Could Louis Arnot Be Someone We’ve Seen Before?

Eiichiro Oda is a master of foreshadowing, as he has proven time and time again in One Piece. Quite often, he has introduced aspects and things that fans have thought of as being quite insignificant at the time, only for them to have a massive payoff hundreds of chapters or even decades later as some foundational piece of lore that changes the way that everyone thinks of the world.

A recent example of this is shown in Chapter 1132 of One Piece during the Elbaf arc, where a mysterious silhouette is accompanied by a quote from someone called Louis Arnot. This was a character who had been mentioned briefly in Little Garden so fans initially thought he had no importance, though now he seems way more integral to Elbaf. All this speculation about him has fueled theories that he may have been shown before.

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Who Is Louis Arnot?

The Mysterious Explorer

The first mention of Louis Arnot was in the Little Garden arc, where the Straw Hats came across the first giants they would see on the entire Grand Line. Here, he was mentioned to be a famous adventurer who wrote the book called ‘Brag Men’, which is famous for its mention of Little Garden and the detailed description of the giants in it. In fact, it was Louis Arnot who gave the famous island of Little Garden its name.

However, the Brag Men book is considered to be a fantasy tale, so most don’t view Little Garden’s existence or the existence of the giants as real. Moreover, in Chapter 1132, it was revealed that Louis Arnot also visited Elbaf and presumably came to know much about it. However, he left a warning for everyone about the kind of place it truly is and why no one should stay there for too long.

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The Possible Identity Of Louis Arnot

The Likely Candidates

The whole debate about the identity of the enigmatic Louis Arnot began in Chapter 631 with the cover story showing Crocus, the former doctor of the Roger Pirates, enjoying a drink with a mysterious character. This character’s identity was never revealed, with the only thing to be discerned about him being the hat and clothing synonymous with Wano that he’s wearing, as well as the fact that he seems to know Crocus as a friend.

There is no proof that Louis Arnot is even alive, given how old the Brag Men story is. However, many believe the silhouette in Chapter 1132 to be none other than the legendary explorer who somehow made his way to Elbaf and, although this is just conjecture based on contextual analysis, the commonly held belief among the fandom is that Louis Arnot is not only still living, but is actually a character that they have seen before in the series.

The first clue comes from his appearance. The silhouetted individual in Elbaf is shown to be wearing a hat and the clothes of Wano, exactly like the mysterious character from the Chapter 631 cover story, although the colors aren’t revealed. Because of this, many think the character is none other than the legendary pirate from Roger’s generation; Shiki the Golden Lion. The evidence for this is vague, but the story does line up. Firstly, Shiki is confirmed to be alive after he battled Garp and Sengoku at Marineford since he was imprisoned in Impel Down after the fact.

Even at Impel Down, Shiki managed to escape the highly guarded prison due to his Devil Fruit powers and, at the current moment, his whereabouts are unknown. The primary reason why he is considered as the silhouette/character with Crocus is that his clothes and the color pattern line up perfectly, as well as the long golden hair the character is confirmed to have. Although Roger and Shiki were rivals, it makes sense for him to sit with Crocus since he would still know the old man and could now be on good terms with him now that they aren’t enemies anymore. Moreover, it makes sense for it to be Shiki because of his Devil Fruit allowing him to fly from one location to another in a short amount of time.

Another likely option that many feel could be the identity of the silhouette is Scopper Gaban. Scopper is a legendary pirate who served as the third-in-command of the Roger Pirates and was one of the most formidable fighters of his day. His role in the Roger Pirates obviously makes him old friends with Crocus, so the two of them meeting up and drinking together makes even more sense than if it’s Shiki.

Moreover, although Gaban and the character from the cover story have different hair colors, the style is remarkably similar. However, the main reason why some believe it to be Scopper is because he still hasn’t been shown in the modern era yet, which is something that has to happen before the story is over, since Crocus was at the beginning of the Grand Line and Rayleigh was at the middle of it. This shows that Gaban being at the end of it on one of the last islands is quite plausible. However, this is still less likely and more hopeful fan speculation than anything else.

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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates’ ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Number of Episodes

1122