One Piece’s Final Saga Might Not Expand On The Straw Hats’ Roster

As One Piece heads into the Final Saga a recurring question brought up with every new arc is whether the Straw Hats’ roster will be expanded any further in this final leg of the story. After Yamato’s disappointing refusal, the Egghead Arc introduced yet another strong contender in the form of Jewelry Bonney, whose backstory and strong personal connection with Sun God Nika all pointed to her being the Straw Hat. However, the latest chapter of One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc has just proved otherwise, teasing there may not be a new addition to the crew just yet.

Chapter 1134 of One Piece reveals that Lilith plans to build a new laboratory at Elbaf intending to eventually revive Vegapunk Stella using the perfect clone of him. The revelation prompts Bonney to ask whether this means Vegapunk will eventually be able to restore Kuma’s humanity and sense of self to which Lilith agrees. This implies that Bonney will likely end up staying back at Elbaf with Vegapunk and Kuma until the new laboratory is built and the latter’s modifications are reversed, which in turn means Bonney will most likely not be joining the Straw Hats.

One Piece Teases Bonney is Not the Next Straw Hat After All

As the Egghead Arc revealed not too long ago, Bonney has one of the most impactful backstories fans have witnessed as of late in One Piece, arguably more so that even Yamato, who all but joined the Straw Hats at the end of Wano.

Bonney not only had a tragic backstory to rival most of the Straw Hats but also amazing synergy with Luffy, whose childlike wonder met its match in Bonney both figuratively and literally in the form of her Nika-inspired transformation. As seen in the latest chapters, Bonney has also been hitting it off with the rest of the crew, especially Robin who could be seen bonding with Bonney in Chapter 1132.

Given Nami’s love for little children, it is also easy to imagine her getting along with Bonney just as well and even being a motherly figure of sorts to Bonney. Though she may not provide strong combat power or play an indispensable role on the ship like the rest of the Straw Hats, having Bonney aboard the ship as an apprentice could have also drawn interesting parallels to the Pirate King’s crew and how Roger took in Shanks and Buggy.

Bonney’s ability to command the Pacifista also made her an excellent trump card to have in the event of a final war against the World Government as many have theorized is likely to take place in the Final Saga. That said, Chapter 1134 dashes these hopes of Bonney joining the Straw Hats, that too with a very logical reason. Given that Bonney and Kuma have only just been reunited after years, it is unlikely that Bonney will leave him in Vegapunk’s care and set out to sea with Luffy immediately, even if she has finally found her idol, Nika.

[Related: One Piece: Bonney’s Devil Fruit Is Powerful But Not as Broken as We Think]

The Straw Hats Likely Won’t Get Another New Member At All

Overall, now that Bonney is seemingly out of the running, it seems unlikely the Straw Hats will get another new member at all in the Final Saga, making Jinbe the tenth and final crew member. It is unclear how many more story arcs One Piece‘s final saga has in store but it doesn’t seem like it will be possible to introduce another potential crew member with a compelling backstory and connection to Luffy as well as fans this late into the series.

But of course, nothing is set in stone just yet, and given Eiichiro Oda’s penchant for the unexpected, there is still a slim chance that Bonney could indeed end up journeying with the Straw Hats all the way to Laugh Tale. Even if Bonney decides to stay behind in Elbaf, it is highly unlikely that this is the last fans will see of her, or Kuma for that matter. Given how well Bonney’s devil fruit powers have been fleshed out, and the infinite potential it holds, Bonney, much like Yamato and Vivi will likely come to play a major role in One Piece‘s final saga, regardless of whether they all become official Straw Hats or not.

One Piece is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media!