[Analysis] One Piece – How Yamato Ties Into The Future Of One Piece

The brilliant thing with how Oda-sensei scripted Yamato is that no new arc needs to be incorporated within the manga to develop and push forward their story. Every single major story thread that the readers expect to feature within the future of One Piece has been made so Yamato heavily ties into it. When you think about it, the extent to how Yamato has been crafted to seamlessly fit into the future story of One Piece, you can’t help but wonder what Oda-sensei’s intentions for Yamato truly are. So much effort and care has been taken to establish a character that would have no problem existing within the future story alongside Luffy.

[Theory] One Piece – The Unique Relevance Of Yamato

All wars are won on information. And going forward as the focus turns to the Straw Hat Pirates being involved in more wars, the need for information becomes more crucial and necessary. Luffy may be the protagonist of the series but there is a limit to how far luck can carry a main character. Gol D Roger lost to a lack of information. Oden lost to a lack of information. Rocks lost to a lack of information. Big Mom lost to a lack of information. The Underworld Broker Joker aka Doflamingo lost to a lack of information. The Straw Hat Pirates lost to a lack of information in the past. Kaido will lose to a lack of information. Even the Lunarians and Ancient Kingdom likely lost to a lack of information.

[Theory] One Piece – The Story Relevance Of Yamato

Kozuki Oden had TWO wishes. One to open the borders of Wano and the second to assist the figure the world had been waiting for over the span of hundreds of years i.e. Luffy. It is pretty apparent at this point that Yamato has inherited the will of Oden and is currently fighting to see Wano Kuni liberated from Kaido and subsequently have the nation’s borders opened.

The battle which Oden mentioned would take place 20 years after his death was not just the battle against Kaido but also the battle against the World Government, the enemy which the Kozuki closed Wano Kuni’s borders to defend against. Yamato wants to fight on Luffy’s side. And such a desire will not only entail the battle against the Beast Pirates but also the inevitable battle Wano and those nations that align with their beliefs will have against the World Government when they become the target. Yamato’s wish to get stronger as he sails the seas before fighting in the war will manifest as they join the Straw Hat Pirates.

[Analysis] One Piece – Onigashima: Straw Hat Pirates VS Beast Pirates

The underlying theme behind the deconstruction of the Beast Pirates is the realignment of their forces allegiance. What initially began as a group of fighters that constituted two pirate crews, a few Samurai, a ninja and the Mink turned into hundreds than an army of thousands before the raid on Onigashima. Such a theme carried forward through the story of Onigashima with it still continuing. The disparity in numbers between the two forces continues to close with the Samurai Rebellion on the path to growing larger than the Beast Pirates force. It has been set-up to happen. And it will happen. The whole Onigashima story has been building up toward Luffy taking Yamato away from Kaido.

[Theory] One Piece – Yamato And The Octopus

Important was the Octopus who snuck aboard the Thousand Sunny during the start of the Wano Kuni Arc to assist the Straw Hat Pirates in gaining entry to Wano Kuni by summoning the Koi to carry the Thousand Sunny up the waterfall. Since that moment, nothing else has been revealed about the Octopus which leads me to believe that through another character, we will come to learn of the reasoning behind that particular Octopus’s actions. The Octopus may have well been tasked with locating the Straw Hat Pirates ship and Luffy before helping them carry out the Waterfall-Climbing method to enter Wano Kuni.

[Theory] One Piece – Luffy’s Dream Beyond Being Pirate King

Hidden is the surprise within the knowledge common to One Piece readers that it has become second nature and habit to define Luffy’s dream with the concept of “King of the Pirates”. But beyond the notion of Luffy becoming the Pirate King, what form does his other goal take that reflects the dream Roger held before being labelled “King of the Pirates” by the world. What words were uttered that shocked Oden, Whitebeard, Sabo and Ace and made them laugh (save Oden who couldn’t escape the shock)? What would Roger have said that Whitebeard called him a kid for? What left Ace in disbelief and made Sabo curious about the person Luffy would be in the future?

One Piece Chapter 1000 – Straw Hat Luffy

The winds of change began blowing on that day two years ago. And as it journeyed across the Grandline Big Mom ignored it. Kaido ignored it. And all the other opponents whom faced and lost to Straw Hat Luffy ignored it. Now the threat carried along with the wind arrives at the doorstep the Yonko and oblivious to their own arrogance, Big Mom and Kaido at the chapter 1,000 mark now understand how narrow-minded they may have been. The age in which they go unchallenged has ended. The titles they used to cast the shadow of terror are just that in the face of these new generation of pirates, titles. Sea and adventure have embraced a new generation of pirates. And the one at the front leading the new era is Straw Hat Luffy, the man who declares to surpass the Yonko and become the King of Pirates. Congratulations on 1,000 chapters One Piece!

[Theory] One Piece – Yamato: The Bonds Of Sea And Adventure (Nakama Theory)

Yamato Art by punkao (https://www.deviantart.com/punkao)

We are at the stage in the story where it becomes harder to consider new characters potential Straw Hat Pirates given the limited runway left in the manga. At the moment, no other character has been as closely linked to the Straw Hat Pirates and their end goal within the story as Yamato.

When you couple Yamato’s curiosity for the “Will of D” and Luffy with Yamato’s desire to sail the seas, their love for adventure and their awareness of Joy Boy and the “Dawn”, it seems apt to have such a character more closely tied to the Straw Hat Pirates and Law than not. And given Law’s interest in the history of D, he WILL be traveling alongside the Straw Hat Pirates to their next destination that involves further information sourced from the Poneglyphs and Road Poneglyphs (Robin is the only one who can translate the stone text for him).

[Theory] One Piece – The Adventures Yamato Followed Through The News

I have compiled a list of images that details the news Yamato could have come across when following the Straw Hat Pirates journey from Luffy’s presence in Marineford to the events that saw Luffy releasing Yamato from their bindings imprisoning them for twenty years.

Edit note: it has been confirmed after chapter 1000 that Yamato began following the newspapers surrounding Luffy’s adventure after the Battle of Marineford (post Summit War). The disappearance of Ace’s vivre card led Yamato to inspecting the following days newspaper. Yamato learned that Ace was Roger’s son at that time and of Luffy being a pirate that was making a name for themselves. Post has been updated to remove the irrelevant points.

[Theory] One Piece – Yamato And The 3D2Y Moment

Edit note: Post updated with developments from chapter 1,000.

The 3D2Y moment is definitely an intimate experience that establishes a powerful bond between the members of the Straw Hat Pirates and the readers feelings towards the main characters.

But if we do entertain the possibility that there will be another character added to the Straw Hat Pirates in the future, what would be the next best thing to bridge that gap for the 3D2Y moment?