One Piece's Blackbeard is Closer to Being the Pirate King than Ever

The always opportunist Blackbeard could be moving to take advantage of the war for Wano, stealing both Big Mom and Kaido’s Road Poneglyphs.

Warning: contains spoilers for Chapter 1042 of One Piece

All the action in One Piece is currently focusing on Wano Island, where the pirate-samurai alliance is challenging Emperor Kaido for control, but the true antagonist of the manga, Blackbeard, could soon make an impactful return.

Marshall D. Teach, better known as Blackbeard, is a pirate who quickly rose to power in One Piece. A former member of the Emperor Whitebeard crew, Teach got on the World Government's good side by capturing and delivering Portgas D. Ace, the second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, the sworn brother of Luffy, and the biological son of Pirate King Gol D. Roger. After becoming a member of the Shichibukai, Blackbeard betrayed the World Government too by freeing dangerous prisoners from the Impel Down prison and finally stealing Whitebeard's powerful Devil Fruit, the Gura Gura no Mi. These actions gained Blackbeard the title of one of the Four Emperors, the most dangerous pirates in the world. From his base on Pirate Island, he plots to find the legendary treasure One Piece and become the next Pirate King, a goal he might be very close to.

The One Piece is located on Laugh Tale, a hidden island in the Grand Line that can only be found by following the directions inscribed on the four Road Poneglyphs, stone steles with words in the "ancient script" language carved on them. These are incredibly precious and sought by several groups interested in the treasure located on Laugh Tale: two of the Four Emperors, Charlotte Linlin (Big Mom) and Kaido, each have one. Another one was hidden on Zou, and its information is in the hands of the Straw Hat crew. The final Road Poneglyph location is unknown, but it was previously located on Fishman Island. To get to Laugh Tale and become the Pirate King, then, Blackbeard needs two things: the Road Poneglyphs and someone capable of reading the ancient script. There is one place where he can find both: Whole Cake Island.

Whole Cake is the home base of Big Mom, the capital of her kingdom of Totto Land. In normal circumstances, a frontal attack would be unthinkable. Big Mom is one of the strongest people in the world, and besides her considerable personal power, she has a whole army under her command, captained by her many children, all of them powerful Devil Fruit users. However, Big Mom and the majority of her children went to Wano to form an alliance with Kaido. The two who were left behind, Katakuri and Cracker, are very strong but both suffered heavy injuries fighting against Luffy.

On Whole Cake Island, Blackbeard could get his hands on one of the Road Poneglyphs and also kidnap Charlotte Pudding, a member of the Three-Eye Tribe, which has the potential to unlock the ability to hear the "Voice of all Things" and thus decipher the text on the Poneglyphs. What is even more interesting is that Blackbeard could have already done all that, while the Straw Hats, Kaido, and Big Mom are fighting on Wano. In his next appearance, then, he could show up on Onigashima after the dust is settled and steal Kaido's Road Poneglyphs while the survivors of the battle are too exhausted to stop him.

Blackbeard has always been an opportunist who only acts when it's most convenient. His previous appearances proved that he is a master planner who strikes with surgical precision when his enemies are weakest. Considering that One Piece is heading towards its conclusion and that Blackbeard will likely be the final antagonist for Luffy and his crew, him stealing two Road Poneglyphs makes perfect sense.

Next: One Piece is Teasing Wano Arc's End With Its Biggest Battle Yet