Warning: SPOILERS for One Piece #1061Since entering its final saga, two key questions circulating among One Piece fandom have been what's waiting for Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates on Laugh Tale and how will that affect the world its come to be known over the last 25 years.
For most of his life, Luffy has been sailing the Four Seas searching for Gol D Roger's One Piece treasure. Rogers had been the greatest pirate in the history of the world, largely because he was the last pirate to locate the treasure on Laugh Tale island. Though no one truly knows what the One Piece treasure actually is, the common belief has been that whoever finds the treasure will also claim his title as the "Pirate King." While it would be completely normal for One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda to want to keep the One Piece mystery as secret until the last possible moment, Oda is famous for his use of Easter eggs. It would not be outside the realm of possibility for Oda to resolve the mystery hidden in plain sight.
Any fan wanting to find clues to the series' future might want to take a look at the cover for One Piece Chapter 1060. At first glance, there is nothing strange about the image. Oda often includes ensemble pictures of Luff and the Straw Hats. However, a closer look will reveal that written on the white wall behind the character is the phrase "Be Happy" and on the polar bear at the bottom is the phrase "We stand for Liberty".
The One Piece Will Prove What Makes the Straw Hats so Special
At any other time during the manga's run, the two statements could be written off, but when taken in the context of the final saga, they take on a different meaning. First, if there's one trait that Luffy and the Straw Hats have consistently exhibited all these years is the love of fun and to be happy. The conclusion of so many adventures has ended with the crew partying and enjoying themselves. While being happy can mean different things to different people, for Luffy and One Piece's Straw Hat pirates, happiness seems to mean being yourself and living your dream. Second, in order to achieve the happiness that they desire, the pirates must have the freedom, or liberty to do as they please. To be sure, they have never been known to blindly obey rules, standards, or traditions.
How The Straw Hats Swill Use the One Piece
What this likely means is that Luffy and the Straw Hats are not likely to hoard over the One Piece, whatever it is, like a traditional pirate crew. Instead, they are more likely to use it to liberate the world from the bonds that limit it and liberate the people to be happy. There are a number of ways that this can occur but the most consequential would be eliminating the barriers that hamper the free movement of people and ideas across the seas from island to island. This was most recently illustrated in the liberation of Wano Country. Naturally, this would require replacing One Piece's villainous World Government, with a more democratic administration and eliminating the most treacherous pirates. But it's what Luffy has been doing in One Piece from the start, and unlikely to change even with Gol D Roger's treasure.
One Piece is now available to read on Viz Media.