I’m gonna talk about One Piece’s future new Monster Trio, an inevitable team-up that is way more powerful and way more badass than Luffy-Zoro-Sanji.
Moreover, I’m gonna provide some evidence which might show that this real Monster Trio is what will take down Kaido in this arc. It is formed by Luffy + 2 other characters that we still haven’t seen that much yet, 2 characters that are already linked to Wano.
As the majority already knows, Oda was inspired by the popular Japanese story, Momotaro, in order to write Wano arc. To keep it short, Momotaro (yes, Oda got inspired from that name when he came up with Momonosuke) is a boy who left his parents to fight a band of demons who attacked their land. His destination was a distant island where the demons dwell, a place called Onigashima. En route, he met 3 animals that became his allies and accompanied him to Onigashima to fight alongside him: a monkey, a dog, and a pheasant.
Now in the majority (if not all) of the theories that i read about this subject, people say that the pheasant represents Marco the Phoenix, and that the dog represents Inuarashi, and the monkey represents Luffy.
I agree with the third one, the monkey definitely represents Luffy. But let’s talk about the two first ones. Do you really think that Oda will use such a popular Japanese story to portray a secondary character that is Inuarashi who is on par with Nekomamushi and thus isn’t that special of a mink? Do you think that Oda will use that very popular story to portray a secondary character who already had a plenty of screentime in Marineford? It was already confirmed in Chapter 909 that Marco is NOT coming to Wano. Those of you who are familiar with Oda’s writing know that there can’t be something like oh Marco heard that Luffy is in danger and changed his mind. Marco said he’s not coming. Period.
Another question. Why would Oda use the monkey-dog-pheasant to hint at 3 characters who can’t beat Kaido even if they team up? Luffy-Marco-Inuarashi isn’t that special of a team-up at all. Inuarashi isn’t a special mink, because he’s on the same level as Nekomamushi and has the same authority as him, so he has nothing on him (although Oda gave us the impression that Nekomamushi is stronger and more badass).
Now it’s gonna get more interesting. If Oda used the 3 animals from Momotaro story to represent 3 characters, then don’t you think that it’s unjust ? A lot of characters will be sacrificing their lives fighting Kaido alongside Momonosuke, so why would Marco, Luffy, and Inuarashi be the only ones to take credit for such a gigantic war? Why would 3 characters take credit for a war in which a huge amount of people are participating?
The answer is: Oda isn’t actually using the monkey-dog-pheasant to tease 3 characters. Oda chose the very popular Momotaro story to make the debut of the series’ most awaited team-up, and to represent the 3 Big Elements of One Piece story, the ones that Doflamingo talked about while he was chained.
The Monkey, representing Pirates:
The Dog, representing the Navy:
The Pheasant, representing the Revolutionary Army:
Oda has already put the groundwork to make these 3 characters linked to Wano arc.
1- Luffy is already linked to the arc obviously.
2- Dragon said after Dressrosa that the country manufacturing Doflamingo’s weapons will be the Revolutionary Army’s target. The country is Wano.
3- Just before Wano arc began, Hina told Garp that Big Mom and Kaido, who are both in Wano, are the reason why he was called the Hero of the Marines. Garp replied saying that if they were to come back, then there’ll be a huge mess. So Garp is now linked to Wano because of the Rox stuff.
The three characters above share the same opponent: Kaido.
Now let’s see how the Momotaro story aligns with the Wano arc :
Momotaro — > Momonosuke, representing Wano Country with its Samurai and Ninja.
The Monkey — > Luffy, representing the pirates who’ll be fighting Kaido in Onigashima.
The Dog –> Garp, who’ll come to Wano to settle an account from long ago.
The Pheasant –> Dragon, representing the Revolutionary Army, who will be targeting Wano for its weapon manufacturing.
Oda said multiple times that he has always wanted to draw Wano arc. It’s an arc that represents his country, and which would provide the best opportunity for him to finally give us the most anticipated team-up in the series. It’s such a great way to pay tribute to his own country, and it would make perfect sense for why him and his editors have been hyping up this arc for so long.
*Theory by Admiral Ryokugyu