@tron3:
It's pretty obvious that Kaidou will go down after this arc (=Zou + Wa No Kuni).
It's really not that cut and dried.
Kaido is already tied into the KHA Alliance, Drake, broker and Wano storylines.
Add to that probable exposition of his and Moriah's pasts.
Add that to his growing vendetta with the SHs and Law.
We also have the ancient weapons, specifically Poseidon to be added shortly, once Caribou tries to save his own skin by providing valuable information.
That then brings in Fishman Island, the prophecy that Luffy will destroy it, Big Mom's role as protector and her beef with Luffy…
That's just off the top of my head.
You can't just say Kaido will obviously go down by the end of the Wano arc.
There's a lot of stuff to be addressed before that will even get close to happening.
@tron3:
I like the theory that Big Mom is just Lola's mom. After all the preperation and teasing for a fight against Big Mom (on FI and the Swirlyhats' encounter) it would be so 'Oda' if Big Mom would become an ally out of nowhere after Nami reveals her friendship to Lola and Big Mom's Vivre Card.
It would be very Oda for Big Mom to become an ally, yeah, maybe after a post-defeat reveal.
It would not be very Oda, however, to build a feud for a number of years for it to then be resolved in such anticlimactic fashion.
@tron3:
Ruffy still needs more strong allies for the epic last final fight. Luffy's current 5600-armada is pretty impressive hands down, but come on, we are talking about the biggest fight of OP-history, so Ruffy needs definitely more epic comrades for that fight against f*cking Marshall D Teach!
…we have no idea how big Teach's forces are though?
@tron3:
So. The two remaining opponents are Teach and Sakazuki. Both have to go down in the very last arc, anything else would be just anticlimatic.
So you're ok with skipping Big Mom, but two characters like Teach and Sakazuki not being battled in separate arcs would be anticlimactic?
I'm struggling with the logic here.
@tron3:
The most important islands that need a visit are…or is Elbaf? Which could be the first island for the final arc just like Zou is now the prologue-island for the Kaidou arc.
A drop off at Ace and WB's grave will probably be on the cards too.
Maybe Kaido's favourite island?
Big Mom's whole cake island?
The return to Fishman Island to fulfill it's destruction?
Maybe a trip to Mariejois for the Reverie/hidden treasure storylines?
There's still a lot to do, even just island wise.
@tron3:
What about the Revolutioneries? I am pretty sure Blackbeard will destroy them, he has to win the clash against them, since he is the main antagonist of One Piece.
Have you seen Blackbeard's record?
He wasn't even given carte blanche to beat a prison warden on his first try, I would not be so certain that his status as main antagonist guarantees victory in this regard.
Especially when there's still so much to explore when it comes to the revolutionaries.
@tron3:
After the Kaidou arc, world news spreading that the Revolutionary Army with Dragon and Sabo are no more would be a perfect kickstart for the last final arc, giving Luffy a damn good reason more to finally finally finally kick Blackbeard's ass.
If anythings going to kick the Luffy-Teach rivalry into overdrive, it's Shanks being killed somewhere down the line, not a premature end to the revolutionaries.
@tron3:
Stuff like Vegapunk, Lost Century, origins of Devil Fruits and so on could be handled within the final arc maybe.
Would Oda have stopped writing One Piece by this point?
If not, then this isn't going to happen.
The guy loooves to drag things out, to space his major reveals and have everything come together later on.
@tron3:
All of that doesn't sound thaaaaaaat bullshit, huh?
…
@tron3:
And when you look at the first chapters of Zou or at Dressrosa in total, it really feels like Oda is not rushing at all, as if he know that there is no real need to rush anymore since they are only 2 arcs left.
Or maybe he's just continuing doing what he always has?
Making the story bigger, better and generally just wanting to do it right, without rushing?