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Warning: Contains spoilers for One Piece volume #111.In the SBS ofOne Piecevolume #109, series creator Eiichiro Oda revealed the first details about Hanafuda, the Warlord Ace defeated before joining the Whitebeard Pirates. Originally, all that was known about Hanafuda was that he was known as the “King of Lizards” and liked to collect ancient Zoan Devil Fruits, but fans nonetheless latched onto him because of his design and various theory crafting surrounding his character.
One Piecevolume #109’s SBSdidn’t show off much of Hanafuda beyond the basics, but that’s changed as of volume #111 in a big way. Volume #111’s SBS went into further detail on Hanafuda’s backstory, and while there still isn’t a lot known about him,One Piecevolume #111’s SBS finally confirmed two of the biggest theories about Hanafuda and his relationship with Kaido and the Beast Pirates. It’s a great reveal to see play out, and ideally, it will lead to major developments later down the line.
One Piece’s Creator Finally Confirms Two Major Beast Pirates Theories
Everything We Just Learned About The Beast Pirates Explained
When Hanafuda was first revealed inOne Piecevolume #109’s SBS, fans quickly adopted two big theories about his possible connections toKaido and the Beast Pirates, and both were just made true. For starters, with Hanafuda’s hobby of collecting ancient Zoan Devil Fruits, people assumed that Hanafuda was another Warlord working for Kaido, and sure enough,One Piecevolume #111’s SBS confirmed the theory that Hanafuda was working for Kaido and providing him with Devil Fruits. Hanafuda’s death likely led to Kaido prioritizing SMILEs, so despite his lack of presence, he still left a major impact on the story.
The theory of Hanafuda being connected to Kaido also led to a theory involving Ulti and Page One of the Tobiroppo. An older SBS revealed that their father was an old friend of Kaido’s who left them in his care, and when people started theorizing that Hanafuda was connected to Kaido, they also started theorizing that Hanafuda was Ulti and Page One’s father. Sure enough,One Piecevolume #111’s SBS confirmed that Hanafuda was Ulti and Page One’s father, and that adds a lot more depth to their characters that was sadly missing from the Wano arc’s text.
One Piece’s Big Reveal Highlights The Biggest Missed Opportunity Of The Wano Arc
One Of The Wano Arc’s Biggest Shortcomings Explained
Volume #111’s SBS reinforces how Ulti and Page One were essentially adopted by Kaido after their father died, essentially making them Yamato’s foster siblings, but even with that, Ulti and Page One barely ever interacted with Yamato. Eiichiro Oda might not have had that planned out when he first wrote their characters, but even so,One Piecere-establishing that Ulti and Page One were adopted by Kaido further emphasizes how much of a missed opportunity it was to not have them interact with Yamato.
What makes things even worse is the specific reason Ulti and Page One were adopted by Kaido. Volume #111’s SBS revealed that Hanafuda was killed by pirates with a grudge against him after he lost his Warlord title, meaning that Ace was indirectly responsible for Hanafuda’s death. Naturally, that directly contrasts with Yamato’s friendship with Ace, soOne Piecemissed a perfect chance to further explore Yamato’s friendship with Ace by having Ulti and Page One hate Ace for his role in Hanafuda’s death, all of which highlights how many missed opportunities plaguedthe Wano arcfrom start to finish.
One Piece Still Has A Chance To Make Up For Its Major Wano Arc Mistake
How One Piece Can Finally Get Something Out Of Ulti & Page One
One Piecevolume #111’s SBS highlights how wasted Ulti and Page One were, but there’s a chance forOne Pieceto remedy that. The latest cover story revolves around Yamato traveling across Wano while looking into mysterious kidnappings, and in the latest installments, Ulti and Page One were revealed to have been made victims of the perpetrator, Who’s-Who. Naturally, Yamato will save them from Who’s-Who, and because of that,One Piececan use its new cover story to finally give Yamato the interactions with Ulti and Page One he should have had in the Wano arc.
Considering the history Ulti and Page One should have with Ace, even if Yamato does save them, they’re unlikely to get along with him at first, but Eiichiro Oda probably wouldn’t bring Ulti and Page One back just to have them get beaten up, soUlti and Page One’s returnwill ideally lead to them developing a real bond with Yamato like the SBS suggests they should have had. All of that is hypothetical, of course, but with everything that’s just been revealed, it would still be great forOne Pieceto capitalize on things in such a way.
