One Piece / Foreshadowing

If you've read the story long enough, you'll realize that most, if not all, of the major events or characters had been hinted at prior to coming into the story, sometimes hundreds of chapters in advance. In one case, in the first chapter. Eiichiro Oda never forgets, after all.

WARNING: This page is meant to describe events as they related to much later, very significant ones. Thus this page will have no spoiler marks at all. You Have Been Warned.

In the first chapter of One Piece, Shanks scares away a sea monster with just a glare. Later on, he knocks out several crew members of Whitebeard's crew just by being present. Hundreds of chapters later, while fighting Duval, Luffy manages to stop Duval's bull, much to his and everyone else's confusion. This ability is revealed to be Haki, which wasn't expanded upon until Luffy arrived on Amazon Lily and later trained with Silvers Rayleigh.
A real life example of foreshadowing alludes to the series' most prominent villain. Oda's favorite real life pirate is none other than Edward Teach, AKA Blackbeard.
In Chapter 2, Luffy mentions that a Musician is a key crew member to have. 487 chapters later, Brook joins the crew.
Usopp's lies often turn out to be foreshadowing as well, especially the ones with having a large no. of followers (In Dressrosa Arc, where Usopp gains the loyalty of thousands of former toys), a country of Dwarves (Dressrosa arc again with the Tontatta Tribe), a cerberus (Thriller Bark Arc), dragons (Punk Hazard Arc), a huge mole (fight with Ms. Merry Christmas in Alabasta Arc), lying that Luffy's 30 million bounty is his (Usopp's first bounty is 30 million as well), etc.
At the end of the Enies Lobby arc, Kokoro mentions to get to Fishman Island the Straw Hats will have to pass through a sketch of sea that is haunted where there were reports of haunted ships. Luffy immediately asks if they will get to see skeletons that move. Which does come true when the crew meets future crewmate Brook, a living skeleton. Even before then, Luffy has been adamant for getting a musician as a crewmate and repeats this desire several times. It comes true when Brook joins.
When Nami first joined the crew in the Buggy Arc, she said that she'd only join for the time being, and that she would eventually leave the crew, was obsessed with money, and showed a suspicious hatred toward pirates. She actually did leave the crew at the end of the Baratie Arc to confront Arlong, an abominable pirate who had made her life miserable and struck a deal to buy Cocoyasi Village from him for 100,000,000 berries- a deal which he later screwed her over on.
In the Arlong arc, Luffy states in his rant to Arlong that one of the things he can't do is cook, which is why he recruited Sanji into his crew. In Whole Cake Island Arc, we learn why: Luffy's cooking skills are abysmal, resulting in a significant waste of ingredients and the Straw Hats, weakened by Luffy's "food", begging Sanji to come back.
Earlier on, Nami is shown to have an exceptional weather sense and when comes her Alabasta fight, the weapon that she asked Usopp to make for her has to do with weather control.
When Luffy's first bounty is revealed, we can see Coby cleaning up the Marine base. With a half-hidden Helmeppo doing the same in the background.
Laboon. The whale that the Straw Hats encounter in their arrival at the Grand Line - it was restlessly beating itself on the cliffs and calling for someone... That someone turns out to be Brook, who was stuck in an analogue to Bermuda Triangle for many years and who subsequently joined the crew, to fulfill his promise of going around the world and coming back to meet Laboon at the starting point.
Before arriving to Water 7, Luffy draws what he wants his future shipwright◊ to look like. It happens to resemble Franky, from the blue hair to his big arms to his rather tall height.
At one point in the Skypiea arc, Usopp wakes up in the middle of the night, and sees a mysterious, spirit-like figure repairing the Going Merry. It is a Klabautermann, a spirit who assists sailors and fishermen in their duties. The catch here is that it only ever becomes visible to the crew when the ship is doomed. A few arcs later, the Going Merry turns out to be broken beyond repair, and is given a Viking Funeral.
In the Volume 15 SBS, Oda explains how a bottle of liquor is broken against a new ship's bow to celebrate its completion, and if the bottle doesn't break, the ship gets cursed with bad luck. When Kaya does this for the Merry, the bottle doesn't break. Fast forward to the end of Volume 34, where the Galley-La shipwrights declare the Merry to be beyond repair, and at the end of Volume 44, the Merry finally breaks in half and is given its Viking Funeral.
In the Water Seven arc, Kaku warns Lulu that it could be dangerous for him to recklessly accuse the World Government of trying to kill Iceberg, and when he fights Luffy, coldly reminds Luffy that the Straw Hat Pirates, being outlaws, aren't protected by the law. Both of these foreshadow that he's a World Government operative.
In 2006, there was an anime special, where the Straw Hats were mythical animals. Luffy was a dragon. Guess who turned out to be his father? The revolutionary Dragon, the world's most wanted man.
- Related to that revelation, way, way back in Chapter 5, Zoro asks Luffy if he's the offspring of the devil. Four hundred and twenty-seven(!) chapters later, we find out that Luffy is the son of Dragon, who the World Government considers to be the "The Worst Criminal in the World."
That pirate who beaned them on their heads in Shank's and Buggy's flashback in the first few chapters from when they were cabin boys? It turns out that he's Silvers Rayleigh, the former first mate of Gold Roger.
- Oda reportedly insisted that he not be named captain when the flashback was animated, only revealing the reason why almost a decade after the fact.
During the Marineford arc when Luffy reminds Ace that they are brothers there is a brief flashback to them solidifying the bond with shared sake. Both Luffy and Ace's cups are visible but there is a shadow of a third cup (Sabo's) that can be seen at stump.
Luffy stating that even though it is shortening his lifespan, he wants to use 2nd Gear to protect 'what is in front of him now'. It's a noble sentiment, but it wound up foreshadowing the Wham Episode when he uses it, but still fails to protect his True Companions from getting poofed by Kuma.
During the Alabasta arc, Sanji makes frequent references to and jokes about 'okama' (Japanese equivalent of 'drag queen') while fighting the cross-dressing Mr. 2, Bon Clay. Later, he ends up on an island of gay men. Who all really, really like him.
In the Jaya arc, Buggy the Clown's crew contemplate taking an ideal chance to kill Portgas D. Ace when he falls asleep on their ship. Buggy warns them against it because the one thing Ace's captain Whitebeard will not tolerate is the death of his crew. The Impel Down and Marineford arcs center on the Marines preparing to publicly execute Ace, even though it will certainly mean war with Whitebeard.
When Ace first appears, he is chasing after the pirate Blackbeard for murdering a fellow shipmate on Whitebeard's crew and abandoning them like scum. Blackbeard is also said to have attacked the Drum Kingdom, sending Wapol and his forces running because of their dirty cowardice. Some time later, Luffy runs into Blackbeard at Mock Town, who seems unusually jovial and goofy to be the aforementioned monster... until Luffy learns that he's the reason Ace was sent to his death.
The technique which Kuma uses to 'send' Perona away will have a major role in the Sabaody Archipelago arc...
In the aftermath of the battle with Moria, Usopp grimly muses that Luffy's new Gear techniques are too hard on his body, and that he will likely continue to be reckless with his body in order to match his increasingly powerful foes. Usopp was right: during the invasions of Impel Down and Marineford, Luffy uses his Gears constantly and recklessly pushes his body well past its breaking point on several occasions. While his determination keeps him alive against *significantly* stronger forces, his fatigue finally catches up with him at the worst possible moment and directly leads to Ace's death.
During Ace's introduction in Chapter 154 / Episode 91, he was sleeping in an Alabasta bar, with all the commuters thinking he died in there. Come 400 chapters later, Ace didn't sleep this time, in Luffy's arms.
- Another related to Ace. We see in Ace's flashback that he used to be the captain of the Spades Pirates before his crew was integrated to that of Whitebeard's. That makes him Ace of Spades, also known as the Card of Death.
The crossed-out "S" on Ace's tattoo. It's the only setup we get for the reveal that there is another surrogate brother for Luffy and Ace. The extra letter is a memento of Sabo, who is thought to be dead.
In the Impel Down Arc, Blackbeard alludes that he's soon going to "make a show that will shake the world to its core", he means this both literally and figuratively as he somehow steals (something that is noted to be usually impossible) the Gura Gura no Mi at Marineford.
When Rayleigh first sees Luffy, he comments "That straw hat suits you." We eventually find out that Roger wore the same kind of straw hat (if not that exact hat) when he first met Rayleigh.
During the post-war arc Eustass Kid claims that Luffy took the lead among the rookies with a bounty over 100 million. While this is not expanded upon it's revealed during the Return to Sabaody arc that Luffy's bounty had been increased to 400 million. It also foreshadows a later bounty increase, when Luffy's one truly surpassed (or lead) every one else. Luffy's current bounty is 3 billion.
In Impel Down, when all the level six prisoners start stamping their feet after Crocodile says he wants to take Whitebeard's head, you can see two giants in a cell. One of them is Sanjuan Wolf, who later joins Blackbeard's crew. All of the level six prisoners who join Blackbeard are mentioned by Ivankov.
A triple case of foreshadowing:
- When Don Krieg first appears at the Baratie, he and all of his men have just escaped the Grand Line, after losing 49 ships in their fleet, with only the flagship surviving the mass sinking. Even so, the crew, captain included, is nearing starvation, and the flagship has been shredded up by cuts and slashes, like someone attacked it. Turns out Don Krieg's crew crossed paths with Dracule "Hawkeye" Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, and he decimated them.
- But that's not all: Hawkeye followed them all the way back and returns to finish the job, sinking the flagship. And on top of this, Zoro begins to freak out when he learns who is in his sights, because he promised Kuina he would become the world's greatest swordsman and continued to work towards this dream after she died in her honor. Zoro immediately challenges him to a duel to the death, despite the difference in their skill level. Hawkeye mows down Zoro in battle, breaks two of his swords, and inflicts an enormous scar on his chest, because Zoro claims that the scars on a swordsman's back are his worst shame. Hawkeye admires his honorable qualities and makes his finishing blow-non lethal so they will meet again. They end up meeting again, and Zoro asks Hawkeye to be his mentor.
- And considering the matter of not having scars on one's back, Whitebeard is ravaged by all manner of injuries to his front side until he dies, but not one single scar is earned on his back- he NEVER ran away.
Ivankov during Marineford is shocked that the Pacifistas are actually trying to kill him, foreshadowing that Kuma is really a revolutionary.
That ocean was "Paradise"◊...
In Jimbei's story about Otohime, when the Fish-men are taking their rage upon the World Noble who stumbled to their place, Otohime tries to stop his people from doing it. She understood that her people can never stop hating humans, so she reminds them that the children are watching. Then it's revealed in the present that the reason Hody Jones and his crew hate humans so much is because of nothing but bad influence from where they're raised in.
The symbol of the New Fish-Man Pirates is the symbol of the Sun Pirates, but with the center circle replaced by a crossed-out decapitated human figure. The actual Sun Pirate symbol was meant to cover up a slave brand, and Fisher Tiger branded it on all his crew so that no one would know which of them were once slaves. But the New Fishman Pirates symbol couldn't cover up the slave brand, meaning that none of the New Fish-Man Pirates were ever enslaved- thus hinting that they've never experienced any wrong at human hands.
When the Straw Hats wreck the Human Auctioning Shop, Disco contacts Doflamingo and requests his assistance. Doflamingo dismisses him and severs ties with him, stating "Slavery is out, now 'Smiles' are in". In Chapter 689, Caesar Clown, a Mad Scientist, reveals he is protected by Doflamingo for creating a substance called SAD, which can then be used to create SMILEs: Artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, which he provides to one of the Four Emperors.
Subtle example from the From the Decks of the World cover story depicting the Straw Hats various associates' reactions to the crew's revival. The last cover story on Chapter 668 shows that someone posted the newspaper covering that event on Ace's grave, and set out a bottle of liquor and some cups as well. Three cups to be precise, the same number as in Ace's brotherhood ceremony with Luffy and Sabo despite almost no one other than Luffy knowing about that event. Chapter 731 reveals that Sabo is still alive, and was most likely the one to place the cups there.^note
Doflamingo controlling Atmos to kill his crewmates in the Marineford Arc foreshadows him doing the same to King Riku and his army to kill their civilians so that his name is ruined and Doflamingo becomes a "hero".
The cover for Chapter 569 features an elephant wearing a cap on the top of his head with the word "Zou" on it. This is foreshadowing for Zou itself, an island on the back of Zunesha, an enormous elephant.
During Rebecca's first appearance, she talks to Luffy about the statue of Kyros and remarks that she is quite fond of it. It's later revealed that Kyros aka the Toy Soldier who Rebecca wants to live with is none other than Rebecca's father!
During Rebecca's flashback to her time with her mother, looking closely at the dinner table shows a third chair and plate at the table. That's Kyros' place, with the man himself having been removed from the memory.
"The D. will surely bring another storm!" First said by Law right before the timeskip after wondering aloud what Rayleigh's plans are for Luffy, and again post-timeskip to Doflamingo as the reason for why he trusted Luffy so much. The flashback of Law's past reveals that he originally heard this from Rosinante, Doflamingo's brother, after Rosinante learned that Law himself was a D. That same chapter also revealed that the D. are the mortal enemies of the World Nobles — making Law's entire relationship and conflict with Doflamingo, a former World Noble, foreshadowing as well.
Doflamingo's issued bounty for Usopp - 500 million Berries - eventually foreshadowed his actual bounty after Wano Country Arc, also 500 million.
It would appear that Nightmare Luffy, who appeared in Chapter 478, was foreshadowing for Gear Fourth all along. The cover shows the Straw Hats with zombies, which is likely a call back to the Thriller Bark arc when Nightmare Luffy first appeared seeing as how similar the form looks to Gear Fourth.
Here's an anime only one; unlike in the manga, it's shown how Luffy got rid of Doflamingo's string handcuffs while he was fighting Bellamy. He activates a mini version of Gear Third's "Elephant Gun", and his Haki causes the cuffs to snap. This is similar to a trick he will pull off later during the finale of his fight with Doflamingo; he saves his own life by activating Gear Fourth while being controlled by Doflamingo's Parasite technique, snapping the strings off.
Oda didn't just pull the Division Commanders out of a hat. He actually displayed them quite well, as shown here.◊
Trafalgar Law's vendetta against Doflamingo was subtly foreshadowed before the timeskip when his crew asked why they didn't make for the New World immediately after Marineford. Part of his reasoning was that he needed time to "steal the proper throne." Lo and behold, it turns out his Arch-Enemy Doflamingo is the king of Dressrosa and Law planned to force him out of that position as part of his revenge.
- His relationship to Doflamingo is also hinted at by the Heart Pirates jolly roger, as both have a cartoonish circular skull rather than a more traditional design.
The panic throughout the world that transpired when Doflamingo created the fake story that he resigned from the Warlords was a clear indicator of the backlash that would occur following his defeat.
- On this subject, Sakazuki is understandably incredulous that the "mistaken mess" that was rumor of Doflamingo's resignation from the warlords was on orders from even higher than the Five Elders. Later, it is revealed that there IS a person whose authority supersedes the supposedly highest ranked members of the World Government. And that Doflamingo is most likely aware of this.
When Viola first encounters Sanji, it's right after he's heard that Dressrosa women often kill their paramours and she asks for his help in murdering a man. While ostensibly a lie to lure him into a trap, Sanji is confident Viola was telling the truth and it's revealed that she truly does want a man dead, Doflamingo. Later on, it's heavily implied Viola and Doflamingo had something resembling a romantic relationship.
Early in the Zou Arc, Kin'emon and Kanjuro correctly surmise the nature of the eruption rain, even though the Mink Tribe are supposed to hate the Samurais. This clues to the fact that the Minks and the Samurais are indeed close.
In Chapter 815, Cat Viper says he would never abandon a True Companion. In Chapter 816, he proves he means it when it's revealed that he and the rest of the Minks were protecting Raizo from Jack despite being nearly tortured to death.
In Chapter 159, the Strawhat's are amazed at how polite, reasonable, and generally un-Luffy-like Ace is. The only Strawhat who doesn't seem taken aback that the two brothers are dissimilar is Sanji. Seven hundred-some chapters later, we find out that this is not incidental.
- In the same vein, Sanji stated he was originally from North Blue, which made his first appearance at the Orbit in East Blue pretty surprising. Also, Sanji didn't elaborate any further than that. He could reasonably switch from North Blue to East Blue because his father especially arranged that for him to get rid of. Also, to say Sanji doesn't like his home is pretty much Understatement of the year.
All the Mr. Prince jokes in Alabasta, as well as Sanji's badass declaration that he will be the troublemaker in the near future takes a much darker turn in that he's a prince of Germa Kingdom, although he renounced his title after all the abuse heaped on him. The events of his 'marriage' with one of Big Mom's daughters led to a chain of events where nearly all of Big Mom's Commanders were defeated by Luffy, with his status rocketing from Supernova to 'EMPEROR'.
Pedro tells another mink who recognizes him to not bring attention to himself, and is awfully reserved about his past in Totto Land, and his own history. It turns out that he achieved quite a bit of notoriety in Totto Land as a raider and was previously the captain of the Nox Pirates, who was dangerous enough to give even the Big Mom Pirates a bit of trouble.
The very fact that in a manga with a No Hugging, No Kissing policy, a romance plot was actually being played straight. It turns out being a sham all along. However, we do learn that Luffy's rival Capone Bege actually married one of Big Mom's daughters, Charlotte Chiffon, and had a son through her. Just like with how Baby 5 got together with Sai, another unexpected couple appears with Bege and Chiffon.
Pudding has a lot of foreshadowing that pertains to her true true nature:
- In hindsight, her deceitful nature and skill in lying was hinted at in her first appearance. She shows up and effortlessly lies to some police officers in order to get Luffy and Chopper off the hook for eating the chocolate cafe.
- Pedro holds Pudding hostage during their first meeting and puts his sword to her neck, after she reveals a knife in front of the Sanji retrieval party (to cut her cake). Nami convinces him to let her go, and honestly it seemed like a bit of an overreaction at first, given how nice she seemed. It's worth noting that the Vinsmokes had the same idea too when they consider doing it so that they could secure the deal between them and Big Mom. It is until she revealed her true colors, suddenly doing it didn't seem such a bad idea.
- Nitro the Jelly appearing with her in her "debut" was also a clue to the audience that she was the same three-eyed girl seen in chapter 651, as she appeared with her blob pet then too, though his face could not be seen at the time.
- What's more, she was the one who came up with the plan to have Sanji "meet" the Straw Hats at a rendezvous spot near Big Mom's castle. When the crew got there, Sanji was nowhere to be found, Pudding wasn't, either (deceptively hand-waved in that she couldn't escape the watchful eye of her own family), fake versions of both Sanji and Pudding appeared, and the crew was attacked both by the Wandering Woods, her sister Brulee and not long after, Cracker. To say that was a bit more than a coincidence is an understatement.
- When she cries in front of Sanji about not wanting his life to become hell, she only cries from her two normal eyes. The eye hidden by her bangs doesn't shed a single tear, proving that she's trained herself very well at crying on cue with only the ordinary eyes. When she's genuinely brought to tears much later, all three eyes, including her mystical third one, shed tears.
- What's more, when Sanji told Pudding of his own horrid, abusive childhood, Pudding pretends to sympathize with him by crying with only two of her eyes... because compared to Sanji, who had people who supported him during his darkest days, Pudding's own past was much, MUCH worse.
- The anime added scenes of Big Mom calling her third eye creepy before the wedding and then we cut to Pudding whose eyes are in shadow and is also frowning, which shows that she's still sensitive about her third eye.
Throughout the Zou arc there are more then a few passing remarks made about the moon. Dogstorm even mentions that Jack had been lucky that his attack ended before the full moon. Come Chapter 888, it's revealed that Minks all have a super mode when they see the full moon.
Save for Big Mom, all of Lola's immediate family follow a Family Theme Naming one way or another. Most are named after food, drinks, and things related to food such as Oven. The names of Opera's quintuplet brothers don't follow the Edible Theme Naming per se but instead follow a Musical Theme Naming in relation to him. That just leaves Lola who doesn't follow any sort of Family Theme Naming. True to form, she was eventually revealed to be the White Sheep of the family, who ran away to escape an important political marriage that would ally Big Mom with the giants. Most of her family, Big Mom especially, hates her as a result.
When Charlotte Moscato confronts Big Mom during her hunger-induced rampage and tries to calm her down, his older and younger siblings warn him to never show fear, lest his soul be taken away. This is exactly what Jimbei does in Chapter 863, his faith in Luffy so strong that Big Mom fails to take his soul.
- Even further, by the climax battle of Wano Arc, Big Mom fails to take the lifespan of Law and Kid because they don't fear her as well.
Reiju tells the Straw Hats during their first encounter with Germa 66 that her brother Yonji has not the slightest trace of empathy. Come Chapter 852, she's right — because of Judge's Lineage Factor experiments, all the Vinsmoke quadruplets (save for Sanji) are born with literally no empathy, unable to comprehend the moral depravity of their actions.
Little Charlotte Linlin tries to "spank" a bear for fighting with a wolf, only to be horrified when she discovers she killed it with one blow, which gives the readers a sense of how strong she is. Later, readers see exactly how strong — strong enough to kill a giant warrior with her own bare hands.
Cracker got punched by Luffy for telling him that Sanji will marry Pudding and tell his Straw Hat friends to go away. Then in Chapter 843, Sanji does indeed decide to marry Pudding after all, but only because he was blackmailed by his family who threaten him with the death of his loved ones (particularly Zeff) if he defied them. When Luffy and his Sanji Retrieval Team finally catch up with him, Sanji tells his friends to go away to protect them.
Katakuri has a lot of foreshadowing surrounding him:
- His facial scars are always hidden by his scarf, which is rather suspicious. Then there's the fact that Brulee taunts Luffy by describing how perfect Katakuri is in every way, to which the latter responds with exasperated annoyance, and how the chefs make comments about Katakuri being so serious that he treats mealtimes as a duty... which made the perfect buildup for The Reveal that he's secretly a goofy, hedonistic, and gluttonous slob when off-duty, with a scary-looking mouth full of sharp, boar-like teeth.
- His clothes reflects this, too — his biker-like getup is all badass-looking and spiky, making him look like a No-Nonsense Nemesis, but when no one's looking he shoves down sweets and tea down his mouth like no tomorrow. Meanwhile, his older and younger siblings are affable in public and dress themselves in bright clothing, which hides the nasty sadistic and violent tendencies underneath.
- His childhood flashbacks showed that Katakuri used to be bullied for having a fanged mouth, and was strong enough to beat up anyone who bothered him about it... but that didn't explain why he was so protective of his sister Brulee, or why Brulee worships the ground he walks on. Come Chapter 902, where it's revealed that Katakuri's protectiveness stemmed from guilt over Brulee being targeted by the bullies he beat up, and that Brulee admires him because he defended her honor after she was scarred.
Streusen's the only member of Big Mom's crew to call her "Linlin" without suffering severe repercussions. He was eventually revealed to be a co-founder of the Big Mom Pirates, and The Corrupter for the once-sweet Charlotte Linlin.
Snack's defeat serves to prove that even though the Sweet Commanders are intimidating, they are not invincible and in fact can be defeated, but they do take a lot of time and punishment to sufficiently bring them down, and Cracker was the commander to avenge Snack's defeat along with an army of Big Mom's forces. Urouge took down Snack by outlasting him and using his enemy's power against him to bolster his own might. Luffy later defeated Cracker and then Katakuri in much the same way, then he came under attack by the hordes of Big Mom's forces retaliating after their defeats.
There're vague hints that Momonosuke and all his retainers all are from the past.
- Back in Zou, Momonosuke commented that he had met Gol D. Roger before, with Usopp assuming he had to be lying or mistaking it for someone else because Roger should have been dead by the time that Momo, an 8-year-old boy, was born. From the past, not so much of a problem.
- Momo also clearly remembered his parents dying and Kaido taking over, which would imply that it only happened a few years ago at most. However, Tsuru and Kiku tell Luffy and Zoro that Oden Castle stood on the mountaintop 20 years ago, and that Bakura Town was a peaceful place until Orochi and his men came in and took over the houses there 20 years ago.
- Momo still remembers when Dogstorm and Cat Viper were best friends, despite it later being stated that their falling out happened when Pedro and Wanda (who are in their early 30s) were still children.
- We see a Wham Shot of graves for Momo, Kin'emon, Kanjuro, and Raizo, among others, in the ruins of Oden Castle, just before the actual Reveal. These graves look far too old for them to have faked their deaths anytime recently.
- A subtle hint shows up right at the beginning of the arc, where it's stated that Ryuma's corpse and Shusui were stolen 20 years ago. Both were in the possession of Gekko Moria, who lost his crew to Kaido not long after Roger's death.
Kin'emon showed a dislike for dragons throughout the Punk Hazard and Zou Arc, even when Momonosuke was one and Kanjuro drew a dragon for them. It's because their Arch-Enemy, Kaido, has the power to become one.
Mihawk advises Perona to flee his island as soon as she can, due to an interesting event in the newspaper related to the Reverie. He just read that the Seven Warlords System has been abolished, and he advises Perona to get out before the Marines show up to capture him.
After the end of the Paramount War, X. Drake says something to the effect of "Now, the Marines have to change!!". This could be foreshadowing of the total restructuring of the Marines as an organization, leading to the relocation of its central headquarters to the New World and Akainu's promotion as Fleet Admiral, but it's still curious that he's still concerned about the Marines' role in the coming new era if he's already defected. He also made a decision to get Kaido's attention, by attacking his favorite winter island. And it worked - even recruiting him in his crew. Turns out he never left the Marines and is actually a deep cover agent for its secret subdivision SWORD - which he leads. His decision to become a pirate seems to be to get a better idea on the shifts taking place in the New World in order to combat them.
There're a few hints that Kyoshiro is one of the Nine Red Scabbards.
- Kyoshiro's first dialogues are to subtly criticize his boss Orochi as a coward.
  - Also, Denjiro's dialogues around Orochi in the flashback is also him saying Orochi is a suck-up and a coward.
- Kyoshiro took the charge for killing Komurasaki for disobeying Orochi and trying to protect Toko, yet Komurasaki's next appearance had her hale and hearty. Once it's revealed that Komurasaki is Hiyori and thus, Oden's daughter, and later also revealed that Kyoshiro is Denjiro, it makes more sense.
- Ushimitsu Kozo's entire shtick is to rob from wealthy people profitting off rest of Wano's suffering alongside Orochi. Despite Yasu'ie having a good motive to do the same, he won't necessarily know which families are Orochi's close allies and funders, something his inner circle would know.
There are a few hints that Kanjuro was the traitor in the Nine Scabbards.
- The way he's dressed hints that he's a Master Actor: He dresses like a committed Kabuki with white face paint at all time, showing his devotion to his role.
- In his first appearance in Dressrosa Arc, Kanjuro was alone in the room full of toys, although logically he should have been turned into a toy as well. Later it was revealed that as Kanjuro was Orochi (and by proxy Kaido)'s agent, not having him turned into a toy and thus losing important information makes sense.
- Later, Kanjuro was 'accidentally' one of the biggest saboteurs during the final fight, as he drew the net which almost doomed Usopp, Luffy and Law by having Sugar turn them into a toy.
- Kanjuro doesn't have any bounty on him during Doflamingo's attempt to turn the gladiators and the people against The Heroes. Even Kin'emon had one in that period.
- Kanjuro also tries to delay himself, the Straw Hats and Kin'emon from reaching Raizo, as he was the one who leaked Orochi about Raizo's true destination in the first place, thus was buying time for Jack to finish him off.
- When ascending Zou using Kanjuro's art, he chooses to draw a dragon seemingly just to mess with Kin'emon, who hates dragons thanks to Kaido's actions in their country. Wouldn't you think Kanjuro would hate dragons as well for the same reason if he truly were loyal to Oden?
- During the flashback which details how few of the Nine Scabbards travelled 20 years into the future, small misshapen birds are shown in the panel where they land in Present Day Wano, which was later revealed to inform Orochi about their escape.
- Kanjuro was present during both times Kin'emon changed the plans to mislead Orochi.
When you look at quite a bit of the information that Kaido, Orochi, and their forces received from The Mole in their ranks, Kanjuro is ultimately the only common denominator for all of them:
- The original meeting place and new one aren't a big hint because tons of people knew about them, but that does include Kanjuro.
- The quartet of Kin'emon, Kanjuro, Raizo, and Momonosuke left Wano planning to all head to Zou, but only Raizo made it there initially. When Jack attacks Zou, he knows that only Raizo is there (something that the Scabbards who stayed behind in Wano wouldn't know), but doesn't know where on the island he is (which all of the Minks do know). The above-mentioned four are the only ones who would know that Raizo was on Zou, but not where he is.
- On a related note, Kanjuro was alone in Dressrosa after being separated from his companions, so he had the opportunity to call Kaido and Orochi and reveal the above information to them.
- Orochi learns that Hiyori is alive and hiding "somewhere in the north" soon after Zoro and Kawamatsu reveal this to the Straw Hats and the rest of the Scabbards.
- And perhaps most damningly, Hawkins and Drake raid the bathhouse that Nami, Robin, and Shinobu are visiting, searching for Kozuki sympathizers there. The only other people who knew that the girls were going to the baths were Brook (who, naturally, isn't a suspect) and Kanjuro.
Zoro being revealed to have Conqueror's Haki might seem like it comes out of nowhere, but there's been quite a bit of hints for it:
- When Luffy takes out half of Hody's army with his Conqueror's Haki, Zoro remarks that "he'd better be able to do at least that, or I'd have to take over as captain", as if he's saying he'd be able to knock that many unconscious himself.
- His Kyutoryu technique has been described as an extension of Zoro's spirit and will. Conqueror's Haki is using your will to dominate the will of others, fitting the description of Kyutoryu.
- Zoro has a knack for intimidating weaker opponents into helplesness when fighting him (ie. when fighting Monet, his killing intent scared her so much that she was unable to move, and when she survived because Zoro didn't use his Armament, her fear prevented her from reforming properly). Just like how Conqueror's Haki can be used to intimidate weak-willed opponents.
- In Chapter 997, as Zoro is making his Badass Boast to Queen, the building begins to shake, causing many to suspect that Zoro has Conqueror's Haki. Zoro denies it was him, and it turns out that the earthquake was Kaido was using his powers to lift Onigashima into the sky. Over ten chapters later, after Zoro deals his final attack to Kaido, Kaido confirms that Zoro does have Conqueror's Haki, having sensed its imbuement in Zoro's attack. While Zoro remains in denial about it for another twenty chapters, he finally uses it outright to knock out several of Kaido's men during his fight with King, who also confirms that Zoro has the ability.
In Chapter 912, when Hawkins first confronts Luffy and Zoro, he states that their only two options in Wano is either to join the mighty, or scramble and run in fear. During his battle with Killer, it's made clear that this was the same choice Hawkins himself faced when Kaido attacked their alliance, and moreover, he secretly regrets choosing servitude to Kaido, especially since the alliance repeatedly proves capable of fighting back against the overwhelming might of the emperor's forces, which is why he ultimately stands against them to justify his own cowardly choice.
Who's-Who being imprisoned and stripped off his rank and powers for merely failing to defend an ordinary Devil Fruit heavily looks like Disproportionate Retribution from the World Government, until it's revealed that Luffy's fruit is completely different than advertised to him, Shanks or Luffy, a fruit the Government wanted at all costs.
At disgust with Orochi murdering Yasu'ie and gleefully attempting to murder his daughter (who is just a child), Hiyori wishes she could kill him herself.
After the reveal of Buggy becoming a Warlord, Buggy declares he's just started, and eventually plans to rise up to the ranks of the Four Emperors. Guess what's his designation at the end of Wano Country Arc?
In chapter 218, a quote from a (fictional) Physicist punctuates the Straw Hats getting surprised by a wooden ship nearly falling on them from the sky off a sky island. 852 chapters later, Vegapunk reveals that this very principle is the underlying reason why Devil Fruits exist and do what they do.
Willy Karen: Anything man can imagine is a possibility in reality.
In Chapter 591, Rayleigh gives a letter from Shakky to the Kuja, with them expressing relief that she's doing well, showing that, like Rayleigh, she's an acquaintance of the Amazons. The Egghead Arc reveals that she's a former Empress.
During the Paramount War, Bonney cries after the feedback was cut. While it's implied to be about Whitebeard's death, it's actually because she saw the Pacifistas that all resemble her father Kuma.
As the supernovas are watching the aftermath of the Summit War, Bonney angrily declares that "it's all his' fault" and orders her crew to set sail towards the New World to find "him" and make him pay. The Egghead arc reveals she was talking about Vegapunk himself, and she knows him.
When Stussy reveals her true allegiance, she can't stop the Seraphim because Lucci already ordered them to attack and since he's on the same authority level as her, she can't override his orders. When the Seraphim later appear to go rogue and won't obey the satellites' orders, it turns out to be because York gave them orders that the other satellites, with the same authority, can't countermand.
Despite Kuma being labelled as a Tyrant as his Pirate Epithet, Kuma never exhibits a shred of ruthlessness, while being loyal to the World Government. Kuma's flashback reveals that King Bekori, the original ruler of Sorbet Kingdom, did a Malicious Slander on his name after his own people supported Kuma's rule more than his, which the World Government fell for.
Bonney's true age is constantly teased through the arc up until The Reveal:
- She's reintroduced as a young teenager while she's unconscious and trapped in water, making it apparent from the get-go that her age isn't what it usually seems.
- Vegapunk, Saturn and even Kizaru refer to Bonney as "just a little girl" or similar a few times throughout the chapters. While it's easy to dismiss as patronization, it's a bit odd that it keeps happening...
- In a more meta way, while Sanji usually goes hearts-in-eyes excited at any attractive woman, his attitude towards Bonney is more subdued and protective, without any hint of his usual pervertedness (that he even shows towards Stussy and Lilith in this arc). Oda probably didn't want him to lust after a twelve years old.
At the beginning of the arc, Lilith states, annoyed, that a creature's natural instincts always come back (referring to how the Sea Beast Weapons keep sinking ships even when she orders them not to). Chapter 1103 show that this extends to the mind-wiped Bartholomew Kuma, who despite being made into a Full-Conversion Cyborg, teleported halfway across the world to save his daughter.

Foreshadowing / One Piece

Previous

Index

Next

Foreshadowing / One Piece

Edit Locked

Previous

Index

Next