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One Piece Chapter 1071 created a lot of hype among fans for the upcoming developments in the series. The chapter featured several important characters, touched on some crucial plot points, and set the stage for an action-packed finale to the Egghead arc.
Creator Eiichiro Oda has hinted at some of his plans for the future of the series and it looks like 2023 will see some major developments in the world of One Piece. There are a lot of fan theories and speculations that fans can expect to come to fruition in the future chapters.
Disclaimer: This article is speculative by nature and contains spoilers from the One Piece manga series.
Garp's demise and 7 other major developments fans can look forward to in One Piece in 2023
1) More information about Elbaf being revealed
In One Piece Chapter 1071, fans saw Kid reach the island of the giants, Elbaf. This could mean that in the upcoming iterations, the land will be explored thoroughly and we will get to know more about the history of the giant race.
Vegapunk and the Straw Hats will also visit Elbaf in the future, finally giving them an oppourtunity to learn more about the giantificaiton process. This could lead to the shocking revelation that Joyboy is responsible for the size of the giants.
They even have a festival where they worship the Sun God, which heavily points to the fact that Joyboy aka Sun God Nika is involved in their culture in some way. Thus, the giants might have valuable intel about one of the ancient weapons, Urnaus.
2) Garp's death at the hands of Blackbeard
In Chapter 1071, Garp announced his decision to fight the Blackbeard Pirates in order to rescue his subordinate, Koby. This has made fans concerned for Garp's life, with many believing that he will face a demise similar to that of Whitebeard.
Blackbeard is destined to fight Luffy in the future, so there is no way he will lose to an out-of-prime Garp. He also has a crew full of strong characters such as Aokiji, Shiryu, Lafitte, Burgess, and Van Augur, who will make it very difficult for Garp to come out of the fight alive.
Oda has also hinted that some characters might be in danger of dying, which falls perfectly in line with Garp's storyline.
3) Learning the true extent of Luffy's Gear 5
Luffy awakened the Gear 5 transformation in his battle against Kaido. This gave him Sun God Nika's abilities, allowing him to turn his surroundings rubbery, and expand exponentially in size. In Chapter 1070, Luffy even conjured sunglasses from the clouds of his hair, demonstrating the power of reality manipulation.
Fans believe that Luffy will unlock the true potential of Gear 5 in the upcoming chapters as he squares off against enemies like Kizaru and Blackbeard. His reality-warping powers could be a major threat to the World Government, forcing Imu to finally reveal their true identity.
4) Learning why Kuma crashed the Red Line
In Chapter 1071, Kuma, traveling at great speed, crashed into the Red Line and injured himself in the process. This has made fans curious to know what made the former Shichibukai take such a decision.
Many fans have speculated that Kuma was either trying to cross the Red Line and get to the New World or he was trying to self destruct for some reason. However, the ramifications for his actions will be felt in the next chapter. It will also reveal why Vegapunk told Bonney that he couldn't bring Kuma back to normal.
5) Mystery of Vegapunk's ally revealed
Chapter 1071 introduced us to Vegapunk's mysterious ally who lived on Egghead Island. Fans have speculated that this character might be another Lunarian that the World Government doesn't know about.
It has been mentioned in the chapter that this ally is also in the government's sights, proving that the person is a potential threat. Also, judging by how quickly they agreed, it would look like this person has some grudges to settle.
The revelation of the character's true identity will be a major development in the story and could impact Straw Hats' escape from Egghead Island immensely.
6) Learning about Aokiji's true intentions
Kuzan is currently a part of the Blackbeard Pirates, which has left a lot of fans questioning his motives. It might be possible that the former admiral is working undercover or towards fulfilling a goal that he wouldn't normally be able to pursue while working under the Government.
However, fans believe that Kuzan's true intentions will be made clear in the series' upcoming chapters. He might team up with Garp and completely betray Blackbeard and then square off against him. Another possibility is that he might have no other choice but to fight Garp in order to maintain his cover.
7) Shanks making his move
Captain of the Red Hair Pirates and a Yonko, Shanks commands a lot of respect in the world of One Piece. He has been shown to have one of the strongest Hakis in the series and is one of the smartest characters in the series. He was able to walk into the Marineford War and put an end to it without even having to fight.
Through his influence, he was able to set up a meeting with the Five Elders in the Holy land of Mariejois and talk like equals. This goes to show that he is not just a simple fun-loving pirate, but has a lot of depth to his character as well.
Fans believe that Shanks will finally make his move in 2023 and venture towards Laugh Tale. There is a very real possibility that we might see him in action and learn his true intentions in the future chapters of One Piece.
8) Blackbeard revealing his true power
Blackbeard wields the power of two Devil Fruits, making him one of the strongest characters in One Piece. Gura Gura no Mi, allows him to control earthquakes and Yami Yami no Mi allows him to control darkness.
However, there has been no instance of Blackbeard going all out with his powers yet. Fans believe that he will showcase his true power in the fight against Vice Admiral Garp, which is predicted to take place in future chapters of the series.
It is possible that just like Luffy, he too has undergone an awakening, making his Devil Fruit powers ascend to the next level. There is even a possibility that with his Yami Yami No Mi Awakening, Blackbeard will be able to nullify people's Haki as well and gain control over total darkness. Fans can expect a major development in terms of Blackbeard's power in the upcoming chapters of One piece.
