Luffy defeating Kaidō has been one of the biggest milestones of his career as a pirate. It officially made him one of the Four Emperors and established him as one of the strongest living characters in the world of One Piece. However, Luffy beating Kaidō has created a problem for the story from a narrative standpoint.
Now that Luffy is powerful enough to beat the world’s strongest being, it’s less feasible anyone below that level can inspire equal feelings of danger. A similar problem will likely plague the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates now that they’re an Emperor-level crew. Suddenly, all the villains fans were excited to see make a big return don’t seem like they’ll be able to put up a decent fight anymore. Unless Luffy and his friends are going up against the small handful of people left who can still reasonably challenge them, every fight they enter is expected to be a tensionless blowout. Any plot point suggesting otherwise risks coming off as contrived.
Can Anyone Still Challenge the Straw Hats?
The first major victims of the narrative dilemma that is Luffy vs. Kaidō were Rob Lucci and CP0. As soon as they were confirmed to be major antagonists for the Egghead Arc, many fans were excited to see a rematch between Lucci and Luffy. At the same time, many were certain this would be an easy win for the Straw Hat captain, unlike their previous encounter when it was one of his most intense fights ever. Right or wrong, this same issue will likely pop up for Crocodile, Eneru, the dethroned Emperors, and every other past enemy who is expected to make a big comeback.
This issue applies to potential future opponents as well. This includes Eustass Kid, Trafalgar Law, the rest of the Worst Generation, Edward Weevil, and whoever else may show up in the coming story arcs. Now that Luffy is the new strongest being, he’s expected to overpower just about anyone who comes his way.
The only groups left who seem to pose a threat to Luffy and his crew are the Blackbeard Pirates, the Red Hair Pirates, the Marines, and the World Government. Even then, it’s only because the leaders of these groups are candidates to be Luffy’s final opponent in the series. Therefore, unless Luffy is fighting either Blackbeard, Shanks, Sakazuki, or Imu, most fans doubt he’ll have any trouble. Similarly, the rest of the Straw Hats shouldn’t have an issue unless they’re fighting people from one of these three groups.
Are There Any 70x1v39″ title=”tough”>Tough Opponents in the Egghead Arc?
The best chance for higher stakes in the Egghead Arc is the encroaching Admiral Kizaru. The consensus is that an Admiral should be able to give an Emperor a hard time, albeit with great difficulty on their part. Luffy may be an Emperor now, but he only just got the title and he’s yet to defeat an Admiral, especially not Kizaru. At the very least the result of this fight should come off as a little more debatable than that of his fight with Lucci.
From there, the rest of the Straw Hats should have their hands full with CP0. If Lucci is strong enough to keep pace with a Gear Five Luffy, then he should also be able to give at least one of his commanders a run for their money. The rest of the Straw Hats should have their hands full with the other CP0 agents and the Seraphim who currently answer to them. These are the best matchups the arc can offer as things stand.
As for whether the Straw Hats are in any genuine danger, that’s tough to say. Luffy defeating a powerful enemy like Kaidō so early in the story has made him and the Straw Hats out to be nigh invincible. They’ll probably come out on top in the Egghead Arc, but it might have helped for it to at least feel like they would need to struggle to do it.
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