5 Popular Theories That Have Since Been Debunked

Time proves that not every theory about One Piece will necessarily have legs. While the narrative is ongoing, and so too are many theories surrounding it, certain facts have been clarified inside and outside the narrative to properly assert how much credence certain claims have.

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These One Piece theories are rooted in the evidence present in the series’ ongoing narrative. Some may even be proven true.

Since it’s a long-running series, these theories can be anywhere from a few weeks old to a few decades old before they get properly debunked. Such is the fate of the following theories, which now seem as though they are no longer credible. Nonetheless, the assertions claimed were believed, at least by a handful of people, before they were ultimately contradicted.

1

Sanji Is The Son Of St. Shepherd Ju Peter

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

• Debunked in Chapter 832, other relatives of Sanji’s had appeared prior, but this one debuted the physical appearance of his father, Judge.

More recently in the series, Sanji was revealed to have been descended from royalty, having been revealed as the estranged son of Vinsmoke Judge, Germa Kingdom’s ruler. Yet before this information was unveiled, there was another candidate fans speculated could be his father: St. Shepherd Ju Peter. The Five Elders have long been a fixture of the series, considered overarching antagonists on account of taking orders from Imu, the true ruler of the World Government poised to be a major antagonist in the future.

As little is known about these men even now, theories around them are still developing. Yet, before the Final Saga, basic details such as their names were not officially known, with it being two decades between the time of their introduction and the reveal of their names. The then-unnamed Ju Peter was notable as the youngest-looking of the Five Elders, who bore a physical resemblance to Sanji. However, further information about the elder didn’t need to be revealed to debunk the theory. It is somewhat noteworthy that physical resemblance to Sanji does not immediately imply relation, as Duval, a man who looked exactly like an artist’s rendering of Sanji, was attacked for such resemblance and has no confirmed familial relation to the pirate.

Instead, his biological father was revealed to be Vinsmoke Judge, a man whose design differs from Sanji but still shares similar features a genetic father and son could plausibly have. Ironically, despite being the most estranged of his siblings, his brothers and sister look even less like Judge due to their hair color, with all five of them more resembling their mother, Sora. By complete coincidence, Peter is the only member of the previous incarnation of the Five Elders to have any relatives identified at present. St. Shepherd Sommers is a member of God’s Knights who bears Peter’s surname, confirming a presently unclear level of relation between the two.

2

Shanks Snitched On Luffy

A Certain Meeting Implied He Gave Info To The Five Elders

• Debunked in Chapter 1137, appropriately titled Introducing Shamrock. Although he debuted exactly 230 chapters prior, Shamrock’s existence as a separate entity from Shanks was fully confirmed in this chapter.

Shanks was a mentor to Luffy in his youth and the one who inspired him to become a pirate. The pair have since separately achieved the rank of Yonko, a distinction for pirates the government finds particularly threatening. Due to Luffy’s goal of becoming King of the Pirates, he has been drawn into conflicts with Yonko in the past, and it is all but confirmed that this trend will continue. With Kaido and Big Mom defeated and Blackbeard slated to be a powerful enemy for Luffy, there is a chance that Shanks himself may become an enemy as well.

Potential evidence for this fact was partially rooted in the scene concluding Chapter 907. Here, a hooded man resembling Shanks is allowed an audience with the Five Elders, and requests to talk with them about “a certain pirate.” Luffy was a heavily speculated candidate due to their own personal connection, albeit other names such as Blackbeard, who Shanks has a more negative history with, were also brought up in discussions concerning this dialogue.

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Yet, discrepancies even then were noted. Even hooded, the true culprit, Figarland Shamrock, lacks distinctive traits of Shanks, such as his facial scars. However, others flagged these as simple mistakes made in illustrating the chapter. Additionally, Shamrock shared Shanks’ voice actors in his anime debut, whose work on the corresponding episode, 887, is exclusively credited to Shanks. The lack of a scar led to an alternate possibility: Shanks having an evil twin. Retroactively, this theory was vindicated, and Chapter 907 was Shamrock’s debut, with the shared credit likely being done not to reveal him before his official debut. Shanks has been brought up as a possible candidate for the “certain pirate” Shamrock wished to discuss.

With Shamrock’s official reveal in the story, his ability to gain an audience with the Five Elders makes sense, falling in line with his high rank as a commander within God’s Knights, making him an authority figure among even World Nobles. Although other potential sources of tension, such as Yasopp sinking the Barto Club, have been hinted at leading to ripples in Shanks and Luffy’s relationship, it seems as though, for the time being, Shamrock’s meeting with the Five Elders will have no direct influence on it.

3

Blackbeard’s Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit

Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus?

• Debunked in Chapter 1137, where Shamrock was seen using the Devil Fruit that Blackbeard was presumed to have via his sword, which presumably “ate” it.

Marshall D. Teach is a mysterious man with multiple Devil Fruit powers, namely the mighty Gura Gura no Mi and Yami Yami no Mi, respectively. There is speculation surrounding how far his Devil Fruit powers will go and where his potential for multiple comes into play. A correlation is made in part with his Jolly Roger, which shows three skulls. There is also a presumption made that Blackbeard either has or will come into possession of a Zoan Devil Fruit, effectively gaining one of each of the three categories of Devil Fruit power.

Yet a popular choice for this Zoan, the underworld guard dog from Greek Mythology, Cerberus, is confirmed to exist, yet not as a power of Teach’s. Instead, it is confined to a sword of the same name, which is owned by Figarland Shamrock. This contradicts iterations of the theory that posits his first Devil Fruit was this Cerberus power, entailing him to an extra two (linking back to both the Jolly Roger and the multiple powers). Perhaps Teach could get ahold of this power by “killing” the sword, yet the audience has not been given any info implying that this will occur. For the time being, Blackbeard will seemingly have to settle for having merely two powerful Devil Fruits under his belt.

4

Kuina Is Not Tashigi’s Twin

She Is Also Not Tashigi

• Debunked in American Shonen Jump December 2009 Volume 7, Issue 12, Oda wrote off any idea of Kuina and Tashigi being secretly related.

Zoro’s childhood friend and distant relative, Kuina, is a driving force for him to become the World’s Strongest swordsman due to a pact they made. Their duels affirmed to Zoro that women could be strong, despite her father’s beliefs that they could never be as strong as men. Unfortunately, she passed away before her full potential could be realized, remaining an effectively unbeatable foe for Zoro.

In her place, he has dedicated himself to claiming the top spot for both of them. Yet during his journey he encountered another woman well-versed in the blade who bears a resemblance to his late friend. Captain Tashigi is a member of the Navy and a frequent subordinate of Smoker, who also favors the blade as her weapon of choice. She was something of an ersatz rival to Zoro, being less skilled at sword fighting than him despite her knowledge and skill with the weapon. Her similar design has led to a level of speculation, presuming she may be either directly related to Kuina, or in more extreme theories, somehow her after secretly surviving.

Oda has debunked theories connecting the two, writing it off as a coincidence. Additionally, the chibi-like design Oda uses for a young Tashigi in SBS bears no resemblance to Kuina, who is only depicted as a child due to her mortality, albeit this is partially attributable to how significantly the design for characters has changed across the many years of illustrating the series. The similarities between the pair in terms of physical appearance are likely more for the connections Zoro will subconsciously make between them than any greater actual connection they have.

5

The One Piece Is Not A Physical Object

That Said, What Is The One Piece?

• Debunked in a 2014 One Piece Podcast interview featuring Oda and Momoko Sakura, where he confirms it as a physical object.

The titular One Piece is a treasure formerly owned by Gol D. Roger and Joy Boy and sought after by many a pirate. Figures like Vegapunk and Whitebeard have implied that it will have the power to fundamentally alter the world forever. It is said to be located on Laugh Tale and will allow those who claim it to lay claim to the title of King of the Pirates. People are still scratching their heads to find out what it is, yet people have narrowed down something it isn’t: purely a concept.

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A 2014 interview with Eiichiro Oda and Momoko Sakura conducted by the One Piece Podcast had Oda confirming to Sakura that there will be a physical reward in exchange for claiming it, yet what exactly it will be is something that is no less unclear to the audience over a decade later. Although narratives about MacGuffins may often reduce them to metaphors, as adventures and friendship can both be priceless in their own way, it is refreshing to know that there is an actual treasure of note at this long journey’s end.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)