One Piece: Who Is the Man with the Burn Scars?
One Piece has an amazingly large number of secondary characters that have appeared over the series’ two-decade run. Many have been forgotten because they appeared early in the story, while some have remained secondary characters closely related to the lore’s past. The character who will be the focus of this article is an intriguing yet mysterious figure from the series. He is currently known as “the Man with the Burn Scars,” and while we know his name, he is still one of the series’ biggest mysteries. Who is he, and why is he so important? Keep reading to find out!
Hinokizu is a highly influential yet enigmatic figure
Now, Hinokizu was first mentioned in Chapter 1055/Episode 1083, but he has yet to make a personal appearance in the story. We don’t know what he looks like, whether he is a man or a woman, how old he is, who he works for, etc.; the only thing we know about Hinokizu is that he has a burn scar somewhere on his body, which explains his name (as well the official translation). As we will elaborate below, it could very well be that Hinokizu is not even his true name. So, who is this guy, and why is he so important that we are talking about him so much?
Well, you remember the Poneglyphs, right? As of the time of writing, Luffy’s crew has found three of the four Poneglyphs, and the location of the fourth is still unknown. No information has yet been released about this last Road Poneglyph. It is known that 25 years ago, he was on Fish-Man Island. Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, who know the location of the other Road Poneglyphs, do not know where this one is. The Poneglyph gives the indication of a point in the New World, and it is assumed that it will finally reveal the location of Laugh Tale.
How is Hinokizu related to all of this? Well, it is assumed that this enigmatic figure has the last Poneglyphs, having either acquired it or stolen it. This is why Hinokizu is respected even by the Four Emperors, despite the theories that he works for the World Government (see below). It has been said that finding him will be crucial in the journey to find the One Piece treasure, but the task is not easy.
It is said that Hinokizu sails in a completely black ship and that he can create whirlpools, but this has not been elaborated on further. All of this makes him a potentially dangerous foe, and it doesn’t seem like he is going to give the Poneglyph just like that. Be that as it may, his story is quite important and interesting, so we’re excited to find out more.
Who is Hinokizu actually?
Well, as for the identity of this character, we have nothing to add. He was initially mentioned as 火ノ傷 (Hinokizu) in the series, which was later as simply ヒノキズ in katakana, but the phrase actually means “Fire Wound,” i.e., “Burn Scar,” which is the official English translation as well. This means that it could very well be that Hinokizu is not the character’s real name, i.e., that it is just a nickname based on his most pronounced physical trait, as we do know that the person known as Hinokizu does have a scar somewhere on his body.
Also, while we are referring to Hinokizu as male (as per the official Wikia), it could turn out that the character is actually female; if that happens, we are going to make the necessary connections.
Be that as it may, who could Hinokizu be? Is it someone we have already seen in the series? We don’t know about a character with a burn scar on their body, so there is no straightforward candidate at this time. Some fans speculate that Monkey D. Dragon could be Hinokizu, based on his tattoos (which might be hiding his scar), as well as the fact that he causes (rain)storms wherever he is. It is known that Hinokizu can create whirlpools, which is a similar phenomenon. But this is just a theory, and we don’t really have any indication that Hinokizu is Dragon.
Hinokizu is most likely a new character who will be introduced to the series once the protagonists reach his location. There is an in-universe theory that Hinokizu might be working for the World Government, which could end up being true, but this is also something that we will have to wait for if we want a proper confirmation of that fact. It wouldn’t make sense for Oda to reuse an old character, seeing how he has created so many, and there is currently no silhouette that he has introduced and that we know of that could be used as Hinokizu.
Be that as it may, Hinokizu will certainly be introduced later in the series, and we hope that it will be quite soon, as Hinokizu’s story seems to be very interesting and important.
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!
