Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 8 - Onigashima)

[Chams]

One Piece deaths have two stages: inside the arc and in the epilogue.
Characters die during the arc to give it weight and drama.
After that, the character can ve revealed to be alive if Oda wants to, just because it would be too sad to loose them forever.

It is possible to see an epilogue to Doflamingo many many years in the future in which Vergo and Monet are revealed to have survived, sort of like the Mr. 9 in the covers

[Syphin]

This was very nice to read. I'll just add that Yamato probably watched Ace die from Onigashima.

Thanks :D. Yeah, Yamato would have been heartbroken to hear about Ace's execution, someone she respected and befriended (one of the few friends she had). Considering even after the events in Marineford that may have led to Yamato feeling even more powerless (not being able to save/help Momonosuke/Ace) and the Straw Hat Pirates going without activity for two years, I find it incredible that Yamato was still able to believe in Luffy and his arrival to Wano Kuni. Those actions are very relevant to Yamato's possibility of becoming a Straw Hat Pirate. If it ends up being revealed that the Octopus who guided the Straw Hat Pirates to Wano Kuni was stationed there by Yamato because of her belief in the Straw Hat Pirates arrival, it would majorly help Yamato's chances of joining the crew as it would establish that Yamato had a role from the very start of the Wano Kuni Arc.

Yamato could not leave Onigashima due to the explosive bindings Kaido placed on her twenty years ago. Despite her desire to want to open up the borders of Wano Kuni, she could not leave Onigashima to head to the main Wano Kuni Island(s) to confront Orochi and defeat him. There was only one day each year where Orochi visited Onigashima (Fire Festival) and during that time both Orochi's forces and the Beasts Pirates were gathered. Too many for one person to handle. Overwhelmed by such a task (defeating both Kaido and Orochi), Yamato began to rely on her belief in Luffy. And in believing Luffy's arrival was inevitable, Yamato could have created the plan to combat her inability of leaving Onigashima by using an Octopus (a friend of Yamato's who had the freedom to traverse the oceans) to help the Straw Hat Pirates enter Wano Kuni when they arrive near the Waterfall entrance. The Octopus seemed to be attracted aboard the ship after noticing the Straw Hat Skull Flag. And the Octopus only revealed itself and began to summon the Koi Fish after Luffy mentioned his name on the transponder snail (chapter 910).

Spoiler:

I can't think of any other character the Octopus could be related to. Tama does have a way with Beast but at this point when the Octopus appeared, Tama had not met Luffy. The only person so far outside Luffy's allies relevant to Wano Kuni that knew about Luffy and believed in his arrival is...Yamato.

Would the Octopus have acted that way for any other pirate? Seeing as it didn't help the Big Mom Pirates, I don't think so.

One final note, after viewing the images Robby shared of the Oni (thanks for that Robby), Yamato could get a cool Epithet if she did become a pirate. An Epithet that embodies both the Oden legacy and her own blood - Aka Oni Yamato (Red Oni Yamato). 'Aka' inspired from the Akazaya Nine and Oni after the race she represents. Also that image of the Red Oni wielding a Kanabō AND a sword, what an inspiring set-up. I would LOVE to see Yamato wield both a Kanabō and a Meito to represent the two paths she will potentially choose to combine.

[ArmamentHero]

Damn, I didn't even notice the koi coming AFTER Luffy announced himself. Consider me pretty convinced of the speculation!

[Berry Rich]

Also on the topic of power sets? No way is anyone going to join when they are only useful for a fight while the moon is out.

Uninteresting power set that is only at its best situationally?

I mean all this talk of character goals and such is stretching it as is but her power set needs a lot of work before anyone could take her seriously as an option.

The moon thing is less a deal breaker to me than the claws with electricity as a fighting style is

We know Oda loves to give all his main characters a huge variety of attacks, look at how many unique pop greens Usopp has or the different attacks and gears Luffy does with his powers, I just don’t know how much variety you can do with claws and electricity

Then again Oda managed to make a lot of attacks from a guy who only uses his legs and a guy who uses three swords, way more variety than I could have ever imagined, so knowing how creative and crafty Oda is it’s not impossible he’d make a unique fighter out of Carrot

I agree that Carrot needs more variety and named attacks to be a stronger option to join the Strawhat crew. Carrot has her big opportunity to display a unique skillset against Perospero. She is bound to show at least one new move in a major fight.


Current named moveset:
Eleclaw
Electrical Luna
Moon Raid (combo attack with Wanda)


Possible suggestions:
Rabbit Punch
Bunny Kick
Electric Mallet
Rabbit Hole
Hare Cut
Hop Kick
Moonsault Variations

[KageKageKing]

One final note, after viewing the images Robby shared of the Oni (thanks for that Robby), Yamato could get a cool Epithet if she did become a pirate. An Epithet that embodies both the Oden legacy and her own blood - Aka Oni Yamato (Red Oni Yamato). 'Aka' inspired from the Akazaya Nine and Oni after the race she represents. Also that image of the Red Oni wielding a Kanabō AND a sword, what an inspiring set-up. I would LOVE to see Yamato wield both a Kanabō and a Meito to represent the two paths she will potentially choose to combine.

Doesn't that imply there is a blue oni somewhere?

[Robby]

Doesn't that imply there is a blue oni somewhere?

Chopper is turning into one right now!

[black-leg jex]

I feel like there's a lot of assumptions being thrown around here. While I do think Robby has made some good points there are also some points made that rely on assumption. Like 'why force Perospero when he could confront Carrot on Elbaf?' just assumes Big Mom will be on Elbaf. I know that's a popular theory but there isn't actually any evidence that Big Mom will go to Elbaf. Her going to Elbaf has as much evidence backing it as her confronting Luffy on Fishman Island. Big Mom certainly isn't going down this arc but maybe the reason Perospero is here now is because there won't be a chance for it to happen in the future, not because Carrot isn't with the Straw Hats but because they won't confront the Big Mom pirates again? It's certainly a possibility, just as much as claiming Oda could have held it off for later.

Also Katakuri, Cracker and Pudding didn't come with Big Mom to Elbaf. Smoothie is probably the biggest threat from the Big Mom pirates that came with her but Perospero seems to be the only one with the ability to actually get to Onigashima after the ship was knocked down.

[MiyamotoMusashi]

I feel like there's a lot of assumptions being thrown around here. While I do think Robby has made some good points there are also some points made that rely on assumption. Like 'why force Perospero when he could confront Carrot on Elbaf?' just assumes Big Mom will be on Elbaf. I know that's a popular theory but there isn't actually any evidence that Big Mom will go to Elbaf. Her going to Elbaf has as much evidence backing it as her confronting Luffy on Fishman Island. Big Mom certainly isn't going down this arc but maybe the reason Perospero is here now is because there won't be a chance for it to happen in the future, not because Carrot isn't with the Straw Hats but because they won't confront the Big Mom pirates again? It's certainly a possibility, just as much as claiming Oda could have held it off for later.

Also Katakuri, Cracker and Pudding didn't come with Big Mom to Elbaf. Smoothie is probably the biggest threat from the Big Mom pirates that came with her but Perospero seems to be the only one with the ability to actually get to Onigashima after the ship was knocked down.

As much as i dislike the thought and the implication, both the BM and Pudding plotline are incomplete at this point and need resolving.
You can argue/predict that somehow BM´s disease and her past will be resolved in this arc, which seems inappropriate but ok, but Pudding not being here is a clear sign she will come up again the future.
Having said that, of course one could argue that the manner in which they will remain relevant in Elbaf might be different than antagonistic, hence the Pedro stuff still needs to be resolved now, even if Carrot will stay until Elbaf.

[theackwardstation]

Yes, too many assumptions pretending to be more. Carrot vs Perospero was always a plausible development (so kudos to people who predicted it while others were in doubt), but it's not like we know what's going to happen right now, if she's going to win or if she's going to lose, if there will be a rematch later in case she loses or not, if something meaningful will happen to Wanda for an emotional moment, if the fight will trigger a thematic development going further (like start talking about the Dawn) or if the fight will be completely offscreened and mostly irrelevant.

There's nothing definitive on the table right now.

[Shift]

Any time someone phrases a question as "You know ____ right?" is a real asshole way to ask a question. Please don't do it in the future. I used to lead questions exactly like that too, and I probably still do from time to time, and I try not too now whenever I catch myself doing it because its really poor approach that tries to trap the other person or make them feel stupid.

Same with "well actually" and "To be fair..." Those phrases automatically assumes you know something about the speaking partner, their situation, their opinion, and potentially unstated information and you're leading with that phrasing and implying that they're missing information through either neglect or ignorance.

It's incredibly rude. But you already know that, right?



That aside, We've gone over this many many many times. You know exactly what the answer is, so I don't know why you are asking again.
.

I acknowledge that Oda is treating him as dead more than usual, and for purposes of general discussion accept that his is.

But Oda's done fake outs, including both giant explosions with no body, AND false graves, and had multi-year long waits between revivals before. (A decade in Bellamy and Mr.9's case) Until Pekoms or the eventual cake island cover story show up it can go any which way Oda chooses once it's no longer dramatically important.

If when the minks are all said and done, and he's still dead, that's fine. But if he's secretly alive and well, I will not be surprised in the least.

I will allow that Pedro is dead for the sake of the story, but I will not go along with it as evidence for future developments, especially ones at least thee years and 150+ chapters after the fact. That's a far wider assumption to make and believe in.

Monet ain't dead either but props to Oda for keeping her and Vergo out for so long.



Who all died on camera, left their bodies in sight, had main character witnesses see it first hand, left zero doubt, and had the full weight of their given chapter building up to it. (Ditto flashback deaths generally.)

If Oda well and truly intended for Pedro to be permanently dead at the time, he missed the mark and delivered that chapter poorly in a way he didn't with any other death scene, and didn't get around to trying to give it weight until after the fact. He didn't set up and develop bonds beforehand, he didn't give that scene any weight where it helped long term.

Their reactions, including what Jinbe said, were near identical to the fake out death Bon Kurei had.

It wasn't their final escape during that arc, just one of many... and all the later ones ALSO took "sacrifices" to let them get away.

Oda's human, so he's allowed to get it wrong sometimes and not deliver his best, but his track record of making you feel and believe in the moment is stronger in all the other confirmed cases, where whenever he's doing a fake out it just... has less emotional weight to it. Its a hard thing to explain or quantify, but it's there.

If Pedro's death was supposed to be important, and special, maybe he and Carrot should have had chemistry and back history earlier, not just one panel added after the fact. Maybe Pekoms, Pound, Baum, the fishmen, Jinbe, and Sanji's family should not have all then sacrificed themselves following that, or maybe it should have just been the last, or even only sacrifice that arc...

It feels empty and hollow because Oda did the exact same thing SIX MORE TIMES within 20 or so chapters during the same escape so there's no weight to it. He even had a fake death of the Sunny in there. That's why its unbelievable and holds no weight.

Sorry for being condescending. I get your skepticism to a certain point. But that point passed a long time ago, and my problem is you still consider the facts about Pedro flexible when they’ve been confirmed multiple times up to today. The death has weight, it has finality. There are many things up to interpretation in One Piece, but this is no longer one of them. That makes it hard for me to keep debating with you in good faith. I’ll acknowledge if I’m wrong, but if the certainty of his death isn’t something you can meet me on at this point, then I have nothing more to say, and we should probably leave it at that until this arc is over.

[wolfwood]

This post-Pell world is tearing us apart

[Solid]

Doesn't that imply there is a blue oni somewhere?

That would be Jinbe.

[Deicide]

This post-Pell world is tearing us apart

Now wait for what will happen if Orochi turns out alive (and next chapter may answer that question). We won't be able to trust death even after graphic on-screen depiction including close-up of the dead body.

[theackwardstation]

Now that Law is officially aiming to discover more about the Will of the D, what's his future in the story? I suppose he needs to get to Laugh Tale too, but I don't imagine him doing that as a rival pirate, only as an ally or a proper crewmate. So is he going there to Laugh Tale together with Luffy?

I'm so used to the idea that Law won't join the crew that I don't know what to make of it now. I still believe he's going to die, but probably not in Wano now that he has a new personal mission, although it's still possible. I can imagine him telling Luffy to search for the meaning of his surname as his last wish before his death during the battle against Kaido. However, right now it seems more plausible that Law will only die in the endgame, or maybe not even die at all...

I'd say that Law is the most developed and fleshed out character of the New World, and say that as someone who is not a big fan of him. So at least in this department he qualifies as a proper main character. Great design, unique power, very popular, with a good and tragic flashback, well developed, lots of screentime given to him.

Well, if I had to bet, I'd bet against him joining, but maybe it should be part of the debate.

[uniaka ikuzakas]

The straw hats are unique, yamato wants to be someone else. He also looks just like nami when he is angry at luffy, even has his own stick and shoots things out of it... like nami.

[MiyamotoMusashi]

Pretty sure everything will happen so fast post-Wa No, him acquiring that as goal will not play a role since the entire world will learn it eventually.
Just underlines he will be an ally in the final war though.
And Law´s death does not serve any purpose, unless it´s really about the immortality surgery, which i doubt will come into play.

--- Update From New Post Merge ---

The straw hats are unique, yamato wants to be someone else. He also looks just like nami when she is angry at luffy, even has her own stick and shoots things out of it... like nami.

Which ironically makes her unique on several layers. The Strawhats do not want to be unique, they simply are.
She did not shoot anything btw, it was a flying attack that simply was called arrow.

[Robby]

my problem is you still consider the facts about Pedro flexible when they’ve been confirmed multiple times up to today.

Because they ARE flexible. We haven't had shit confirmed.

Big explosion? Igaram. Pagaya.
Has a gravestone with no body in it? Pell.
Has characters crying over him while they escape on a boat? Bon Kurei.
Characters think he's dead for a long time? Sabo.
His death would serve as a crucial character development loss of mentor thing that shows all wars have costs for a main character? Pell to Vivi.

YES, Oda has put a little more weight on it by having the characters dwell on it a little more, but he also had Cake Island *as a whole* have a sadder ending than he usually does with multiple downer aspects. No party, Pudding crying, no Jinbe joining, no reunion between Pound and his daughters, Capone's ship destroyed, etc. But once you get past the downer ending of that arc and into this one where its apparently okay to be happy again, there isn't a single thing that applies to Pedro that Oda hasn't faked before.

I would ALMOST agree that "okay, Oda gave him a gravestone so that's proving more finality than usual and he's really putting his foot down on the matter" EXCEPT Pell has one! Heck, Pedro was even still included in the mink village color spread.


Also, he is strongly tied to Pekoms, they ALSO have history and "he's the only one that can calm him down". And no one has been upset or worried or acted liked Pekoms was in trouble, or is place to take over that role for him, even though he was left surrounded by enemies, going berserker, and possibly blinded. But we know he isn't dead, any more than Jinbe, the fishmen, or Pound were, or that King Baum and Sanji's family will be.

Even if Carrot and Wanda get closure on Pedro being dead now by beating the shit out of Perspero, what happens with the lion turtle? When does Oda stop and make time to cover his baggage related to this? WHo is the new person that can calm him down? Or is he just blind. dead and forgotten? That needs resolution too and he's not even on the island at the moment.

Like I said, I won't argue that he's alive because Oda HAS made a little more effort to make that point. I concede that he's more dead than some others have been and he might just stay that way.

But I'm not going to agree that he is 100% absolutely positively confirmed dead, , no backsies, either, because no body and no witnesses means no confirmation. Even Perspero didn't actually see it, and he'd be an untrustworthy witness if he did! No matter what the characters think. Oda left himself the out to be flexible with.

Luffy and Jinbe still think Bon Kurei is dead, and they cried and grieved over him, but it doesn't change his actual status.

ANy theory mongering that depends entirely 100% on that being a solid confirmed permanent fact, AND that the follow up on that being a fact and a major character moment that changes everything coming in a full three years later, I just can't support.

[theackwardstation]

Pretty sure everything will happen so fast post-Wa No, him acquiring that as goal will not play a role since the entire world will learn it eventually.
Just underlines he will be an ally in the final war though.
And Law´s death does not serve any purpose, unless it´s really about the immortality surgery, which i doubt will come into play.

It's not only about Law will learning about history or not, but how he can influence Luffy based on this information, or how he will he take action personally, so he needs to be there. I doubt that Law will find out about the Will of D through the newspapers, especially because Oda is now putting the effort to create a plot-thread about Law looking for the truth, which needs proper development and resolution in the narrative.

In fact, I think it's relevant that Luffy has a D. friend close to him, because Luffy himself doesn't care about it. If he'll bring the Dawn to the world and overthrow the WG, it's because of current day events, like the great cleansing, slavery and his friends being threatened (Sabo and Vivi, for example)... not because of the past. So we need Law to digest the other part of the plot, or at least influence Luffy to actually care about his lineage.

Anyway, Law dying is obviously because of the immortality surgery. It may not happen, but the possibility is certainly there ever since it was mentioned. And it's always easy to find purpose in characters' deaths... it's just a matter of context and themes...

[wolfwood]

Nobody in OP is all dead. At worst they're mostly dead / slightly alive to awaiten Odas inevitable backslide into pointless reanimation. I'd love for the story to have some real stakes and a feeling of finality for those big moments, but this is OP and any heartfelt sacrifice will be undone because thats how Odas likes to work

[Robby]