One Piece: Straw Hat Pirates vs Cross Guild fight would break the internet

Despite its recent establishment, the Cross Guild immediately ascended to the status of a Yonko crew in One Piece. A cascade of comical misunderstandings led the World Government to believe that Buggy had founded this group, recruiting Crocodile and even Dracule Mihawk to serve under him.

Uninterested in becoming a Yonko and yet preferring a more low-profile life, Mihawk allowed the misunderstanding to continue, letting Buggy take center stage as the Cross Guild’s figurehead leader.

Falling for the trick, the World Government declared Buggy one of the Yonko. As if the accidental elevation of Buggy wasn’t enough, the Cross Guild flipped the world upside down by placing bounties on Marine officers, a bold move that created chaos and amplified the organization’s influence.

With its dynamic blend of might, strategy, and humor, it’s easy to see Cross Guild as a standout introduction in One Piece’s final saga, balancing intense stakes with comedy. The grotesque accomplishment of becoming a Yonko is just a stepping stone for Buggy, who aims even higher, dreaming to find the One Piece and become the new Pirate King.

Exploiting the world’s misperception of his leadership over the Cross Guild, Buggy hilariously "forced" Mihawk and Crocodile to support his ambitions. This may set the stage for a clash between the Cross Guild and the Straw Hat Pirates, who also chase the One Piece treasure as the ultimate goal of their journey.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1149.

The Straw Hat crew’s Monster Trio may clash with Cross Guild in One Piece’s final saga

Two major contenders to reach Laugh Tale

The Cross Guild and the Straw Hat crew (Image via Toei Animation)

Neither Dracule Mihawk nor Crocodile ever cared for the race to find the One Piece and achieve the Pirate King status; their initial vision for Cross Guild was to launch a revived, new “Operation Utopia”. In the past, Crocodile sought to locate and seize the Ancient Weapon Pluton to amass enough military power to challenge the World Government.

Yet, the Straw Hat Pirates stopped this scheme, defeating Crocodile and his shadowy bounty hunter organization. Now, with Crocodile’s strategic mind joined by Mihawk’s unparalleled combat prowess as the World’s Strongest Swordsman, the Cross Guild rose to fame as a Navy-hunting enterprise. However, Buggy’s bizarre charm shifted the organization’s focus toward pursuing the One Piece.

Buggy lacks the fighting skills of other villains, but his unpredictable nature and sheer dumb luck make him an entertaining antagonist all the same. In fact, Buggy propelled the Cross Guild into joining the hunt for the One Piece treasure, an unexpected development which puts the organization on a collision course with the Straw Hat Pirates, who share the same goal.

This clash of ambitions might erupt in an epic showdown or take a more whimsical turn, perhaps in the form of a Davy Back Fight. A traditional pirate game where crews compete to steal each other’s members would place the rivalry in a more humorous framework, mixing Buggy’s quirky style and Luffy’s enthusiastic, simple-mindedness with Mihawk and Zoro’s cold-blooded savagery for unforeseen developments.

Luffy vs Buggy

Luffy and Buggy in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Luffy and Buggy have a history dating back to the very beginning of the series, when Luffy beat Buggy in Orange Town, only for Buggy to try to kill him some time later. Over the course of the story, their relationship evolved into a more frenemies-like connection, with the two having no serious hostility to each other, and even working together, albeit reluctantly.

Buggy resents Luffy for both causing trouble to him and behaving like his former crewmate Shanks, which he finds irritating. Yet, what truly puts them on opposite sides is their competing ambition to become the Pirate King. Granted, Luffy vastly outclasses Buggy in combat, to the point where a fight between these two would be completely one-sided.

However, a confrontation framed like the chaotic Luffy vs Foxy showdown in Long Ring Long Land’s Davy Back Fight would change things. In this context, Buggy could exploit Luffy’s gullibility. Luffy is an exceptional Haki user, so he should be able to see through all of Buggy’s tricks, but the comedic setting of the situation would guarantee some hilarious outcome.

Luffy is a thousand times stronger than his opponent, but Buggy is known for his talent in escaping trouble and spinning disasters into accidental triumphs. He built his career on exploiting misunderstandings to increase his reputation and notoriety, so a bizarre setting like the Davy Back Fight may end up most unexpectedly. Also, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda would love to draw a “fight” between Luffy’s toon force and Buggy’s improbable dumb luck.

Zoro vs Mihawk

Zoro and Mihawk in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

The loyal right-hand man of Monkey D. Luffy and second-in-command of the Straw Hat Pirates, Roronoa Zoro, strives to become the world’s strongest swordsman to honor a promise made to his childhood friend Kuina. This title is held by Dracule Mihawk, which sets up the latter as Zoro’s greatest opponent in the series.

In a reckless move, Zoro once challenged Mihawk, paying for his audacity with a crushing defeat. On that occasion, however, Mihawk noticed the green-haired swordsman’s potential. Having lost the thrill of fighting his long-time rival Shanks due to the latter’s lost arm, Mihawk decided to test Zoro, pushing him to surpass his limits or die.

Mihawk carved a vicious wound across Zoro’s chest, leaving the young pirate on the edge of death before dismissing him with the stark challenge of surpassing him. This ordeal forced Zoro to grow stronger in order to survive the crippling injury and improve himself. During the time skip, Zoro, aiming to better support Luffy in his quest to become the Pirate King, begged Mihawk to train him.

Mihawk's challenge to Zoro (Image via Shueisha)

Although amused by Zoro’s audacity in seeking mentorship from the very person he vowed to defeat, “Hawk Eyes” agreed to the request and trained the swordsman, teaching him how to use Haki. Mihawk’s training caused Zoro to lose his left eye, but the effort paid off, as Zoro improved dramatically.

Now, Mihawk stands atop the world, patiently awaiting his destined battle with Zoro. For his part, Zoro is continuously improving to reach the strength needed to match “Hawk Eyes”. Recently, Zoro mastered the sword Enma and learned to use Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, a game-changing power that only the strongest One Piece characters can wield. So, the day of the inevitable duel draws nearer.

This incredible clash promises to be a pivotal event in One Piece’s final saga, and its setting could be a plot involving the Cross Guild. The organization’s schemes might at least spark a short battle between Mihawk and Zoro, the skirmish being a prelude for their climactic reckoning.

Sanji vs Crocodile

Sanji and Crocodile in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

It’s worth noting that Crocodile and Sanji have some unfinished business. As long as women aren’t involved, Sanji is a brilliant strategist, as evidenced by his ability to outwit Crocodile, a cunning mastermind himself. When the Straw Hats were in Little Garden, Crocodile called to check on Mr 3’s mission, only for Sanji to pick up the call instead.

Quickly understanding who was on the other end of the call, Sanji grasped the situation and pretended to be Mr 3, fooling Crocodile into thinking that the Straw Hats were dead. Later, when Crocodile ensnared Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Smoker in a deadly trap, Sanji fooled him again. The cook adopted the alias of “Mr Prince” and baited Crocodile into leaving the place, so that he could slip in and rescue his comrades.

When Crocodile realized he had been deceived, he stormed back, but all he found was a mocking note signed by the elusive “Mr Prince”. Needless to say, this caused Crocodile to lose his temper, unleashing his rage in a rare loss of composure. Should Crocodile learn that Sanji was behind the ruse that left him humiliated, the stage would be set for a high-stakes battle between these two.

Adding fuel to the fire, a popular theory speculates that Crocodile was formerly a woman, turned man by Emporio Ivankov’s unique Devil Fruit ability. Given Sanji’s reluctance to fight women, this twist could add another intriguing layer to the potential clash between the third strongest member of the Straw Hat Pirates and one of the co-founders of the Cross Guild.

With Cross Guild, the potential options are endless

The establishment of Cross Guild was just hilarious (Image via Toei Animation)

Beyond the aforementioned scenarios, there are other connections between Cross Guild and the Straw Hat Pirates, such as the intricate past tie between Crocodile and Nico Robin. The shared secrets of the former Baroque Works members are intriguing, and equally entertaining would be a face-off between Buggy and Usopp, with the former using his Chop-Chop Fruit and the latter relying on his shenanigans in a hilarious clash of cowards.

The possibility of other former Warlords, such as Gecko Moria and Donquixote Doflamingo, joining Cross Guild in the future adds anticipation for additional plot twists. This could lead to a rematch between Jinbe and Moria, or give Sanji a chance to settle the score with Doflamingo, taking revenge for the brutal defeat suffered in Dressrosa.

With its multifaceted array of narrative horizons, the Cross Guild stands as a dynamic force that expands the scope of One Piece’s final saga. The growing influence of this organization ripples beyond mere piracy, challenging the World Government’s authority.

After all, beneath his flamboyant facade, Buggy seems to share the same idealistic, romantic notion of piracy as Luffy. So, it’s not even impossible that Cross Guild and Straw Hat Pirates could form an unexpected alliance to confront a shared enemy, the World Government.