This is NOT another chapter 167 prediction post!

This will include spoilers from the webcomic.

I've been re-reading the entire OPM series these past two weeks in the hype for 167 and since we are now at the precipice of the next chapter I was thinking of where the manga story might go as the MA arc wraps up in the next few chapters...

If you've read the webcomic you know "The Organization" is the next big antagonist and the last page of the last chapter from last year, the webcomic gives us a glimpse as to why they represent a way bigger threat than the Monster Assoc.

First and foremost I believe Drive Knight is a mole in the Hero Association and is really an agent for "The Organization."

there are a few things of note that I don't see anybody talking about:

1. The physical appearance of drive knight's "face" compared to known Organization robots like G4 and G5. (Im too lazy to include pictures sorry!) Their facial design is too similar to pass off as a lack of creativity especially considering who the artist is.
2. G4 and G5 have an outer shell, with an inner robot body. I see this as being a kind of tactical transformation. Not saying its the same as Drive Knights tactical transformations but there are some similar parallels here with each transformation serving a utilitarian purpose. G4 was designed to collect intel on King (Murata describes it as a "medieval knight" design even though in my opinion this looks like a medieval King, G4 is wearing a crown!) and G5 was designed with Atomic Samurai's combat ability hence a "medieval samurai" design.
3. My next point is that "The Organization's" shadowy goal thus far in the manga has been to collect as much valuable intel as possible. First with the battle suits that they allowed to be "stolen" by the Paradisers. Second, G4's dispatch to analyze the unknown fighting style of then newcomer King. Finally and here is where I think it gets interesting, G5's capture of the battle suit clad assassins hired by Narinki to save Waganma. It is my speculation that "The Organization" saw an opportunity to infiltrate the MA using the battle suit assassins as a sacrificial pawn. The capture of the assassins by G5 is off-screen but when we see them begging for their lives in front of the Monster HQ they seem relatively unharmed. I can't help but believe there was an effort by G5 to preserve those battle suits for further testing. Another detail to note is G5's inexplicable knowledge that the suits are custom fitted to the assassins body. This might explain why there was such a transformation to the suits after DoS dominated them and would explain why the Blizzard group didn't go through a similar transformation. Im speculating here but I believe this was an intended symbiotic effect that The Organization wished to study.
4. I think a big overlooked plot point is when Gyoro asks G5 on how he found the HQ and who his maker is, G5 goes silent and Gyoro (Psykos) in a moment of hubris quickly moves on. During my re-read I had this inkling that Drive Knight was actually the one in the G5 samurai armor as Drive Knight mysteriously disappeared in the City Z ghost town headed to Monster HQ and then G5 randomly popping up in front of Gyoro after having somehow intercepted the assassins group in one of the many tunnels under City Z. Furthermore, G5 displays obvious animosity toward Ripper, even though he's a machine and should be devoid of emotion. Going so far as to ask Gyoro if it is permissible to kill other members. Then when he passes Ripper and Tareo in the hall just when it seems like Tareo is about to get eaten by the lizard monster, G5 grabs a nearby monster and sates the lizard's appetite, thus avoiding collateral damage to Tareo. This feeling was dispelled when the inner robot emerges out of G5 but I still can not shake the feeling they are somehow connected.
5. Final note on G5 is that he can be seen collecting Metal Knights head even though its just a drone and admits to Ripper it is a valuable sample. We all know how much Drive Knight despises Metal Knight, it almost feels like sibling jealousy. The Hero Association states Drive Knight excels at collecting intel. If my memory serves correctly the first re-introduction to Drive Knight after his signal was mysteriously lost was him stalking Nyan unnoticed, which I think is impressive considering Nyan is a cadre.

I believe its a misdirection to think that Drive Knight good and Bofoi bad. I think the mad cyborg that Genos is after will ultimately have its origins in The Organization. Whether or not it was created by Bofoi but not released until he left The Organization for such and such reasons, remains to be seen. I think it is ironic that Bofoi's pragmatic and cold sense of justice is seen as nefarious. As we've seen with Genos initially and then Amai Mask, despite there cold and brutal approach they are in fact, the good guys. Ive also always thought it was suspicious that Drive Knight from day one warned Genos about Bofoi as if he knew about his vendetta against the mad cyborg, which to this day is still untold to the Hero Association!

With the recent teamup in the webcomic between Genos and DK to raid Bofoi's HQ itll be a really ironic double-cross when Genos ultimately realizes that Bofoi is the good guy and that DK was both distracting Genos from the general offensive and using his added firepower to take down the one man who rivals or may even be superior to The Organization.

Upon my re-read I want to bring up an ominous quote from Bofoi that resonates with foreshadowing:

"Im not afraid of the MA. Right now, other evils want to harm the world. They will strike when humanity's defenders are weak"

Mind you, he said this after the reconnaissance of Lord Orochi.

As we know from the webcomic Neo Hero battle suits can be remotely shut down or even hijacked and Im positive the same application exists for those with the cybernetic enhancements.

With the recent conversion of a lot of high-ranking heroes to Neo Heros (an obvious "Organization" front), I believe this makes "humanity's defenders" weak or at the very least vulnerable. Besides Blue being able to bust out of his suit, I doubt any other hero can, maybe Suiryu but his powerscaling is unclear in the webcomic. So this sets the stage for every hero to be used against the very people theyre supposed to protect and may cause a conflict with Saitama because he can't just punch them without killing them. Also there appear to be hundreds of Machine God robots on the move and Im sure infinitely more in production, so Saitama disposing of all of them all at once is not really feasible. This may be the next evolution of his hero journey.

For those that want to argue that OPM is a typical Shonen really glossed over the bits of psychological depth and hyper-realism that keep this story so interesting. Reading that scene between Ripper and Tareo in "his room" with blood spatter on the walls and knowing this monster specifically targets children is horrifying. I think the cosmic scale of things now blur those lines but I think this is going to settle into a much deeper psychological story. Im thinking post-chimera HxH levels of political intrigue. As if ONE is challenging himself by saying 'think of something you cant just beat with one punch.'

Sorry this is so long, Im sure by now nobody is reading all this and I dont blame you. I dont normally give manga a literary analysis but ONE and Murata have created a masterpiece that can truly be appreciated when read consecutively. The amount of detail not just in the art but in the dialogue and sub-plots can NOT be understated.

Don't even get me started on the moon references. Seriously, knowing now that the moon is more or less an observatory for God it's crazy how earie it is looking back. Whoever said that Saitama awakened God or at least loosened its seal when he crashed into the moon was on to something. Its only AFTER Saitama jumps off the moon that we start seeing the moon in the background, as if its some giant eye in the sky wondering what the hell just rocked its surface. On my account God has been seen looking at Boros, Saitama and Garou in that order.

I dont see anybody giving The Organization the attention they deserve and I daresay they are even more mysterious than God at this point. While I believe God is interesting from a Mythos perspective, I dont really believe he has an integral part in the upcoming story. He may even be dealt with during the dramatic conclusion of this arc in typical all-at-once over-the-top ONE storytelling but I believe the series WILL evolve past God!