By Rei Penber
After over 20 years of serialization, One Piece looks to be nearing its end. Fans know that the finale is on the horizon, but how close is it really?
Eiichiro Oda's magnum opus, One Piece has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump since 1997. One Piece follows the story of Monkey D. Luffy, a young pirate who lives during the time of the Great Pirate Era ushered by the Pirate King himself. With the aim of attaining wealth, fame, power, and most importantly, the One Piece, Luffy sets out to sea on a grand adventure the likes of which have never been seen before.
Since 1997, Oda has been consistently drawing Luffy's journey towards becoming the King of the Pirates but even after almost 25 years, the story isn't finished. Luffy's journey continues and, by the looks of it, will continue for the foreseeable future. Yet, the author of One Piece has repeatedly made it known that One Piece is nearing its end and will end within the next few years.
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How Close Is Luffy To The One Piece?
When it comes to the story of One Piece, it is safe to say that it is nearing its endgame. The Wano Country arc marks the beginning of the end for One Piece as Luffy is finally getting closer to his goal than ever before. On Onigashima, Luffy has proved himself to be powerful enough to fight Yonko Kaido, the strongest creature in the world of One Piece, in a one-on-one battle. Inevitably, Luffy will end up defeating Kaido and his victory against the Yonko will officially see him rise to the level of the greatest pirates. Having become one of the very strongest, it is no surprise that there isn't a long way to go in the story.
Even when the goal to reach Laugh Tale and finding the One Piece is taken into consideration, Luffy is extremely close to achieving it. Including the Yonko, Luffy is already the closest man to the One Piece, having two out of the four Road Poneglyphs already. In comparison, both Big Mom and Kaido have one Road Poneglyph each, which just goes to show that Luffy is already closer to the greatest treasure than they are. With Kaido's defeat, Luffy will take yet another step towards becoming the Pirate King by acquiring the third Road Poneglyph, leaving room for just one more before the crew sets sail to Laugh Tale.
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Interestingly, according to Oda, once the Wano Country arc ends, fans will know more about the One Piece treasure and that the Wano Country arc itself is heavily related to the question of what the One Piece is. Evidently, the conclusion of the Wano Country arc means that Luffy is now very close to becoming the Pirate King and that his journey isn't as long now.
All things considered, One Piece has very few arcs left now. With Luffy already among the strongest, the likes of Elbaf, Lodestar, and Emerald City might be explored in the story. Once the Laugh Tale arc wraps up, fans still have the Great War to experience, meaning One Piece has around 4 major arcs left at best.
How Close Is One Piece To Ending Really?
Originally, Eiichiro Oda's One Piece was supposed to end around 2002 and according to the author himself, the story was to last for just five years. Luffy's journey, which is so massive, was originally going to be about the fight against the pirates called the Yonko. However, Oda then introduced the idea of the Shichibukai. According to him, this is a massive part of why One Piece ended up becoming as long as it did. The Shichibukai added a lot of depth to the story and made Oda expand the various themes of the story further. In 2019, Oda mentioned that he will end One Piece in the next five years. In 2020, Oda reaffirmed his plans to end One Piece within five years. But once again, this is likely not going to happen.
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Just as Oda miscalculated how long One Piece would go on for, a few of his other estimates have turned out to be extremely off in the past. For instance, Eiichiro Oda planned to wrap up the Alabasta arc a few years before it actually ended. Furthermore, Oda's Jump Festa statements have also proven to be quite inaccurate when it comes to the timeline of One Piece. During Jump Festa 2020, Oda announced that in the coming year the likes of Hanco*ck, Sabo, and Vivi could be in danger and the story would explore things related to them. While this will eventually happen, it certainly didn't happen when Oda said it would. At the same time, Oda mentioned Shanks finally making his move in the manga in the 2021 Jump Festa, only for the Wano Country arc to continue throughout the year.
In fact, the Wano Country arc is still in its climax and will likely take over half a year before it wraps up. Given that fans still have the conclusion of the arc, then a major arc such as Elbaf left, along with the journey to islands such as Laugh Tale and then then the biggest war in the history of the series, there is absolutely no way for One Piece to end by 2024, which is when Oda expected it to end.
If anything, One Piece certainly won't end anytime before 2025. The consensus among the fans is that One Piece still has around 5-6 years left, meaning the story will likely end close to 2027. However, while the end of One Piece may be some years away, Luffy's journey is quite close to ending as he's already become a splendid pirate and is now extremely close to accomplishing his goal. Once the Wano Country arc concludes, the story will officially enter its endgame and the fans should sit back and enjoy the last years of the masterpiece that is One Piece to the fullest.
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