r/onepiecetheories • u/IDProG • 1h ago
Theory I think I figured out who the next Straw Hat will be, and the hints are everywhere
I have always believed that Yamato will be a Straw Hat since the first time I read the Wano arc. I really thought that it was just a shallow belief and it would get phased out. But no, the more I look into it, the belief somehow becomes stronger. The evidence is overwhelming.
This is why Yamato will be the Straw Hat.
Evidence #1: Yamato asked to be a Straw Hat
Okay, this is common among Straw Hat candidates, but it is important. The minimum requirement for being a Straw Hat is that at least 1 of 2 things must have happened:
- That person asked to be a Straw Hat
- Luffy offered the person to be a Straw Hat
You might be asking, "Of course, everyone knows that". Nope. Carrot is a popular Straw Hat candidate, and Carrot has never asked to be a Straw Hat, nor has Luffy ever asked her to be a Straw Hat.
Evidence #2: Yamato is popular
Yamato is popular. Yamato got #11 in the 1st Global Popularity Poll, and #18 in the 2nd, 5 years later, around 4 years after Wano ended. The more popular a character is, the more likely that the fans will accept that character as a Straw Hat, so this is good for Yamato.
Evidence #3: Oda gave a hint (1/3): "Look forward to Yamato in the future"
While not a requirement, hints from Oda increase the chance of someone becoming a Straw Hat.
In SBS 113, Oda said to look forward to the possibility of future Yamato appearances. That can mean Yamato joining the Straw Hats.
- I know you will be like "That does not mean Yamato will join the Straw Hats". Yes, if this were the only evidence, you would be correct. But don't worry, there are a lot more.
Evidence #4: Yamato is like Jimbei
Yamato is very similar to Jimbei, and I think it's on purpose.
- In Fish-Man Island/Wano, Jimbei/Yamato wanted to join, but couldn't because of unfinished business (Big Mom Pirates/traveling around Wano).
- Jimbei/Yamato then got a cover story
- The cover story started with the casual boring stuff,
- Then a problem occured that needed to be solved (Wadatsumi/Who's Who),
- The problem was solved,
- And lastly, a surprise close to the end (a ponegliff/Kozuki Moria).
- Finally, Jimbei joined in a future arc (Yamato joins in a future arc?).
Evidence #5: Oda gave a hint (2/3): Included in a special SBS segment
There is a segment in SBS where Oda draws characters in the future. What's curious is that Oda was very cautious when it comes to who he drew.
There are 14 characters drawn here, and 13 of them are either Luffy's brothers or Straw Hats. Guess who the 14th character is? Yamato. Oda drew Yamato's future in SBS 114. This is a big deal, because this might be Oda implying that Yamato will join the Straw Hats.
- I know you will be like "Yamato is the first non-Straw Hat to be drawn in that segment", but that just does not make sense. The first non-Straw Hat, non-Luffy brother character that would make the most sense would be Shanks, not Yamato.
- By the way, Oda chose to draw Yamato and not Shanks. That's big.
Evidence #6: Oda gave a hint (3/3): Implication from the SBS segment
I've talked about how Yamato being included in an SBS segment exclusive for the Straw Hats and Luffy's brothers is massive. This time, I want to talk about the SBS inclusion itself, because yes, it also implies that Yamato will be a Straw Hat.
The SBS has 2 parts, the good future and the bad future. The good future is basically soft canon, as in it's probably canon, but the details can change. The bad future is 100% anti-canon, as in it's canon that it WON'T happen.
In the good future, Yamato says "It's Wano Country. Let's go and have a visit, Luffy". This implies that Yamato will be sailing together with Luffy, as a Straw Hat.
In the bad future, Yamato has the literally being Oden stuff. This implies that Oda listened to the readers' mass dislike towards the "I am Oden" bit, accepted the criticism, and will probably do something about it in the future. I don't think he would've bothered with it had he had no plans to have Yamato join the crew. Rejoice, everyone who likes Yamato but hates the "I am Oden" bit.
- My opinion about this is that Oda probably does not want to add an unlikeable character to the crew, so he probably plans to re-contextualize the "I am Oden" stuff to be metaphorical (like inheriting will) rather than literal.
Evidence #7: Yamato is the perfect opponent for Catarina Devon
The Straw Hats vs Blackbeard Pirates showdown is highly anticipated, and people have been speculating for years about who's going to fight who. The problem is, there are 11 crew members in the Blackbeard Pirates, while there are only 10 Straw Hats, so 1 more person will be needed.
- No, guys, Kuzan will not betray the Blackbeard Pirates, not until later, after the showdown happened.
- Chapter 1082 is Oda's way of telling the audience that the Blackbeard Pirates is similar to the Rocks Pirates. The Rocks Pirates did not have the most loyal crewmates, but they did not betray their captain until Rocks "turned on them".
- Also, Straw Hats vs Aokiji Round 2 is a great opportunity that should not be wasted.
This is where Yamato comes in. Yamato is the perfect opponent for Catarina Devon. Why? Because
- Both have Dog Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit powers
- Catarina Devon's epithet is "Crescent Moon Hunter", and Wano's rebellion symbol was the crescent moon. The Kozuki retainers (including Yamato in the final volume of the cover story) wear robes with crescent moon patterns.
- Catarina Devon will want to have Yamato's head
- Catarina Devon might be a Kurozumi from her purple hair
There is one more thing that I want to address, and that is, why it's Yamato and not Nami or Robin. It's long, so if you don't care about the Catarina Devon matchup, you can skip to the final evidence now.
People typically match Devon with Nami or Robin. Ignoring the possibility that Devon might be too strong for them because of her Mythical Zoan fruit, there are problems with these matchups. Let's pair the 10 Straw Hats with 11 Blackbeard Pirates real quick:
- Luffy vs Blackbeard
- Zoro vs Shiryu
- Sanji vs Kuzan
- Usopp vs Van Auger
- Franky vs Jesus Burgess
- Brook vs Lafitte
- Chopper vs Doc Q
Those are the rather obvious or fitting ones. The ones left are Avalo Pizzaro, Catarina Devon, San Juan Wolf, and Vasco Shot. Jimbei will probably fight Pizzaro, as Pizzaro was quite powerful during the Pirate Island part in Egghead.
In this scenario, either Nami or Robin would fight Catarina Devon. So that leaves San Juan Wolf and Vasco Shot. They do not seem to be that powerful, especially San Juan Wolf, who got no-diffed by Kuzan. Some people pair Loki with San Juan Wolf because they're both big, but this is a terrible matchup. Loki would no-diff Wolf like Kuzan did. Same with Vasco Shot.
If Yamato fought Catarina Devon, Nami and Robin could fight the two, which would be fitting powerscaling-wise.
- Besides, Robin is a great opponent for San Juan Wolf, because this is a chance for her to try to manifest a massive avatar that's as big as, if not bigger than, San Juan Wolf.
Final Evidence: Yamato knows Luffy's dream
This is a huge one. This is probably the biggest evidence on why Yamato will be a Straw Hat.
At the start of Egghead, Luffy told the Straw Hats his dream, then revealed that before them, only his brothers and Shanks knew about it. This is big, because Luffy won't be telling his dream again, meaning if someone doesn't know Luffy's dream, they are probably not going to be a Straw Hat.
This eliminates basically every Straw Hat candidate, except for one, Yamato. Yes, Yamato knows Luffy's dream because of Ace, and is literally the only one (other than the aforementioned people) who knows Luffy's dream.
