A lot of people have a frankly delusional idea regarding Elbaf. Its this idea that an island hyped since east blue, with more build up than wano, will somehow be a short Zou like arc.
No, Elbaf easily has the set up to be the next big war arc. And unless Oda rushes things(which I doubt shueisha wants him to do), that's probably what it will be.
So using that framework, lets think about something. Wano had 2 major set up arcs: Zou and WCI. As such, I think it wouldn't make much sense to go straight from Egghead to Elbaf.
Yeah, the SHs want to go to elbaf, but there's an issue with that plan. Kizaru. Kizaru moves at light speed and hence someone needs to stay back on Egghead to stop him. This opens up the possibility of a crew separation, just like we had in Dressrosa and subsequently WCI. And with Kuma headed somewhere, there you have Luffy's ticket back to WCI.
But why would we go back to WCI? Surely it would be a pointless arc? Well putting the blind hatred of BM to the side, there are major plot points that need to be addressed and WCI could provide an opportunity to do this.
Totland is a major territory in the NW. So much so that BM's dominion over it made her yonko. As of yet, we have no idea what happened to it after BM fell and Kuzan took Pudding. But it is an extremely significant area in the power structure of the new world, and Oda can't just skip over it because fans hate Big Mom.
Ultimately, with Pudding being captured, the BMP are possibly a massive ally in the battle against Teach. However, with BM gone, its entirely possible that this territory is being subjugated or threatened by some outside force. My guess is that Luffy will overcome whatever is threatening/subjugating WCI, and form an alliance with Kata to bring down Teach.
But you may ask, who could possibly threaten WCI?
Honestly, its now or never for Akainu. This arc Luffy is going to beat Kizaru. Akainu afterwards would make a lot of sense. However, if Luffy doesn't fight Akainu next arc, he will in all likelihood never be an arc villain and will probably be defeated by Sabo. If Luffy fights Akainu post Teach, he'll be too strong and it will be a beatdown.
So yeah, WCI 2.0 will accomplish these plot points:
No, Elbaf easily has the set up to be the next big war arc. And unless Oda rushes things(which I doubt shueisha wants him to do), that's probably what it will be.
So using that framework, lets think about something. Wano had 2 major set up arcs: Zou and WCI. As such, I think it wouldn't make much sense to go straight from Egghead to Elbaf.
Yeah, the SHs want to go to elbaf, but there's an issue with that plan. Kizaru. Kizaru moves at light speed and hence someone needs to stay back on Egghead to stop him. This opens up the possibility of a crew separation, just like we had in Dressrosa and subsequently WCI. And with Kuma headed somewhere, there you have Luffy's ticket back to WCI.
But why would we go back to WCI? Surely it would be a pointless arc? Well putting the blind hatred of BM to the side, there are major plot points that need to be addressed and WCI could provide an opportunity to do this.
Totland is a major territory in the NW. So much so that BM's dominion over it made her yonko. As of yet, we have no idea what happened to it after BM fell and Kuzan took Pudding. But it is an extremely significant area in the power structure of the new world, and Oda can't just skip over it because fans hate Big Mom.
Ultimately, with Pudding being captured, the BMP are possibly a massive ally in the battle against Teach. However, with BM gone, its entirely possible that this territory is being subjugated or threatened by some outside force. My guess is that Luffy will overcome whatever is threatening/subjugating WCI, and form an alliance with Kata to bring down Teach.
But you may ask, who could possibly threaten WCI?
Honestly, its now or never for Akainu. This arc Luffy is going to beat Kizaru. Akainu afterwards would make a lot of sense. However, if Luffy doesn't fight Akainu next arc, he will in all likelihood never be an arc villain and will probably be defeated by Sabo. If Luffy fights Akainu post Teach, he'll be too strong and it will be a beatdown.
So yeah, WCI 2.0 will accomplish these plot points:
- Luffy keeps true to his promise with Kata
- Luffy forms an alliance with Kata against Teach
- Luffy defeats Akainu and avenges Ace
- Oda has more time to set up Elbaf and Blackbeard.
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