Speculations Are there any important hints we missed in the last 3-4 chapters?

[RebelliousSoma]

This isn't a topic about Luffy vs Kizaru, although that's the only thing that appears have been covered in the last 3 chapters prior to 1095 (1092, 1093, 1094)

We can all agree the fight was underwhelming, so admiral agenda is irrelevant right now. The question is what was there of importance in these chapters apart from the dragged out fight?

Kuma "one day ago", whenever that is, is at Mariejois going on rampage. He fights a bit. We see Sasaki's ironical monologue. Will he defect? Is this foreshadowing?
We can accept Kuma might come in time for the rescue, depends on Oda really, although I am certain it takes 3 days to travel in the bubble.

VegaPunk might have made a promise to Kuma to protect Bonney, or the relation as a friend is much closer. Might be a family sort of bond. Kuma is likely rushing to protect VegaPunk I believe based on some panels in 1067 when he started making his move as soon as CP0 announced their entrance and it was clear they want to off VegaPunk.

There might be the implication of Kuma having the highest authority over the Pacifistas.
However Pacifistas seem to be the biggest issue apart from Saturn. Since Saturn's order can't be overriden by VegaPunk, maybe that's why Kuma's presence is so important. Even if they defeat Saturn they need to deal with them or as Atlas says, they will get fried up!

Franky might power up and shine. Looks like there's some foreshadowing with that. Bonney is the character that will need saving and she doesn't seem to get a powerup. That's the direction Oda seems to prefer right now.

So first thing after the long flashback will be Kuma. Question is can he override the Pacifistas? Because someone has to override them before the battle between Luffy and Saturn otherwise they'd get in the way, but maybe Luffy's magically recovers and he can handle them all?


Now the reason for the thread is: Are there any extra plot elements or character pasts / relationships that matter and we have overlooked?
Kizaru knows about Bonney's past, so does Sakazuki. How much do they know really? Were they ever slaves themselves and then given DFs?
During God Valley, they might have been as old as Ivankov and Kuma.


Post any details you think that were missed out because of the battle that achieved nothing. I don't even see the battle itself foreshadowing anything, unless Luffy's deflection of Kizaru's light attack is meant as a way to say that is going to be his 2nd DF and the extra light will help him counter BB easier.

 

[bluefire12]

Cross underworld and God valley
Five families are underworld organizations in the west blue,
Bege was a mob boss
Cross guild is funded by underworld organizations
God valley in the west blue

 

[RebelliousSoma]

Spoiler

@Gol D. Roger @Kurozumi Wiwi @MonsterKaido @Sasaki Kojirō @Elder Lee Hung @Extravlad @Tejas @Erkan12 @Sir Yasheen @Fleet Leader Fenaker @ZenZu @RebelliousSoma @Cinera @Adamxero @Warchief Sanji D Goat @Monster Zoro's Tesla Supplier @Tai long @RayanOO @DonWick @Swallalala @park_min young @Heart pirate @Law-sama @comrade @Blahmigooo @ConquistadoR @JoNdule @Pringles @SkySanji @SkySanji @comrade @MonsterKaido @Tejas @Monster Zoro's Tesla Supplier @Swallalala @RebelliousSoma @Rokayder @JoNdule @Blazing Lion @Luffy is the mc @MonsterKaido @Monster Zoro's Tesla Supplier @Kerkovian @Monster Zoro's Tesla Supplier @MonsterKaido @Tejas @RebelliousSoma @terabyte @SkySanji @Hanzo hattori @gz89 @Durableguy @Yoho

 

[Yoho]

Well what I've been thinking is

Most people thought that Kuma saved Luffy because of his connection to dragon but

Not even iva knew dragon had a kid there's no reason dragon would tell Kuma and not tell Iva

And recent chapters show that Kuma knew about the legend of Nika

So what I'm asking is

What if Kuma saved Luffy and his crew because he knew that his fruit was actually the nika fruit ?

A pay it forward type of deal

Saved Luffy then so Luffy will be alive to save Bonney now

 

[Pringles]

Well what I've been thinking is

Most people thought that Kuma saved Luffy because of his connection to dragon but

Not even iva knew dragon had a kid there's no reason dragon would tell Kuma and not tell Iva

And recent chapters show that Kuma knew about the legend of Nika

So what I'm asking is

What if Kuma saved Luffy and his crew because he knew that his fruit was actually the nika fruit ?

A pay it forward type of deal

Saved Luffy then so Luffy will be alive to save Bonney now

Imagine Rayleigh who knew about Nika through Shanks or Laugh Tale told Kuma

 

[Kerkovian]

Revolutionary Army plotline could be connected to the Egghead incident. If this flashback deals with the life of Kuma, Oda could want to explore his relationship and time at the RA, how he became the Sorbet King, why he volunteered to be an experiment. The Ivankov bit during the Marineford is going to be touched in this flashback.

 

[Yoho]

Imagine Rayleigh who knew about Nika through Shanks or Laugh Tale told Kuma

Idk it felt like Sabaody was the first time Rayleigh ever met Kuma in person he was shocked that he was there

There wasn't any indication they ever met in person

 

[RebelliousSoma]

Well what I've been thinking is

Most people thought that Kuma saved Luffy because of his connection to dragon but

Not even iva knew dragon had a kid there's no reason dragon would tell Kuma and not tell Iva

And recent chapters show that Kuma knew about the legend of Nika

So what I'm asking is

What if Kuma saved Luffy and his crew because he knew that his fruit was actually the nika fruit ?

A pay it forward type of deal

Saved Luffy then so Luffy will be alive to save Bonney now

Kuma saved Luffy in thriller bark too. He must have been spying on the WG for a long time if that's the case. He must have used his Warlord title just to further his Nika agenda! Literally.

 

[Yoho]

Kuma saved Luffy in thriller bark too. He must have been spying on the WG for a long time if that's the case. He must have used his Warlord title just to further his Nika agenda! Literally.

🤔 I wouldn't say he saved them I saw it more like testing his crews loyalty

 

[Sasaki Kojirō]

I am a fan of the admiral, so I must have missed about 90% of the entire manga. I only pay attention to what suits me.

 

[Pringles]

Kuma saved Luffy in thriller bark too. He must have been spying on the WG for a long time if that's the case. He must have used his Warlord title just to further his Nika agenda! Literally.

That's why I think Shanks is a pirate pretending to be a Celestial Dragon.

I even think that the Holy Knights are just Shanks' pirates, a yonko crew pretending to be on the side of the WG.

The WG thinks they are on their side but they are not.

They are just pretending to be on the WG side, while the WG thinks they are pirates who are on their side.

The final war that will happen in Elbaf as I hypothesize may be perfectly tied with Shanks betraying the WG.

 

[RebelliousSoma]

I am a fan of the admiral, so I must have missed about 90% of the entire manga. I only pay attention to what suits me.

Congratulations on surviving this long then because they don't get much coverage. Garp has rejected so many promotions it's likely he would have been fleet-desk-admiral before Sengoku.

Why did he reject so many promotions? His story might be involved at God Valley and he might have seen something that convinced him he never wants to get any closer to celestial dragons but he does believe in justice, sort of despite the WG top being corrupt.
Maybe we get a reveal if and why Dragon was a former admiral but defected.

 

[Blazing Lion]

The hint is that the Gorosei are not frauds, Oda can do anything for plot like Saturn asking the marines to shoot and kill Bonney when he can do it himself. Saturn does not seem as flustered as they did during Nika reveal.

The age of the Gorosei is a mystery, Saturn looked the same 40 years ago and yet they talk of Nika as an ancient legend so they are most likely not from the void century time. They could have longer lives like the giants though.

Giants and Elbaf are one of the biggest mysteries now, Buccaneers having giant blood, giants living longer, Elbaf being an independent country like Wano and having one of the greatest military strengths. BM and WG wanting giantification. The big straw hat in MG meaning that the previous Joyboy might actually have been a giant.

And all this to put some respect on Sabos name, the guy escaped from 6 of these monsters.

 

[RebelliousSoma]

That's why I think Shanks is a pirate pretending to be a Celestial Dragon.

I even think that the Holy Knights are just Shanks' pirates, a yonko crew pretending to be on the side of the WG.

The WG thinks they are on their side but they are not.

They are just pretending to be on the WG side, while the WG thinks they are pirates who are on their side.

The final war that will happen in Elbaf as I hypothesize may be perfectly tied with Shanks betraying the WG.

Isn't that a bit of stretch? Surely Garling would have noticed by now that something's fishy in the Holy Knight. Garling surely is the strongest Holy Knight.

Remember your reverse thread? What makes you so sure Elbaf isn't a reverse of Amazon Lili? This might be where he loses a friend, Shanks.

 

[Paperchampion23]

Cross underworld and God valley
Five families are underworld organizations in the west blue,
Bege was a mob boss
Cross guild is funded by underworld organizations
God valley in the west blue

The Cross Guild one especially is one I feel people miss. They are funding Cross Guild to hunt Marines.

both chapter 860 (when they are introduced) and chapter 1082 use the term 裏社会の帝王達 or Urashakai no Teiō-tachi

It would not surprise me either if Stussy or one of these 5 other men know the Burned Man's location. Oda definitely hasnt forgot about the Underworld
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That's why I think Shanks is a pirate pretending to be a Celestial Dragon.

I even think that the Holy Knights are just Shanks' pirates, a yonko crew pretending to be on the side of the WG.

The WG thinks they are on their side but they are not.

They are just pretending to be on the WG side, while the WG thinks they are pirates who are on their side.

The final war that will happen in Elbaf as I hypothesize may be perfectly tied with Shanks betraying the WG.

The entire problem with this setup is that when you introduce a double agent, you introduce them on the side of antagonism or protagonism first, only to betray it. Shanks is "currently" a supporting protagonist in the story, with the possibility of an antagonist being his role, not the other way around.

 

[Pringles]

Isn't that a bit of stretch? Surely Garling would have noticed by now that something's fishy in the Holy Knight. Garling surely is the strongest Holy Knight.

Remember your reverse thread? What makes you so sure Elbaf isn't a reverse of Amazon Lili? This might be where he loses a friend, Shanks.

This is the final sagar Soma, Oda can't introduce new characters and new plotlines only for the sake of it.

That's what is making me certain that the consciousnesses of Kuma and of the ancient robot were switched, this is a plot twist and the easiest (and best) explanation Oda can come up with Kuma rampaging Marie Geoise, while he was supposed to be controlled by the WG.

Now, let's go back to your question. I think we both agree that Oda can't introduce new characters as this would be poor writing.

I believe that Shanks' crew is a "fake emperor crew" in the eyes of the World Government that was set to counter the other yonko and establish world balance. That's why they call him the "holy knights", only Shanks is aware of the connection that his crew has with the WG. The rest of the pirates believe they are only a crew under Shanks and nothing else.

The holy knights ensure the world balance by intervening where they should. Shanks stopped the final war and stopped Kaido from coming to Marineford.

Shanks is a pirate who is having a mission, to bring the future JoyBoy.

He stole the Nika fruit from the WG and wanted to give it to Ace, Roger's son. However, instead, it was Luffy who ate it.

However, Shanks knew he couldn't keep it to himself and had to alert the Gorosei, otherwise he would probably lose their trust, or he wanted the Gorosei to trigger the awakening.

Once Shanks realized that Luffy was on the verge of awakening his fruit, he alerted the Gorsesi and told them about the Nika fruit, maybe he lied to them on purpose, or he knew that Luffy could awaken the fruit as he bet on him but he needed to be killed beforehand.

What was the Gorosei's reaction? They were shocked and surprised. This couldn't be possible.

What happened next? They sent one of their best agents to prevent the awakening.

The Gorosei thought this was enough, however Luffy awakened his fruit and defeated Kaido. What happened then? They tried to take all of the credit from Luffy so the world wouldn't be alerted and they wouldn't realize that such a strong character was back to free them from the oppression of the World Government.

Now, what will happen? Luffy will defeat Saturn, one of the Gorosei, and everybody will know about Nika returning, this is the shocking outcome of the Egghead incident.

Meanwhile, Shanks and his crew (the holy knights) are going after Blackbeard because they are the real threat from Luffy liberating the world from the oppression of the World Government.

Shanks is an emperor who has a strong crew and who is pretending to act for the good of the World Government. The World Government considers him as the holy knights when the rest of the world consider him as an emperor crew.

You could wonder why the World Government hasn't realized that Shanks is not acting for their good but Shanks is playing with this very carefully and playing 5D chess, he is weighing all of his actions and he knows perfectly what he is doing.

He tells the Gorosei the stuff he can tell them, but he still keeps most of the stuff to himself.

He is the perfect agent that can infiltrate the Gorosei and play with them, this is his role in the story.

Luffy will surpass Shanks by defeating Saturn. He will get a higher bounty and Luffy will give his SH back to Shanks.

This has to happen in Elbaf, Shanks' homeland. That's where Luffy will give his SH to Shanks and it's perfectly fitting.

Now, Luffy will get angry over Shanks when he knows that he has a connection with the WG and he will lose a friend.

However, Shanks will sacrifice himself for Luffy and probably protect him from Blackbeard. That's when Shanks will die.

 

[Paperchampion23]

This is the final sagar Soma, Oda can't introduce new characters and new plotlines only for the sake of it.

That's what is making me certain that the consciousnesses of Kuma and of the ancient robot were switched, this is a plot twist and the easiest (and best) explanation Oda can come up with Kuma rampaging Marie Geoise, while he was supposed to be controlled by the WG.

Now, let's go back to your question. I think we both agree that Oda can't introduce new characters as this would be poor writing.

I believe that Shanks' crew is a "fake emperor crew" in the eyes of the World Government that was set to counter the other yonko and establish world balance. That's why they call him the "holy knights", only Shanks is aware of the connection that his crew has with the WG. The rest of the pirates believe they are only a crew under Shanks and nothing else.

The holy knights ensure the world balance by intervening where they should. Shanks stopped the final war and stopped Kaido from coming to Marineford.

Shanks is a pirate who is having a mission, to bring the future JoyBoy.

He stole the Nika fruit from the WG and wanted to give it to Ace, Roger's son. However, instead, it was Luffy who ate it.

However, Shanks knew he couldn't keep it to himself and had to alert the Gorosei, otherwise he would probably lose their trust, or he wanted the Gorosei to trigger the awakening.

Once Shanks realized that Luffy was on the verge of awakening his fruit, he alerted the Gorsesi and told them about the Nika fruit, maybe he lied to them on purpose, or he knew that Luffy could awaken the fruit as he bet on him but he needed to be killed beforehand.

What was the Gorosei's reaction? They were shocked and surprised. This couldn't be possible.

What happened next? They sent one of their best agents to prevent the awakening.

The Gorosei thought this was enough, however Luffy awakened his fruit and defeated Kaido. What happened then? They tried to take all of the credit from Luffy so the world wouldn't be alerted and they wouldn't realize that such a strong character was back to free them from the oppression of the World Government.

Now, what will happen? Luffy will defeat Saturn, one of the Gorosei, and everybody will know about Nika returning, this is the shocking outcome of the Egghead incident.

Meanwhile, Shanks and his crew (the holy knights) are going after Blackbeard because they are the real threat from Luffy liberating the world from the oppression of the World Government.

Shanks is an emperor who has a strong crew and who is pretending to act for the good of the World Government. The World Government considers him as the holy knights when the rest of the world consider him as an emperor crew.

You could wonder why the World Government hasn't realized that Shanks is not acting for their good but Shanks is playing with this very carefully and playing 5D chess, he is weighing all of his actions and he knows perfectly what he is doing.

He tells the Gorosei the stuff he can tell them, but he still keeps most of the stuff to himself.

He is the perfect agent that can infiltrate the Gorosei and play with them, this is his role in the story.

In a way, to a degree, I can see the point being made about his crew being the Gods Knights, we technically do not know the last names of any of Shanks' crew sans Beckman and Roux, unlike Blackbeard'a.....which is interesting.

Though Id have to disagree on the 5D chess part. Again, double agents are usually shown as bad or good first, then the opposite later. Shanks has been shown as good for 90% of the manga, and only at the point of my PFP did he start saying or doing weird things that could have people change their mind about him.

So if he and his father run the God Knights, then my expectation is that they are straight up antagonists through and through. That being said, im still expecting original characters under Garling, with Shanks just aiming for his own goals, but wouldnt mind if this was the twist.

 

[Cruxroux]

Plot twist Admirals are slaves kid of God Valley too.


I didn't see any of the admirals doing great and living a luxury life in their kid sketches oda drew.

 

[RebelliousSoma]

This is the final sagar Soma, Oda can't introduce new characters and new plotlines only for the sake of it.

That's what is making me certain that the consciousnesses of Kuma and of the ancient robot were switched, this is a plot twist and the easiest (and best) explanation Oda can come up with Kuma rampaging Marie Geoise, while he was supposed to be controlled by the WG.

Now, let's go back to your question. I think we both agree that Oda can't introduce new characters as this would be poor writing.

I believe that Shanks' crew is a "fake emperor crew" in the eyes of the World Government that was set to counter the other yonko and establish world balance. That's why they call him the "holy knights", only Shanks is aware of the connection that his crew has with the WG. The rest of the pirates believe they are only a crew under Shanks and nothing else.

The holy knights ensure the world balance by intervening where they should. Shanks stopped the final war and stopped Kaido from coming to Marineford.

Shanks is a pirate who is having a mission, to bring the future JoyBoy.

He stole the Nika fruit from the WG and wanted to give it to Ace, Roger's son. However, instead, it was Luffy who ate it.

However, Shanks knew he couldn't keep it to himself and had to alert the Gorosei, otherwise he would probably lose their trust, or he wanted the Gorosei to trigger the awakening.

Once Shanks realized that Luffy was on the verge of awakening his fruit, he alerted the Gorsesi and told them about the Nika fruit, maybe he lied to them on purpose, or he knew that Luffy could awaken the fruit as he bet on him but he needed to be killed beforehand.

What was the Gorosei's reaction? They were shocked and surprised. This couldn't be possible.

What happened next? They sent one of their best agents to prevent the awakening.

The Gorosei thought this was enough, however Luffy awakened his fruit and defeated Kaido. What happened then? They tried to take all of the credit from Luffy so the world wouldn't be alerted and they wouldn't realize that such a strong character was back to free them from the oppression of the World Government.

Now, what will happen? Luffy will defeat Saturn, one of the Gorosei, and everybody will know about Nika returning, this is the shocking outcome of the Egghead incident.

Meanwhile, Shanks and his crew (the holy knights) are going after Blackbeard because they are the real threat from Luffy liberating the world from the oppression of the World Government.

Shanks is an emperor who has a strong crew and who is pretending to act for the good of the World Government. The World Government considers him as the holy knights when the rest of the world consider him as an emperor crew.

You could wonder why the World Government hasn't realized that Shanks is not acting for their good but Shanks is playing with this very carefully and playing 5D chess, he is weighing all of his actions and he knows perfectly what he is doing.

He tells the Gorosei the stuff he can tell them, but he still keeps most of the stuff to himself.

He is the perfect agent that can infiltrate the Gorosei and play with them, this is his role in the story.

Feel free to make a comparison then:
red hed pirates: https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Red_Hair_Pirates
god's knights : https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/God's_Knights

Shadows of God Knights don't match. Which one is Roux? Their heights are all different and more varied compared to Shanks crew. Doesn't that mae Garling the captain?

Would make more sense to have select characters from One Piece be the God Knights. Shanks could be one, but his crew isn't necessarily it.
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Plot twist Admirals are slaves kid of God Valley too.


I didn't see any of the admirals doing great and living a luxury life in their kid sketches oda drew.

Yes, I also mentioned this in the opening post. Definitely a possibility.

Now the reason for the thread is: Are there any extra plot elements or character pasts / relationships that matter and we have overlooked?
Kizaru knows about Bonney's past, so does Sakazuki. How much do they know really? Were they ever slaves themselves and then given DFs?
During God Valley, they might have been as old as Ivankov and Kuma.

 

[BlackLegFring]

This is the final sagar Soma, Oda can't introduce new characters and new plotlines only for the sake of it.

That's what is making me certain that the consciousnesses of Kuma and of the ancient robot were switched, this is a plot twist and the easiest (and best) explanation Oda can come up with Kuma rampaging Marie Geoise, while he was supposed to be controlled by the WG.

Now, let's go back to your question. I think we both agree that Oda can't introduce new characters as this would be poor writing.

I believe that Shanks' crew is a "fake emperor crew" in the eyes of the World Government that was set to counter the other yonko and establish world balance. That's why they call him the "holy knights", only Shanks is aware of the connection that his crew has with the WG. The rest of the pirates believe they are only a crew under Shanks and nothing else.

The holy knights ensure the world balance by intervening where they should. Shanks stopped the final war and stopped Kaido from coming to Marineford.

Shanks is a pirate who is having a mission, to bring the future JoyBoy.

He stole the Nika fruit from the WG and wanted to give it to Ace, Roger's son. However, instead, it was Luffy who ate it.

However, Shanks knew he couldn't keep it to himself and had to alert the Gorosei, otherwise he would probably lose their trust, or he wanted the Gorosei to trigger the awakening.

Once Shanks realized that Luffy was on the verge of awakening his fruit, he alerted the Gorsesi and told them about the Nika fruit, maybe he lied to them on purpose, or he knew that Luffy could awaken the fruit as he bet on him but he needed to be killed beforehand.

What was the Gorosei's reaction? They were shocked and surprised. This couldn't be possible.

What happened next? They sent one of their best agents to prevent the awakening.

The Gorosei thought this was enough, however Luffy awakened his fruit and defeated Kaido. What happened then? They tried to take all of the credit from Luffy so the world wouldn't be alerted and they wouldn't realize that such a strong character was back to free them from the oppression of the World Government.

Now, what will happen? Luffy will defeat Saturn, one of the Gorosei, and everybody will know about Nika returning, this is the shocking outcome of the Egghead incident.

Meanwhile, Shanks and his crew (the holy knights) are going after Blackbeard because they are the real threat from Luffy liberating the world from the oppression of the World Government.

Shanks is an emperor who has a strong crew and who is pretending to act for the good of the World Government. The World Government considers him as the holy knights when the rest of the world consider him as an emperor crew.

You could wonder why the World Government hasn't realized that Shanks is not acting for their good but Shanks is playing with this very carefully and playing 5D chess, he is weighing all of his actions and he knows perfectly what he is doing.

He tells the Gorosei the stuff he can tell them, but he still keeps most of the stuff to himself.

He is the perfect agent that can infiltrate the Gorosei and play with them, this is his role in the story.

Luffy will surpass Shanks by defeating Saturn. He will get a higher bounty and Luffy will give his SH back to Shanks.

This has to happen in Elbaf, Shanks' homeland. That's where Luffy will give his SH to Shanks and it's perfectly fitting.

Now, Luffy will get angry over Shanks when he knows that he has a connection with the WG and he will lose a friend.

However, Shanks will sacrifice himself for Luffy and probably protect him from Blackbeard.

Nah, that’s just a whole bunch of gobbledygook.

The Holy Knights are obviously CDs situated in Mariejois where they judged disputes between Celestials.

The Gorosei wouldn’t be concerned about them meeting up with Whitebeard and losing the Marine fleet watching them in the first place.
Shanks wouldn’t go out of his way to protect weakling pirates when Garling says those who protect scum are worse than scum.
That would also imply that Beckman and co were happily participating in elimination tournaments like God Valley, wiping out slaves and innocent civilians.

Did you fall for a YouTuber-level inane theory?