One Piece’s reign as one of the longest running shonen manga in history is coming to an end soon, and series writer and illustrator Eichiro Oda may already be setting up the endgame’s final battles. With the introduction of Ryokugyu, also known as Aramaki or “Green Bull,” Oda has effectively created one admiral for each of the Monster Trio to defeat.
Chapter 905 of One Piece featured the debut of Ryokugyu in his meeting with Fujitora, who confirms that although he has yet to see Vegapunk’s invention, its power means the Seven Warlord system can be abolished altogether. In this first meeting, Ryokugyu appeared to be a lighthearted man who was on good terms with Fujitora, leading readers to believe he would share Fujitora’s more nuanced sense of justice. The legendary ‘Green Bull’ turned out to be entirely unlike this original assumption. Fast forward to chapter 1054 of One Piece, and Ryokugyu’s true personality is on full display as a main figure looming over the story’s final chapters.
Ryokugyu openly believes that the Celestial Dragons are gods and has an even more fanatical sense of justice than Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. His view on how the world should operate is despotic to say the least, believing that because Wano operates outside the jurisdiction of the World Government, killing everyone there would be completely justified as long as he gets Luffy’s head. This tyrannical worldview, however, all but confirms his place as one of the series’ final bosses. Alongside the Admirals Akainu and Kizaru, Ryokugyu will surely be one of the Straw Hats’ last adversaries.
While it’s extremely unlikely these three Admirals are going to be the final villains of the series, these foes are clearly being set up to face down the Monster Trio in whatever grand war Oda seems to be building towards. Luffy already has a clear and potent vendetta against Akainu for killing Portgas D. Ace during the battle of Marineford so there’s no doubt this grudge match is going to be settled. The other two admirals are a little more up in the air about who exactly they’ll be fighting but if their color palettes are any indication, Zoro will fight Ryokugyu and Sanji will battle Kizaru. These matchups make the most sense since Ryokugyu has already shown to be extremely effective at dealing with sword users, even those proficient in the art of Ryuo. Kizaru is also a great opponent for Sanji as both of them are heavily reliant on speed, and Sanji’s strict sense of honor and chivalry would contrast nicely to Kizaru’s lazy justice theme. Additionally, it’s unlikely that Fujitora will participate in this kind of a battle because of how deeply his sense of justice contrasts with the way the World Government chooses to operate.
It has been quite a long time since Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji have encountered an Admiral but it’s becoming clearer than ever that the Straw Hats are on a warpath headed straight towards the World Government. While Ryokugyu may have been dissuaded from attacking them for now, thanks to the effort of Shanks, the final war for the fate of the world will surely feature his return alongside “Red Dog” Sakazuki and “Yellow Monkey” Borsalino. As One Piece’s final saga begins, the days toward this penultimate battle between the Monster Trio and the Admiral Trio can only get closer…
