@Cockycent:

Pedro keeps getting kicked down the road here. First he'll appear in Capone's cover story, now Germa's story. I'm glad the dope Minks like Faust and Bepo aren't meme'd as much. They deserve the respect.

Pedro is the dopest Mink. He's chilling in the Treetops of the Seducing Woods.

@Robby:

No, I was referring to lock combination we already know about.

The fridge lock is secured by a four digit code, "7326", which is known only to Sanji, Nami, and Robin. The code is a combination of their names. 7 and 3 can be pronounced as "na" and "mi" respectively in Japanese and thus refer to Nami. Likewise, 2 and 6 can be pronounced as "ni" and "ro" respectively and thus refer to the two first syllables of Nico Robin's full name. 3 and 2 can also be pronounced as "san" and "ji" and thus refer to Sanji.

So Oda's absolutely willing to do weird number play.

Notably, this was an SBS only detail that never appeared in-story beyond the fact that a lock exists.

Please actually read my earlier posts before asking a question I already responded to at length.

TLDR: Oda let that joke out of the bag over a decade ago. If he really thought of it or had his heart set on it he probably wouldn't have just published the punchline in advance. The number theory is fun and a bonus, not a requirement.

Oh okay. Thanks for the clarification on the locker combination! It looks to be proof Oda will use number wordplay.

What if it isn't a joke though? If it's true why hasn't anyone yet discerned who the next crewmate is? Because you and others believe Oda would not acknowledge such a glaring hint. It's hiding information in plain sight which Oda does plenty. The fans are looking at Yamato as the "next" so long as Oda doesn't admit the theory has validity.
@Solid:

11 people on merry wouldn't be a problem, it's not that small.

So what would be Franky's dream? After all Franky with assistance built his dream ship Sunny to be able to sail anywhere on the Grandline. Franky could "upgrade" Merry but would be limited to Merry's keel in design and expansion.

The Merry is tiny. If there was debate about Jinbe fitting through Sunny's doors imagine Jinbe and post-timeskip Franky on Merry. Plus no steering wheel at the helm of Merry would limit Jinbe as the Helmsman. Jinbe would have to "steer" from the lounge with limited vision.

@Deicide:

Oda has always used wordplay, the 56 number was used for Luffy a lot of times. But that doesn’t mean he had in mind to give the SHs only DFs that related to unique numbers, nor thst said numbers would add up the ship that wasn’t even planned at the start.

I think it went like this:

• Oda likes wordplay, uses 56 for Luffy.
• Readers in similar fashion find numbers for other DFs
• Someone finds out that 2 and 9 are missing from the SH DFs. Also finds up that Kuma’s DF is a 2-9 fruit. Sends it to Oda.
• For some reason, Oda finds it fascinating and publishes it in a SBS.
• People find out that the numbers add up to 325, making the theory stronger.
• To tease readers, Oda starts using 325 in reference to the Sunny.

I just don’t think Oda planned all that. I don’t expect an author to limit the story he is telling by such minutiae that have no weight in the plot. Why would he limit himself to find a 2.9 fruit instead of allowing himself to go wild with his ideas?

I mean, does anyone here feels Yamato can’t join just because he didn’t fulfill such ludicrous prerequisite?

Story is more important than such behind-the-scenes coincidence.

What if Oda found it fascinating because the fan was right or on the right trail? Oda never stated it was wrong. He was surprised and just ran away from the question with a no comment.

Oda isn't limiting himself. It would mean whoever the crewmate is with the 2-9 Devil Fruit was planned well in advance. They could already have the fruit or get it later. Jinbe, the 10th Strawhat, was mentioned back in East Blue. Oda has had a long time to plan the 11th Strawhat.

The SBS Question about the wordplay of Strawhats DF numbers came after Oda chose the DF names of 4 crewmates. So Oda established the DF names and proved he uses wordplay with numbers throughout the series.

Tell me why didn't Oda just repeat numbers early on when he named their Devil Fruits? I'm sure there are other names besides Human (Hito 110), Flower (Hana 87), and Revive (Yomi 43) Oda could have used. The coincidence you believe it is IMO is too profound not to be relevant.

The story is supposedly pointing to Yamato joining. Do you believe that to be the case? :ninja:
@Zik:

Yes. Especially since Oda went out of his way to have that one fan's question be viewed by millions of other fans to the point you basically lit a fire under their asses to this new theory instead of just burying the question.

So what? All the theory is stating is the trend with only 1 example of a 2-9 Devil Fruit. To cover his tracks, Oda could introduce other 2-9 Devil Fruits like he did with Kin'emon. Or Oda could have buried the theory by saying it isn't true or never publishing it. But he did not. Maybe Oda just wanted to acknowledge a fan's detective work but keep the mystery alive as Oda never stated it was true or false. This lit fire apparently isn't burning that bright as most see Yamato as the 11th though the DF does not match said theory.

@Robby 325 locker combination would be awesome idea! Which is strange to say since you believe Yamato will join. The idea has less weight makes without a 2-9 Devil Fruit user. Do you think Oda will give up a well planned idea because a fan caught on? If anything Oda may have changed the approach he originally intended. Maybe Yamato's Devil Fruit equals double zero???

@Deicide do you really believe it's one big coincidence? That a fan created and presented the idea to Oda. Luffy has worn shirts with 56. Higuma the Bear stated he killed 56 people right before getting killed himself while trying to kill Luffy by sinking like a rock and drowning in the seawater after eating the 5-6 Devil Fruit which was chapter 1! The idea of using numbers to represent the Strawhats' Devil Fruits would be Oda's idea which may have been the beginning of naming the other crewmates' Devil Fruits.

@Solid does Going Merry look like it could have supported 11 crew members? IMO it started looking crowded when Vivi and Carue were first on board. Did Merry even have a helm??? Perhaps the Strawhats would have had 2 ships??? Adding Franky, Brook, Jinbe, AND someone else seems too much for Merry alone.

@electricmastro:

Another possible indication of Yamato taking on a protector-related role: Kaidou saying "You should learn to protect your pieces."

[qimg]https://i.ibb.co/NY02BYc/Screen-Shot-2021-12-01-at-10-10-31-PM.png[/qimg]

That's an obscure way for Oda to state Yamato is a Bodyguard, Shipguard, or some other protector-related role for a pirate crew. Yamato should be the one declaring they will be the protector of Luffy and the Strawhats.

The Rock says "Yamato needs to learn their ship role and shut their mouth!"

@vonmatterhorn17:

One Piece is just a Piece of Musical Composition. A piece of music to unite all races.

One Piece of Meat. The Niku Niku Devil Fruit. Luffy takes a bite with a smile on his face. Explodes! Fin.
@FolhaS:

I think so too, I theorized back when they were fighting the virus and I'm still waiting for something to come out of it by the end of the arc, even if it's just Chopper keeping a sample.

Two bounties would be funny

Ceasar helped Chopper to improve the time limit of the Rumble Ball's effect. Baby Grandpa is the hilarious consequence.

I definitely see Chopper having a vial of the virus and/or antidote to study. Or at least studying his own blood work.

Chopper adding another transformation or 2 fits as there's no reason it can only be 7 transformations. 8 if you include Baby Granpa Chopper.

Next upgrade opportunity will come with Vegapunk's assistance. Missed opportunity for Chopper to learn something from Judge.

Chopper will modify the Ice Oni virus and integrate it into an upgraded Rumble Ball to become an Abominable Snowman.

The Strawhat Grand Fleet, and maybe Bellamy , will fight off the Big Mom Pirates and WG ships since each division captain has Luffy's vivre card.

A steam punked version of Emerald City with Vegapunk Tesla as the "Wizard" surrounded by DF sentient weapons. Give me dat!

@Shiebs:

How many arcs do we even have left after this for a crew member to join?

Sabo rescue mission? (Mary Geoise?)
Elbaf
God Valley?
Lodestar island
Raftel

and maybe some mystery island we've never heard of, just to keep things fresh?

Vegapunk's Emerald City Arc would be a great time for a new crewmate.