One Piece: Katakuri's Role In The Final Saga, Explained (2024)

Charlotte Katakuri is quite an exciting character who has gripped the hearts of the fans in the post-time skip of One Piece. He made his debut in the Whole Cake Island arc, where he was introduced as the second son of Big Mom and at the same time, the leader of the Sweet Commanders.

With a bounty of 1.057 billion berries and an invincible aura around him, Katakuri was an incredible antagonist for this arc who pushed Luffy to the extremes and also won the hearts of the fans in doing so. Ever since the conclusion of the Whole Cake Island arc, Katakuri has not played much of a role in the story, however, that might change in the final saga of One Piece, where Oda could have a big role in store for him.

Katakuri's Role In Whole Cake Island

In the Whole Cake Island arc, Katakuri played the role of the primary antagonist for Luffy to take down. While Big Mom was, of course, a Yonko of the sea, Luffy was not ready at the time to take on an Emperor and the ceiling that he could crack at that time was that of a Yonko Commander. He had already defeated Cracker at the beginning of the arc, signifying that he was ready for bigger challenges and this came in the form of Katakuri towards the end of the arc. Once Katakuri and Luffy collided, the battle was immediately taken to the Mirror World, where these two fought to their heart's content. It was clear for the fans to see that Katakuri was superior to Luffy in almost every way, and that Luffy had to work incredibly hard to best him in combat.

Katakuri’s biggest strength in battle was his ability to see the future itself. Being a master of Observation Haki, this ability came almost naturally to him and he did a tremendous job in utilizing this power to the absolute best. To defeat Katakuri, Luffy had to learn this ability for himself and, even then, his usage of it wasn't as good as that of Katakuri. This deficit had to be reduced by Luffy utilizing the power of Snake Man, which offered him excessive speed. By combining these two powers, Luffy was able to shrink the gap between himself and Katakuri, and, thus, this battle was won. While Katakuri was defeated in Whole Cake Island, fans became very attached to this character simply because it was clear to see that this guy was not a villain, after all.

Katakuri was a victim himself and, in many ways, he played the role of a mentor for Luffy. He believed in him and, in the end, he also expected Luffy to free him from his burden one day. This alone opened up the room for an exciting storyline revolving around the character of Katakuri in the future.

Big Mom's Fall In Wano

Katakuri was, surprisingly, not seen in Wano, but fans got to see him in the cover story pertaining to the Germa. In order to retrieve Niji and Yonji, Reiju and Ichiji attacked the island and caused quite a lot of havoc. They managed to rescue them and this eventually triggered a battle with Charlotte Katakuri, who was teamed up with Oven. Thanks to Caesar, this fight became easy for the Germa members and they successfully managed their escape. Things were made even worse when the Blackbeard Pirates attacked the island and successfully captured Pudding. They could even have possibly stolen the rubbings of the Road Poneglyph that Big Mom had.

Meanwhile, in Wano, Big Mom was taken down by the duo of Law and Kid. A big portion of the Big Mom Pirates was with her, and they certainly tried to rescue her, however, it is unknown whether that was possible or not. Big Mom's fate has not been confirmed in the story just yet, however, many believe her to be dead already. Regardless of what happens to Big Mom, fans cannot expect her to be the antagonist in the future of the story. Oda can only take two directions when it comes to Big Mom. Either she is dead, in which case the Big Mom pirates will need a new leader, or, Big Mom can still be a pirate and change her ways.

Katakuri's Role In The Final Saga

Katakuri's role in the final saga of One Piece could go into ways. The first and the most interesting way for Katakuri to be at the forefront of things is by taking charge of the Big Mom Pirates or, potentially starting his own pirate crew. Katakuri has always wanted freedom from the oppressive regime of Big Mom. While Big Mom certainly has good intentions, she is abusive and she does not actually care about her kids. Her kids are tools to her that she uses to extend her own power and influence. As such, Big Mom being removed from the equation and being ripped from her throne could be one of the best things to happen to Katakuri and the other members of the Big Mom Pirates.

This would mean that Katakuri would be the new leader of the Big Mom Pirates and, of course, lead them to the seas, where they fight for supremacy amongst other pirates. The name of the pirate crew could end up changing completely, given that Big Mom would then no longer be a part of the crew, and things would be extremely interesting for them moving forward. Fans could also see this crew compete with the Straw Hat Pirates, for instance, as Katakuri and Luffy already have a rivalry and Katakuri himself is a user of Conqueror's Haki, which Oda likely did on purpose. This would give an interesting addition to Katakuri and the Big Mom Pirates. Their goal, first and foremost, could be to rescue Pudding from the Blackbeard Pirates and they could be involved in a fight with this pirate crew later down the line by collaborating with the likes of the Straw Hat Pirates, or any other pirate crew challenging them.

The interesting way that Katakuri’s story could go in Whole Cake Island is if the Big Mom Pirates simply dissolve. Fans already know the Big Mom has been defeated in Wano and, from here onwards, she is not actively going to be in the race for the One Piece anymore. If she were to do so, Oda starting a new era of piracy with the new Emperors would be meaningless. This essentially confirms that neither Big Mom nor Kaido are going to be relevant in the race for the One Piece anymore. However, even if they were alive, they would only play minor roles in the story and not as major obstacles in the path of Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates.

For instance, if Big Mom is alive, she might end up showing up in Elbaf, where her relationship with the Giants is mended and she will likely not be a thorn in Luffy's side anymore. This, once again, gives a level of freedom to her children who will now be liberated from her selfish rule. This would allow them the opportunity to pursue their own interests. For Katakuri, this could mean that he can now leave Whole Cake Island, start his own pirate crew, and go on his own journeys. Katakuri could end up becoming an important member of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet or something similar to that. Regardless of what ends up happening to Big Mom, Katakuri has a bright future ahead of him and fans will be extremely interested to know if he ever meets up with Luffy once again.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1104, is set to be January 21, 2024.

One Piece (1999)

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Studio

Toei Animation

Number of Episodes

1082+

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Netflix , Hulu

See at Hulu

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