Take a look back, if you care to:
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
Vol. 3
Vol. 4
Vol. 5
Vol. 6
Vol. 7
Vol. 8
Vol. 9
The Wano saga has finally concluded, and in the end only Jinbe and Zeus have officially joined the Straw Hats with Caribou tagging along for the time being. But there's still a slot open for a tenth commander, and an island full of potential candidates.
The rules remain the same: be civil, don't blame, don't flame and don't troll. Ready…
DON!
Like the Avatar? / Like the Miis?
Dragalia Lost ID: 97617932505
I currently have the understanding that Yamato is being set-up with greater purpose to sail while with Momo akin to a Shanks figure while Wano is also getting its defenses, surely before Laugh Tale, so as to not feel like time was wasted either. But I’ll feel refreshed to talk about other potential people while I wait to see if I’m proven wrong on that or not in the meantime, like Bonney.
And with that, we’re off.
I would love for Bonney to join but I don't think she will
But hey if Kuma joins that would set up the 2.9 devil fruit theory lol (I know luffy technically not 5.6 anymore but still)
I don't think he will join either though
Waribou for nakama. He heard Luffy's proclamation of his dream. Luffy already accepted his request to be on the ship. He also joined fake SHs as a foreshadowing.
I'm of the opinion that chapter 1060 gives off the vibe that the SH crew is complete with Jimbe. However, it's not like this is a fact, only what I consider to be the most probable outcome. So here are my thoughts for a few characters:
Yamato: may yet return as a full-fledged crewmate before the final-final adventure. The fact that Yamato knows Luffy's dream is relevant in context of chapter 1060.
Smoker: he was always my wildest bet, meaning that I think his chances are low due to the lack of any concrete evidence, but still worth mentioning because it makes sense for his character arc. And now Tashigi is here, Smoker is here, so we'll know soon.
Vivi: she'll return, but I think she'll be more of a plot-character with nakama vibes than a real SH.
Bonney: no.
Vegapunk: no.
Caribou: no.
Others: no.
Vivi or no one. I'm not even sure though when Vivi will come back into the story again, so that's a bummer. Maybe the next arc.
@danie said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
Vivi or no one. I'm not even sure though when Vivi will come back into the story again, so that's a bummer. Maybe the next arc.
Ay, seeing as how Bonney is a first person witness, it would prob be inevitable that she tells her side as to what happened and could even clue into what happened to Vivi too. Would be rather surprising if Bonney didn’t know anything at all.
So far Egghead hasn't changed my stance of nobody joining. If we get Wano 2: Blackbeard Boogaloo, I'll probably jump on the Yamato train for Luffy's Dream reasons.
We'll see if a new character in the next arc will change my mind. I'll enjoy the new character interactions with the SHs for now.
@Zin-Magala said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
So far Egghead hasn't changed my stance of nobody joining. If we get Wano 2: Blackbeard Boogaloo, I'll probably jump on the Yamato train for Luffy's Dream reasons.
We'll see if a new character in the next arc will change my mind. I'll enjoy the new character interactions with the SHs for now.
I will say if only to stop sounding like a “broken record” that Yamato could possibly be set-up as that “Straw Hat who never could” and end up never going to Laugh Tale or other places with Luffy that we’ll never get to see because she’ll be forced to stay on Wano for the rest of her life on the basis of her being a tragic character. Tragic in that any dreams and ambitions she has will be shattered as if out of Shakespeare.
That would be the only alternative explanation for me for why the “Yamato sailing” narrative was pushed for as much as it was, because I refuse to believe that it was meant to waste our time at this point, regardless of the good intentions that came afterwards.
I'm still waiting for girlpunk to become the new hot ticket for this thread. You guys know you want to
@wolfwood I think Wano sucked the air out of the Nakama debate. lol
@Zin-Magala said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
@wolfwood I think Wano sucked the air out of the Nakama debate. lol
I think it really depends how much one feels Wano stole the opportunity for there to be another Straw Hat. I'll be surprised to have more conversations on here about that which don't have some doubt attached to them honestly.
Haven't seen enough to back up anyone new yet. Without Yamato gracefully bowing out to Luffy in that flashback, it's only Carrot that can possibly join.
@electricmastro I think you are going to see more and more people either not caring or jumping on the nobody joining bandwagon, at least until something significant happens. Egghead hasn't changed anything as I see very few people considering Bonney or Vegapunk as a possible crew member.
Neither one of them are joining anyway so it is a wise choice not to fall for the obvious Nakama bait.
Maybe this arc has something to do with the giant egg on Rogers ship, maybe the next nakama has something to do with that
@Zin-Magala said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
@electricmastro I think you are going to see more and more people either not caring or jumping on the nobody joining bandwagon, at least until something significant happens. Egghead hasn't changed anything as I see very few people considering Bonney or Vegapunk as a possible crew member.
Neither one of them are joining anyway so it is a wise choice not to fall for the obvious Nakama bait.
Sure, no issue with anyone believing there won't be any more Straw Hats at all, in the same way I hope no one takes issue with me believing there will be, and that they don't constantly try to tell me things like "Nah, you're wrong, the crew is complete and any new ones now would be bad writing" as if I'm not worth giving the benefit of the doubt.
Not that we have to agree of course, but understandably it's more fun when the benefit of the doubt is given more. lol
Don't think female Vegapunk will join at all. We already have Franky. That's a pure info dump situation imo.
I'll be entertained with Bonney for nakama talk for the next year or two.
Might finally sees Vivi inbetween this arc and the next.
Yamato is tabled for now and really don't look forward for to it being brought back up.
Not at all surprised some still think Carrot is a possibility.
@Cockycent The Carrot ship has already sailed, or torpedoed going by the latest chapter's analogy.
At this point, i think Vivi is the favorite mostly because there was a clear focus on her situation just one chapter ago, so it's an issue we will tackle sooner or later.
@electricmastro I have no issue with people believing there will be one more SH. I still have hope for an 11th, I just don't see anyone to root for right now.
You guys were more fun before you got so selfaware. Imagine Oda dangling this juicy best girl and not even a nibble
The egg will hatch, revealing the final crew member:
Y’all know Loki is going to join
@Cyan-D-Funk Roger did also have a giant egg onboard his ship lol
@King-Cannon said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
@Cockycent The Carrot ship has already sailed, or torpedoed going by the latest chapter's analogy.
At this point, i think Vivi is the favorite mostly because there was a clear focus on her situation just one chapter ago, so it's an issue we will tackle sooner or later.
Until I see more evidence, I'm just going to presume for the time being that Carrot willfully choose to stay to help Zou after thinking about beyond saying "Pedro...", after Jack wrecked it in addition to the fact that it's not government-protected at the risk of the Road Poneglyph being discovered and Minks being enslaved. If Yamato can choose to forego sailing to help people she cares about, then Carrot can do the same.
As for Vivi, I suppose in light of the fact that Oda didn't have Vivi around to find out Luffy's overall dream in Chapter 1060, despite being mentioned earlier in the chapter, then I suppose the next arc or so would answer up to what her ultimate fate will be, because no matter what we think, it will be always up to her to choose whether she wants to still stay in Alabasta or not to help it, regardless of the risks. And worse comes to worst, I'd figure it would lead into a better solution needing to be found.
@King-Cannon I disagree. Vivi is already a SH.
As far as Carrot, I don't see that as over. I'm aware of some setting up deadlines, then changing back and forth over Yamato.
First it was said and done while he fought Kaido, then when he didn't join, that whole deadline blew up.
I will not be taking recommendations from that choice of logic. Will just stick to my own.
No one cares, but I'll post this here just in case.
This is a weak theory because its basis is paper-thin and I have a huge bias towards it, but I feel Hancock may still have a role in the current arc.
1059 is a pretty huge setup for Egghead. It mentions the island, introduces the Seraphim and ends with Koby's kidnapping. All of those elements are immediately important in this arc. But there's another thing set up in 1059:
What if, instead of seeking Luffy immediately, like I previously considered, she sets sail to counter the Seraphim?
She would be offended by knowing there's a copy of her somewhere. Worse yet, a copy of her that's essentially a SLAVE to the World Government! I feel the presence of her Seraphim in this arc may actually lead to her being present too.
Unforeseen known characters appearing mid-arc have happened before. Like Law in Punk Hazard or Sabo in Dressrosa.
Will it happen? I don't know. Can it happen? It's not impossible.
"But, hey, how does she arrive so quickly? Last we've seen her, she was still in Amazon Lily while the Straw Hats were already sailing."
I don't know, but traveling in One Piece happens as fast and as easy as the plot requires. Maybe there's a way to quickly reach Egghead from Sabaody, as that's the place Sentoumaru (formerly Vegapunk's bodyguard and highly likely to appear in this arc) and the Pacifista were stationed both pre- and post-timeskip. And, since Rayleigh knows Sabaody very well and was last seen with Hancock, they could hatch a plan around it.
Like I said, it's at this point unlikely, but not impossible. Something will eventually come out of Hancock needing to leave her people.
@Zin-Magala said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
@electricmastro I have no issue with people believing there will be one more SH. I still have hope for an 11th, I just don't see anyone to root for right now.
Ah, well I'm still rooting for Yamato. I think the biggest way I'd drop that altogether is that it gets to the point that she'll completely give up on her freedom to sail and ends up spending her days doing guard duty on Wano for the rest of her life, at the risk of being miserable.
Oda setting Yamato up with high hopes to sail just to end up in a miserable life to me would be one believable way to explain why he pushed that narrative with her so much early on, so her ending up as a tragic character as if out of Shakespeare in her forbidden fruit forcing her back to Wano and never really getting to be happy alongside Luffy again would be a sad, but still interesting way to justify why Oda did what he did I suppose.
Now, I can at last resume pushing in earnest the agenda I've been pushing since 2006: Straw Hat Smoker.
Big posts incoming soon (and hopefully a video).
For the record, I don't think the limit is 10, so I haven't fully given up on Carrot, though admittedly, it now looks rather unlikely. I'd be lying if I said it's entirely impossible now and I stand behind all my arguments for why I thought she was going to join. But I am ready to admit that as of now, it seems likely I was wrong. Which, if so, is fine. Either way, I'm moving on from mentioning Carrot unless she pops up again in a way that makes it seem possible she'll voyage further with the crew - like popping out of Caribou.
Over the years, the characters I've seriously argued in favor of joining (or returning) are Jinbei, Smoker, Carrot, and Vivi.
I floated the idea of Vegapunk in the past. I think it's pretty unlikely, but it's always been a fun idea to consider - whether he or she turns out to be an old man or a young woman. Personally, I'm still hoping that Vegapunk prime takes inspiration from Doc Brown in Back to the Future. There are a lot of interesting apparent contradictions about Vegapunk.
So, we'll see how this arc develops. Right now, I think Punk is most likely an incredibly important supporting player for the Straw Hats, but I wouldn't be surprised if he or she turns into a crewmember.
As I said, Smoker is the agenda I'm going to be pushing now. In fact, the very first post I ever made on a One Piece forum was a 'theory' about Smoker joining which read like bad fan-fiction. Still, the idea has stuck with me and although I understand the arguments against, I still want to believe.
Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brook, Jimbei, Carrot, Vivi, Smoker
"ONE PIECE, IT EXISTS" - The Great Pirate Edward Newgate
I think it all comes down to 3 simple options:
There is no coveted "final nakama."At most, just someone who tags along during the final arc, as is often the case. (Something along the lines of a Law/Pedro/Momo/xyz etc...)
There is a final nakama, and we've known about them all along for years! We just never knew they'd be the one to join.
There is a final nakama, and it's a brand new character first introduced in Egghead or beyond.
If the answer is #3, then we don't have much, if anything, to go off of right now. So all we can talk about at the moment is if it's option #1 or #2.
@Shin10-Bukuro said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
There is a final nakama, and we've known about them all along for years! We just never knew they'd be the one to join.
This is where I've stood for a long time. IMO, the 11th:
@StrawHatJedi said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
Straw Hat Smoker.
I always found it crazy, but who am I to judge anyone? Let's see how it turns out!
@StrawHatJedi said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
I haven't fully given up on Carrot, though admittedly, it now looks rather unlikely.
She's totally inside Caribou! (I don't really believe it, but it's not impossible).
@StrawHatJedi said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
Over the years, the characters I've seriously argued in favor of joining (or returning) are Jinbei, Smoker, Carrot, and Vivi.
Since I caught up to weekly chapters, I was in for Paulie, Brook and Hancock, essentially.
One wrong, one right, one I didn't get until it was too obvious (Jinbe), and one that I've been waiting to come back for 12 years. 
@StrawHatJedi said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
I think Punk is most likely an incredibly important supporting player for the Straw Hats
I feel that, unless there's a bunch of Vegapunk clones so one or more of them turns traitor, Vegapunk is going to be an antagonist.
I dunno, I get the impression that he's a self-absorved jerk. Not someone who wishes ill towards others, but that gets so much into his own creations that he often ignores people's needs or cause major harm without noticing.
For instance, it appears Egghead has the winter climate solved. So, why is Karakuri Island/Baldimore country abandoned still? Was Vegapunk just looking for a solution for his own ego, but now that he has one he's moved to the next project and totally forgot about his homeland?
@StrawHatJedi said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
For the record, I don't think the limit is 10
I have to still wonder if Oda is narrowing it down though, because Chapter 1060 showed not only Luffy telling his crew his overall dream, but also their verbal/visual reactions to it, as if to hone in how special the moment is.
It can be easy to dismiss this as not being special at all, but with that said, is it still valid to ask these questions?:
Why not wait until Smoker is there for him to be in the know in verbally/visually reacting?
Why not wait until Carrot is there for her to be in the know in verbally/visually reacting?
Why not wait until Vivi is there for her to be in the know in verbally/visually reacting?
I mean, after all, if it's not that big of a deal, then why even hide the dream from us? Understandably, wouldn't it just be more awkward to have someone on board who wasn't it the know while everyone else was? That would prob do more to damage the readers' desire to attach themselves to the character than for it to be in the characters' favor, since at that point the hypothetical 10th recruit would just feel so much more distant in the respect of either only getting to know Luffy's dream long after 1060 or maybe never even getting to know until Laugh Tale is landed on.
I would have to figure how much this will all play into future crewmate discussions, because either this is a big deal, or it's not a big deal at all, as the leading reason why Luffy risked his life this much at sea isn't exactly a trivial thing:
I can't tell whether Caribou is inside the barrel or not. Unlike traitorgate and barrelgate, I have yet to see Carrot being in Caribou travel outside of this forum. The other 2 had more fans having fun or taking it seriously. Probably because it's more unique due to being able to hide people. I'd have to go back, but I think he took in Raizo and attempted with Shirahoshi.
He first took a lot of mermaid hostages in his body.
Then he expelled them out to kidnap Shirahoshi, but was interrupted by Luffy & Co. arrival.
Then he took a whole factory in his cover story.
Then yes, he took Raizou in during the Udon prison escape.
He definitely has the power to conceal things within his body. His own personal infinite bag.
The Carrot-within-Caribou idea is more of a joke, but the problem is that it's within the realm of possibility, and Oda loves absurdity and last-minute twists. So, if he wanted, Carrot could appear out of nowhere mid-arc and we suddenly get a flashback of what happened.
And that leaves her chances above zero, as far-fetched as it seems.
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'm here trying to understand why kind of parallel universe is this where people still discuss Carrot in 2022.
@Dragon-D-Luffy wait until next year #itneverends
Edit: in all honesty did I not say this would happen, the one more chapter syndrome
@Deicide Yeah, he could fit anything. To entertain the meme, I would say Yamato would be in there, but he has already stated his place is in Wano.
If Carrot is around somewhere, this doesn't seem like the place to mess around. Vegapunk's experiments are out here slicing up Amazon Lily and almost swallowing up Yonko crews.
Actually this adds to her case, now that I think about it. Totland and Egghead are fully enemy territory. Her fate would end up like that.
Isn't it a little... fast to be giving a brand new thread for a new arc alteady? I know if you go back far enough and look at my old posts I joked about this literal thing "Just wait, when Vegapunk's secret daughter shows up they're going to be touted as crew material too." Like, years ago.
Well regardless, my feelings on this thread are the same as the last one.
I guess I should apologize to any Hancock/Perona/Rebecca/Carrot/etc supporters I might have been rude or dismissive to over the years, regardless of what happens next. If I was mean or rude or an awful person, I wasn't insulting you, I was insulting your stupid full of holes theory.
And now it was my stupid full of holes theory too.
Whatever your feelings on Yamato, that was EXTREMELY sloppy and rushed. Is this a film red thing? A last minute decision to cut one more person to speed things along? Just always a red herring to make a Wano character fans actually liked? Any way you slice it that was handled badly.
If Oda's THAT willing to change course just a chapter after the characters make it clear they're doing one thing, and they change their mind the next... there's no point in debating this stuff or trying to prove anything or debunk or argue if Oda is willing to completely throw things to the wind on a whim.
I fell into the exact same trap of "well he hasn't shown this key detail yet, and you can ignore this one oddity right now, he's just saving it for later because he's obviously got something big planned to account for that."
I can make excuses like "Yamato explicitly said he was joining and that was his dream" and I had legit reasons for being fooled... but I guess that applies to anyone else too.
All the same, all the years I spent thinking I knew what I was talking about and that I understood the story and Oda's methods when debunking stuff were just me being an ass, it turns out, and I'd rather not do that anymore.
You guys have fun speculating on every female character that appears, I'm out of this game.
@Dragon-D-Luffy said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
I'm here trying to understand why kind of parallel universe is this where people still discuss Carrot in 2022.
I'd have to imagine we'd have to check back on Carrot by the time this next arc ends or later, so as to address the concern if Carrot is being forced by the Minks to be their makeshift ruler as if she's their "ruler slave" and her not being able to refuse.
Or if Carrot did willingly choose to be their ruler, I think it would also lead into as to how happy she is with her choice.
And that in mind, I think Oda is giving both Carrot and Yamato time with their choices to see how happy or unhappy they are with them. Vivi was still perfectly happy with her choice to not go with Luffy and the others, so I think it's only appropriate that Carrot and Yamato are given time with theirs.
We can assume all we want, but I think it definitely all comes down to how they personally feel awhile after making their choice, like how Vivi was still happy long after the fact:
If i was a hardcore Carrot fan, i think i would probably be taking the "rabbit screw!!" move as a hint or something. I'm not though so i just think that if she didn't just go back to Zou, she took after Pedro and is ponegliff hunting or something, and Oda just doesn't want to reveal that yet.
@danie said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
If i was a hardcore Carrot fan, i think i would probably be taking the "rabbit screw!!" move as a hint or something. I'm not though so i just think that if she didn't just go back to Zou, she took after Pedro and is ponegliff hunting or something, and Oda just doesn't want to reveal that yet.
I don't want to be so quick to believe that Oda meant things like "Screw this rabbit", but it was pretty hilarious to me after someone suggested that Oda re-introduced Bonney in the arc right after Wano because of what her least favorite food is:
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Kuma, seeing as he’s the one Bonney is probably trying to save
I mean I doubt he will join but you never know
@Shiebs said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned Kuma, seeing as he’s the one Bonney is probably trying to save
I mean I doubt he will join but you never know
Yeah, I figure Bonney is trying to visit Vegapunk because of Kuma's loss of humanity. If she would have visited him prior, then I imagine she would have already been well aware of Kuma's predicament already, so maybe this would be the first time she's meeting him.
Obviously the one who'll join at the end of this arc is a character Oda has been building up a redemption story for since the series began: Helmeppo 
I suppose while we're waiting, I wanted to ask if there's anything you feel one needs to see before really being sold on someone being Luffy's crewmate? For me, I think it's sentimental uplifting, because with any of Luffy's crewmates, there seems to always be times where they're in doubt or in lower spirits in general, and then Luffy does something to raise their spirits to a higher level, increasing the sentimental value not only between Luffy and the crewmate, but usually between the reader and the crewmate as well.
Bonney is at the very least a temporary companion, maybe even a friend of the crew after this.
However, this will confirm a fear of mine. I've been afraid that Bonney was placed in the Worst Generation just so she could be kept in the story until her relative power was so irrelevant to the main crew (and the current level of whoever their next enemy is) that she could fit into the same dynamic as characters like Vivi, Hiyori, Viola, and similar characters. That is, maybe she'll be a strong fighter in her own right but she'll ultimately be powerless against whoever the next antagonist is and will need Luffy to help her out. I hope I'm wrong, cause it'd be a little sad for this character to be around so long just to fall into that pattern. She was created 14 years ago just to be a princess instead of a potential Pirate King.
Still better than Basil Hawkins I guess.
It took me a little while to realize why the case with Yamato and Momo ended up the way it did, and the conclusion I've come to is that Momo is being built up to eventually challenge Yamato to prove to her that he is capable of defending Wano on his own and further encourage Yamato to sail out not only to embrace her freedom at sea to the fullest, but to also accomplish her greater purpose of finding the answer as to why Wano should be opened, likely by going to Laugh Tale.
After Momo read the journal and realized the last page was missing, it left him concerned as to why his dad Oden would want to open Wano in the first place and then decided not to open Wano after that. So it's probably not that Momo is concerned about if he's able to open the borders, but why he should open the borders, and him wanting to surpass Oden would lead to him working hard on his bolo breath aiming and arnament haki usage, presumably trained by Hyogoro, in such a way so as to ultimately become a reliable enough defender. Maybe he'd even challenge Yamato to a fight after finding out she lied to him about why she stayed in order to prove to her once and for all that he has become reliable despite his past failure with the admiral. Would make for a nice parallel too in that just as Momo tried fighting Kaido to get him to leave due to him taking peoples' freedoms, he'd then fight his daughter Yamato to get her to leave due to him wanting his friend to live out her freedom at sea to the fullest.
I admit I'm not the biggest fan of how Oda had all this play out, but assuming he's doing all this for Yamato and Momo's benefit, as well as our benefit of not having our time wasted with Yamato's sailing narrative pushed as much as it was after all, then I think it would make the most sense in that case.
@onemoment One thing I'm sure Bonney won't disappoint in is her and Luffy around food! That scene writes itself.
I can only see it being Yamato or Vivi, more likely Yamato since there's more set-up for it. I don't expect any Egghead character to be given that sorta honor, Bonney is just a guest.
@FelRes said in Next Straw Hat Crewmates (Vol. 10 - Egghead):
I can only see it being Yamato or Vivi, more likely Yamato since there's more set-up for it. I don't expect any Egghead character to be given that sorta honor, Bonney is just a guest.
Going on from my last point above regarding Momo's growth, I think all this really depends on how fast of a learner Momo is and how much he pushes himself. His bolo breath already seemed quite destructive, and he learned to use flame clouds fast enough like in a day, so if he really does dedicate himself, I could see him at least impressing Yamato enough for her to have less worry, like she mentioned.
I think it definitely would help if Oda drew interlude chapters of Momo's progress just to emphasize on Momo's growth even more, after saying aforementioned things like surpassing Oden, and give the more believable satisfaction of building himself up enough before Laugh Tale, in time for Yamato to journey there to find the answer to justify why Wano's borders should be opened.
