Next Level Supreme King!

 

I just wanted to share my thoughts in regards to my perception of Luffy why he is thematically and physically able to achieve this level of Conqueror’s Haki. Forgive me if this ends up being a long read.

First off, I believe that Luffy’s affinity and aptitude towards Conqueror’s Haki is well shown to us as the readers. I believe this has some substantial ground to it, not simply because Oda said Luffy’s specialty is Conqueror’s Haki in an SBS. If you look throughout the New World, Luffy has pretty much consistently been building prestige as a very powerful and influential pirate; all of which, has occurred in a short period of time.

Luffy first started off claiming Fishman Island as his own territory from Big Mom; therefore, this was his entry point into shoehorning his name into the New World.

He began to form an alliance with Law to take down one of the Yonko: Hundred Beasts Kaido. Punk Hazard and Dressrosa were both an effort to build to Kaido’s downfall, while simultaneously building even more prestige for Luffy by building his Straw Hat Fleet of several New World pirates. Of course, then comes Whole Cake Island where Luffy essentially declared war against the Big Mom Pirates; which, led to Big New Morgans declaring him as the Fifth Emperor of the Sea.

Moving on to Wano, Luffy was taken down by Kaido in Act 1 with the Thunder Bagua. Then, in comes the Udon Prisoner Mines, where Luffy was able to not only learn about the flow of Haki but was able to influence and motivate the other prisoners. One Piece Chapter 949 “Mummy” is the chapter where Luffy really grounds himself and builds his own prestige in the eyes of the wano citizens and samurai. I feel this chapter in particular was the first chapter where Luffy was able to take himself to the next level as a conqueror in his own right. Looking back on previous arcs, Luffy doesn’t go out of his way to motivate people to his side; rather, they simply choose to follow Luffy for a singular reason and that’s it. In this case, Luffy was able to actually relate to the other prisoners due to being subdued or defeated by Kaido; therefore, Luffy was able to connect with them in the way he did while displaying his next level as a Conqueror.

Luffy has now gotten a solid grasp on the concept of controlling the flow of his Conqueror’s Haki. This concept, I believe, is shown not just through his time training in the Udon Prisoner mines, but also displayed through his acts as a Conqueror throughout the New World building up to this point. Wano is the arc where I feel Luffy has truly begun to solidfy his prestige and position as an Emperor or Conqueror of the Sea. Luffy learning to focus his Conqueror’s Haki to coat his body is, I believe, a parallel to what he’s shown as a Conqueror in the Udon Prisoner Mines. The way how Luffy was able to ground himself and bring the samurai and prisoners to his side was the moment his aptitude for being a conqueror began to show its face.

So, in a manner of speaking, instead of forcing his Conqueror’s Haki outwards to influence others, Luffy has now gotten a more grounded and focused approach to apply his Conqueror’s Haki. This is what, I believe, Oda has established to explain why Conqueror’s Haki is Luffy’s specialty; throughout all his actions in the New World, he has been building himself continuously up to this point. Now Luffy is able to fight his best against Kaido himself. A true clash of Conquerors.

Also, from a Haki standpoint, it seems the all the advanced colors of Haki share a similiarity. Advanced Observation requires you to be calm and collected, Advanced Armament requires you to focus on the flow of Haki along your body, and Conqueror’s seems to follow the same emphasis on the flow of Haki control.

All of which, I believe, are connected in such a way as to build the ultimate Conqueror. All of Luffy’s Haki blooms in the New World have been paving way to his Conqueror’s Haki mastery.

In Act 1, when Luffy was taken down by Kaido’s Thunder Bagua, Luffy activated his Conqueror’s Haki while unconscious. I see this as Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki was reacting to Kaido’s Conqueror’s Haki-infused attack.

Then, Luffy just barely dodges the thunder bagua in Chapter 1001; soon after, Luffy passes out again after receiving the Ragnarok in Chapter 1009 from Kaido. Each time Luffy received an attack embued with Conqueror’s, Luffy got closer and closer to understanding the mechanics of Conqueror’s Haki.

All of this has, once again, been building up to the idea that Luffy has been accruing his capability as a Conqueror. Facing off against a Conqueror in combat, and continuing to get back up on your feet is what Luffy is all about. That’s his specialty.

LUFFY’S DRAGON-BASED GEAR 5 LUFFY’S DRAGON-BASED GEAR 5

My theory is that Luffy, inspired by seeing Kaido in his dragon form, will develop a Gear 5 that will allow him to reshape his skin into scales and harden them with the advanced form of Armament Haki exhibited by Katakuri plus Advanced Conqueror’s Haki.

These scales will allow his body to stretch while maintaining an impenetrable defense.

Adding the blood flow of Gear 2 to the mix could interact with Conqueror’s and Armament Haki at high speeds like a full body Red Hawk, setting his entire body on fire.

The Straw Hats will invade Mary Geoise

 

After Wano, I believe the Straw Hats will be viewed as an Emperor Crew. Their next destination will be Elbaf, where they will meet the Red Hair Pirates

I think one of the smarter members of the crew will make the observation that the other two Yonko had a Road Poneglyphs and ask Shanks if he does he have his own. I think Shanks will say something like I don’t have one but I know where is it. But in order to get it the Straw Hats must prove they’re a better crew than the Red Hair Pirates. That will lead to the popular Davy Back Fight theory.

The Straw Hats will eventually defeat the Red Hair Pirates and Shanks will reveal the location of the last Road Poneglyph which is located in the Holy Land Mary Geoise.

It makes sense Shanks would know the location since he is a well connected pirate and even met with the Five Elders and of course sailed with Gol D. Roger.

I think Luffy will make a bold decision to invade Mary Geoise but once again one of the smarter members of the crew will say it’s impossible without an army. This is where Luffy shocks the crew and tells them about his Grand Fleet.

Invading the Mary Geoise would be an incident of historic proportions. It makes way too much sense that the Tenryūbito would want to protect at least one of the Road Poneglyphs and there’s no better place to protect than Mary Geoise.

Contained somewhere within Pangaea Castle is a National Treasure that Donquixote Doflamingo claimed could shake the world. He stated that with immortality, he could have used the treasure to rule over the entire world. So far, its existence has remained a well-kept secret.

The events of the recent Reverie help this theory even more. Not only did 2 members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet attended the Reverie but also Sabo and the Revolutionary Army were there. I believe Sabo was captured and is still at Mary Geoise.

And a wildcard who we last saw at Mary Geoise is Jewelry Bonney who also has a grudge against the Celestial Dragons. I highly doubt Monkey D. Dragon doesn’t try to rescue his NO.2. I hope you guys see where I’m going with this. Most likely Dragon and Luffy will meet for the first time at Mary Geoise, with them sharing two common goals 1) Freeing Sabo and 2) freeing the slaves.

Shanks Is Actually A Celestial Dragon?!

The God Valley Incident took place at an island known as God Valley, 38 years before present time. It consisted of a battle between the Rocks Pirates and a joint effort of the Roger Pirates and the Marines.

For unknown reasons, the world nobles and some of their slaves were present at God Valley during this incident. In order to protect them from Rocks D. Xebec and his crew, who were planning an attack on the nobles, current Marine vice-admiral Monkey D. Garp had to form a temporary alliance with Gol D. Roger, captain of the Roger Pirates.

My theory is that most of the Celestial Dragons ran away but one of the families left their child behind. Roger found him …he was Shanks. Roger adopted him as his son.

So now, why I think this theory is right?

• Shanks is 39
• God Valley happened 38 years ago
• Roger told Garp before his execution that a child doesn’t bear the sins of his parents, to convince Garp to take care of his child
• After the fight between the Roger Pirates and the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco told Blackbeard that Shanks and Buggy have been part of the Roger Pirates for many years (they were around 13 years old at that time)

I think that one of the things that is very important is the line that one of the Gorosei said – “Because it’s you”.

You wouldn’t let your sworn rival into your “home” even if you respected them a tremendous amount, if not for the fact that they were FAMILY! Which is why Shank’s gets this privelege that no other pirate has.

Shanks isn’t exactly what most people think he is!

 

So I wanted to make this just as a rebuttal to the belief that Blackbeard or Akainu or Im must be the candidates for the final antagonists in the series.

I just personally have been a huge skeptic of Shanks as this “perfect” pirate that Luffy should look up to. Before responding, please read the whole thing. There is no tldr, other than the fact that I’m not saying Shanks is evil, but rather a morally grey antagonist that may serve as an eventual foil for Luffy. There are things in the story that support this so I’m just going to list them out below. Up to you if you want to believe any of it or agree. Some of it is direct evidence from the manga, some of it is a little bit of theorizing from said evidence in the manga.

That said, Blackbeard imo, is still an intrinsic part to the climax of the story, so don’t feel too deterred from reading if that is the case. Anyway:

• Oda has known the ending to his series since before his series began. This is very unlike most other long running manga because usually the bigger they get, their endings have to fluctuate based on what can be done. We do know (as Oda reminds us always) that his ending hasn’t changed. This is important because no matter how much bigger One Piece gets, it seems that it will return to its roots primarily for this reason. There are 2 major things that have remained constant since the beginning of the series: Shanks and the Straw Hats. They are the biggest things that come out of chapter 1. Blackbeard wasn’t hinted at until the 130’s and wasnt introduced until the 230’s. While there is no evidence to say Oda hadn’t conceived Blackbeard from the beginning, we can be sure Shanks was an idea already when Oda drafted his ending. The same goes for Akainu/Im, whom are characters even conceived even further into the story.

• Shanks himself is probably the most enigmatic character in the series. We know next to nothing about his motivations or primary feelings about pretty much anything. There are some things that seem to give away to his character though. He is an interesting harbinger of peace, but it’s by which he achieves said “peace” that’s odd: His relationship to the World Government. Sengoku seems to respect him. This seemed normal until we got chapter 906, his discussion with the Gorosei. This does not make sense in context. The Gorosei murder and commit genocides in droves. This should be the biggest red flag for anyone thinking Shanks is a primarily “good” person.

• Then on that note, his conversation with them ends about a “certain pirate”. I hope people know that Oda is all about misdirect when it comes to dialogue. We KNOW Shanks has a disdain for Blackbeard, we KNOW he’s warned Whitebeard about him with Ace. So WHY is Oda not actually referencing this “certain pirate” by name prior as if to leave it a mystery?

• Shanks is 39 years old and God Valley incident happened 38 years ago. Oden’s flashback also seems to hint that Roger has had Shanks since he was a baby (and maybe even Buggy, who is also the same age). On top of this, Oden’s flashback left us with a weird moment where Oden catches Shanks asking Roger an “unknown question”, to which Roger responds and Shanks crying. This is a BIG TELL that there is more to Shanks’ character than what we know, a hidden emotional connection to Roger or that question.

• God Valley itself is yet another enigmatic island like Laugh Tale. The World Government erased the island from maps for a reason, which means Rocks D. Xebec was there for a reason they didn’t want another pirate to repeat. If it was just killing the Celestial Dragons, erasing the island doesn’t make much sense when many of them seem to have relocated to Mary Geoise. On top of this, the term used is “erased from maps”, not destroyed. I think this will play a huge role in the climax, not just Laugh Tale.

• Shanks’ crew quite literally rips Kid’s arm off in a battle with him. Killer also has some bad scars. Pretty violent for a “peaceful” man who sacrificed his own arm for something. Let it be known that Lucky Roo still shot a man in the head in chapter 1. These people are brutal and Yonko are no joke, not even Shanks.

• Finally, Shanks being the final battle just works extremely well as an emotional ending to this manga. Returning the hat seems to be the “big loop” this series has gone for, as there are even possible indications Luffy becomes Pirate King before the series ends (before the Final War). Luffy returning the hat to Shanks on the grounds that he wasn’t this exactly who he though he was is almost beautifully tragic to me (the implication being Shanks has ulterior motives that are morally grey). It works for Zoro vs. Mihawk because that should be Zoro’s last fight (assuming Mihawk allies with Shanks for the final war). It works well for Usopp because surpassing his father (assuming they meet before on Elbaf or another location) is probably an extension of his brave warrior dream since everything he is is based on his father leaving him. I just think there is a huge emotional connection to Shanks being the final villain here, not Blackbeard, who’s crew members come off more as “epic” villains than serious ones in all their chaos.

Pretty much all I have. One other thing to note is Blackbeard and Shanks certainly dislike each other. When I suggest Shanks being an antagonist, he is also an antagonist to Blackbeard, not just Luffy, and vice versa. Even with their personalities you get very different vibes from them in terms of how they handle things. RED Haired Shanks. BLACKbeard. Order and Chaos. Freedom through controlled peace. Freedom through disarray and panic. Luffy stopping both for his own version of freedom, which we all know would be different. Shanks potentially misinterpreting Roger’s will. Makes you wonder if its always been that intentional for Oda

Thanks for sticking around if you have. This is my biggest theory about One Piece and what I (partially) expect from the climax.