The creator of the manga series One Piece, Eiichiro Oda, has managed to work put an amazing system in which he can bring every chapter of his manga, to readers, in a timely and consistent manner. Not only has his work ethic proven successful, it has helped make the series not just one of the longest running manga in history; over 20 years, but also be one of the most well thought out narratives ever.
Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, the magazine that publishes the manga, has been working with Oda for decades, especially with the announcement that the series would be nearing its conclusion in around five years. However, with the current state of the world, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things have been difficult for the manga publication. With hiatuses consistently being announced due to the social distancing guidelines of the creators; a lot of time tables are being pushed back to accomodate for the situation.
Originally, Oda's system involed hte creator taking a one week break every month or two; so that he can organize his story for the next leg of work that must be done. Yet, a new announcement came from Shueisha, that the creator would be taking a break for issue 26 of the series. Since this was not officially announced, it is assumed that this break was not a planned one. The main reason for this is probably because the pandemic has forced many creators to work more analog and with a greater distance, forcing the creation of each chapter to be created a lot more slowly.
Surprised by the hiatus? Patient for its return? Make sure to share your thoughts in the comments and expect the next chapter of One Piece to be released in issue 27 of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, on June 8th!