One Piece: Will Luffy Die? Here Are Our Theories!

Alongside Son Goku, Ash Ketchum, and probably Naruto, if there is one anime and manga character that does not need a detailed introduction, it is One Piece‘s protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy is the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates and is one of the most recognizable brand names in the world of anime and manga, which explains his popularity. Everyone knows about Luffy and that he is the protagonist of One Piece, but what will happen to him in the series? Will he die? Well, while we don’t have any official data on this (which is only natural), there are some theories that we are going to explain to you here!

Luffy has had numerous encounters that almost cost him his life and many fans think that he might die at the end…

Monkey D. Luffy is a truly amazing character and he has had some amazing adventures over the years. Of course, with such adventures comes danger, and Luffy has had his fair share of near-fatal encounters over the years, some of which we have mentioned above. Luffy has, of course, survived these encounters, but due to the damage taken, as well as the fact that his Gears shortened his lifespan, a lot of fans think that Luffy’s life might come to an end when the manga is over. So, what do we even know about the ending of One Piece:

D: A question for Odacchi!! Is it true that you will finish One Piece after five years? Even if it is true, such an official announcement is still hard for fans!! Lots of fans and friends I know were crying when they heard the sudden announcement! How do you intend to take responsibility?!! That’s what I’d like to say, but what I think I really want is for Odacchi to finally take a long vacation. P.N. pari_bentham

O: Yes it is. Rather than finishing the whole series, It’s that series will end, because the most exciting part of Luffy’s adventure, being the story of “What is One Piece?”, will come to its conclusion. Things are heating up in Wano Country right now, but if Luffy can set sail from here safely, there will be developments on a global scale, a thrilling story likes of which no one has even read before I’ll draw the “Greatest War” in One Piece history. It will be exciting!! In other words, I made such a announcement so readers could be mentally prepared to understand that even a story as long as this one is properly heading towards its end. That said, for now just take your time and enjoy Wano while its hot. I’ll be draw with all my strength!!

– SBS Volume 97, 2020

As you can see, One Piece is on track to end in 2025 (although this is not a confirmed date), and Oda has hinted that Luffy will experience numerous perils before the story ends, because of that, many fans think that Oda has been hinting at Luffy’s death for some time.

Comparing his story to Roger’s, many fans think that the adventure will simply take a toll on him and that he will fall sick, like Roger (although many fans also think that Chopper might heal him), and die. Also, many fans consider the fact that the Gears took a lot of his life from him and that he will face the consequences of his endeavors later.

While these theories are quite solid, they are not based on anything official; they are merely interpretations (most often retroactive ones) of some scenes, as some fans decided to connect some dots, but if you manage to connect two dots, that doesn’t mean that you connected the right ones and that the figure you draw will mean something.

Oda himself hasn’t confirmed any of this, and we don’t know what will happen to Luffy. Oda probably knows, but that might also change before the story ends. We will now tell you what we think about these theories and what will happen to Luffy.

… but that doesn’t seem likely

Based on everything we know about Luffy and Oda, as well as One Piece, the theories we have presented above don’t seem to be rather likely. Namely, it isn’t really characteristic of Oda to do such a thing, and having Luffy – who is only 19, mind you – die right after achieving his goal would be brutal and heartless in more ways than one. Luffy’s adventures have been in the spotlight for more than two decades and One Piece fans are eagerly awaiting the moment when the One Piece treasure is revealed and when Luffy becomes the new Pirate King, so imagine that – he just dies.

Okay, we know he won’t just roll over and die on the spot, but Luffy not getting to “lead” the free world would be a great injustice to the story and to him as a character, and knowing how Oda crafts his stories, this doesn’t seem like a likely outcome. Sure, the arguments comparing Luffy to Roger are solid, but why would Oda do the same thing twice? Isn’t the whole point of Luffy to elevate Roger’s story and his dream? To repeat it would just be stupid.

And yes, he could get sick, and yes, the Gears have shortened his life, but he is only 19 years old, and characters in One Piece (humans) live for about a century, so even if we take all of this into account, he could still live well past 50 years, which would still give him decades and decades. Sure, Luffy will eventually die as he is not immortal, but to have him become the King and then kill him off? It just doesn’t seem like something Eiichiro Oda would do.

One Piece has had its fair share of deaths and tragedies, but Oda seems to like and enjoy his story and his characters too much to do this to them. This would be a cruel end to Luffy’s fate and One Piece is a story that deserves a happy ending. We don’t know how much Luffy has left, but regardless of all the theories, we don’t see him dying right after achieving his goal.

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