#(It's not gonna be Bonney and Kuma) (Like I'm POSITIVE they're foreshadowing some of what's to come but they're not the final heart)

[moongothic]

All the specific theories aside, I do also want to quickly point out how like.

Like arc and saga tends to center around some character(s) and their stories, the Strawhats and their actions becoming key parts in moving the main side-character(s)'s emotional arc forward and helping them grow as people

Like Arlong Park, Enies Lobby and Whole Cake Island were about Nami, Robin, Franky & Usopp and Sanji respectively, those are obvious. Just like Alabasta was about Vivi, Dressrosa about Law, Rebecca and Kyros, Wano about Momonosuke, Kin'emon and co, Egghead is about Bonney and Kuma. Skypiea was about the Shandians (and Norland and co), Punk Hazard about the kids, I could go on forever

The point is that... surely, the Final Saga is surely going to have a character (or few) to center around. Someone whose emotional arc is going to become the core of the story, a beating heart for Luffy and co help and save, just like every other saga. But while I'm sure a Strawhat or two is going to still go through some character development in these Final Days of the story, we aren't getting another Enies Lobby/Whole Cake Island at this point I'm pretty damn sure, not when we have like 100-150 chapters left in the best case scenario (unless Oda's estimation for the Final Saga's lenght was WAY FUCKING OFF)

But that just leaves the question, who on earth could become the heart of the Final Saga, who on earth could somehow encompass all those long running narrative themes that represent the very heart of One Piece that we've all become so deeply familiar with over the past decades? And somehow have that tie into Luffy's story at the end? (Since, this is the end, and Luffy is the protag, so having that emotional arc tie to Luffy would make sense)

I'm just sayin'

If Crocodad Real

Actually….re: the whole we have never gotten a glimpse ever of past crocodile thing….would be SO funny if crocodile’s backstory was just every strawhat’s combined in succession but like the wario bad ending version “a man took me and my brother in when we were extremely small children and THEN sold us out to pirates when he didnt have enough protection money who forced ys to work to buy our way out of slavery THEN my sister pushed me down the stairs and THEN she died and THEN i was taken in by a fishwoman and her apprentice. And THEN she framed me for pirate conspiracy and turned me into the marines—“ etc. etc.

Y'know, I know you're joking, just doing a silly little funny and all

But unironically, on a thematic level this could very well be true

Like One Piece's long running themes include rejection, loss, loneliness, either believing yourself to be unlovable and/or hating yourself while loving others and what all these things can drive a person to do (among many other things)

And these narrative elements come up so often you could make a little bingo card of them and have a fun little game to see how many pop up for each Strawhat and their backstories (Sanji and Robin being the most extreme examples in some ways). But the thing is that with the Strawhats, most of them manage to find a way to heal through all that trauma either through their mentors, their friends/family, the Strawhats and/or Luffy specifically. They all found a place to call home through Luffy

But Crocodile never did. He doesn't have a place to call home, people to call a family. He's still alone

So like, while Croc's backstory probably isn't all the Strawhats mashed together literally, on that thematic level? Actually, yeah, probably, especially If Crocodad Real. He could just turn out to be an amalgamation of all the Strawhats' trauma combined but with the specific twist he never had anyone come save him from it, what any of the Strawhats could've turned out like had they never met Luffy and went off the deep end