u/Jmeister2504

It looks like Shuri will be free from the ice within the next couple of chapters. With Imu busy fighting Luffy and Brook trying to spark memories of her past, she might be able to (at least temporarily) regain control. The end of Brook’s flashback was him realizing Shuri might be a victim as well, and choosing to believe in her and help her and I think she’ll give her recount of the past to explain herself.

With what we know now, reading between the lines, it looks like Gurou assaulted Candelle, Reuven married her to protect her and her child, Shuri’s eyes awakened, WG demands and later invades to capture her, Imu DR’s both her and Reuven to influence Shuri to kill her family/leave her kingdom. It is possible her flashback will just be her being told by Gurou/Mars/Imu that she’s a Manmayer, her refusing to abandon her father (Reuven) and kingdom, then Imu DR Reuven to scare her/say hurtful things then Imu DR Shuri and never undoing it/forcing a covenant, essentially creating Gunko. Keeps the story moving, and reconfirms Shuri is a victim.

But there are a lot of vague points/questions that make me think we will get more than that. Did someone tip off the WG about Shuri’s eyes? We know “word spread” about Shuri, but Gurou confirmed they only picked her up because Shuri’s eyes were ”awakened”, while his heterochromia eyes are not, so how did they know her eyes were awakened? Did Imu sense it? Also, while I have no doubt CD’s would assault people and just leave, Gurou remembers Candelle and even recognizes her attendants? Garling fooled Shank’s mother for a bit, but he tried to take Shanks/Shammrock when they were babies, not 16. Also, why was Imu there? I get Mars is probably responsible for the fog, but Imu being there “in person” makes me think there is more to this. Candelle as a whole is a wild card to me with the whole ”trusted blade/in love with a man much higher than me” lines. I’m not saying she’s evil. I have this crazy idea she might be Gurou’s castoff daughter (like how Bonney was castoff) and Gurou might have recognized her and forced an experiment (like how Saturn experimented on Bonney) or covenant on her to make her bed ridden.

Given Shuri is basically the personal attendant of Imu, I think she is pretty important, at least as a tool. At the very least, I think Oda will use Shuri as a bit of a lore dump on the CD‘s since she is the the first one that could turn face to be a Straw Hat ally.

Garling might be Bonney’s CD father.

The recent chapter paint a really dark (but not unheard of in this universe) portrait of what happened to Candelle. Admittedly, I was 100% onboard the “she’s a CD/Manmayer“ theory when she was introduced, but I’ll admit that seems all but dead at this point. The current implication leaves me with a really bitter taste, so I am definitely huffing copium at this point. But I actually think I have a theory of how this story played out that that thematically ties Shuri with another strange eyed character with a flashback this saga, Loki.

• To start, Candelle is a Cipher Pol agent who is undercover investigating Esperia. Maybe Reuven is a Davy clan descendant, maybe Esperia passes down a song or ballad about that actually contains part of the history of the Void Century. Either way, it’s something the World Government would consider a threat.
• Candelle reports to Gurou, he is the man Candelle references to Brook who is above her station, and that‘s how she knows him before he lands on Esperia. I doubt a God’s Knight would just show up to random islands unless there was a reason, like how Garling was investigating God Valley.
• I’ll go a step further a say her love for Gurou is more about the kind of luxury she could get being a CD, like the kind of ”love“ we see Loki’s birth mother Estrid had for Harald.
• When Gurou shows up, Candelle keeps Brook away not to protect him, but her cover. Brook is 100% loyal to Reuven, and if Brook found out a conspiracy against the prince, he would tell Reuven and Reuven would believe him because they are basically brothers.
• Gurou shows up, has a ”rendezvous“ with Candelle. She thinks she can go back to Mariejios with him, but he just leaves her heartbroken and rejected.
• Candelle, still in cover, tells Reuven a version of the story that makes her a victim/martyr who made a sacrifice, and Reuven does the honorable thing and marries her to protect the woman who sacrificed for the country. Candelle gets to avoid suspicion and live a life of luxary.
• Fast forward, Candelle recognizes the potential of Shuri’s eyes, and sees another chance to become a CD. She contacts the WG, and begins a plan to use the fog to leave the country with Shuri (maybe by using GK summoning circles that she potentially drew in the throne room). That is why Candelle told the kingdom “the fog will leave soon” because it was supposed to just be cover for Shuri‘s kidnapping.
• Gurou/Mars make contact, tell Candelle they only care about Shuri and kill Candelle, like how Garling killed Shanks’ mother.
• WG tell Reuven the truth (Candelle was a spy lying to you and we just want her daughter, you have no reason to refuse) but like how Ida loved Loki despite not being her blood, Reuven loves Shuri and declares war on WG.
• WG invades and Shuri goes to help her father. She gets to the throne room and sees Gurou/Mars/Imu demanding Shuri from Reuven. They tell her she’s a CD who is special because of her eyes, she refuses to leave her father (Reuven).
• Imu DR‘s Reuven, who attacks Shuri and tells her the truth in the worst way possible (“You the daughter of a foolish traitor and I can’t believe I wasted all this time raising a brat that’s not mine). This is where Shuri cries “Father!” in that earlier flashback panel because she doesn’t understand what’s going on, like why is Reuven a demon and attacking her, like Harald attacked Loki.
• Being alienated from the people that raised her and fighting her father, she has a mental breakdown like Brook does later, at which point Imu DR her and the Gunko persona is born.
• After that, it plays out like Brook sees it, but we also get confirmation Shuri had enough willpower to purposely spare Brook.

We will definitely get more color on the whole situation when Shuri is freed from the ice, even if this whole Candelle theory is totally wrong. But I do think there are a lot of thematic parallels with Loki and Shuri that work nicely.