Discussion Oda’s Intentions with the Egghead Arc

[electricmastro]

I get the feeling Oda’s intentions for this arc are less about the Straw Hats and more about developing three groups:

3 of the Emperors (Blackbeard, Shanks, and Buggy)

The Elders

The Revolutionaries

I know some may prefer more focus on the Straw Hats, but considering everything Oda has done in this arc so far, that’s what makes the most sense to me:

Blackbeard and Shanks have gotten Road Poneglyph info, but Cross Guild hasn’t really made any progress in this arc as much as they have.

Some more background info with the Elders and Im is given, and Saturn may end up recruiting York at Egghead considering his goals.

Vegapunk and Bonney seem set-up to reunite with the Revolutionaries given their history with some of the members.

 

[Fox666]

That's too much stuff. Not that Egghead Arc isn't going back and forth with different story lines, but there's a clear intention behind the arc.

The purposes of Egghead Arc are:


1 - Prepare for the final saga of the series

We get to see a bit more of the main villain, Imu

It set up the 4 Emperors in a race to get the One Piece


2 - Prove Luffy as an actual Emperor

Greenbull wasn't afraid of fighting Luffy, unlike Kaido

Rob Lucci said he doesn't take Luffy seriously as an Emperor

Luffy will prove himself an Emperor by the end

 

[electricmastro]

It set up the 4 Emperors in a race to get the One Piece

That's partially what I was getting at, yeah. 3 of the Emperors all have Road Poneglyph info, whereas Buggy does not.

 

[Fox666]

That's partially what I was getting at, yeah. 3 of the Emperors all have Road Poneglyph info, whereas Buggy does not.

Being a former member of the Roger Pirates, Buggy know one of the Poneglyphs is on Zou

 

[WILDCARD 1 7]

The purpose of this arc is the same as Punkhazard it is setup for the next decade lol.

 

[McNuss]

2 - Prove Luffy as an actual Emperor

Greenbull wasn't afraid of fighting Luffy, unlike Kaido

Rob Lucci said he doesn't take Luffy seriously as an Emperor

Luffy will prove himself an Emperor by the end

He did this by taking out three Shishibukai, two major WG institutions, two Yonko and by assembling a fleet with over 5000 followers. And he became a literal God.

Lucci and Greenbull are delusional dicks, and the latters appearance was for a movie promotion and not really related to the plot.
Luffy hasn't taken a single L since the timeskip, One Piece has never been so boring and anticlimactic as it is currently with the setup we have at hand - Luffy's two major rivals have been taken out, his major enemie the Marines has been nothing but a shitshow for 490 chapters, and we are so close to the end, something has to happen to turn the tides against the Straw Hats again, because that is the foundation of a good story; you cannot repeat this "problem? -solved! problem? - solved! problem? - solved!" pattern forever.

We also already had the longest story arc in the entire Manga just right now themed around nothing but Battle Shonen stereotypes with a DB styled finale - enough is enough!

Needless to say there are a lot of readers who enjoy that, but they also enjoyed Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball Super and even Fairy Fail and tell me I should watch stuff like My Hero Kindergarten or Demon Slayer the Ultra Edgelord.
People like camp thinking and for many Shonen is in the end just a vehicle to express their masculinity. But that's exactly where these ideas of "Luffy still has to prove himself" are coming from.

Luffy got declared an additional Yonko even before he took out Kaido, which by any means then is the moment he got the confirmation and anything else is totally overdoing it.

If anything, this arc about the World Government's new unbeatable weapons of mass destruction should cement their position as undefeatable tyrants - unless you can find the One Piece. Because that is the very foundation, the core of this story!

 

[FetherMan]

The main point of Egghead is introducing Vegapunk, who will be a major catalyst to the Final War between pirates and WG.

The overall outcome will set the stage for the Final Saga. Just comes down to the remaining players and who win or lose reaching the One Piece.

 

[hokageji]

The purpose of this arc is the same as Punkhazard it is setup for the next decade lol.

I was hoping its like Zou, a small arc before jumping to the next big thing. Wano wasn't worth the hype at the end but hopefully Elbaf lives up to it.

 

[Fox666]

I would like to add that, if this arc is meant to prepare for the final war, it should establish the WG as the enemy of everyone in the world

This is speculation of course, but there have been some clues

Vegapunk knows about the Void Century, and he talked about a way to share his knowledge with everyone in the world... what if he succeed?

 

[WILDCARD 1 7]

I think that Vegpunk/ Vegpunk's will serve as the Caesar few arcs cause I think we will at least 2 3 more arcs after Elbaf before the last arc.

 

[catagon87]

Rob Lucci said he doesn't take Luffy seriously as an Emperor

To be fair this seemed like Lucci was in the initial stages of denial, because IIRC shortly before he was being blown away thinking "How is this kid so strong?"

I agree with the general sentiment of your point on Luffy needing to prove he is strong though. I think the time-skip has a lot of the WG in disbelief because someone like Kaido took nearly 60 years to get as strong as he was, and even Roger was in his early 50s when he died. Luffy is 19 and whether it was with help or not he took out Kaido, and indirectly took out Big Mom. The reality is still catching up with the Marines about this. It's funny because the only one who seems to take Luffy seriously with the limited info we have is Akainu.

 

[electricmastro]

I would like to add that, if this arc is meant to prepare for the final war, it should establish the WG as the enemy of everyone in the world

This is speculation of course, but there have been some clues

Vegapunk knows about the Void Century, and he talked about a way to share his knowledge with everyone in the world... what if he succeed?

If Kizaru gets his ass kicked and Saturn feels forced to step in, then that’s when the Elders may start to be seen more as monsters.

There’s also of course what Wapol knows in the event he chooses to explain what he saw.