Thread by @3SkullJoe

#ONEPIECE Theory / Analysis #ONEPIECE1079 +

Is This the End of Eustass Captain Kid?

The finale of chapter 1079 has been perhaps the most shocking development since Wano, or the Reverie.

Eustass Captain Kid & his crew have been completely defeated by Shanks & the Giants.

But is this really the end for Kid? Let's consider the possibilities & implications.

It's important to note that Shanks was about to accept a 1v1 duel against Kid before his future sight showed that Kid was about to kill the allies in his fleet.

Shanks even inquired about whether Kid had healed from Wano. Because he considers it bad form to fight the wounded.

This shows that Shanks genuinely holds respect for Kid as one of the leading figures of the new era. He even scolds his crew for underestimating him.

This ties back to what Shanks said at the end of Wano & the bet that he made on Luffy for the new era.

Shanks wants the Worst Generation to eventually succeed. Especially Luffy, obviously.

So, Shanks was willing to personally accept Kid's challenge & he holds respect for him.

It was only when Shanks' future sight saw that Kid was about to kill his allies that his attitude changed.

This ties back to some quotes from chapter 1.

As Shanks explained way back in chapter 1. He will tolerate personal insults to himself but he won't stand for people hurting is friends & anyone who points a gun, or picks a fight, should be prepare to put their life on the line.

To probably understand this moral code, we can look back at Shanks' appearance at the end of Wano again.

Shanks is willing to accept any challenge & considers upholding this pirate code as a matter of duty.

As evidence of this. We see that Shanks will always give challengers a warning, or an ultimatum. Surrender or be prepared to put your life on the line.

The first thing that struck me about this situation is that it seems that Shanks made sure to destroy the rail gun but did not use lethal force on Kid himself.

Shanks cut Kid enough to scar him & KO him, but he did not kill him outright. Why?

To understand this, we have to look back at the concept of the Breathe of All Things from Alabasta & Wano.

The blade only cuts when the wielder wills it to do so. This means that Shanks let Kid live intentionally.

Shanks' intent seems to be not to kill Kid but to teach him a harsh lesson & give him a reality check. One he seems not to have learned from his experiences in Wano.

In a single moment. Shanks punishes Kid's arrogance & sets him back to square one.

To some extent. This is the same lesson that Luffy learned back at Marineford.

Despite his ambition to face strong enemies without hesitation, his lack of strength led to him being set back to square one by enemies like Kizaru.

So, Shanks intentionally didn't kill Kid, but is this still the end of Kid's career? I don't believe so.

Oda is presenting this as a parallel to the Straw Hats being totally defeated at Saboady. Even the presentation of the text boxes is the same.

This parallel is most certainly intentional & it is designed to give us an understanding of what the impact of this monumental defeat will be for Kid & any of his crew who survive.

Kid effectively has to start again from the beginning of his entry to the New World.

But, if the series is supposed to be approaching it's finale, how can Kid recover his position in such a short amount of time?

I believe that Oda already told us & there are two sides to it. The first being the Man Marked by Flames.

Kid has lost all of his Road Poneglyphs, so he basically needs a short cut to recover them or to find an alternative means of gaining equivalent intel.

The man marked by flames possesses exactly that. Kid just needs to find him.

Most people agree by now that this man marked by flames is most likely Jaguar D. Saul.

We recently learned that Saul survived the Ohara incident & is currently in hiding, protecting the treasured research from Ohara.

How can Kid track down Saul? I've spoken on this before & I believe that he can do this through Buggy.

Hajurdin was there at Elbaf, knows Saul & used to work for Buggy.

Buggy would have no qualms about selling out Hajurdin, because he betrayed Buggy for Luffy.

It's probably no coincidence then, that Oda already starting providing set up for Kid to target Buggy.

Kid said directly that the end of Wano that he could acknowledge Luffy as a Yonko, but the one who pissed him off the most & he considers illegitimate is Buggy.

What will Kid gain if he manages to obtain this information being protected by Saul?

This info contains the research from Ohara & more. That includes the last of the Ancient Weapons and the name of the Ancient Kingdom!

If Kid were to achieve this, he would not only regain his current position, he would exceed it. He would know the name of the Ancient Kingdom & have access to one of the Ancient Weapons.

In fact, it's possible that Kid will obtain intel on all 3 Ancient Weapons, through Caribou.

Caribou has obtained intel on both Pluton & Poseidon & he wants to sell this info to someone. I believe this is Big News Morgans, but it is possible that someone else will end up with the information.

Oda planted the idea of Caribou joining Kid back in Wano.

This would also connect back to the scene in which Kid appeared during Punk Hazard.

As he spectated the demo of Ceaser's weapon, Killer asked him if he was interested in slaughter weapons.

Kid said, no. But it doesn't hurt to know.

If this were to happen, Kid would obtain intel on all 3 Ancient Weapons.

This would make him perhaps the single biggest threat in the New World. -

Interestingly, this would provide a solution to Kid needing a new ship & it would tie back to another chapter 1 quote.

Pluton is a battleship & Beckman said in chapter 1.-
"If you want to fight us. You better bring a battleship."

This could be how Kid finally makes his way back to challenging Shanks again & this time, he will be more properly prepared & could even have 1 or all 3 of the Ancient Weapons in his possession.

However, this is still not everything that Kid's future might hold.

Kid has been set up to play a major role in the downfall of the World Government's status quo since his introduction.

Since his introduction. Kid has expressed hatred of the nobles. Oda has emphasised him when talking about bringing down the established order.

I believe that it is for this reason that Oda chose to have Kid be the one who was the central focus with Luffy during the celebration of the Fire Festival.

I also believe that the firework exploding behind them is supposed to be symbolism of Imu's eye watching them.

This part may be a reach but, based on the scene from the finale of Wano. I believe that the mysterious 2nd wanted poster being held by Imu in chapter 906 may be Kid's.

I believe that Kid would definitely be on Imu's radar & Imu may know more than we do.

One of my favourite old ideas is that Kid will end up confronting one of the Gorosei, or even all of them.

This would conform to the theory rising in popularity that the Five Elder Planets will be defeated by Five Supernovas.

I believe that in this scene. Kid would echo Noland.

There's a lot more to this idea, but I don't want this thread to go on forever. So I'll start bringing it to a close now.

In summary. I don't believe that this is the end for Eustass Captain Kid. Oda has already laid paving for the road to his comeback.

Kid's role also seems very far from fulfilled and I believe that he will definitely play a major part in Mariejois.

It is possible that he could fight Greenbull. As Kid is from an unaffiliated country & this would bring Greenbull's words from Wano full circle.

Kid would certainly have motive to fight someone with a philosophy like Greenbull's & it would also be an interesting power dynamic. Nature vs Technology.

This would also be a natural way to finally transition to Kid's backstory.

To conclude. I don't believe that this is the end for Kid. He has a way to recover already established, potential power buffs already foreshadowed & a largely unfulfilled role in bringing down the World Government.

Despite this crushing defeat. We can expect Kid to return.

That's all I've got for this one, thanks for reading 🙏