One Piecehas ended the first arc of its final saga, leaving fans with bated breath. As the series inches closer to its conclusion, one may note that a lot of characters have yet to be properly expanded upon. Some have been established to a degree, and others are merely teased at present time.
The common denominator in each case is that there’s clearly more to every character listed here than the audience knows at present. The final saga will hopefully deliver more information on these people, giving the audience a deeper understanding of characterss who, up to this point, have not been detailed in full.
5Shanks
Captain Of The Red Hair Pirates
Shanksis a pivotal character in the series, being Luffy’s primary inspiration to become a pirate. He is also effectively part of the connective tissue between Luffy and Gol D. Roger, and he sees a lot of his former captain in the young pirate. Shanks notably gave his own Straw Hat, a keepsake of his from Roger, to Luffy. He is also captain of theRed Hair Pirates, one of the most powerful crews in the series. That said, there are still things about this pirate that are not well-known, and his presence in the central narrative is often more felt than observed.
He is occasionally seen interacting with other pirates, such as Whitebeard and Mihawk, often detailing important events concerning the pirate world. Otherwise, he is known to party, or fight when things get serious. He has recently expressed a desire to mobilize towards the One Piece, but it is unclear exactly how equipped he is to do so at present.
The elephant in the room is his connection to the Figarland Family, and how to reconcile this speculated heritage with his life of piracy. To some extent, this appears to havegiven him some sway over the World Government, as he is apparently able to hold audiences with the Five Elders. He is confirmed to be at least a deeply capable fighter, as he was formerly Mihawk’s rival and wiped out the entirety of the Kid Pirates on his own, but there is still a lot more to unravel about the character.
4The Five Elders
The Public Faces Of The World Government
This collective group of elders has been shown throughout the series, almost always sitting with each other in a secluded area. They are shown to have an agenda, willing to enact a genocide to prevent knowledge of the Void Century from becoming public, and actively suppressing the “Will of D,” even requesting the initial be removed from Luffy’s new wanted poster. They appear to be in charge of the World Government, but this is merely a public facade, as they follow absolute orders from Imu, even if some of them are unnerved by said orders at times.
They all appear to have eaten some kind of Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit, but what exactly these fruits are, as well as their names, remains unclear. It is also worth noting that theFive Eldersappear to have stopped aging at a certain point, as they all look identical in the present day as they did years in the past. The exact nature of their longevity, their history, and any greater delineation of them as individuals is thus far unclear. After Saint Jaygarcia Saturn’s recent failure at Egghead,he was killed by Imu, and replaced by Figarland Garling. This shows the position is not fixed, and each elder is ultimately disposable to Imu. That said, except for the slightly less mysterious Garling, all that’s really known now is that they seem subservient to Imu, and have been for quite some time. It is possible that as we see Garling transfer into the position, we will get to know a bit about the intricacies of becoming one of the Five Elders.
3Rocks D. Xebec
Captain Of The Rocks Pirates
This mysterious pirate has actively been erased from history, in part because of the crimes he chose to commit.Rocksresearched topics the government traditionally forbade, in part due to his pursuit to become the King of the World. He was said to be deeply amoral, not caring if World Nobles or their slaves were caught up in his carnage. Rocks was also notable in part for corralling a number of powerful pirates for his crew,the Rocks Pirates, including three future Emperors, and somehow leading them towards a common goal. That said, one of those pirates, Whitebeard, acknowledged that the crew was full of people who were not the type to take orders, causing frequent infighting. Nonetheless, it took the combined might of both Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to defeat this powerful pirate.
Although Rocks is presumed dead and likely won’t return in the central story, questions around him remain. One can’t help but wonder how exactly he came to cultivate such a powerful crew. He also appears to have influenced the present day Emperor and Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates, Marshall D. Teach, who shows signs of knowing about the forgotten pirate. His primary ship is named the Saber of Xebec, a nod to the pirate and his singular sword. Additionally, Teach took over Hachinosu from Ochoku, a former member of the crew. Teach was also once a member of the Whitebeard Pirates, a crew founded by another former crewmate of Xebec. The complete history of Rocks, as well as his possible influence on Teach, remains a mystery at present.
2Imu
The True Supreme Ruler Of The World Government
Imuis a truly mysterious being, who has been shadowed for their sporadic appearances in the series, which themselves are very few and far between. They sit atop the Empty Throne, which is ironically meant to symbolize that there is no true ruler of the World Government. Accordingly, Imu’s existence is largely kept a secret, even in-universe. Imu is far more actively willing to order mass destruction than any of the Five Elders, and has complete control over them. They are shown to possess a hatred, as well as a possible fear, towards those with the initial “D”, such as Luffy and Blackbeard.
Imu is speculated by some to have been alive since the Void Century. It is unclear how long they have been in their position of power, how they went about obtaining it, and even their exact physical appearance. They are capable of transforming into some type of beast, but the exact nature of it is once again unknown. Even as the Five Elders start to let their masks slip, Imu’s identity remains firmly fastened, indicating that they are a much greater and much more secretive antagonist.
1Hinokizu
The Man Marked By Flames
Although less of a well-kept secret in-universe, this speculative character is currently more mysterious than Imu, if only because he’s been mentioned in passing rather than shown.Hinokizuis a man who has burn scars (hence his moniker) and is said to possess the Road Poneglyph that was once close to Fish-Man Island. Certain pirate crews who collect Poneglyphs, such as the Kid Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates, are shown to be aware of him. That said, the Straw Hat Pirates were only made aware of him recently, despite also being a crew that collects Poneglyphs.
What is known of Hinokizu, even now, is all framed as speculation. He is said to travel in an all-black pirate ship, with Blackbeard Pirate Laffitte claiming he creates ocean vortexes to destroy ships that cross his path. Another Blackbeard Pirate, Shiryu, a former Impel Down Jailer, speculated that he is employed by, or colluding with, the World Government. Although unfounded, he couched this speculation in the fact that pirates would need his Poneglyph to reach Laugh Tale, and someone who could destroy all who wished to do so would be effective in preventing pirates from doing so as a result.
Nonetheless, the exact nature of Hinokizu remains to be seen, and if he does indeed possess a mysterious Poneglyph needed to travel to Laugh Tale, the Straw Hats will likely come into conflict with him. For all that is confirmed at present,he could be an existing character, or may not even exist at all, at least not in the way he is currently perceived.
