If there is one thing for certain that we know happens almost every Arc is that Luffy typically gets a warm-up fight prior to him going on the fight the Big Bad of the arc. In most cases this is to show how much he has progressed from one arc to the next. In WCI, Luffy was shown to have difficulty against not one, but two Yonko Commanders. In my opinion, this was meant to serve two purposes. First was to showcase the strength of the Yonko Commanders, and second was to serve as a means for Luffy to get stronger in order to finally break into the Top Tier threshold and prepare him for his inevitable fight against Kaido.
Now that Luffy finally has a firm grasp on Future Sight, and is starting to get the hang of Advanced Armament Haki, the only thing left for Oda to do is to showcase how much these two advanced forms of Haki has elevated Luffy as a fighter. Now a lot of people seem to think that Jack is going to be the recipient of Luffy's new found power boost, but I am really starting to doubt that. Don't get me wrong, as I think Jack is a strong and capable fighter, but when it comes to Yonko Commanders, he stands at the bottom. In my opinion, Oda really needs to go big with this one in order to establish a clear difference in Luffy from WCI to Wano. These weren't minor powerups that he received, but rather two forms of Haki that not many people are capable of achieving.
Initially I thought Oda would probably give Luffy, Queen, but now that I think about it more, I think it might be possible that he gives him King. This is the perfect opponent for Oda to showcase just how much stronger Luffy has become. The gap is just too big between a Yonko and the Yonko Commanders for Oda to serve Luffy up the weakest or even second strongest Yonko Commander. Luffy needs to be shown to be definitively above the Yonko Commanders, and the only way for that to happen is if he defeats one who is around the same level as the one who gave him such a hard time just one arc prior. Now of course I am probably way off base here in this assumption, but I am interested in seeing who other people think will be Luffy's warm up match, and why.
And as a side note, Oda does typically like to have either Zoro or Sanji clash with Luffy's future opponents, whether they be his warm-up, or main opponent, and in a lot of cases, both. And now we just got a Sanji/King clash, which will probably turn into a small skirmish. And I am not fully subscribed to Sanji vs King just yet, because I still have an inclination that this raid is going to end in failure.
Now that Luffy finally has a firm grasp on Future Sight, and is starting to get the hang of Advanced Armament Haki, the only thing left for Oda to do is to showcase how much these two advanced forms of Haki has elevated Luffy as a fighter. Now a lot of people seem to think that Jack is going to be the recipient of Luffy's new found power boost, but I am really starting to doubt that. Don't get me wrong, as I think Jack is a strong and capable fighter, but when it comes to Yonko Commanders, he stands at the bottom. In my opinion, Oda really needs to go big with this one in order to establish a clear difference in Luffy from WCI to Wano. These weren't minor powerups that he received, but rather two forms of Haki that not many people are capable of achieving.
Initially I thought Oda would probably give Luffy, Queen, but now that I think about it more, I think it might be possible that he gives him King. This is the perfect opponent for Oda to showcase just how much stronger Luffy has become. The gap is just too big between a Yonko and the Yonko Commanders for Oda to serve Luffy up the weakest or even second strongest Yonko Commander. Luffy needs to be shown to be definitively above the Yonko Commanders, and the only way for that to happen is if he defeats one who is around the same level as the one who gave him such a hard time just one arc prior. Now of course I am probably way off base here in this assumption, but I am interested in seeing who other people think will be Luffy's warm up match, and why.
And as a side note, Oda does typically like to have either Zoro or Sanji clash with Luffy's future opponents, whether they be his warm-up, or main opponent, and in a lot of cases, both. And now we just got a Sanji/King clash, which will probably turn into a small skirmish. And I am not fully subscribed to Sanji vs King just yet, because I still have an inclination that this raid is going to end in failure.
Dressrosa stall tactics to stop Luffy confronting the big bad again...
