Summary
Currently, in the very thick of its climax, theEgghead Arc has been one ofthe most exciting and eventful segments of the Straw Hat Pirates' journey through the New World in Eiichiro Oda’sOne Piece. With the announcement of a three-week break for the manga, readers have been given some breathing room before the arc’s conclusion, which is expected to rock the entireOne Pieceworld to its core.
Whereas theEgghead Arc is only the preliminary storysegment of the Final Saga ofOne Piece, it has been in publication since August 2022, and is already as long as the Water 7 and Fish-Man Island Arcs in the manga. Since the return of the manga after the three-week break in Weekly Shonen Jump is likely to ring in the arc’s conclusion, how many more chapters will it take to resolve the massive conflict that is presently ravaging the island of the future?
A Chaotic Conflict On Egghead
Most readers would not have expected the Five Elders to getinvolved in the battle on Egghead, but the very end of Chapter 1109 saw them arrive at the island after being summoned there by one of their own. The sight of all Five Elders gathered in their transformed states is nothing short of nightmarish, especially when looking at the enormous sizes of their alternate forms.
It has been quite apparent that their sole objective on the island is to destroyPunk Records and prevent Vegapunk’s messagefrom being transmitted to the rest of the world, which leaves very little time for them to act. At present, the ideal solution for them would have involved destroying Egghead just like the Lulusia Kingdom, but it appears as if the Five Elders do not possess the means to do so.
Beyond this, it also stands to reason that they would not wantany survivors from the Egghead Incident, as virtually everyone on the island has now seen their demonic transformations. If such information were to leak out to the rest of the world, it would be truly calamitous for the credibility of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Hence, it is quite likely that they will turn their attention to the Straw Hat Pirates to prevent their escape as soon as they cut off Vegapunk’s transmission, although the time they have on hand is extremely limited.
The Countdown To Vegapunk’s Message
With just short of seven minutes left till Vegapunk goes live with his message about the truth of theOne Pieceworld,the Five Elders are scrambling tobreak through the island’s defenses and destroy the suspected source of the signal. It is fairly safe to assume that the arc itself might end around a chapter or two after the countdown concludes, since this is a plot device that Oda has used on numerous occasions to raise the stakes of an arc’s final battle.
Given how three minutes passed between Chapter 1109 when the countdown began, and Chapter 1110, it stands to reason that the real message will be broadcast in the next chapter or two. This means that according to the current pace of the story,the Egghead Arc should wrapup within the next 3 or 4 chapters at the most, by generous estimates. It is also quite likely that the crew may leave Egghead even sooner, but there are still obstacles standing in the way of their escape.
How Can Luffy Escape The Five Elders?
Since nobody expected theFive Elders to turn up on Egghead, there is a lot of confusion about whether Luffy will be forced to fight all of them again, since it appears as if he has now chosen to flee. Due to their regenerative powers, Luffy cannot really inflict any lasting damage on any of the Five Elders at the moment, and it is only a matter of time before his stamina in Gear 5 runs out.
Naturally, the obvious choice here is to flee, but it is unlikely that the Five Elders will allow the crew to leave the island after witnessing everything that occurred there. It is hard to imagine the Straw Hats escaping without any consequences, even with theGiant Warrior Pirates on theirside, which brings in the possibility of one final twist to round off this arc’s narrative.
Whether this involves somebody from the crew stayingbehind to hold off the Five Elders, or an unforeseen calamity to change the status quo entirely, it will not be too long before the anser emerges. The thing that is still on everyone’s minds though, is whether Vegapunk will actually be allowed to relay his entire message, or if the Straw Hats will only learn what he has to say at their next destination.
Onward To Elbaf
Dorry and Brogy’s presence on the island has all but confirmed that the Straw Hat Pirateswill be heading to Elbaf afterthe end of the Egghead Incident. Quite a few long-awaited reunions have been set up for this arc, including one between Luffy and Shanks, as well as Nico Robin and Jaguar D. Saul’s first meeting after being separated during the Buster Call on Ohara.
Moreover, the giants' acknowledgment of Gear 5’s resemblance to Sun God Nika indicates that they may have more information about Luffy’s Devil Fruit and his connection to Joy Boy, which is perhaps the tantalizing piece of lore that could be unveiled in the next arc ofOne Piece.
