One Piece is kicking off a whole new era for Luffy as the long running series heads into its final saga, and the newest chapter of the series revealed Luffy’s first big declaration as one of the new Emperors of the Sea! The Wano Country saga had been exploring the immediate aftermath of the fight against Kaido and Big Mom with the latest chapters of the series. The final saga of the manga might have started, but there was still plenty to work out before Luffy and the Straw Hats went back into the open sea. Namely, Luffy needed to settle with his new promotion.
One of the biggest updates for the status of the world outside of Wano was the reveal that Luffy was named one of the new Emperors following his defeat of Kaido. Luffy himself had been playing with the new role as he used it to get under Eustass Kid’s skin in the first few chapters of the final saga so far, but the newest chapter of the series saw him making his first real declaration as an Emperor. Now using his new position to benefit Wano, he gave Momonosuke Kozuki a Straw Hat crew flag to remind everyone else that the island is forever under the protection of his crew.
Chapter 1057 of One Piece officially brings the Wano Country arc to an end, and with the final moments sees Momonosuke making his tearful farewell to Luffy and the others. Before they leave, however, Luffy tells Momonosuke that he recognizes him as a little brother and even invites he, Kin’emon, and Yamato out to sea with his crew when they are ready to be pirates. But for now, Luffy knew that Momonosuke would continue to be the scared child he used to be. Thus he decides to give Wano a Straw Hat Crew black flag.
Declaring that he should fly the flag over Wano so everyone sees it, Luffy states that if anyone messes with his crew they pick a fight with him. So now much like we used to see Whitebeard, Big Mom and more use their flags as a symbol of protection from the Emperors in the past, Luffy’s flag is now being used to protect Wano with his new position as Emperor. Luffy’s made note of how these kinds of roles aren’t really his style, but this is a natural extension of just how much he’s grown heading into the grand finale.
It’s likely far from the only move we’ll see Luffy making as a new Emperor of the Seas, but what did you think of his declaration? Which territories would you want to see him offer protection to next? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!
