One Piece: Blackbeard’s Next Target, Explained

One Pieceis in its Final Saga, and here, the vast majority of the focus is going to be on the new Emperors that were recently established in the series, and at the same time, other major players, such as those of the Revolutionary Army, the top tiers of the World Government, and, of course, their military face, the Marines. When it comes to the pirates specifically, fans know that the new Emperors are going to be at the center of things. Luffy, being the protagonist, is always going to be at the forefront of things. However, alongside him, the likes of Shanks, Buggy, and Blackbeard are also going to be heavily involved in this part of the story.

In fact, everything that Oda has done in his story so far has led up to this point, which makes the Final Saga extremely special. When speaking of Blackbeard, fans know that he’s one of the major antagonists in the entire series, and while he has not been focused on all that much in the Egghead Island arc, despite having his moments, fans know for a fact that as the story progresses, Blackbeard is going to grow in terms of importance and that he will get his proper time. Fans need to look at what’s next for this individual in One Piece, starting with the Elbaf Arc.

Blackbeard’s First Target In The Final Saga

Blackbeard Could Target The Person Will The Next Road Poneglyph

The Final Saga of One Piece began with the New Emperors having shaken up the era completely. Having recently left Wano and still carrying injuries, fans knew for a fact that the new generation were going to be easy targets for many, including the likes of Blackbeard. In fact, the reason why Shanks was in the seas around Wano was to look out for Blackbeard in the first place. This is because Shanks knows Blackbeard the best and he did know that he would try something like attacking the new generation when they are at their weakest. While that did not exactly happen, Blackbeard was waiting on one of the Logpose routes from the land of Wano.

Unfortunately for the Surgeon of Death, he was the one faced by Blackbeard. Law fought against Blackbeard on Winner Island, and this battle was incredibly chaotic. Despite Law using his newly awakening powers, he was not able to defeat Blackbeard, and this was expected. This is especially true because Law’s crew is incredibly weak. The Blackbeard Pirates, on the other hand, are incredibly powerful, especially thanks to their newly acquired abilities. Eventually, despite law dealing quite a lot of damage to Blackbeard, he was not able to defeat him and fell in battle. Blackbeard stole his Road Poneglyphs and would have stolen his ability as well, had it not been for Bepo. Law ended up becoming his first target, but he certainly is not his last.

Blackbeard will soon move to his next target and this is simply down to the fact that fans know how he operates. He wants to become the King of the entire world, and this is a goal that was recently revealed to the fans in the Egghead Island Arc. He will not stop until he gets his hands on all the Road Poneglyphs, and later down the line, he even plans on taking on the World Government and dismantling them in one way or another. Blackbeard needs the other Poneglyphs, which means that his next target is likely going to be someone with more stones.

Blackbeard’s Next Target

Blackbeard Might Target A Very Beloved Character Next

When taking into consideration Blackbeard’s next targets, only two individuals come to mind. The prerequisite for someone to be Blackbeard’s next target is simply for this individual to hold Road Poneglyphs. When speaking of Law, fans know for a fact that he had the Poneglyphs of Kaido, and the one from Zou. These two Road Poneglyphs were most likely taken by Blackbeard. He still needs the Road Poneglyph from Big Mom, and of course, the final one from the Man with the Burn Scar. Now, there can be two possibilities here. The first possibility is that Blackbeard has already acquired Big Mom’s Poneglyph.

Fans need to remember that the Blackbeard Pirates recently invaded Whole Cake Island. Kuzan and Van Augur successfully kidnapped Pudding. It is unknown whether they secure Big Mom’s Poneglyph or not, however, with the Yonko not being present there, not being able to do so would have been a massive missed opportunity.

However, for now, fans do not know whether he actually has access to Big Mom’s Poneglyph or not. The only people who have access to Big Mom’s Poneglyph right now are Luffy, and Shanks. Luffy stole the Poneglyph when he visited Whole Cake Island. Meanwhile, Shanks acquired the Poneglyph from defeating Eustass Kid and taking all that he had. As such, Blackbeard’s next targets are likely going to be either Luffy or Shanks.

When taking into consideration the fact that Blackbeard and Luffy are likely not going to meet properly until much later in the Final Saga, the only target that one can point to at this point is Shanks. This is especially true because fans know that Shanks himself is on the hunt for Blackbeard and is currently sailing towards him. Shanks is going to confront Blackbeard at some point in the Final Saga, and this bodes well for Blackbeard as well. At this point in time, his crew is almost complete and everyone has acquired Devil Fruit powers. Meanwhile, Blackbeard himself is at the peak of his abilities, and he is now ready to take on the Red-Haired Emperor and acquire Big Mom’s Poneglyph from him. This is going to be an incredibly exciting battle that fans have waited years for, and the result of this battle cannot be predicted at all.

Blackbeard’s Endgame And Battle Against Luffy

Blackbeard Will Shake The One Piece World In The Final Saga

When it comes to Blackbeard’s endgame, fans know that Oda has grand plans for him. He cannot be defeated way too early in the Final Saga. As such, if Blackbeard does end up fighting against Shanks before he ends up clashing with Luffy, it is likely that this battle will either end in a stalemate, or that Blackbeard will end up winning in one way or another. Blackbeard has to fight against Luffy at some point later down the line, and that is incredibly important. At the same time, fans need to remember that Luffy has to meet Shanks as well and these two have to have a proper battle. If Shanks and Blackbeard meet before Luffy meets Shanks as well, then it is all but settled that the duel between Blackbeard and Shanks is going to be a tie.

Perhaps, the Blackbeard Pirates will use their trickery to get Shanks’s Poneglyphs without actually having to defeat him. From there onwards, Blackbeard can then turn his attention to the Man with the Burn Scar. It is highly likely that Blackbeard’s battle against Luffy will happen over the last Road Poneglyph, as whoever acquires that will essentially become the Pirate King.

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 1118, is set to be June 25, 2024.