Wano Country is already the longest One Piece arc to date, and there's still major plot points left to cover and wrap up. Currently, it consists of 120+ manga chapters and has been ongoing since 2018. If Twitter's reactions to each chapter are anything to go by, it's clear that fans continue to enjoy the arc. However, there's no doubt they're also looking forward to the next stage of One Piece's overarching storyline.
Many interesting plot points have been established to be explored after the conclusion of Wano, all of which will most likely have implications for One Piece's endgame. There's no telling when the series will move on to its next arc, but that doesn't mean fans aren't already hyped for what's to come.
The Warlords of the Sea were one of the three great powers maintaining balance in the world until recently, when the system was abolished. It was a complex system that could be sensible or confusing, depending on how you viewed it. Warlords were powerful pirates who allied with the navy in exchange for certain privileges. They fought for the World Government -- at least on the surface -- and didn't have to worry about being hunted by the marines.
Since the beginning of One Piece, several prominent figures have joined and left (or were expelled from) the system, including Crocodile, Trafalgar Law, Buggy the Clown, Doflamingo, Boa Hancock, Blackbeard and Dracule Mihawk among others. The Straw Hats, particularly Luffy and Zoro, have interesting dynamics with several of these former members. Crocodile, for example, was the main antagonist of the Alabasta arc.
Crocodile committed terrible atrocities in Alabasta and was eventually defeated by Luffy, yet the two later fought as allies in the Impel Down and Marineford arcs. Zoro and Mihawk have an interesting dynamic as well. Zoro's dream is to become the world's greatest swordsman -- thus he must defeat Mihawk, the current greatest swordsman. Mihawk defeated Zoro easily during the Baratie arc, but the two eventually crossed paths again and Mihawk ended up training Zoro as he stayed at his mansion.
The most complicated aspect of the Warlord system is that despite being allied with the World Government, they still retained their pirate ways. In fact, it's because of their alliance that several former Warlords were able to commit horrifying acts without interference. Crocodile starting a civil war in Alabasta and Doflamingo usurping the Kingdom of Dressrosa and oppressing its people are just two of many incidents that contributed to the Warlord system being abolished.
Now that these powerful pirates are no longer allies of the World Government, it will be interesting to see what roles they'll play in the wars to come. The marines have already been sent to capture each of them, and they all showed a readiness to fight. Considering several of them have been Luffy's allies in one way or another in the past, it's likely that at least some will fight alongside him again in One Piece's future.
One Piece's interlude episode between Act 2 and Act 3 of the Wano Country arc revealed that something may have happened to Sabo. Big News Morgans put out an obituary in the news which seems to have been about Sabo. The reactions of several people close to Sabo were shown and they all seemed horrified. Koala, Dadan and Makino were all shown crying, while Dragon and Ivankov were shocked and panicking.
However, everyone in Wano is completely oblivious to this news. It's unclear if it's even true, as some characters doubt it. Interestingly, a Cipher Pol agent tried to prevent Morgans from publishing the obituary. If it is true, Luffy will undoubtedly be broken when he finds out. After all, losing Ace nearly destroyed him, and he already mourned Sabo when they thought he died back when they were children. However, if it isn't true, One Piece fans are anxious to know where he is and what really happened at the Reverie.
In a shocking turn of events, Shanks showed up incognito to the Reverie to have a meeting with the Five Elders, telling them he'd like to talk to them about a certain pirate. Who he was referring to and what exactly was discussed remains a mystery. The fact that this meeting between an Emperor of the Sea and the highest authorities of the World Government even happened is mind-blowing in and of itself.
One Piece fans have many theories regarding what this meeting meant. Most speculate the pirate in question is either Luffy or Blackbeard, while a few even believe Shanks might be on the World Government's side. Shanks has been one of the most important figures in One Piece since the very first arc, yet not much has been revealed about him up to this point. His meeting with the Five Elders has fans even more curious to learn about what his life as a pirate has been like since starting his own crew.
The Blackbeard Pirates have been a thorn in everyone's side since they were introduced in One Piece. Marshall D. Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard, is poised to be one of the series' final villains. Yet he remains a mysterious character with the ability to do things no one can explain.
Blackbeard can somehow steal other people's Devil Fruit powers and maintain at least two different powers at once. This was thought to be impossible until he stole Whitebeard's power. His crew members have also gained Devil Fruit abilities from other characters, though it's unclear if Blackbeard granted them those powers or they did it themselves.
No one knows how the Blackbeard Pirates are able to do this, but it undoubtedly makes them a major threat to everyone else. For now it seems they've been biding their time in One Piece. Whenever they decide to finally make their move again, they're definitely going to shake up the world.
Within Pangaea Castle in Mariejois, there is a throne that's said to remain empty as a sign of equality among the nations of the world. There's also a rule that no one, including the Five Elders, is ever allowed to sit on it. However, this was shown to be false as the throne does in fact have an occupant.
Imu, a character only shown as a silhouette, sat on the throne as the Five Elders kneeled before them. The implications of this in One Piece are huge. There may actually be a single person ruling over the entire world and no one is aware of it besides the Five Elders. Curiously, Imu is seen with pictures of Luffy, Blackbeard, Shirahoshi and Vivi, and could potentially be someone the Straw Hats will have to face in the future. The world will surely sink into total chaos if this Mariejois secret is ever revealed to the public.
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