One Piece - I'm Gonna Be the Pirate King!

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

And how would that be done? Marineford started out with Ace scheduled to be executed.

Luffy arrives at Loadstar Island with all 4 Poneglyphs.

 

[Bnuny]

my theory currently is that imu is going to reveal himself to the world and maybe even decide to take out every island until only mary geoise remains. whatever happens its gotta be something big enough that everyone joins in to help just like whats shown on elbaph.

I still don't get why the Elders care so much about keeping Imu hidden, when Imu himself doesn't seem to give a shit.

 

[Cryogonal2]

I still don't get why the Elders care so much about keeping Imu hidden, when Imu himself doesn't seem to give a shit.

my guess is that imu's point of view is "if they see me, they're going to die" so his appearance is a sign of a racial genocide, whereas the elders would rather not have to wipe islands off the map if they can avoid it.

 

[Random Internet Person]

I still don't get why the Elders care so much about keeping Imu hidden, when Imu himself doesn't seem to give a shit.

My guess is the image the Gorosei and the World Government want to present. Also, Imu is himself as above everyone and everything so he probably thought Elbaf would be a simple excursion of “wreck shit and leave”.

Beyond that, you’ll probably have to wait for the endgame.

Luffy arrives at Loadstar Island with all 4 Poneglyphs.

this happened once already but the idea of luffy being captured after getting the one piece and everyone being forced to come together to save him sounds interesting and would definitely solve the issue of luffy being the answer to most major problems in the series. plus i can imagine sabo being the one to save him so in a way its like ace saving luffy this time.

Apparently Oda said the final battle's supposed to blow Marineford out of the water, so I can see there being parallels drawn between pre-and-post-timeskip.

Honestly, if the final war is supposed to be Marineford on steroids, then here’s my guess, assuming the final war is before The One Piece is found:

Spoiler: Well this went long

Elbaf is Sabaody, except Luffy succeeds in what he sets out to do (save the kids), and In is the one sent away (that or Imu fucks off because Oda is holding off on Imu really doing anything in regards to Luffy (that or more endgame lore is needed).

Lode Star Island has the Ponegylph that’s held by the man marked by flames, and with it, the Straw Hats have the way to Laugh Tale. But since this is Impel Down, we get word that Vivi has been captured, and Luffy and company set out to rescue her…which is also Enies Lobby

As Luffy and company head to Marineford, word gets out about Luffy having the Poneglyphs, and we get all the old characters chasing Luffy for having the key to The One Piece along with some more lore that Luffy is the key to (such as Joy Boy’s promise to the fish men, and how Luffy is keeping it).

Marineford/Enies Lobby 2.0 starts with the Gorosei presenting Vivi to Imu, and we get lore as to why Imu wants Vivi, the Straw Hats and their friends fight the Marines, the Gorosei, and Blackbeard shows up because of course he does, and all hell breaks loose.

Meanwhile, characters talk about Whitebeard’s last speech, leading people to realize Whitebeard was talking about Luffy.

Gorosei and Imu are defeated, the Celestial Dragons lose their power and status, and Luffy does some Gear 5 stuff, and heads to Laugh Tale.

We have our massive showdowns: Luffy vs Blackbeard, and Zoro vs Mihawk. At Laugh Tale, Luffy faces Shanks. And finally, we learn what the poneglyphs say, and the “funny story” that made Roger laugh: my guess is it’s how Joy Boy managed to get The One Piece on the island, outsmarting his enemies to make it happen, which is part of his life story that answers the big questions that have been asked. And it’s all just one big parade of madness that makes Joy Boy something like Bugs Bunny.

And then…the moment. Luffy obtains The One Piece. And declares himself King of The Pirates.

And just as how the first half ended with Luffy talking about how he’s going to get stronger for his friends before training with Rayleigh, Luffy talks about what his real dream is now that he has Pirate King status now, and how he’s going to make it reality.

And we end on Luffy approaching Shanks with The One Piece, the realization hits that Luffy has surpassed his idol, and he returns the hat.

And if Oda wants to do an epilogue, we’ll probably get the Straw Hats basking in the reality of their individual dreams coming true, and then we go back to Luffy having adventures or something.

Spoiler: What is The One Piece?

And what is The One Piece?

I’ve always felt that it had something to do with The Great Kingdom. Be it a flag, weapon, armor or regalia. Something that shows the significance of having it even if Luffy doesn’t realize it. Because he doesn’t give a shit.

Then the next part: if it’s found BEFORE the final war, then it’s probably something that counters the powers of Imu, which is fueled by the treasure of Mary Geoise. Maybe something like something that can resist Domi Reversi or gives Luffy a way to use Gear 5 with no drawbacks whatsoever.

If it’s found AFTER the final war, then it’ll be something like the Rosetta Stone, where any dumbass can understand the poneglyphs and anything written in the language of the poneglyphs. And it’s not just the “funny story”, but the truth of everything the World Government has kept hidden and killed peopke to keep under wraps. Except now, everyone can read what went down.

Or it’s like the briefcase from Pulp Fiction where we don’t see it and we’re left to fill in the blanks because Oda feels anything he could have it be wouldn’t compare to what fans have speculated it to be.