ONE PIECE Manga Goes On Break Until October 17 Due To Eiichiro Oda's "Sudden Illness"

The official Twitter account for the Weekly Shonen Jump editorial department gave a statement the ever-popular One Piece manga will not appear in its upcoming 44th issue. They explain that series creator Eiichiro Oda is taking a break due to a "sudden illness" and poor physical health. 

【おしらせ】
週刊少年ジャンプ44号(10月5日売)に掲載予定でした『ONE PIECE』ですが、作者急病による体調不良のため、休載させていただきます。

なお、現在は体調回復され、2号後の46号(10月17日売)から連載再開いたします。

皆様のご理解をお願いいたします。

— 少年ジャンプ編集部 (@jump_henshubu) October 2, 2020

They hope to resume the series by October 27th in the magazine's 46th issue. The department also adds that Oda is currently recovering and is doing well, but won't explain any more on his illness. 

Oda also hinted back in May that more delays are possible because of the coronavirus pandemic, as the staff transitioned into a social distancing workplace and possible unexpected illnesses may occur. The series also had to delay the manga and TV anime earlier this year due to COVID-19.

Even though the manga started back in 1997, Oda rarely took more than a week-break from the series as he took his first four-week break back in 2010 and a two-week break for tonsil surgery in 2014. The TV anime also rarely goes hiatus with only a few week breaks between seasons (and arcs), with the longest being one year from December 2001 to October 2002. It's unknown how this will affect the anime as the TV adaption is drawing closer and closer to the manga. 

Both the manga and the TV anime is on its 32nd arc, the "Wano Country" Arc. Here is the series synopsis from Crunchyroll: 

Monkey. D. Luffy refuses to let anyone or anything stand in the way of his quest to become the king of all pirates. With a course charted for the treacherous waters of the Grand Line and beyond, this is one captain who'll never give up until he's claimed the greatest treasure on Earth: the Legendary One Piece! - Crunchyroll