Discussion Who will be the last opponent?

[Anduren]

In almost all the arcs we've seen it always end up being a race against time towards the end of the arc (Arabasta, Skypea, Ennies Lobby, Impel Down, Marineford war, etc.)
So I can imagine Luffy is going to be racing to Raftel to beat Blackbeard from getting there first. At the same time I would expect the World Government (with the warlords) to want to stop them from getting there chasing after them with the intent to stop them both at all cost preparing for an incident the same way they did with the war with Whitebeard. I think what made Gol D. Roger the most hated man by the WG was the fact that he reached Raftel and learned the true history which is why they would want to step in at this point.
I also expect at this time for Shanks to step in to intercept and delay Blackbeard while the revolutionaries and/or "Big Mom" (if she ends up being related to Lola) and the leftovers of the Whitebeard pirates to intercept the world government forces to slow them down to let Luffy reach Raftel.
I'm just basing my predictions on a few things that has to happen at the end of the story:
- Luffy has to give Shanks back the straw hat, which can happen before or after their encounter near Raftel.
- Zoro has to fight Mihawk in an all out battle.
- There has to be a contest of wills for the will of D. as Whitebeard said: Blackbeard wasn't the one Roger was waiting for, so Luffy has to prove it with his will of D vs Blackbeards', and I think it is more of a battle of fate than a physical battle (the way most of Blackbeard's crewmembers keep bringing up fate and luck)

There are other predictions I would add about the end of the story but since the topic is just "Who will be the last opponent?" I will stop here.

 

[suraj5898]

i think it will be WG . because hero always fight against evil caption in the end .i would say BB is evil but not on WG's level.
fight will happen after luffy find one piece and he will be not alone he will have his father's support and other big pirates. in this war i think we will see Gorosei in action

i wanted to ask something
i remember someone said when ohara was destroy and Gorosei we see right now r same person and same age if that true do u guys think Gorosei where there when WG created ?????????? we have seen lot of supernatural/nonhuman thing like DF(superpower) and creature like fish-man, cyborg may be they r vampire type immortal because we see 3 fleet admiral and lot of low level become Vice Admiral

 

[EddyBob15]

I'm tied between Blackbeard and Akainu.

 

[Naruffy]

I think it's going to be Akainu. Luffy seems to view him as more of a threat, and feel like Oda's foreshadowing points to the WG being the last enemy.

 

[M3J]

If it's in terms of power, Blackbeard would be the final opponent as he's one of the most powerful pirate, being able to use darkness, make other DF users' abilities useless and hittable, and be able to use WB's DF gift. Luffy's definitely gonna be challenged by him, though I'm not sure if haki will work, or haki with DF. Had Ace known haki, I think he'd have been able to damage Blackbeard. I dunno what Luffy's strength without his DF is.

In terms of more, it could be Akainu and WG. Luffy's ultimate obstacle to overcome is WG, and Akainu will pursue him relentlessly since he's the son of Dragon and has disgraced the Marines plenty of time. Because of haki though, I don't thing Akainu will be as challenging as he was before.

Not sure which would be more symbolic.

 

[rosco12]

Personaly, I think it will be the gorousei. They are the leader of the world. Plus, they know the true history or at least part of it, unlike Blackbeard and Akainu.
I imagine that Blackbeard will be fought just before or at Raftel (maybe Buggy tells him the way). After learning the true history and be acknowledged pirate king, Luffy will lead a fleet of his allies and maybe revolutionary against the WG. Akainu Will lead the marine force sent to oppose them and fall. Finally, they'll continue to Mariejoa and face the gorusei.

 

[Kaiten]

If it's in terms of power, Blackbeard would be the final opponent as he's one of the most powerful pirate, being able to use darkness, make other DF users' abilities useless and hittable, and be able to use WB's DF gift. Luffy's definitely gonna be challenged by him, though I'm not sure if haki will work, or haki with DF. Had Ace known haki, I think he'd have been able to damage Blackbeard. I dunno what Luffy's strength without his DF is.

In terms of more, it could be Akainu and WG. Luffy's ultimate obstacle to overcome is WG, and Akainu will pursue him relentlessly since he's the son of Dragon and has disgraced the Marines plenty of time. Because of haki though, I don't thing Akainu will be as challenging as he was before.

Not sure which would be more symbolic.

I think the final battle will be more a matter of plot and timing than strength. As a fellow pirate, Blackbeard is a rival for Pirate King. It would make sense if he is the last challenge before reaching Raftel, with the title of Pirate King at stake. I expect a final battle between Luffy, his allies, and the World Government after he becomes Pirate King. The Government will move to arrest and execute him, triggering a final war. I expect Akainu will lead Government forces in the war, he will fight Luffy near the end of the manga.

Personaly, I think it will be the gorousei. They are the leader of the world. Plus, they know the true history or at least part of it, unlike Blackbeard and Akainu.
I imagine that Blackbeard will be fought just before or at Raftel (maybe Buggy tells him the way). After learning the true history and be acknowledged pirate king, Luffy will lead a fleet of his allies and maybe revolutionary against the WG. Akainu Will lead the marine force sent to oppose them and fall. Finally, they'll continue to Mariejoa and face the gorusei.

That is exactly what I think as well. Luffy will defeat Akainu first, break the fleet, and move on to Mariejoa. Mariejoa will be the final arc, with the Strawhats confronting the Gorousei. It would not surprise me if Mariejoa is a full arc, with the last fight coming fifty chapters after they set sure, with some time spent for revealing the final details of the One Piece world.

---------- Post added at 11:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:10 AM ----------

I updated the poll. Most of the selections made sense when the thread was started in 2007, not so much in 2012.

 

[matzik1212]

I think BB will be the last of Luffy. He's a unique existence so far and we know that he has his eyes on Luffy and will definitely try to destroy him and likewise i'm sure Luffy holds a deep grudge against BB for capturing Ace and leading to his death .

 

[EddyBob15]

Well, I can guess one thing: Luffy's probably going to fight Kidd before Blackbeard.

 

[M3J]

I think BB will be the last of Luffy. He's a unique existence so far and we know that he has his eyes on Luffy and will definitely try to destroy him and likewise i'm sure Luffy holds a deep grudge against BB for capturing Ace and leading to his death .

why would he have his eyes on Luffy? Apart from Luffy wanting revenge, I don't think Blackbeard cares about Luffy, especially when he's pretty much the most powerful pirate.

Though, I think Kaiten is probably right. WG would serve as Luffy's final opponent as they're the biggest obstacle to him becoming a pirate king. Though in terms of power, I think Blackbeard ranks higher than Akainu, so it'd be hard to imagine Akainu bein a challenge if Luffy's beaten Blackbeard.

 

[Zoronoa Roro]

i think that finale will be something like 3 way sex between SH, BB & WG bcz Luffy will become pirate king before end of the series where BB will move to take his title and WG will move to eliminate threat. it will be Luffy and allies ws WG ws BB where later will be so powerfull that everything we saw so far will be uncomparable so SH will have to use that third weapon

 

[Kaiten]

why would he have his eyes on Luffy? Apart from Luffy wanting revenge, I don't think Blackbeard cares about Luffy, especially when he's pretty much the most powerful pirate.

Once Luffy makes a name for himself in the New World he likely will catch Blackbeard's eye. Blackbeard seems the type of guy who would take note of all potential rivals, and try to defeat them while they are weak. By the end of the series I expect Blackbeard and Luffy to be the closest to finding One Piece, forcing a battle to become Pirate King.

Though, I think Kaiten is probably right. WG would serve as Luffy's final opponent as they're the biggest obstacle to him becoming a pirate king. Though in terms of power, I think Blackbeard ranks higher than Akainu, so it'd be hard to imagine Akainu bein a challenge if Luffy's beaten Blackbeard.

The World Government will be forced to react if Luffy reaches Raftel. Once he becomes Pirate King I presume they will treat him like Roger, an enemy so dangerous his entire bloodline must be eliminated. Unlike Roger, Luffy will have no reason to turn himself in, forcing the World Government to declare war. Akainu would lead the Navy to war, much like Sengoku lead the war against Whitebeard.

I also do not believe Akainu is as strong as Blackbeard individually, but having command of the entire Navy evens out their strength. When Luffy fights Akainu he will be fighting the entire Navy. Blackbeard has a strong crew but not as large, nor is he supported by multiple Admirals, Vice-Admirals, and Captains.

 

[EddyBob15]

Whether or not he'll be the last opponent, Luffy WILL fight Akainu. Not for revenge for what killing Ace, but for something else. Think about it, Luffy said that he wanted to become stronger than Ace, right? So, if you were Luffy, what better way to prove you had become stronger than Ace than by fighting the person who defeated Ace?

 

[M3J]

Once Luffy makes a name for himself in the New World he likely will catch Blackbeard's eye. Blackbeard seems the type of guy who would take note of all potential rivals, and try to defeat them while they are weak. By the end of the series I expect Blackbeard and Luffy to be the closest to finding One Piece, forcing a battle to become Pirate King.

I also pegged him as a guy who'd take on challenges. He was competing with Luffy at the restaurant before Bellamy confronted Luffy. He hasn't directly killed Ace, and as far as I know, he's only killed one person.

Doubt Blackbeard would let the Supernovas go as they'd pose a challenge to him or be of risk to him as time passed by. Blackbeard could have also gone after Luffy in Impel Down, but he chose not to.

The World Government will be forced to react if Luffy reaches Raftel. Once he becomes Pirate King I presume they will treat him like Roger, an enemy so dangerous his entire bloodline must be eliminated. Unlike Roger, Luffy will have no reason to turn himself in, forcing the World Government to declare war. Akainu would lead the Navy to war, much like Sengoku lead the war against Whitebeard.

I also do not believe Akainu is as strong as Blackbeard individually, but having command of the entire Navy evens out their strength. When Luffy fights Akainu he will be fighting the entire Navy. Blackbeard has a strong crew but not as large, nor is he supported by multiple Admirals, Vice-Admirals, and Captains.

Why at Raftel? Why not before that? Marines should be trying to take Luffy out as soon as possible since SHP gains strength each adventure they're in.

But Blackbeard has two of the most powerful abilities. Yami yami no mi (?) was able to suck in a whole town (?) and was apparently enough to beat Ace. He could take out a lot of Marines with ability, especially with the one he stole from Whitebeard. I don't remember if long-range DF moves, like Akainu's daifuku (volcanic explosion) could hurt Blackbeard, but close-quarters combat seem to be in his favor. Though, haki might work.

Though, Blackbeard did run away from Shanks and possibly Marine, so who knows?


Though, Smoker could be Luffy's last opponent in the series. It'd probably be Garp vs. Roger kind of thing, both fight but not kill each other.

 

[matzik1212]

why would he have his eyes on Luffy? Apart from Luffy wanting revenge, I don't think Blackbeard cares about Luffy, especially when he's pretty much the most powerful pirate.

I think BB does care about Luffy . Actually i bet once he hears that he's back and has reached the NW he'll want to know more about him and possibly will try to eliminate him . The reason i think this will happen is 'cause he doesn't stand people more infamous than him and LUffy has always exceeded his expectations . Plus BB likes the way Luffy thinks and that was proved in Mock Town so he knows that he's a troublesome opponent.

 

[EddyBob15]

You guys seem to be forgetting what Jinbe said. Blackbeard and his crew are hunting for powerful DF users. That means, if Luffy's power keeps increasing, he's bound to become a target.

 

[matzik1212]

You guys seem to be forgetting what Jinbe said. Blackbeard and his crew are hunting for powerful DF users. That means, if Luffy's power keeps increasing, he's bound to become a target.

Hmm don't know about that . I mean yeah Luffy will become more stronger that's for sure but i don't think BB has an interest in his DF . After all i personally think the person using the DF is also very important not just the fruit itself . Anyway BB will put his eyes on Luffy again pretty soon IMO .

 

[EddyBob15]

Hmm don't know about that . I mean yeah Luffy will become more stronger that's for sure but i don't think BB has an interest in his DF . After all i personally think the person using the DF is also very important not just the fruit itself . Anyway BB will put his eyes on Luffy again pretty soon IMO .

Then why else would Jinbe warn him?

 

[matzik1212]

Then why else would Jinbe warn him?

Jimbei just gave him a warning to be careful of BB 'cause he targets strong DF but I personally think BB isn't interested in Luffy's DF, at least atm I don't know in the future though . He might develop an interest in his DF 'cause of Luffy , everything it's possible .

 

[beck26]

if blackbeard would target strong devil fruits...it would be guys that are already irrelevant in the story imo.

sengoku = buddha devil's fruit (for him?)
diamond jozu = diamond fruit for shiryuu? (so zoro can cut diamond)
marco the phoenix = phoenix fruit (lafitte? blackbeard?)
uruoge = muscle fruit (for jesus burgess?)

i do think the original members will be the only guys who would be given a devil's fruit....the prisoners (pizzaro, devon, wolf, vasco) looks strong enough.

for the record, i think doc Q got the sick-sick/infection-infection/virus-virus fruit. and lafitte got one too.