Warning: contains spoilers for Chapter 1047 of One Piece
The history of One Piece's world is extremely important to understanding the progression of the series, as well as the themes that writer Eichiro Oda is trying to convey. No one character embodies this more than the former King of Pirates, Gol D. Roger himself. The recent revelation about just why Gol D Roger was the strongest pirate of his era is perfectly in line with the themes of One Piece and speaks to the nature of Luffy’s progression through the New World.
Previous chapters of One Piece have been some of the series' most groundbreaking yet. After Luffy seemingly lost his battle with Kaido, everything changed. The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates proceeded to awaken his Devil Fruit and unlock his true potential with Gear 5. Far from the end of the battle though, that was just the beginning. Now, Kaido has been giving his all against Luffy. Even with his increased power though, Luffy's new power is still having a tough time breaking through Kaido.
Now, in Chapter 1047 of One Piece, it's becoming clear that Luffy is running out of time. In the midst of battle, Kaido reflects on Luffy’s growth as a Devil Fruit user, noting that he possesses an exceptionally powerful fruit. He amends this, however, by battering Luffy while explaining why a strong Devil Fruit power is not enough to seize control of the seas. Kaido tells Luffy that strong Devil Fruit powers are not enough to become Pirate King. He then goes on to finally confirm that Gol D. Roger had no Devil Fruit power and still became the Pirate King all because of his overwhelmingly powerful Haki. This confirms that even without any extraneous powers, Gol D. Roger was strong enough to dominate the top powers of the world, such as Whitebeard’s Quake Quake Fruit. Whitebeard’s fruit was shown to be capable of tearing entire seas asunder at Marineford, and yet somehow Gol D. Roger’s Haki was able to compete with even these ridiculous powers. Though Luffy may be strong now, nothing indicates he has come even close to the levels of power required to contend with characters like Whitebeard in his prime.
Kaido’s confirmation of Gol D. Roger’s lack of a Devil Fruit speaks volumes about how much distance Luffy has to cover in order to become the Pirate King. This reveals that a strong Devil Fruit is not enough to conquer the seas. It could also easily be setting up Luffy’s defeat at the hands of Kaido. Now that Luffy is backed into a corner and seemingly only has one powerful attack left, Kaido defeating Luffy with a more powerful Haki would only serve to solidify this theme. It seems as if now, more than ever, the raid on Onigashima is poised to fail.
With Kaido talking about how a powerful Devil Fruit is not enough to become Pirate King, it seems as if Luffy’s Awakening may have only been to set up his eventual failure. Kaido also has yet to even show off his own Awakening, while Luffy on the other hand is about to lose steam entirely. The legacy of Gol D. Roger is continually being expounded upon, and Luffy’s potential defeat in the next One Piece chapter may show readers just how far he is from attaining Roger’s legendary status.
Read Chapter 1047 of One Piece exclusively of Viz's Shonen Jump App.