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #35. Unless an unforeseen event happens where Oda is forced to go on a longer break, the magazine is set to return once more before the end of the month.
The Elbaf Story Continues With The Big Battles Officially Commencing
The One Piece manga needs to go on break every once in a while for Eiichiro Oda to maintain good health. That said, fans are still sad to say farewell to the story for two weeks, especially at such a heated moment in the manga. Upon its return, we have a lot of exciting things to look forward to. In One Piece chapter 1187, Oda set up the perfect stage for Sanji to unlock Conqueror’s Haki, which he will use to fight Saint Killingham of the Holy Knights. Roronoa Zoro’s battle has also started, with him taking on the swordman of the Holy Knight, Saint Sommers.
Amidst all of this chaos, we are all waiting to see Luffy take on Imu, the King of the World and the Devil God himself. After seeing Loki put up a fight but ultimately lose to Imu, it’ll be interesting to see how Luffy fares in the upcoming clash, but chances are that this fight will see Nerona Imu stand as the dominant figure due to his overwhelming strength.
Despite Luffy now being a Yonko, he clearly still isn’t on a level where he can take on Imu and World Government, and he needs a new upgrade, which Oda could showcase soon in One Piece’s upcoming chapters after the break. One way or another, Luffy will have to get back up and fight because the fate of Elbaf rests on his shoulders.
All the new chapters of Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece are available to read via Manga Plus and Viz Media.
