The next arc: what will it be?

Ivotas

@King-Cannon said in The next arc: what will it be?:

@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 see. I guess that does make sense. I guess never considered that all three ancient weapons are timing based not just Poseidon. Still would like to see some sort of aftermaths. It's what I always enjoy after a big arc.

Shin10 Bukuro

@Deicide Agree 100%!!!!

I have been thinking the same thing. :)

It's a great twist; that the "villains" this whole time might have been insufferable and corrupt, but it was just their flawed way of trying to save the world themselves. I believe Shanks is caught in the middle of it all, being both a pirate and a Celestial Dragon.

There has to be a reason, afterall, why Roger and Garp teamed up to protect Celestial Dragons...

Shiebs

How long until we find out the next island do you guys think

Deicide

I think world stuff wraps up in 1059 or 1060 at most, then we return to the crew.
If we do not get any complication at sea, we should reach the island by 1061.
If there's a complication, however, who knows?

Shiebs

I’m still hoping Elbaf is next

fana

Something I would like to see but fear now that it will never happen is the Strawhats defeating the admirals.

I really don't see the plot moving in a direction where the Marine is their enemy to defeat.

So I'll keep on pointlessly dreaming of fights that will never happen (Sanji vs Kizaru, Zoro vs Fujitora, Jinbe vs Aramaki look like really fun on paper).

Monquito

Some of ya'll arent considering Luffy's secret dream at all.

Deicide

@Monquito

I think it will be revealed with the One Piece. Just before the end.

Either after he realises it, and then everything makes sense and the dream wasn't told before because it was itself a spoiler; or once it is doable and becomes a foregone conclusion.

@fana said in The next arc: what will it be?:

Something I would like to see but fear now that it will never happen is the Strawhats defeating the admirals.

I think Aramaki's performance actually made it more likely that the strongest Straw Hats will "graduate" by defeating them.

Shiebs

There's an entire war that's going to happen after we find the One Piece too

danie

I fully expect Fujitora and Aramaki to fight at some point as a parallel to Kuzan and Sakazuki's fight. Only this time the good admiral will win. As for Borsalino, I expect Blackbeard to deal with him just for the "light vs darkness" thing, and of course "darkness" will win.

Luffy will defeat Sakazuki after Sabo fails to do, and will actually manage to save his brother in the process.

Not sure what arc this will be but it shouldn't be too far away now.

Deicide

@Shiebs That's a common concept among the fanbase, but the story can do things in a way in which the battle is for the One Piece and happens before the treasure is found.

I feel it's more likely for the story to end with the unveiling of the One Piece.

Ivotas

@fana said in The next arc: what will it be?:

Something I would like to see but fear now that it will never happen is the Strawhats defeating the admirals.

I really don't see the plot moving in a direction where the Marine is their enemy to defeat.

So I'll keep on pointlessly dreaming of fights that will never happen (Sanji vs Kizaru, Zoro vs Fujitora, Jinbe vs Aramaki look like really fun on paper).

I see no way how Luffy will not at least throw a punch at the one guy that killed his brother right before his eyes.

fana

A clash page maybe ? But an actual multi chapter fight with a winner, I stopped believing it will ever happen.

Which thinking about it will end up being the strange thing to point out when the manga is over. A manga about pirates where besides Morgan and some random mobs will end with the protagonists not ever having to beat the Marines chasing them.

black-leg jex

I feel like we have two options for the next arc - one focused on Sabo or one focused on Shanks (but without him). The Straw Hats don't know about the Cobra assassination or Barto burning the flags and both of these are things they should find out sooner rather than later. I suspect it can go one of two ways:

Sabo route: the Straw Hats arrive at one of those Kingdoms that recently overthrew their rule and are pushing Sabo as the Flame Emperor. When the Straw Hats arrive Luffy is treated as someone important, which he thinks is because he is an Emperor now but is actually because he is Sabo's brother. They then find out what happened with Cobra and Sabo and the crew are immediately angry and Luffy doesn't believe Sabo would do this (just like Dragon didn't) and ends up in some kind of conflict with whoever the leader of this revolution is. Maybe the Marines or CP0 are also there just to have a bigger threat. Either way the arc concludes when Sabo and Vivi arrive and the Straw Hats find out what really happen.
Shanks route: The Straw Hats arrive and immediately everyone is terrified of them, which the crew thinks is because Luffy is an Emperor. It turns out to be an island under Shanks' rule and one of his crew members who doesn't know about the connection between Luffy and Shanks (like Rockstar maybe) has been left in charge and thinks Luffy is here to try and claim the territory. It ends up in a fight that Luffy doesn't want to take part in because he doesn't want to mess with Shanks or see him yet. At the end of thearc they find out about what Bartolomeo has done and this will somehow lead into the arc that follows. Also we will find out whose wedding Shanks and co were at in that cover story.

Either way I think it will be a short breather arc that will set-up the arc to follow (hopefully Elbaf or the Revolutionaries). It could also be Sphinx Island but the fact Marco isn't with them seems a bit odd if that's the case, as he's just going to show up again there.

Shiebs

Gaaah I hate waiting, I really want to know what’s next!

Deicide

Break-weeks have been terrible lately. The anxiety is killing me after waiting so long for Wano to end.

(Now that I think about it, between 1053 and 1059 there has been as many break weeks as chapters).

Zin Magala

My money is on Sphinx next. After that will depend on what Blackbeard is doing. I feel like he is going to get the ball rolling when it comes to the final war soon.

theackwardstation

@Deicide after the 1 month for vacation, this week is actually the first break Oda took, which is very odd (and he also published 4 chapters in a row before the vacation). The other break before 1057 was a magazine break.

Deicide

@theackwardstation
It's likely because I'm very anxious about the next chapters. I've been waiting for the aftermath of the Reverie even before I knew there was going to be a Reverie.

But between Chapter 1053 and now we've had 6 chapters and 6 weeks off. Of course Oda deserves his breaks, but anxiety makes each one of them feel sooo slow.

.access timeco.

I really wish we could skip Elbaf (I hope I will eat my words when it comes to that, but 25 years of manga didn't managed to make me feel even the slightest shade of interest regarding the giants), but I doubt that would happen.

My expectations for the rest of the manga are 2 big arcs and possibly a third small one, so I suppose my guess would be Elbaf, Lode Star (which will also be the Emerald City) and then the final arc in Marie Geoise or already in Laugh Tale...

My only worry is that's too little for all the characters Oda still needs to focus on and we might end up with multiple Onigashimas.

Ivotas

@access-timeco I'm in the exact same boat mate. In all those years I never felt any excitement. That might be the best attitude to get into an Elbaf arc, because chances of being pleasantly surprised are higher

Though if the recent trend in One Piece is anything to go by, a "I expect nothing and I'm still dusappointed" scenario is more likely.

MDL

Well, for me the main thing that's been happening post-TS is "Yeah there were some rough moments, but overall I liked or loved that."

But then Wano was like "There were moments I liked or loved, but overall that was rough."

Which is definitely a step down, but I'm hopeful that we'll now get back to "rough moments, but liked the overall arc".

Deicide

Hancock not being captured kinda ruins the premise of a Mary Geoise arc as I originally imagined. However, if Vivi is captive there and the Straw Hats somehow find it out, she could be the motivation for them to go there.

However, Chapter 1059 also added some weight to another possibility...

With the mention of an "Egghead Port", the Seraphim reveal, Kuma’s status, Bonney around, and Weevil’s fate up in the air (is he a failed attempt to clone Whitebeard?), could we be heading to a Vegapunk arc soon?

(You know what? With the Punk Hazard kids going for Vegapunk and Bonney available, imagine the Straw Hats infiltrating Vegapunk's lab by turning into their child versions!)

King Cannon

While a Vegapunk arc would make sense and be a long time coming, I think Koby being with Blackbeard could be an immediate prompt for a Hachinosu Arc.

Especially with Ochoku being mentioned as the former ruler of the island, so there's your potential enemy if Blackbeard is not ready to fight yet. Plus, I'm pretty sure that newspaper at the end will be read by Luffy and Co., since it appears to be the latest edition that Robin got last chapter.

theackwardstation

I think a Vegapunk arc is coming. I just wonder if it'll be separate from the Marines.

Monquito

At the very least, Sphinx is out of the question, it would be pretty redundant to fareawell Marco and then meet him again right where they're landing.

Not even mentioning Marco could have been given a ride by the sh's instead.

Deicide

I still strongly feel the three destinations from Wano are the three islands hinted as potential Poneglyph locations in Road to Laugh Tale: Elbaf, Hachinosu/Fullalead/Beehive and Vira/Villa.

I think we are headed to Vira/Villa, and it will be a mini-arc to prelude the next big arc. It's probably Revolutionary-related, and could lead to either Mary Geoise or Vegapunk, as both are currently related to Revolutionary objectives.

black-leg jex

A Vegapunk arc makes the most sense for the next major arc, but I think a mini-arc just before then is what we will have next. Will likely have the Straw Hats meet a Seraphim and then lead into the bigger Vegapunk arc. Between the focus on the Seraphim, Kuma and the Revolutionaries, the idea of Devil Fruit Zoans having a soul, and just science in general (all the MADs stuff) it's the right time to see Vegapunk and give the Revolutionaries an arc finally.

@Deicide said in The next arc: what will it be?:

I still strongly feel the three destinations from Wano are the three islands hinted as potential Poneglyph locations in Road to Laugh Tale: Elbaf, Hachinosu/Fullalead/Beehive and Vira/Villa.

I think we are headed to Vira/Villa, and it will be a mini-arc to prelude the next big arc. It's probably Revolutionary-related, and could lead to either Mary Geoise or Vegapunk, as both are currently related to Revolutionary objectives.

It can't be Vira because that is in the Grand Line, as confirmed by Oda in Volume 25:

"400 years ago when Noland visited it, Villa was indeed just a merry town, but these days it's a violent and dangerous country in the midst of a coup d'état (rebellion). But it's not really so much what's happening in Villa, as what's happening all around the world at this time. I think you'll discover what I mean in the near future. Not as large as Alabasta, it's just a small country in the Grand Line."

Deicide

@black-leg-jex The New World is still within the Grand Line. I searched the mentions of Vira/Villa, and there's not a single moment in which it denies the possibility of it being in the New World. The Wiki says Vira/Villa is in Paradise, but has no reference to back up the info.

Actually, there's even evidence in the contrary. Vira/Villa was one of the first places Montblanc Norland visited in his grand expedition, while Jaya was the last one. In-between, he visited Dressrosa and helped free the Tontatta. Which means he most likely started his journey in the New World.

But how would he start in the New World? Easy. When he returned to Jaya with the king, he first had to wait permission from Mary Geoise, which means they started traveling on one of the Red Ports, rather than Reverse Mountain.

Besides, all other islands cited in Road to Laugh Tale were in the New World. Why would Vira/Villa be the only exception?

Captain M

@Deicide Isn't Noland's nation in the North Blue though? You're right that Vira could be anywhere in either half of the Grand Line, but a North Blue Lvneel is something I'm pretty sure we were explicitly told about. Short of a suicidal trip across the Calm Belt, there's not much chance of Noland having started in the New World.

Deicide

@Captain-M Since they required Mary Geoise's permission to enter the Grand Line, the implication is that they climb the Red Line (which touches all seas), travel to Mary Geoise, and enter either Paradise or New World throught one of the Red Ports. No need to cross the Calm Belt via ship.

MetaMario

@pokebat7 said in The next arc: what will it be?:

Next arc is gonna be a Davy Back Fight so we can de-stress before a high octane saga.

I remain forever disappointed we've never seen the concept again. Not some cover story easter egg, not Buggy using it for more numbers, nothing.

so clearly oda is saving it for the final battle between luffy and teach

:::

Shiebs

@MetaMario maybe that’s how we’ll get the last crewmember

Captain M

@Deicide Ah, I see what you're saying. Not a bad idea. I'd like to learn more about what's on top of the Redline aside from Marie Geoise at some point, or at least get a good reason why all that land doesn't seem to be used.

theackwardstation

I see people think the next destination might not be Sphinx Island because of the redundancy of meeting Marco again just after a departure, but I don't think we've talked enough to him yet... and the fact that Oda made sure to show Marco departing days before Luffy could be a plot point in itself.

For example, what if Luffy arrives at Sphinx Island only to find it destroyed by Weevil after defeating Marco? That's a strong set up.

Deicide

@theackwardstation
This is something in my mind for quite some time.

We don't know anything about Weevil's status right now. If he escaped the marine siege, Marco could totally arrive in Sphynx and find out Weevil is right there, waiting for him. It would be a really downer ending.

However, at the same time, I feel the marines should win against at least one Warlord, and there's no other option now besides Weevil.

Also, with the Seraphim reveal, Weevil's storyline could continue in a new way, like the reveal that he's an old failed Whitebeard clone/pacifista. Thus, he being captured would still leave a role for him in a Vegapunk arc.

King Cannon

I'm not sure how viable Weevil being an experiment is. Kizaru doesn't seem to recognize him and he's one of the closer Admirals to Vegapunk (through Sentomaru).

theackwardstation

@King-Cannon said in The next arc: what will it be?:

I'm not sure how viable Weevil being an experiment is. Kizaru doesn't seem to recognize him and he's one of the closer Admirals to Vegapunk (through Sentomaru).

I don't think we have enough to say that Kizaru doesn't recognize him. Actually, he seems very knowledgeable of Weevil's strength.

I know where you're coming from, because when a low-ranking Marine talks about suspecting of Weevil's claim of being Whitebeard's son, Kizaru answers: "Hmmm. Well, the truth or falsehood of that claim doesn't matter to us."

Maybe Kizaru doesn't know anything indeed, but maybe he just doesn't want to reveal the facts to a low-ranking Marine, or maybe Kizaru just making a simple statement that the truth doesn't matter for them regardless of his actual knowledge.

Hakase

Looking at what the new world was like so far my best guess the immediate next thing we're dealing with is "road to Uranus". Whatever this road looks like I hope the very first part of it is somewhere nobody can guess right now. One last time we actually have no clue where we'll go is I hope something Oda capitalizes on.

Ivotas

@Hakase said in The next arc: what will it be?:

Looking at what the new world was like so far my best guess the immediate next thing we're dealing with is "road to Uranus". Whatever this road looks like I hope the very first part of it is somewhere nobody can guess right now. One last time we actually have no clue where we'll go is I hope something Oda capitalizes on.

That sounds like a hentai manga. If there's tentacles involved sign me up.

StrawHatJedi

I think Uranus is probably on Elbaf. Road Poneglyphs and Ancient Weapons seem to be found in the same places.

Fishman Island - Poseidon & Road Poneglyph
Wano - Pluton & Road Poneglyph
Zou - Needed to open Wano's borders and unleash Plutton, also Road Poneglyph

Where did Linlin steal her Road Poneglyph from originally? Lots of options, but Elbaf makes the most sense. The winter solstice celebrating the deathh and rebirth of the sun ties Elbaf to the same New Dawn / Road to the Sun prophecies as the other Road Poneglyph protectors / close allies of JoyBoy. Their ships also feature the same sea dragon figurehead as the statue from the Torii gate on Onigashima and the top of Ryugu Castle.

Uranus in Greek mythology is the sky god whose blood gave birth to the race of giants, which could substantiate a mythological connection between Elbaf and Uranus.

My guess for Uranus' identity is that it somehow harnesses the power of the moon(s) to control the tides and weather, working in tandem with the other two ancient weapons to confer an advantage to a seafaring civilization. The sea kings, an a massive warship, and the power of the tides and weather also all relate to the mythological powers of Ryujin, the sea dragon god in Japanese mythology which may serve as the basis for the dragon revered on Elbaf, Wano, Fishman Island, and Alabasta.

Shiebs

My money is still on Elbaf, we’ll see soon

Clessenur

Short arc with Vegapunk, then Elbaf.

Cockycent

I doubt it's Sphinx or Elbaf.

Johnny B. Decent

Well, Ch. 1,060 pretty strongly suggests a Revolutionary/CP0 themed arc now.

King Cannon

Bonney very much indicates a Vegapunk based arc. Finding him was highly implied to have been her pre-timeskip objective.

danie

Yeah, a Vegapunk centered arc seems likely considering Bonney seems to be mostly tied to Kuma. And with Kuma being tied to Dragon, I hope that means Dragon starts actually having a role in the story!

Cockycent

My initial thoughts was that the Science and Underworld aspects were next. Didn't really settle on any specific kind of arc or location. I seen Decide's idea from the spoiler thread with Kaido's island as something that has some credibility to it. Not only that they are relatively close to Wano and that there are certain things like weapons and tech that were left open to an extent, but Caribou being on the ship is considered as well.

Lastly, the weather they are currently experiencing.

I'm not too sure about the Elbaf, Vegapunk, Sphinx ideas, but I will add this

I find it suspect that the Giants on PH were frozen (possibly due to Aokiji's effect on the island, but not confirmed)
VP's hometown has similar climate
Kaido's favorite island has the snow and factories

I wouldn't put it past Queen and Kaido continuing to communicate and possibly work with Vegapunk from that island. If this is ultimately the same island with Scotch that looks like a cyborg and contains the filler mecha dome that opens up, there is room to build a case that this is Vegapunk's Zou like arc.

Deicide

As I said in the spoiler thread: I think I know which island we have just arrived at.

Check "Caribou's Kehihihi in the New World" coverstory. Winter island, said to be "Kaido's favorite island", stormy oceans, ideal place for Caribou to disembark, link to the Revolutionaries, interesting mystery with the artificial mountains... Possibly a small stop before Bonney sends us to either Mary Geoise or Vegapunk.

Of the weird stuff we’ve seen so far: the mountains are artificial (we’ve seen them being built pre-timeskip), and the metal-covered trees. There were also weapon factories. And it would be nice to know why it was “Kaido’s favorite island”.

I imagine that island has a lot of Queen stuff, and there could be leads to Vegapunk via Queen’s notes. Maybe that’s why Bonney came to the region.

The chance of going Mary Geoise next has diminished, but it's still higher than zero. Caribou mishearding they are going there seems like a possible plot point.

If they find that Vivi is there, they'll surely go. Bonney could still be the way for them to learn it. Imagine if they decide it after Caribou leaves. If so, then Caribou having that info can still create problems to their infiltration of the city.

black-leg jex

There are three options imo.

1: a brand new island we have never seen and it's where Vegapunk is located. Like people have said, his hometown had a winter climate and Punk Hazard's lab was on the wintr side (although it shouldn't have been that when Vegapunk was actually there).
2: Kaidou's favourite island. We don't have a name for it but it's th one from the Caribou cover story. No clue if Scotch is still there but it was also a winter island, is close to Wano, and Caribou already played a role there and has connections to it, so him being here now could be important. It also had its own revolutionaries who may or may not be connected to Dragon.
3: It's the unnamed Winter Island where Ace met Shanks. It's possible it is a part of Shank's territory and may have been the island he just came from when he passed by Wano. I don't think we have a name for it.

The first two seem more likely to me but I want to throw the third one out there as an option.