[One Piece] Will Luffy and Blackbeard Ever Team Up After Im? Japanese Fans Debate the Endgame
#11 MARINE FORD
Luffy, Blackbeard, and Im — June 19, 2018 Could enemies really fight side by side at the end?
When Im finally appeared, the scale of One Piece quietly shifted. If the true enemy isn’t another pirate, but the world itself… does that make former enemies temporary allies?
The Core Idea: Luffy × Blackbeard Alliance Theory
Luffy “You’re Blackbeard?!” Blackbeard “…Huh? Come to think of it, I never did introduce myself.” Blackbeard “ZEHAHAHAHA!!! Long time no see, Straw Hat!! …I was surprised too. Didn’t expect you to be the little brother of our captain, Ace.” “Heh… you sure it’s okay for you to be here? It’s about to start. Your brother’s public execution, that is… ZEHAHAHAHA!!!”
1: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 This feels like Luffy and Blackbeard might actually team up.
5: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 From Im’s point of view, Luffy, Blackbeard, and Shirahoshi are all targets. But for Luffy, Blackbeard is the reason Ace died. So yeah, I don’t buy it.
9: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 I get Luffy and Blackbeard, but why is Shirahoshi involved?
12: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>9 Ancient weapon.
15: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>9 Ancient weapon Poseidon.
Who Actually Knows About Im
11: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, and Blackbeard probably don’t even know Im exists. Only the Five Elders, Shanks, and Doflamingo know. Kaido and Big Mom are basically clowns dancing in Im’s palm.
Ace’s Death: Can Luffy Ever Forgive Blackbeard?
13: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Blackbeard might be the root cause, but Ace chased him on his own and lost fair and square. From Luffy’s perspective, Akainu is way more hate-worthy. That alone is reason enough to go after the Marines.
Rejection of the Team-Up Idea
49: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 A team-up would be the most disappointing thing ever.
51: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 At this point Luffy has allies everywhere. Yonko, Marines, fanboys like Bartolomeo — you name it. We probably won’t see pure one-on-one fights anymore.
226: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 People keep talking about a Blackbeard alliance, but seriously — is that even possible?
240: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>226 It’s possible. Otherwise how are they supposed to beat everyone except Shanks? And there are still bigger enemies above that.
“Alliance First, Final Boss Later”
245: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>240 Team up first, then Blackbeard becomes the final boss. That would work. Very Sasuke-like.
253: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>245 Blackbeard actually felt like a decent guy during Skypiea. He went full enemy mode in Impel Down though.
252: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 There’s no way Luffy teams up with Teach after Ace died.
278: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>265 Teach captured him and set everything in motion. Do people seriously need that explained?
295: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>278 Exactly why a temporary alliance could happen. Akainu killed him, so Luffy might let it slide for now. “Just this once!” type of moment.
305: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>295 Interesting. I actually feel Akainu teaming up is more plausible than Blackbeard.
318: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 >>305 No way Akainu teams up. He’s on the World Government side. Honestly it feels like the end will be everyone uniting to stop the ancient weapons.
Blackbeard as a “Dreamer,” Not a Villain
262: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Blackbeard is trashy, sure, but by Oda’s values he hasn’t done that much evil. He just uses ruthless methods. He’s still a dream-chaser like Luffy. Worst thing he did was kill a crewmate back in Whitebeard’s days.
291: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/19 Isn’t One Piece basically World Government & Celestial Dragons vs Revolutionaries? Pirates are kind of side content.
653: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Blackbeard has tons of flags pointing toward fighting the World Government. He’s also got flags with Shanks. Wouldn’t be weird if the Government gets wrecked while trying to crush Blackbeard.
656: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>653 Blackbeard is just a small fry riding on powers he stole. Decades hiding on Whitebeard’s ship for that? He should be a warm-up enemy at best.
661: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>656 He scarred Shanks before getting the Yami Yami no Mi. That alone means his base combat ability is legit. Not being Kaido or Big Mom level is actually perfect.
The World Is Reorganizing Around Luffy
468: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 The three major powers are basically becoming: World Government Straw Hat Grand Fleet The Yonko Most of the Seven Warlords are already on Luffy’s side, plus ancient weapons. Wano will probably be Straw Hats vs Kaido and Big Mom.
473: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 The Revolutionary Army is basically Luffy’s ally too.
525: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Somehow the enemies shifted from pirates to Celestial Dragons. But taking down Mary Geoise isn’t Luffy’s job — that’s Dragon’s role. Luffy should just beat the Yonko and become Pirate King.
609: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>525 That makes no sense. Beating the Yonko and the World Government is the story. Otherwise it wouldn’t be this scale.
527: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Luffy isn’t interested in politics. Oda’s “greatest enemy” might be Rocks, not the Government. Even if Luffy flips the world upside down, someone else handles politics.
534: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 It’s Kaido. Oda said he doesn’t know how to defeat him. Stronger than Whitebeard. That’s the biggest enemy.
539: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>534 Oda said a “legend hidden in the world” will appear next year. So it’s not Kaido.
Final Speculation: After Laugh Tale
550: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Kaido lost multiple times against groups. Doesn’t really feel invincible anymore.
555: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Big Mom might actually be scarier. She’s never lost or even been wounded.
557: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 I think Luffy and Blackbeard fight at Laugh Tale before the final boss. After that, D members might temporarily unite to fight the World Government.
566: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 Didn’t Kaido say he wants to destroy the world during the great war? He might side with Luffy.
575: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>566 Big Mom’s ideal is world equality. She might join too.
580: Anonymous Pirate. 2018/06/15 >>575 So everyone’s on Luffy’s side now?!
(´・ω・`) Government vs everyone.
👉 Why Japanese Fans Even Consider This
Japanese readers aren’t arguing because they like Blackbeard. They’re reacting to how the enemy has shifted upward. Once Im appears, pirate grudges start feeling small compared to the system itself. That doesn’t mean forgiveness — just temporary alignment.
👉 What This Debate Says About One Piece’s Final Shape
This isn’t about “friendship wins.” It’s about scale. When the story becomes world vs world, alliances stop being moral choices and start being structural necessities.
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