@danie I also thought they were the same place, until someone pointed out to me they weren't. So I checked the chapter with Marco and he says that "the graves of Whitebeard and Ace are nearby", which could mean in the same island or another.
However, we did get to see both islands from afar and they look nothing alike. This is Sphynx Island:
And this is where the graves are:
Wano predictions: There will be 5 acts; All Straw Hats will get fights, some in Act 4; Big Mom Pirates will arrive; Carrot will have her moment, but won't join; Yamato will be a Kouzuki samurai and Wano's Guardian; Shanks will visit Luffy in Act 5; Next arc is Mary Geoise.
Thanks. Looks like they are different islands. It could just be an oversight on Oda's part though...
Anyways. More importantly, If someone is to cue Luffy in on the location of the last road ponegliff, i feel it would be Marco.
I guess Hachinosu makes sense if Oda really wants to get to the ending soon.
Doesn't need to involve a fight against Blackbeard, but it would be a good oportunity to reintroduce Vasco, Augur and the others who haven't show up yet post skip.
@Deicide It could be that Oda hadn't finalized Sphinx's design, so he went with something generic.
Dressrosa, for example, looks completely different in the small glimpse we get of it in chapter 682.
@King-Cannon said in The next arc: what will it be?:
Dressrosa, for example, looks completely different in the small glimpse we get of it in chapter 682
This isn't even a little true. All we see in 682 is one area of the palace, which is designed consistently with what we see in the actual Dressrosa arc. Even the damage done to the structure from Baby 5's attack of Doflamingo remains visible.
Edit: 658 and 758 for the sake of comparison
@King-Cannon It's possible, thought I'd argue that it's a bit different in this case because we didn't get a full-island view of Dressrosa back then.
I think usually Oda pays attention to detail, and he could still have used the original island and explain the hidden village nature of it in another way.
For now, I think it's safer to consider the islands different until we are told otherwise in-story or elsewhere.
Mentally preparing myself for the theme of the next location. Oda never lets me down there. Most locations are so varied and thoughtfully themed.
Since the next spot might be relatively close to Wano, maybe something ridiculous happened there as well. Upper Yard used to be part of Jaya, Ancient Wano is below new Wano.
@Captain-M You forgot a small panel of the island right next to Vergo using Geppou.
It's very clearly a flat island, even though the finalized Dressrosa has large rocky borders that hide the island's interior.
@King-Cannon That small image is just a shadowed silhouette of the island, thought.
Sure, the shape is different, but Oda likes to subvert silhouettes (he probably hadn't decided on the island's looks at that point).
Wano predictions: There will be 5 acts; All Straw Hats will get fights, some in Act 4; Big Mom Pirates will arrive; Carrot will have her moment, but won't join; Yamato will be a Kouzuki samurai and Wano's Guardian; Shanks will visit Luffy in Act 5; Next arc is Mary Geoise.
@Deicide Which may be exactly the point of Sphinx. Oda may have thought Sphinx would be more interesting if it had a hidden village inside a mountain instead of a generic plain as depicted previously.
Onigashima is also somewhat different in chapter 793, as the Skull Dome looks more like a castle than a mountain. It's not surprising that Oda sometimes doesn't have the complete layout of an island truly figured out.
And let's not even start with Marineford. It's depiction in chapter 96 is so lame compared to what we eventually got.
@King-Cannon I consider Sphynx' case a bit different since we saw the islands clearly, not shadowed and distant. Onigashima was also kept as a silhouette when it was previewed.
My take is that if Oda makes it blurry or shadowy, the design is open in the air and can be changed. If Oda shows it clearly, then it's more likely to be definitive.
At least, that feels like the safer bet.
@King-Cannon Ah, so I did. My bad.
Okay but what if Pica raised the rock walls around the outside overnight to shore up the island's defences before Luffy and Law got there and it's all totally consistent with no continuity issues whatsoever (joking)
I didn't remember Sphinx Island being anything out of the ordinary, but hey, a nice, relaxing island is good, too.
@Johnny-B-Decent It's a bit interesting because the village is hidden within the valley by a waterfall-covered entrance.
And it has manticores sphynxes.
Wano predictions: There will be 5 acts; All Straw Hats will get fights, some in Act 4; Big Mom Pirates will arrive; Carrot will have her moment, but won't join; Yamato will be a Kouzuki samurai and Wano's Guardian; Shanks will visit Luffy in Act 5; Next arc is Mary Geoise.
@Deicide Oh yeah, can't forget them. XD
Before the spoilers hit, my hope for the next arc is that it's about the Revolutionaries. A portion of why I wanted the Revolutionaries arc to be now is because I was envisioning Yamato going along, so he and Sabo could become friends, but even with that out the window I still hope it's time to finally cover the RA. That's the plot I've been excited the most to see Oda cover and all the things seem to be converging there.
But if we get a short arc Long Ring Long Land-style before it, I wouldn't complain.
My guess is the WB island, I think is there where aces graves is so would be nice to have one or two chapters there chilling before the final saga, the story needs to breath a little.
Who’s next
Revolutionaries
Red Hair Pirates (unlikely as they were just in the area)
Vegapunk and his new superpower
Rocks D Xebec return
Loki and other giants
Weevil and his mother
Buggy and his cross guard
Black Beard Pirates (definitely not since there most likely endgame villains)
Level 6 prisoners (doubt it)
Urouge and Bonney
Someone or something new entirely
Am I missing anyone? I feel like I am
@Shiebs said in The next arc: what will it be?:
Am I missing anyone? I feel like I am
People really ignore Hancock, uh?
The plot thread is dangling in front of us all, but no one dares pull it to see what comes with it.
I'd like to at least see theories other than mine about her future role.
Wano predictions: There will be 5 acts; All Straw Hats will get fights, some in Act 4; Big Mom Pirates will arrive; Carrot will have her moment, but won't join; Yamato will be a Kouzuki samurai and Wano's Guardian; Shanks will visit Luffy in Act 5; Next arc is Mary Geoise.
I think we'll get a few chapters traying to put a point about the over all status of characters. I mean, maybe we'll get to know Vivi and Bonney are with Sabo, or that Hancock has been imprisoned and Weevil joined Cross Guild as well (I don't think so, but). After all the plotline will have been untangled, we'll just for the next island, which - imho - will indeed be Elbaf (or a short arc island before that), which will lead to one of the left Yonkous. I feel like the path will be the most obvious and still fascinating (this kinda put death in my heart as an unknown and unpredictable island is what I'd like to see the most).
I don't think we'll actually have the time to get back to Mary Geoise (as much as the Sunny just doing an u-turn and leading to the FI zone feels too much odd), so I think Oda will find a way to deal with that plot on another location.
I haven't anticipated an arc as much as this one since they left FI, which coincidentally, was the last time there was real mystery in what arc was next before leaving an island.
@Deicide said in The next arc: what will it be?:
People really ignore Hancock, uh?
Admittedly she should be in that list as well.
Although when it comes down to "let's save our friend in distress", I would be sad if Luffy picks Hancock over Vivi.
We don't even know her current whereabouts (maybe a newspaper will fill us in on that in 1058/59, though), so it's hard to guess anything. Assuming she was indeed captured, the most I see her doing at the moment is be freed by the StrawHats (possibly as a pure coincidence), tag along for a while and go back to Amazon Lily. I don't remember any noteworthy interaction with anyone other than Luffy, so she doesn't feel like a possible companion. Plus as far as characters go I don't find her all that interesting, I doubt she would do much onboard the Sunny other than bring out Sanji's (and Brook's) worst behaviour.
I love Hancock! Hopefully we'll know what's going on with her soon enough. I hope she whooped the Marines and is now looking for Luffy...
It makes sense for Hancock to be in the same arc as the Revolutionaries (for being a slave of the CDs in the past)... but I don't think she'll get more protagonism than other major characters like Sabo, Vivi, Dragon, Kuma, Bonney...
@Seafarer33 said in The next arc: what will it be?:
@Shiebs said in The next arc: what will it be?:
Am I missing anyone? I feel like I am
- Go on the lookout for Vivi (although that would take the StrawHats away from the New World so I don't see them doing it. They could ask for help from the Grand Fleet, though)
- The Man Marked by Flames (whoever that may be)
- What happened to Sabo (ties with the Revos plot)
Lol how did I forget the man marked by flames, completely slipped my mind, the other two pretty much go with the Revolutionaries now, maybe not Vivi though I guess, seems like the five elder stars may have just used Sabo as a scapegoat
@Deicide said in The next arc: what will it be?:
People really ignore Hancock, uh?
The plot thread is dangling in front of us all, but no one dares pull it to see what comes with it.
I'd like to at least see theories other than mine about her future role.
Again I asked who I forgot, Hancock is definitely one I forgot, I wouldn’t have purposely left her out
@Seafarer33 said in The next arc: what will it be?:
I would be sad if Luffy picks Hancock over Vivi.
I don't think it needs to be an either/or. I feel it's more likely that it will be both.
My theory is that Vivi is Imu's prisoner but that's being kept secret, so it won't be in any newspapers. Officially, Vivi is missing.
But then Hancock has also been captured and either was or will be exposed as a former slave, thus being sent to Mary Geoise. That will be in the news, and Luffy will go after her. In the process, they find Vivi and rescue her as well.
A lot of people believe Vivi was saved by Sabo. I have doubts on that possibility, for two reasons:
@Seafarer33 said in The next arc: what will it be?:
Assuming she was indeed captured, the most I see her doing at the moment is be freed by the StrawHats
I think people severily underestimate how much Luffy values Hancock, just because he is not moved by her romantic advances. Not only Luffy calls her by name, showing appreciation for her, he stated more than once he'd repay his debts to her. What she did for him is only lesser than Jinbe's actions because she had no "remember what you still have" moment with Luffy.
@Shiebs said in The next arc: what will it be?:
Again I asked who I forgot, Hancock is definitely one I forgot, I wouldn’t have purposely left her out
Sorry, I didn't mean you did it on purpose. It's just that, by forgetting her, it shows how readers (in general, it's not criticism towards you) forget that she's also a player in this endgame. One that not only is wildly popular despite not appearing for 12+ years, but also who Luffy feels indebted to.
Welp, we already dodged Vivi and Sabo as prisioners.
We don't know what happened to Vivi. All we know is that the marines consider her missing. She may be a prisoner of the WG or may be with the Revolutionaries. Or anything else.
We know Sabo wasn't captured. But we haven't really gotten the answer to the teased "Vivi will..."
Also, even if Vivi is safe, as long as we don't have an answer for the "Hancock will..." part of the tease, we are free to speculate.
Iunno. I'm not even speculating on it, I want a pleasant surprise.
Vivi being a secret prisioner of the WG doesnt help either.
Luffy would never know.
Oh man I can’t wait to see where we’re going next, after four years on Wano and not knowing are next destination I can’t wait to see what this next chapter brings
Perhaps a mini arc with that sets up the next big arc. Could have Weevil as the antagonist. If word got out that Marco met the Strawhats at Wano, then even more so reason for Weevil to hunt Luffy down asap.
It would resolve that plotline quick in a minor arc that doesn't a big mad evil after the two previous ones had Emperors back to back. At this point I just don't see Weevil being a big threat anymore. So making him a Wapol/Bellamy/Foxy level threat in a mini arc could work.
@Deicide From what i've seen, I see the Science and Underworld aspects almost being in concert.
There's Caesar's inventions and works being shopped around. The services and man power that comes from Germa's science.
I think the crew had to deal with those like the Beast Pirates first before possibly going against some Underworld entities and Royals that use these advancements and services.
Look at Momo's fruit helping him last for some seconds against an Admiral, Jack using Koro, Queen using Ice Oni or Mummy.
Feels like Oda has been giving away small doses before unloading the whole thing.
There's Garp's interpretation of how more powerful Royals use smaller nations to fight their battles as well as the mystery behind the iron ore Dragon mentioned. Not to mention a few missing from the Underworld silhouette as Jinbe spoke.
This will pull Usopp, Franky, and Chopper's importance a little higher than it already is. Sanji to another extent due to being a science project himself.
I am aware that some are sold on Oda's message that this is it. I'm just not buying the same exact message. I think we're clearly close to the end. Just not as close as most might believe.
The crew is just not ready. To add on to all of that, they don't only have to reach Laugh Tale, they have to do something after that tops whatever the Roger Pirates couldn't do.
Then there's the fact that post the fall of BM and Kaido, so many newer entities are getting more of a role and older characters are being repurposed like Cross Guild, while SSG is taking it's place.
Just realized that this is the first time after the crew has left Fishman Island that we don't have the slightest clue what the next island actually will be. Since Punk Hazard it's always been, "let's go to Dressrosa", "let's go to Zou", "let's go to Wholecake Island", "let's go to Wano" (not literally of course). But this time for the first time ever in the New World, they are actually following the damn Log Pose. It's so refershing to see that. I'm totally gonna soak these few days in before we know what the next destination will actually be.
I actually was re-reading Sabaody, and after Wano, it was incredibly refreshing and exhilarating; it reminded me why I've stuck with this series for so damn long. Besides the stuff with the Celestial Dragons (which I've always liked), what stuck out to me was the chapter where they're at the Red Line and just trying to figure out how to get to Fishman Island. The character stuff was good as were the gags, but the whole "okay, how do we get the next spot" was just so interesting and different (only the stuff that are close were them trying to figure out how to get to Sky Island on Jaya or enter the Grand Line through Reverse Mountain comes close). It's that sense of unknown I miss.
@Bugs
Ikr, there's just something about the sense of unknown that adds another, IMO necessary layer, to the entire feeling of adventure. Heck, even back in Paradise, when they pretty much declared Arabasta their endgoal of the objective they had back then, we still had moments when they left Little Garden to sail for the unknown because they didn't want to wait for a whole year for the Log to lock onto the next island. That was fantastic.
And while I absolutely love Sabaody, I feel the entire segment of figuring out a way to sky island One Piece at it's best. Especially the parts when they dove down to salvage whatever they could from the shipwreck was amazing. Fanstastic sense of discovery and adventure paired with an amazing sense of character interaction and humor. It also helped that the anime staff back then knew how to pace things properly. Because comedic timing totally is a thing.
Oh, I prefer Jaya's over Sabaody's as well. Sabaody's is great but that explore part is also over real quick when they then get dragged into the Camie plot with Hatchi and Duval, and then she basically explains what they have to do in one chapter. (I thought same with the Duval reveal; I wish Oda had dragged that mystery out an extra chapter with the use of scorpion poison making old fans think it was Krieg and then the mask comes off in the next chapter).
Jaya however keeps the mystery going with log pose, the falling ship, the salvage, then the arrival in town where they get mocked for asking questions (note that Bellamy tries to dissuade the idea of there being a sky island with scientific reasoning and explanation, ie a guy who wants to take out and can't see the romance of the unknown), before they meet Cricket, who explains the knock-up stream. Also as great as Luffy punching Charolos was, his fisting of Bellamy has been my favorite moment in the whole series since forever. In One Piece, the power of dreams can not be stopped.
@Bugs
Bellamy's defeat was amazing. I've rewatched so many times I lost all count. Too bad that Oda felt the need to rehash the exact same thing a second time only that it literally meant nothing. I mean I know it meant something to Bellamy but it was still a stupid kind of motivation and completely unnecessary compared to the first time where it actually meant something.
I think Sphinx and the island Ace and Whitebeard are buried on is next. Luffy reached an important milestone and visiting Ace's grave might be a good closing chapter for the saga and opening of another. We also didn't see the SHs say goodbye to Marco so maybe we'll see him soon again. Weevil Jr. and Ms. Bakkin we're surrounded by the Marines on some island which might be Sphinx. Ms. Bakkin was presumably in Rocks crew so this may serve as a vehicle for Rocks lore.
I think the next island is gonna be a brand new place, but I also think that the next arc is going to focus on Vegapunk / SSG / Revs. I tend to think Elbaf s still a bit further off on the horizon.
Just speculation, but I think the final saga will include:
-Vegapunk / SSG Arc; maybe the first time Luffy properly meets Dragon
-Elbaf Arc (bigger than many are predicting, not Wano length)
-Race for Laugh Tale / Last Road Poneglyph / Battle against Blackbeard, which could encompass multiple islands like Lodestar, God Valley, and Hachinosu
-Laugh Tale; I don't think there will be a battle on Laugh Tale. The fight with Teach, Cross Guild, Shanks, Law, and Kid will be settled first. Straw Hats only - JoyBoy / Void Century Flashback
-Final Battle / World War - The conflict is already brewing, but I think the last phase, revisiting Wano to open the borders, destruction of Fishman Island, Kaido and Big Mom's return ( I think they're alive), and the war to liberate the world ending in Marijoa all comes after One Piece is found
I tend to think we've got a bit more time than is most often predicted; 300 - 400 chapters. About 200 to get us to Laugh Tale and a final worldwide battle ending at the center of the world which is as likely to balloon in length as all of Oda's other story arcs / sagas. The Onigashima raid which included a fraction of the characters likely to be involved in the final war took 80+ chapters alone.
@Bugs I'm hoping we get more of that with Elbaf / Lodestar / Laugh Tale
Lodestar for me is an even bigger mystery than Laugh Tale.
Laugh Tale is a secret final island which can only be found with the four Road Poneglyphs, so of course no one found it in eight centuries. But why is it so hard to follow the log path to the end?
Roger told Whitebeard he was also the first to land on Lodestar, but... why?
I think Oda hinted that the SH finding the One Piece would be the VERY last scene in the series, so Laugh Tale could very well be the definite final arc. Maybe even an epilogue of sorts.
@King-Cannon said in The next arc: what will it be?:
I think Oda hinted that the SH finding the One Piece would be the VERY last scene in the series, so Laugh Tale could very well be the definite final arc. Maybe even an epilogue of sorts.
He hinted what? I see no way how this work out well with a manga that's put the heavy emphasis of showing the aftermaths and repercussions of every huge development the main cast goes through.
Not to mention that we've been hyped up forever now at how we will see new dawn for the world. Just finding the treasure evidentally doesn't lead to it otherwise Roger would have already achieved in bringing the dawn to the world.
Lastly, it's pretty much manga etiquette by now to show at least glimpses of what happens/happened to the main cast after the adventures and conflicts are concluded. I just don't see why he would consider going this route. Unless of course we get cheated out of the One Piece reveal when the Strawhats find it, proceed with the dawn stuff with the cast having the mindset of having found and seen the treasure and only us readers are being kept in the dark until the Strawhats in the distant future look back on their adventures and the last panel of the flashback will be the One Piece reveal to the reader.
Now that I just said it loud, I actually see that happening. Aw what the hell. Not gonna change my post now. 
I do think we'll see the One Piece, and the final scene will be exactly the SH laughing at it, much like Roger did.
It's not impossible to show the repercussions of the Dawn and other lore stuff before finding the treasure. It could be something like:
I do think the story ends with the One Piece. Then wee have a few chapters with an epilogue, but nothing big.
If the mystery is solved before the problems, then the half of interest will be gone. Imagine having to endure an entire arc just to wrap things and no mystery left? It becomes a drag. So, it makes the most sense that problems and mysteries are all solved together.
@King-Cannon said in The next arc: what will it be?:
I do think we'll see the One Piece, and the final scene will be exactly the SH laughing at it, much like Roger did.
It's not impossible to show the repercussions of the Dawn and other lore stuff before finding the treasure. It could be something like:
- Laugh Tale has been localized.
- Everybody heads towards it.
- Final War.
- Ancient weapons get used.
- Most of the SH's dreams are realized during the war. All Blue is created/discovered. Laboon crosses Reverse Mountain. Mihawk has been defeated, etc.
- SH win. Allies rejoice.
- We see reactions of the world to the SH's victory, which leads to the Dawn.
- As a reward for their win, SH are the only ones who proceed to Laugh Tale.
- Acknowledgement of Nami, Franky and Robin's dreams, since those required getting to LT in the first place.
- Final lore exposition from Robin.
- One Piece.
The thing that I'm a bit iffy about is that from how I understand the story (which I admit might be totally getting things wrong) is that actually reaching Laugh Tale will be the thing that makes the world change possible. I mean why would the WG make such a big deal out of Roger having conquered the Grand Line, when whatever he's found is not the big thing they are worried about?
Roger himself even said that they just arrived too early but that someone else like the son he will create will come when the time is ripe to come and claim it, which is what he deems will bring the big change. If the change can be brought upon without reaching One Piece first, why making a big deal of getting to it at the right time.
Why sacrifce yourself to have a chance to call out the one to find it by creating the Great Age of Pirates if just getting the treasure is the final piece? In that case he's already achieved that. For Luffy to achieve the same thing at the proper time something has to be different. And read that whatever this difference is, is what will bring the dawn to the world. Again, I might be reading the entire thing wrong. If not, then perhaps the flashback thing I mentioned in my previous post, really is a possibilty to end the story with a look at the treasure. That way the Strawhats would have found it but it will only be revealed to the readers on the very last panel of the series in a flashback during the epilogue.
@Ivotas Oda mentioned in the recent Aoyama interview that the series would end once One Piece is found.
It makes sense when you think about it. The Final War will be the fight for the title of Pirate King, so One Piece can't be found before that event. It will be the reward to the winner, with stuff like the Dawn and the fall of the Celestial Dragons being consequences of the war itself instead of whatever OP is.
The implications, thus, are that Roger's failure to bring change to the world were mostly due to his lack of access to the ancient weapons due to timing reasons. The OP treasure then just becomes something that may answer a driving question instead of a tool of some sort.
We will likely not see Luffy fighting the WG as Pirate King officially.
I think the WG isn't even the real big bad. I feel Imu and the Elders will fall to the Revolutionaries, but the WG was keeping the knowledge of an ancient evil, the real cause of the Void Century, so it wouldn't return.
That ancient evil's will was inherited by Rocks, and now Blackbeard.
Thus, when the WG falls, the ancient evil rises.
