Okay so this came about because of 2 things, and I tend to ask this question after every arc:
- It seems during the Vol 109 SBS, Oda made it very clear that he dropped the Underworld and Impel Down escapee plotlines and just gave them to Lucci's group so they could promote to CP0. This is the canon explanation, and it seems Film Gold (Tesoro being a major Underworld player) and Stampede (Bullet being an Impel Down Escapee) were used as presumed film plotlines to address dropped arc concepts if I had to guess how Luffy would have been involved in some way.
- As of 1121, Oda seemed to lay out our major endgame players (with one apparent addition):
Now I say this because I 100% believe this image is supposed to represent 0 hidden surprises when it comes to new roadblocks in this story. Oda removed those extraneous plotlines because he realized he dished out way too many factions involved in the endgame. I mean, count them out:
- Yonko
- Marines
- WG (incl. God Knights)
- RA
- Burned Scar Man (who has what everyone wants). And yes, Im sure most people can agree he's probably the silhouetted person above next to Imu. At this point, I assume this person is somehow tied to Rocks too, considering how much lingering history that character seems to have in the story.
I personally believe we only have 3 major arcs left (its possible there happens to be another island between Elbaf and Lodestar, but if anything I would assume thats more setup for the endgame than anything), and in that timeframe:
- Elbaf will be used to officially tie up the Burned Scar Man/possibly Rocks/4th Poneglyph storyline. At this point it seems very hard to imagine Shanks (who just left) or Blackbeard (who's about to find out about Pluton/Poseidon) or CG (who imo still isnt at their full strength) to be involved here, and while I thought it might have been Akainu, the Marines accomplished their goal at Egghead with no important/direct casualties. Imu/Gorosei imo make far less sense now too, as I assume the Revolutionary Army will begin their assault on Mariejoa and Saturn likely has to return the Mother Flame anyway.
- Between another Island and Lodestar, I assume by that point Luffy will have a massive target on his back. He has what'll be needed to get to Laugh Tale, so the interception at Lodestar by all Yonko and Marines imo would inherently make sense. Now I still think the WG on their own wont be involved here. Im imagining Uranus (which seems to be a flying ship), will be used anyway to get to Lodestar/LT by the end of the story. By this point I also assume Blackbeard will have Pluton and Shirahoshi (Poseidon) will be allied with Luffy. It is possible Noah is used to save FI (maybe Imu destroys Mariejoa himself?) and she comes to Luffy's aid. How these 3 ancient weapons play out I have no idea, but I 100% believe this was a very clear hint to who's involved in the ultimate endgame of the series. And yes, it is here where I can see Shanks, Mihawk, Akainu, Kuzan, etc losing (who knows about the rest of Teach's crew) because of this scene:
- Finally, I would assume Laugh Tale is where it all comes together. True history, the ancient weapons brought together by Imu, Luffy and Blackbeard, Vivi involved because of Lily, etc.
Idk how the wider endgames go (i.e. how the RA either lose or end up continuing their fight near Luffy, if Dragon meets Luffy/Garp, if Law/Kid/other Supernova/Neo MADS, BMP, Yamato, etc all get involved in their own way) or how Oda can even manage to draw all of it, but I feel like this our main structure (tldr):
- Elbaf -> Burned Scar Man/Rocks History
- Lodestar -> Big War/Shanks+Akainu+Mihawk+Dragon etc potentially lose.
- Laugh Tale -> Imu/Blackbeard + Ancient Weapons and One Piece. Any # of Luffy's allies (Hancock, Sabo, Yamato, Kuma, Kid/Law, etc) could be involved in this endgame given the size of the WG. Blackbeard....depends on his fallout from the prior arc imo.
This is just how I personally see it. If Elbaf is tied to getting the last RP (among its own lore), then I think structure here is pretty clear, but let me know what your opinion is on the endgame of this series. 3-4 arcs, given the nature of whats left, isnt a lot in the grand scheme of things lol...
- It seems during the Vol 109 SBS, Oda made it very clear that he dropped the Underworld and Impel Down escapee plotlines and just gave them to Lucci's group so they could promote to CP0. This is the canon explanation, and it seems Film Gold (Tesoro being a major Underworld player) and Stampede (Bullet being an Impel Down Escapee) were used as presumed film plotlines to address dropped arc concepts if I had to guess how Luffy would have been involved in some way.
- As of 1121, Oda seemed to lay out our major endgame players (with one apparent addition):
Now I say this because I 100% believe this image is supposed to represent 0 hidden surprises when it comes to new roadblocks in this story. Oda removed those extraneous plotlines because he realized he dished out way too many factions involved in the endgame. I mean, count them out:
- Yonko
- Marines
- WG (incl. God Knights)
- RA
- Burned Scar Man (who has what everyone wants). And yes, Im sure most people can agree he's probably the silhouetted person above next to Imu. At this point, I assume this person is somehow tied to Rocks too, considering how much lingering history that character seems to have in the story.
I personally believe we only have 3 major arcs left (its possible there happens to be another island between Elbaf and Lodestar, but if anything I would assume thats more setup for the endgame than anything), and in that timeframe:
- Elbaf will be used to officially tie up the Burned Scar Man/possibly Rocks/4th Poneglyph storyline. At this point it seems very hard to imagine Shanks (who just left) or Blackbeard (who's about to find out about Pluton/Poseidon) or CG (who imo still isnt at their full strength) to be involved here, and while I thought it might have been Akainu, the Marines accomplished their goal at Egghead with no important/direct casualties. Imu/Gorosei imo make far less sense now too, as I assume the Revolutionary Army will begin their assault on Mariejoa and Saturn likely has to return the Mother Flame anyway.
- Between another Island and Lodestar, I assume by that point Luffy will have a massive target on his back. He has what'll be needed to get to Laugh Tale, so the interception at Lodestar by all Yonko and Marines imo would inherently make sense. Now I still think the WG on their own wont be involved here. Im imagining Uranus (which seems to be a flying ship), will be used anyway to get to Lodestar/LT by the end of the story. By this point I also assume Blackbeard will have Pluton and Shirahoshi (Poseidon) will be allied with Luffy. It is possible Noah is used to save FI (maybe Imu destroys Mariejoa himself?) and she comes to Luffy's aid. How these 3 ancient weapons play out I have no idea, but I 100% believe this was a very clear hint to who's involved in the ultimate endgame of the series. And yes, it is here where I can see Shanks, Mihawk, Akainu, Kuzan, etc losing (who knows about the rest of Teach's crew) because of this scene:
- Finally, I would assume Laugh Tale is where it all comes together. True history, the ancient weapons brought together by Imu, Luffy and Blackbeard, Vivi involved because of Lily, etc.
Idk how the wider endgames go (i.e. how the RA either lose or end up continuing their fight near Luffy, if Dragon meets Luffy/Garp, if Law/Kid/other Supernova/Neo MADS, BMP, Yamato, etc all get involved in their own way) or how Oda can even manage to draw all of it, but I feel like this our main structure (tldr):
- Elbaf -> Burned Scar Man/Rocks History
- Lodestar -> Big War/Shanks+Akainu+Mihawk+Dragon etc potentially lose.
- Laugh Tale -> Imu/Blackbeard + Ancient Weapons and One Piece. Any # of Luffy's allies (Hancock, Sabo, Yamato, Kuma, Kid/Law, etc) could be involved in this endgame given the size of the WG. Blackbeard....depends on his fallout from the prior arc imo.
This is just how I personally see it. If Elbaf is tied to getting the last RP (among its own lore), then I think structure here is pretty clear, but let me know what your opinion is on the endgame of this series. 3-4 arcs, given the nature of whats left, isnt a lot in the grand scheme of things lol...
