Warning: contains spoilers for One Piece chapter 1056!
As Eiichiro Oda's One Piece heads towards its inevitable conclusion, more and more hints about how the story is going to end are being dropped. Most recently, the mention of a mysterious man marked by flames has shocked the One Piece world, as supposedly he has a clue as to where Gol D. Roger’s legendary treasure is hiding.
In chapter 1056 of One Piece, Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates are seen about to leave Wano Country after the defeat of Kaido. In the previous chapter, Law and Robin found the Road Poneglyph deep underneath thanks to Kozuki Oden’s grandfather, Sukiyaki. As everyone is packing up, Trafalgar D. Law gives Eustass “Captain” Kid and his right-hand man Killer a copy of the Road Poneglyph. In a strange move, Law claims that it wouldn't be sporting to keep the discovery of the Poneglyph a secret. Killer reacts to this with surprise, telling Kid that if they’re going to get serious about finding the One Piece, they should begin by looking for a man "marked by flames."
This information comes out of left field, as within the context of the series, there hasn’t really been a character who stood out as being burnt or marked by flames. If this character is a new one, then just like Kid and Killer, readers have no leads on who it may be. There does exist one possibility, however, and it may have to do with a character that's become increasingly more relevant as the story of One Piece transitioned into the New World. This character would be the former Admiral, Aokiji. During the timeskip of two years that took place after the events of Marineford, it was revealed that Aokiji was nominated for the role of Fleet Admiral by Sengoku. Despite this, the Celestial Dragons strongly supported Akainu for this position, something which infuriated Aokiji. Aokiji refused to work under Akainu and the two battled for ten days straight on the island Punk Hazard, permanently changing its weather from their cataclysmic conflict. In the end, Aokiji lost and was permanently scarred by Akainu’s magma.
However, the odds that Aokiji is in fact the man Kid and Killer were talking about are quite slim. Though a few characters have speculated that Aokiji has since allied himself with the world of underground information brokers or Blackbeard, he hasn’t been seen to care about the One Piece. It’s more likely that Kid and Killer are referring to another pirate, possibly even Scopper Gaban, Gol D. Roger’s old crewmate. It could even be a completely new character from Roger’s era of piracy.
Whatever the case may be, One Piece has opened up a massive can of worms by hinting at a character so relevant to the series’ final goal so late in the run. This secret new character is likely to be an incredible source of speculation in the coming One Piece chapters as Luffy and his crew get closer and closer to Gol D. Roger’s legendary treasure.
One Piece chapter 1056 is available now via the Viz Media website.