One Piece has finally entered its final saga. Luffy and the crew have collected almost all the poneglyphs and are closing in to uncover the legendary treasure, One Piece.
It’s the beginning of the end, and with this, everyone is teeming with excitement for Luffy’s final battle. It has long been speculated that Luffy’s final opponent will be Blackbeard, his foil character.
However, you are in for a treat as we are about to unveil the unexpected final opponent, someone far more evil than Blackbeard.
1. Who will be Luffy’s Final Opponent?
Luffy’s final opponent will be Imu, the supreme leader of the World Government. Imu will be the last obstacle Luffy needs to smash to fulfill his dream and bring freedom to his world.
It’s appalling to a big chunk of OP fandom that Luffy’s final opponent won’t be Blackbeard but hold your horses. There is much more to the final saga.
For reference, here’s the chronology we have speculated for the final saga:
- Luffy Fights with Blackbeard in Laughtale
- He uncovers the treasure of One Piece
- He becomes the Pirate King
- He Fights with Akainu to shatter the flawed Marines
- He finally wages the War of Liberation against the World Government- the Final Opponent, Imu
2. When Will Luffy fight Blackbeard?
Luffy will duel and defeat Blackbeard once he reaches Laughtale. Blackbeard will be the final pirate that Luffy fights.
Since the story’s beginning, Blackbeard has been shown to be Luffy’s foil character.
Their goal of becoming the Pirate King aligns. However, their personalities and approaches are as stark as night and day.
Luffy wants to become the Pirate King to attain complete freedom; he isn’t fixated on the material aspect, whereas Blackbeard wants the title and the power it wields.
Luffy would do anything to protect his friends, whereas Blackbeard is a coward who would get rid of his friends anytime.
Blackbeard even went so far as to murder his friend, Thatch, to obtain the Yami Yami no Mi (Dark-Dark Fruit) just to power up.
On top of that, Blackbeard’s involvement led to Luffy’s brother Ace’s death.
Luffy and Blackbeard are destined to fight in Luaghtale; it matches up metaphorically, too, as Luffy’s devil fruit symbolizes the sun and Blackbeard symbolizes darkness.
A match is bound between Light (Luffy) and Darkness (Blackbeard) to bring the dawn of the new era.
Once Luffy defeats Blackbeard, he will uncover One Piece and become the Pirate King.
3. Will Luffy Fight Akainu?
Luffy will fight Akainu once he becomes the Pirate King. He will avenge Ace and shatter the flawed Marines in order to liberate the world from their dogmatic clutches of “Justice.”
Akainu embodies all the evils of the Marines, who are a facade of justice; they have killed countless babies just to ensure that Gold D Rogers’s bloodline would cease to exist.
Moreover, they have taken bribes, held hands with the Celestial Dragons, turned a blind eye to the real welfare of people, etc.
This reflects organizations in the real world, too, adding depth to anime.
Akainu is Luffy’s parallel when it comes to Justice. Luffy brings justice with his kindness and heart, whereas Akainu has a warped sense of justice brought by ruthless and thoughtless actions.
Let us not forget that Akainu was responsible for the massacre of the people of Oharu just because they were uncovering the real truth about the void century.
In addition, Akainu killed Ace right before Luffy in the Marineford Arc. It was Luffy’s worst moment as he felt powerless and weak.
The main theme in One Piece has also been Pirates Vs. Marines. With Luffy’s fight with Akainu’s right-hand man, Kizaru, serving as warmup.
Now that Luffy has awakened his Devil fruit, he can finally turn the tables and settle the goal.
In defeating Akainu, Luffy will tear down the corrupt marines for the dawn of a new era where Justice and the welfare of people are valued.
4. Will Luffy Tear Down the World Government?
Luffy will wage a final war of Liberation in Mary Geoise against the authoritarian World government and defeat his final opponent, Imu, the sinister leader lurking in the shadows.
World Government is One Piece’s overarching evil and antagonist as a whole.
The Celestial Dragons govern its public face. Specifically, the Five Elders (Gorosei) and Imu, is their true leader who owns the throne.
Imu’s existence has been shushed in the world, and his origins are also shrouded in mystery. It is theorized that his true identity is Saint Nerona Imu.
His lineage traces back to the Nerona family, one of the First Twenty Founders from 800 years ago.
Imu has pulled the strings of The World Government that has committed various heinous crimes like the massacre of babies and innocent civilians, the genocide of the people of Ohara, slaves who were treated worse than animals, the Flevance Tragedy, etc.
It’s quite literally Luffy’s destiny to overthrow this corrupt authoritarian “government” as he is the Sun God Nika’s reincarnation.
The Sun God Nika, aka the Warroir of Liberation, had freed many slaves and salvaged their lives in the Void century.
It all makes sense now as the world government had concealed the true identity of Luffy, the devil, “Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika Devil Fruit,” by renaming it “Gomu Gomu no Mi,” as they were aware of its true powers.
Getting rid of the Darkness by defeating Blackbeard (Corrupt Pirate), Akainu (Marines), and Imu (World Government) is vital to bring the dawn of a new and liberated era in One Piece.
5. About One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.
The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!
Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.
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