One Piece’s Next Straw Hat is a Fan Favorite Character – Theory Explained

The crew of the Straw Hat pirates could be seeing another addition to their ranks in the upcoming chapters of One Piece. A particular fan-favorite character, who debuted during the Wano Arc, seems to be set to embark on the Thousand Sunny ship. This has not been confirmed in the manga yet, but fans have put together clues that lead in the direction that Yamato will be the next Straw Hat.

(While Yamato’s gender identity is the source of debate among fans, they will be referred to using gender-neutral pronouns here.)

Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat pirates, put together his crew slowly and methodically starting from the very beginning of the manga, which is approaching 25 years of publication. The crew is not very large, but each member was handpicked by Luffy based on their qualities, ambitions, and often on the gut feeling of the wannabe Pirate King. From the fearsome swordsman Zoro to the fighting cook Sanji, the crew includes bizarre and unique characters, such as the cyborg Franky and the undead skeleton musician Brook. The latest addition was Jinbe, a former member of the Shichibukai and master of Fishman karate, who greatly improved the Straw Hats’ combat potential. Now, it seems that Luffy could take on board none other than the child of his sworn enemy Kaidou, Yamato.

Originally, Yamato debuted during the fight on Onigashima. Though they were raised by Kaidou, who is known as the strongest creature alive, they were mostly inspired by the death of Kozuki Oden, legendary samurai and hero of Wano who was betrayed and killed by Kaidou. Moved by Oden’s courage and strength, after finding and reading his logbook, depicting the samurai’s travels on the ships of legendary pirates such as Whitebeard and Roger, Yamato decided to “become Oden”, impersonating him and adopting his ideals and mannerism. Yamato then opposed their father and worked to liberate Wano from his oppression. This led to Yamato allying with Luffy during his battle with Kaidou, but fans have noticed something; Over the course of the battle for Onigashima, there is a specific pattern to Yamato meeting, or rather avoiding, the Straw Hats.

In the heat of the fight, Yamato has crossed paths but nearly missed almost every other member of the crew. When Yamato first appeared, they were standing in the distance from Robin and Jinbe. Then, during the battle, when Yamato was running away with Momonosuke to protect him, they briefly met the robot General Franky, but did not see Franky himself inside of it. Sanji, who was fighting Queen, ran away from the live floor of Onigashima moments before Yamato showed up. When Robin and Brook were trying to escape the government agents of CP0, they landed in that same room not far from Yamato, but once again they did not meet due to Yamato running away towards the armory. While Yamato was heading there, Zoro and King landed in the basement during their fight, but they left before Yamato arrived.

This pattern of Yamato always avoiding the Straw Hats at the last moment seems to be a deliberate choice from Oda. It could be a prelude to their formal introduction to the crew at the end of the battle, similar to what happened to Jinbe on Fishman Island. It is also true that Yamato expressed the desire to sail the sea and live adventures, just like Oden did, in a past meeting with Luffy’s brother, Ace. Finally, while fighting Kaidou, they said it loud and clear: “I’m going to sail the seas with Luffy, after I drive you out of Wano!” Their desire for freedom and adventure would make Yamato a perfect fit for the Straw Hat crew, but fans of One Piece will have to wait for the end of the Wano Arc to find out if this will be the case.

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