[Theory] One Piece – Yamato And The Straw Hat Pirates

One of the most relevant aspects to Yamato’s character is them being aware of Luffy for over three years since their encounter with Ace. Yamato has known about Luffy longer than any of the other Straw Hat Pirates. Back when they met Ace, Yamato wanted to join him on his ship but was overwhelmed by fear to make the leap. Ever since that moment, they have been waiting for Luffy, confident that he will arrive in Wano Kuni. Yamato has shown belief in Luffy for three years without even having directly met him. And along with using “Oden” as a source of strength to keep their fears at bay, they have also relied on the eventual meeting with Luffy as a “hope” to continue forward. Yamato believes Luffy will defeat Kaido and help open the borders of Wano Kuni.

Not only has Yamato been waiting for Luffy but as illustrated in chapter 996 they have been conscientiously following the Straw Hat Pirates journey. Yamato is aware of the Straw Hat Pirate members, their epithets and their bounties. Even their recent actions within Dressrosa, Yamato knows about it.

One Piece Chapter 989 – The Straw Hat Pirates Assemble

Betraying every underestimation cast upon them by the rulers of the sea, the Straw Hat Pirates break through the arrogance of the Yonko and stamp their existence deeply within the Yonko’s rage. With the ripples of their presence ignored until impossible, chaos has taken over and erupted because of them. Right now, with the identity of the age on the brink, they have gathered. The Straw Hat Pirates have finally assembled. All ten current members. And Luffy has his sight set firmly on Kaido with the intention of sending him flying. The Beast Pirates who impede his path become the targets of the Straw Hat Pirates. War has begun. And the challengers have made their move.

[Analysis] One Piece And Character Deaths – How It Is Handled

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When it comes to One Piece, beyond the elaborately crafted world, multitude of memorable characters, its ability to move ones heart and the romance for adventure, there is the manner in how present time character deaths are handled. Oda rarely kills off present time named characters preferring instead to incapacitate characters through defeats or injuries. There are a few exceptions but when you look closely at those character deaths and the circumstances surrounding their ends, an overriding theme emerges. The words Dr. Hiriluk stated before his death echoes quite prominently with all the deaths in One Piece:

When do you think a person dies? When his heart is pierced by a bullet? No… When he is inflicted with an incurable disease? No… When he drinks soup made from a poisonous mushroom? No! A man dies when he is forgotten!

Inherited Will expressed by Dr. Hiriluk

One Piece Chapter 981 – The Return Of The Phoenix

With the Straw Hat Pirates and their allies up against such formidable adversaries, it was always a question of who else will join the arc to assist them in taking down the Yonko and their crews. Kaido and Linlin haven’t existed for so long as Yonko because of luck or incompetency on the part of the World Government, they earned the reputation they have and the fear they strike in any individual with the mere mention of their name. By only allying with the rookies who have entered the New World in search of One Piece, the Straw Hat Pirate Alliance was never going to have enough strength and capability to take down the Yonko and their seasoned crews. A long term plan such as the one Law implemented was needed and so to were influential and powerful associates. At this point in time, the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance desperately need more allies and fortunately for them, Nekomamushi has returned to Wano Kuni with Marco and Izo.

One Piece Chapter 979 – The Meritocracy Of The Beast Pirates

Except for Drake, did Kaido end up defeating the other member’s crews prior to them joining?

To think that Pirates crews can become so large that the system of meritocracy has to be implemented in order to motivate its members to continue contributing to the crew. It appears that the Beast Pirates are less a Pirate Crew and more a criminal organisation or even beyond that with the different divisions and number of members, a small nation. Given the power and influence the Yonko wield it does make sense that their operations can grow in size to such levels but to think that it can involve corrupting a nation and twisting it to become a weapons producer for the different factions vying for power around the world. Contrary to Kaido’s introduction where it appeared he wished to kill himself, he is a very ambiguous individual.

One Piece Chapter 978 – The Beast Pirate Army

One Piece chapter 978 – Onigashima Island with the massive Ancient Giant skull and the massive blade stuck in the ground

I have been waiting for this chapter where the focus shifts towards the Beast Pirates and Oda-sensei highlights the scope of the force Kaido leads. There are more divisions within the Beast Pirates than I expected and this isn’t even including Orochi’s forces and the Big Mom Pirates. Fortunately the larger an army Kaido has the more focus the Straw Hat Pirates will receive in regards to each individual member battle potential. It has been a long time since we had such an arc where the individual members within the Straw Hat Pirates get their own battles to be focused on but if there was any arc for that to happen again, it definitely is within this arc. With the Beast Pirates introducing many named characters within the divisions who have been highlighted as being strong, the stage is being set for these named characters to be matched up against the individual Straw Hat Pirate members.

One Piece Chapter 910 – The Adventure On The Way To Wano Kuni

Somehow I think the Straw Hat Pirates took the hard way – I mean adventurous route =P

Oh Luffy, the seas really love you. If you were a different pirate, your ship, your crew and you would have ended sinking down towards the bottom if the ocean. This chapter had a Reverse Mountain-esque feel to it and as it was back then, Luffy was key in finding an absurd solution to an illogical, impossible scenario. And thanks to Luffy grabbing onto two monster Carps capable of swimming up river, the Thousand Sunny ended up landing in Wano Kuni albeit on land and toppled and attacked by weird Wano beasts.

One Piece Chapter 906 – Within Mary Geoise

The Holy Land Mary Geoise – that’s a massive castle

As the light of knowledge is cast onto the secrets existing within Mary Geoise, the shadows existing behind those secrets opens itself up to more secrets lying beyond. With the subject matter surrounding the questions we have being revealed, more questions in turn end up being rewarded to the reader with the introduced clarity. Secrets that surround the Ancient Kingdom, the Void century, the Will of D and the current power hierarchy within the world are contained within the walls of Mary Geoise.

One Piece Chapter 877 – Pedro’s Sacrifice

Pedro has come to understand how valuable the Straw Hat Pirates and their journey is to the future of the world

First things first, I don’t believe Pedro is dead. Regardless of how it looks, regardless of how logic dictates otherwise, this is One Piece and Oda-sensei has a particular manner in handling his characters and how they meet their end. Secondly, Perospero likewise will not die as a result of that explosion. Most likely Perospero will create a protective armor of Candy to take the majority of the damage from the explosion which would have the indirect consequence of reducing the damage caused to Pedro. While fire melts candy, it will still eat up a portion of the explosions energy reducing the ultimate damage. Alternatively, a third-party may have intervened to save Pedro. Could Capone have returned to assist the Straw Hat Pirates? His wife is fighting to save them, despite his personality and what he said, I’m sure he would put his life on the line to respect his wife’s resolve and do whatever he can to assist her – Bege is just that type of character. Whatever is going to happen, Pedro is not dying just yet.

[Analysis] One Piece – Big Mom And Elbaf Island

Welcome to Totland, where residence cost only a portion of your soul!

I have been re-evaluating my thoughts surrounding Big Mom and her eventual defeat and trying to rationalise how Big Mom and her crew could come out of Whole Cake Island still relevant. A lot of effort has gone into focusing on the Big Mom Pirates within the Whole Cake Island Arc that it appears logical to conclude Big Mom could be defeated at the end of the arc if certain conditions are met. At the same time though there are elements within Big Mom’s flashback that allows for her to remain a relevant antagonist within the future. I am surprised I didn’t place more weight on it earlier but Big Mom’s connection to Elbaf Island allows for a fantastic entry point to reintroduce Big Mom and her crew in later in the story. Big Mom is one of the Giants most hated individuals, which makes her a fitting and more importantly, relevant, antagonist for that arc.