Speculations I think the "final order" of antagonists is reasonable to consider when you think about Luffy and Zoro's matchups together

#23
I am talking about the WG being replaced by the CG. The marines matchups are up to debate(imo Luffy Kid Law and maybe Zoro vs Admirals) but the WG is clearly going to get reformed into an actual democracy because Oda has gone out of his way to explain that the true villains are the CDs, not the kings and queens that make up the WG
I think CG will take over the WG before Luffy destroys Mariejoa and they’ll be the final villains as they are the underworld of the world.

So I see it as Cross Guild will raid Mariejoa, defeat the marines and take over the world government
 
#24
I think it could be cool if zoro fights s-hawk this arc personally with a mix of kaku

As for the final fights i dont think itd make much sense to lower the scale much
Like if luffy fights bb after imu than he has to pose an even bigger and emediet threat than the wg
If luffy fights shanks it doesn't have to be since the emotional weight would be whats carrying it the most. At the start time i cant imagine the fight itself being all that interesting since i dont think shanks is all that strong
Cross Guild is likely to defeat the admirals (except Akainu) and take over the world government.
Likely in what way?
 
#27
This thread is probably going to get a lot of hate, but I feel it's a discussion we should be having as we get closer to the EoS. I'd say the worst "bias" I'll probably have here is towards Shanks as a character, but I think I've stayed pretty safe when it comes to the future PK and WSS matchups in general.

Anyway, one thing to consider: I'm only talking about known characters obviously. Whatever happens between Egghead and Laugh Tale and beyond is anyone's guess. Obviously, we don't know of there's some Underworld or Elbaf villain separate from anyone we know for example. So while I cover Egghead now, I can't really do the same logically for the rest, unless we assume some things about the next few arcs.


1. Getting the first controversial opinion out of the way: Egghead.

Luffy vs Kizaru: Hot topic this week but I feel that you only need to understand 1 simple rule in this series: Luffy faces the strongest opponent in the arc. If Kizaru is an antagonist, and if there is no one stronger than Kizaru, then its extremely likely this is a Luffy fight. Can Zoro clash with him? Of course, just as he did with Kaido and several other main antagonists in the past. I just think it's plainly obvious what happens if Kizaru ends up being the antagonist.

Zoro vs Kuma: This one is a bit harder to get people convinced, but consider 2 things: Zoro had one of his biggest moments in the series due to Kuma and the fact is, that he never truly defeated Kuma. Kuma's powers in fact are, in a way, a direct counter to Zoro's fighting style. Having Zoro actually surpass Kuma's broken reflection powers could be a next step over King. Is AdCoC enough to directly bypass a paramecia power? We know BB is the only person who can strictly cancel DF powers. There's also the question of Kuma's allegiance. Imo, he's not going to be bad, but Zoro may need to "rescue" him from some type of control or programming. We'll see how that goes down.

2. Since we don't know directly what the next arcs truly are (personally speculated to be Beehive, Elbaf and/or Lodedtar, but who truly knows), I'm just going to jump to Laugh Tale. But to point out, I consider Shanks and BB two sides of a coin that does 1 of 2 things: Either will serve as the final antagonist before One Piece or the actual final antagonist for the end of series. I do not believe the series directly ends against the Marines or WG. They ofc play a huge role will be there in the climax, but Blackbeard and Shanks are ultimately what matter most.

Luffy vs Blackbeard OR Shanks: Now consider that there may be ample time between Egghead and Laugh Tale for this matchup to have buildup, but with Shanks going after One Piece now, and Whitebeard telling Blackbeard he wont be the one to find One Piece, carry the true history on his back, and fight the WG, leads me to believe either Yonko will be fought at Laugh Tale as the final block to PK.

For the Luffy vs Shanks argument, it's pretty simple. Luffy defeats Shanks before "returning" the hat and becoming PK signifying he surpassed his idol. This makes sense because Shanks is confirmed to be going after the treasure now. Now as for "why", my argument is that there's just simply way too little we know about him. His odd interactions with unlikely people, his hidden motivations and actions that make you question his intentions. Then there is the sheer capacity of his haki and feats pulled off by his character in the story.

For the Luffy vs Blackbeard argument, he's actively looking to steal Road Poneglyphs from Law, who should have 2 or 3. Luffy and BB are polar opposites and as with WBs speech, will essentially fight to lead the D. Clan to take down the world's oppressors (though in BBs case, he'd just be the new oppressor).


B. Zoro vs Shiryu or Beckman: Obvious outcome. Now, Shiryu is partially the reason why I think BB is going down first, primarily because Mihawk exists and Shiryu does not have a black blade. I won't assume though that he's not a powerhouse, I just struggle to see how he's Zoro's last fight. Beckman personally works IF Shanks is going down earlier and not later. If Shanks goes down later as the final battle, then I think Mihawk needs to be Zoro's matchup simply because he and Shanks have history and what Mihawk represents for Zoro as the WSS.

Again, whichever Yonko doesn't fall at Laugh Tale, the other may be the final antagonist considering what the represent for the MC. It depends on what is done by Laugh Tale.


3. Final War machups with the Marines and WG. These imo are the simplest, especially if Kizaru is handled at Egghead.

Luffy vs Akainu and Im: Akainu is pretty obvious. It doesnt make sense with the amount of plot buildup. Now, Im is an assumption though, based in potential strength of the Gorosei and this being a shonen. Wont spend too much time on this one.

Zoro vs Fujitora and Ghandi: Commensurate with Luffy's fights, these work the best base on what is left. Fuji being a swordsman, and Ghandi having Shodai Kitetsu, which may link back to Wano and even him recognizing traits of Zoro when compared to Ryuuma or someone else, really can support this.


4. Yes, I think there's one more fight after the final war, at potentially God Valley. And yes, these would be the surviving Yonko that did not fall at Laugh Tale. In either case, Shanks and BB both have arguments because of their ties to the island: Shanks was found there by Roger after the incident and BB has loose ties to Rocks in his own way (mainly due to his ship's name and speculation on that)

As for Luffy's merit with both, we know the reasons why at this point, and whomever isn't fought before he's PK will have a larger presence on the endgame.

Zoro's side is a bit more interesting however. I think, regardless of the route that's gone, Mihawk must be the fight that is directly associated to Zoro. This means either making Shiryu or Beckman irrelevant, or having them fight someone else.

Personally, I believe more in the "Blackbeard first, Shanks last" route, but who knows. There's also the possibility that yes, Shanks isn't fought directly, which changes things up significantly. But I think it's ultimately important to consider something: Mihawk genuinely has no other direct history or connection to anyone save for Shanks. He's (currently) not allied to the government or Marines and is in fact, hunting them. If Mihawk is 100% Zoro's last fight, it puts into question where Mihawks relevancy will ultimately be important, because Zoro vs Mihawk is all but guaranteed to be the 2nd to last fight in the series (obvious Luffy will get the last one).

As Kaido said, "Haki conquers all", which is why I think the series may end with these 2 powerhouses in a primarily haki based battle.


Tldr:

There are 4-5 more major fights for Luffy and Zoro (assuming there aren't surprise fights between Egghead-Laugh Tale, which there might be) and those are:


- Luffy vs Kizaru
- Luffy vs Blackbeard or Shanks
- Luffy vs Akainu
- Luffy vs Im
- Luffy vs Blackbeard or Shanks

- Zoro vs Kuma
- Zoro vs Shiryu or Beckman
- Zoro vs Fujitora
- Zoro vs Ghandi
- Zoro vs Mihawk (in placement of either Shiryu or Beckman)

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Some tags (not many too lazy tbh):

Nice
 
#30
I’m well aware, however, the citizens of the OP world see the marines as a positive force in the world. Luffys not going to be responsible for taking out a positive force in the world because luffy, despite what he wants, is constantly set up as a big hero.
A lot of them are scared also because the WG rules over them. There are kingdom's probably opress their thoughts too from spreading to the WG's eye to not lose their status, as we saw any one from the WG would just fo wild on a nation not affiliated to them doing whatever hey would want.

While marines obey them. Even Akainu and Kizaru are on board with killing Vegapunk, Cross Guild aint the answer for that, the actions of straw hats and revs are. They might effect navy in one way or other the marines with their hunting but not defeating them completely
 
#31
Buggy’s just a placeholder for Imu. Imu will be the final villain, but I think the world will see Buggy as the king of the world when CG takes the Mariejoa, just like he was seen as the emperor.
How do you think the WG will be taken over by CG but at the same time think Imu will be the final villain?

Also this is a crackpot theory which is fine, but to say it's likely to happen is crazy lmao
 
#32
A lot of them are scared also because the WG rules over them. There are kingdom's probably opress their thoughts too from spreading to the WG's eye to not lose their status, as we saw any one from the WG would just fo wild on a nation not affiliated to them doing whatever hey would want.

While marines obey them. Even Akainu and Kizaru are on board with killing Vegapunk, Cross Guild aint the answer for that, the actions of straw hats and revs are.
Yes there are some that disagree with the marines, but they’re a minority in the OP world. The Marineford war showed how much the people in the world all over were cheering for the marines. The vast majority of the citizens believe that the marines are the good guys. Only a small amount would be happy to see Luffy take them down.
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How do you think the WG will be taken over by CG but at the same time think Imu will be the final villain?

Also this is a crackpot theory which is fine, but to say it's likely to happen is crazy lmao
I’m saying if Cross Guild is going to be important (I’d be shocked if they aren’t) is that they only make sense as the EOS villains merely because of Mihawk.

And:
1. Cross Guild declares war on the World Government (crocodile and Mihawks dreams are dependent on the WGs fall)
2. The admirals come to stop them
3. Buggy “bravely” says he’ll go ahead to invade the castle (really looks for a place to hide)
4. Buggy accidentally stumbles into Imus throne room and meets Imu
5. Buggy begs and pleads imu to let him live, Imu agrees since his current faces (the gorosei) are about to be defeated and he’ll need someone knew to pass out Imus divine law.
6. Buggy is seen sitting on the empty throne and the world over claims he’s the king of the world when it’s really just Imu backing him.

So literally the exact same way he became a warlord and a yonko.
 
#36
Mihawk won’t be Zoro’s final fight. He’ll have a fight as the WSS just as Luffy will have a fight as the Pirate King.

That being said, there’s no point in having Yonko when there’s a Pirate King, so I see all the Yonko getting dealt with by the end of Raftel.
At that point, it’s just pirates allied under the Pirate King taking on the WG.
 
#37
Mihawk won’t be Zoro’s final fight. He’ll have a fight as the WSS just as Luffy will have a fight as the Pirate King.

That being said, there’s no point in having Yonko when there’s a Pirate King, so I see all the Yonko getting dealt with by the end of Raftel.

At that point, it’s just pirates allied under the Pirate King taking on the WG.
While I'd normally agree with this statement, Oda had made it pretty clear that PK isn't Luffy's endgoal, unlike Zoro's. Becoming PK is just a stepping stone for what he really wants to do.

When it comes to Shanks, my point is that we really don't know what he wants. He's only now going after One Piece, but we've never heard him actually declaring he wants to actually be PK. There's still this hidden mystery of what he intends to do going forward and what his goals are. Like Luffy's secret dream, I wonder if Shanks has something that parallels or even stands as a roadblock to it.

I do agree that there's still a very real possibility that he and/or BB can go down before the final war, but I still believe his goals are deeper than PK/rule the world like Blackbeards is. This is why i can see him lasting beyond the PK seat.
 
#38
Cross Guild is likely to defeat the admirals (except Akainu) and take over the world government.
Cross guild is too weak to accomplish that.

One top tier. One high tier. And a bunch of fodders
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There are good marines just as there are pirates, same for bad/antagonistic.
Even from the pirate-centric narrative of OP, it has been made very clear that like 95% of the marines are good guys and maybe like 5% of the pirates are good guys.

I think this is how it is seen generally by the OP world as well.
So Luffy and co taking out marines would be bad optics (as well as objectively a bad thing IMO) is I think what @Sir Yasheen is saying
 
#39
However Luffy have much more Fights
His next Opponent is indeed Kizaru but not on Egghead, Kizaru is coming to capture him, simply cuz Luffy is getting defeated soon (By the one responsible for CP Ships Disappearance)
I think it was Vegapunk who disappeared them. But if not, and if there is indeed someone super strong out there, that person would need to be a hidden yonko like Mihawk. Someone with the strength but without the territories, Grand Fleet and allies. Would be cool but I can't see it happening.
 
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