One Piece is Teasing Wano Arc’s End With Its Biggest Battle Yet

Warning! Spoilers for One Piece chapter 1039 ahead!

The latest chapter of One Piece is dedicated to the massive fight between Big Mom and Luffy‘s allies Kid and Trafalgar Law. While big fights are nothing new for the manga, and this fight is just one of many that are occurring in and about Onigashima, it nevertheless seems different from other battles by its suggestion that the end of the Straw Hat Pirates’ Wano Country adventures is nigh.

The Wano Country arc, which began around chapter 909 back in 2018, is one of the longer story arcs of the entire One Piece saga. It is also one of its most consequential as it chronicles a number of important events, key character arrivals and departures, as well as further information on the whereabouts of the legendary treasure known as the“One Piece.” While exploring the seas and islands of the New World, Luffy and his crew encounter Momosuke, Kinemon, and others who tell them of the dire situation on their home island of Wano Country, and how it is being ruled by the illegitimate leader, Kurozumi Orochi, and his partner, the pirate Kaidou, who is in effect the power behind the throne pulling all the strings. Sympathetic to their plight, the Straw Hat Pirates decide to take down Kaidou and Orochi. But before they can set about ridding the world of yet another villain, they learn of others who also seek the end of Orochi and Kaidou. This leads to the establishment of a loose alliance of pirate bands, ninja teams, members of the Wano Country royal family, and their supporters who set out to defeat Kaidou and retake Wano Country

As usual in a Luffy arc, nothing goes as planned. Kaidou and Orochi discover the plot against them and move swiftly to stamp it out. However, the more repressive they become, the more allies are drawn to the resistance. Faced with a credible and organized opposition to his powers, Kaidou secures the help of other pirate groups, including those under the command of Big Mom, who along with Kaidu, is one of the “Four Emperors” of the seas. What makes the fight in chapter 1039 so significant is that it signals that the tide is finally turning in favor of Luffy and the resistance. Up until this point, Big Mom’s help has allowed Kaidou to consistently repel attacks, despite the concentrated efforts of Luffy and others. Moreover, just as it seems Big Mom is about to join Kaidou in his fight against Luffy, which would surely end in Luffy’s defeat, the end of the chapter suggests that Trafalgar and Kid are instead able to defeat her.

There are several implications if Big Mom has indeed been defeated. First, it would mean an end to one of the most powerful pirates in the world. Second, it would severely cripple Kaidou’s plans to find the One Piece and take over the world. Indeed, without Big Mom, Kaidou would be vulnerable to attacks from the Marines and other pirate gangs. More relevantly, a Big Mom defeat would mean that the forces presently attacking Onigashima would be free to concentrate their efforts in helping Luffy take out Kaidou.

While Kaidou might be one of the most powerful people in the world, it’s unlikely that he alone would be able to overcome a combined attack by Luffy and the forces aligned against him. In short, Big Mom’s defeat would signal the end of the One Piece‘s Wano Country arc, since it would facilitate the resolution of the core issue of the whole story arc, namely the defeat of Kaidou and reclamation of the island for its rightful rulers.

About The Author

Marcel Green
(134 Articles Published)

Marcel Green is a comics news writer for Screen Rant. A lifelong comic fan who originally was a “Marvel Only” collector, he has matured into an “independent” fan of all things comics, manga, cartoon, and anime. Happy to finally be able to put all those hours reading comics over the years to good use.

More From Marcel Green