Yeah, just means weโre reaching the climax of the story. It can still take however many years/chapters as necessary, but itโs the admission that weโre not gonna have much more happen that isnโt salient to the overarching plot.
What is nice is that One Piece already has it all set up as opposed to other manga (Bleach/Naruto) which have shoehorned their final arc plots as entirely new material. But so far, even if its the "end", one piece has to serve a gargantuan amount of plotwork to service the story:
- Blackbeard and Shanks, their crews, their presence and how important they factor into the remaining story (Rocks, One Piece, etc).
- The World Government (Im, Gorosei, Kong, subordinates): An increased focus on what they are, who they are, revelations etc.
- The Marines (Akainu, Admirals, Vice Admirals, Garp, Sengoku, Smoker, Koby, etc). How all the split ideologies end up. Fates of marines in general.
- The Revolutionaries (Dragon, Sabo, Ivankov, the 4 commanders) and their overall goals. Dragon's motivations. Relation to Kuma and what Kuma's goals were. Relation to Vegapunk and the Marines overall.
- Locations such as Elbaf, God Valley, Lodestar, etc being further touched upon. Finding the final Road Poneglyph.
- Laugh Tale as a whole
- How the Final War (s) play out.
- Supernova fates
- Strawhat Fleet Importance
- All of the hidden mysteries, lore, etc (Ancient Weapons, Will of D. Void Century)
- Strawhat Dreams
- One Piece itself
And this doesn't even touch on the secondary shit that needs addressing (Weevil, Silver Medalists escaping Impel Down, etc) or how major characters continue to factor into the plot (Mihawk, Vivi, Sabo, Hancock, Crocodile, etc).
Its going to massive man. I don't get how people think it will only take another 4-5 years and 200 chapters lol. Wano itself is almost a 100 chapters with no end in sight and it itself is only a conclusion of a massive 400 chapter plotline with 2 Yonko, to which its even teasing MORE with Rocks.
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It can't be less than 6-7 years imo
Too many events to end it in 5
Last year will probably feature all what happens after Teach is defeated however
For example Brook meeting Laboon again etc
Tbh, I see the entire epilogue taking almost a year to do, and I can see Oda enjoying that shit. He spent nearly 10 chapters before the timeskip updating everyone about most characters. Now imagine having to tie up a vast amount of additional characters with definitive ends. I can see a ton of individual chapters after the end.
What i don't understand is how people think Oda could spend nearly 450 chapters so far on the New World and 2 Yonko (granted with their massive crews and a ton of island inhabitants like Dressrosa, WCI or Wano) and not expect him to spend nearly as much time on vastly more important characters.
I think people are severely underestimating the longevity of how much is likely left, because the characters that do need panel time are way more important than Scabbards or secondary BMP or Beasts Pirate members. Its going to an interesting few years to say the least. I dont see Oda rushing his magnum opus, nor anyone forcing him to. Its too special to rush.