The Straw Hats could potentially split up once more on Egghead in One Piece.

HIGHLIGHTS

 Luffy faces the Five Elders alone, facing the biggest challenge yet in the Egghead arc.
 On Egghead, Luffy, Dorry, and Brogy plan to confront the Elders to protect the crew.
 The plot thickens as the Straw Hats may split up, setting Elbaf as their regrouping spot.

One Piece is currently in the Egghead arc, and this part of the story is something that fans all over the world are very excited about. While the arc has already been going on for over a year now, fans can tell that, now, it is entering its final phase. It is clear for everyone to see that Egghead Island is currently at its climax, especially after observing the latest events in the story.

Luffy must perfect his Gear 5 in One Piece’s final saga to face stronger opponents.

In One Piece chapter 1109, fans got to see one of the members of the Five Elders, Saint Saturn, utilize his incredible powers and summon the remaining Elders to Egghead. This was an unprecedented move that could potentially see the Straw Hat Pirates split up, as they have done on many occasions in the past.

Luffy vs. The Five Elders

One Piece chapter 1110 is most definitely going to see Luffy up against the Five Elders. For those who do not remember, Saturn, using some mystical power, summoned all the Five Elders to Egghead at the end of the previous chapter. Saturn created four giant summoning circles on Egghead in front of Luffy, and all of them were surrounded by giant flames, as well as streaks of black lightning. Out of these portals, the remaining members of the Elders will emerge, and they will then go on to fight Luffy. This is something that is pretty much expected at this point in the story, and it also spells trouble for the Straw Hat pirate. Luffy was recently seen fighting against Saturn, and while he certainly dominated him in a fight, it was clear to see that Luffy was not actually able to damage him in any way.

This is quite troublesome for Luffy, given that now, instead of one, he has to fight against 5 of these powerful enemies. Luffy can’t damage one of them, so to beat all five is not going to be possible, even if he has the incredible power of Gear 5 at his disposal. The incredible regeneration rate of the Gorosei means that Luffy absolutely cannot do anything against them in combat, even if he’s able to hold the upper hand against one or two of them in combat.

Also, fans should remember that the goal of the Five Elders here is going to be to stop Dr. Vegapunk’s message from being spread to different parts of the world. Vegapunk needs 10 minutes to let the world prepare to receive his message, and subsequently, he will officially announce what he has to say pertaining to the truth of the world. As such, the Five Elders might even end up splitting up here. Some of them could end up staying behind and fighting Luffy, while others could actually go and try to enter the Labophase, so as to destroy the place where the message is coming from. Clearly, Luffy will have to do his best to hold the Five Elders at bay, however, he cannot do it alone.

The best way for Luffy to stop this gathering in front of him is going to be with aid. This aid is likely going to come from Dorry and Brogy, and together, these three will be up against Five Elders. This is certainly going to be an uphill battle for the Straw Hats, however, even with more numbers, Luffy cannot hold them down. Luffy’s best bet is going to be to hold them for 10 minutes, and then order the entire crew to escape from the island.

The Splitting Of The Straw Hats On Egghead

The Straw Hat Pirates are potentially going to be splitting up on the island of Egghead. This is simply down to the fact that Luffy cannot simply go back to his group without actually defeating the enemies in front of him. What makes this impossible is the fact that there are Five Elders in front of Luffy, and there is absolutely no way that he is defeating all of them right now. Luffy’s best bet is going to be to stay behind to hold them at bay, using his incredible powers. This will allow the rest of the Straw Hats to make their escape from Egghead and later on, meet up at some other place. Given that Elbaf has previously been described to be the next destination for the Straw Hat Pirates, it is highly likely that the crew will set it as their regrouping location.

Here is what One Piece mangaka Eiichiro Oda had to say about Dragon Ball Mangaka’s death Toriyama.

Luffy, along with Dorry and Brogy, will most certainly stay behind on Egghead, when the rest of the crew will escape. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to the fans. The Straw Hat Pirates have almost always split up. On Dress Rosa, this group split up, and while one half was to remain in the country, the other half went to Zou. Similarly, in Zou, half of the group went to Whole Cake Island, while the other half decided to go to the land of Wano. Something similar could happen here, only this time, the most important member of the group, the captain, is most likely to stay behind to protect the rest of his group, while the others will go their own way, setting Elbaf as their meeting place.

A Rescue Arc for Luffy?

The Straw Hat Pirates will never leave Luffy behind if he is in danger. For that reason, it is imperative for Luffy to give them confidence that he will deal with the threat at hand and that he will meet up with them once again. This means Luffy will send the crew off with confidence, however, whether he will win his battle or not remains to be seen. Luffy could perhaps hold his own in this battle, and then Dorry and Brogy, along with the Iron Giant who still sleeps on the island, could potentially help them out here. This would mean that Luffy will come to Elbaf a bit later than the other members of the crew.

Attentively, it could also be that Luffy will lose on Egghead. If that is the case, then, the World Government could potentially set an execution date for him, just as they did for Ace, to make an example out of him. This would then trigger a rescue arc for Luffy, which will see the Straw Hat Pirates regroup and summon the best of their allies. At the same time, this would also mean that the Straw Hat Grand Fleet could come into play here, bringing all 5,400 members in an attempt to go to war for Luffy. These are the two possibilities that Oda could potentially take on however, it does seem too early for Luffy to go to war with the Government. Still, Luffy having to stay behind on Egghead seems like a very safe bet at this point in time, given that there is no other way for the crew to successfully make an escape.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1110, is set to be March 17, 2024.