The Wano Arc of One Piece was not only the most hyped and anticipated arc of the series, it was probably the most exciting and impactful arc in any manga since maybe Dragon Ball’s Namek Saga. Even if you view Wano separate from the rest of the series, the author fleshed out the country, its government, backstory, and its characters so much that it can easily stand alone as its own story.
Unfortunately… it’s also the first arc in One Piece that left me with more disappointments than the standard arc. Certain important characters that got robbed out of potential growth, certain backstories we didn’t get to see… and most importantly, the introduction of Yamato, the most sloppily introduced and rushedly overhyped character in the entire franchise.
The very minute we meet him, he’s “I’M THE SON OF KAIDO, I’M GONNA BE THE NEXT STRAW HAT, I MET ACE AND WAS INSPIRED BY ODEN, I’M GONNA JOIN THE STRAW HATS, I HAVE ADVANCED CONQUEROR’S AND AWAKENED MYTHICAL ZOAN!”
Okay, we didn’t get all that all at once, but the point is that Yamato was suddenly introduced in the middle of a big war, with lots of side battles and characters the story was shifting between, and amongst it all, Yamato was trying to catch the audience’s attention as the next Straw Hat. But the truth is, Yamato doesn’t feel like he was meant to be in the story. He feels like a rushed addition. It doesn’t even feel like Oda wanted to add him. At the very end of the arc, Yamato backs out of joining the Straw Hats. And now it feels like Oda’s “stalling” it with a Cover Story of Yamato making a big circle around Wano. What’s the behind-the-scenes story of Yamato? Who can say. But I do think Yamato was designed to replace someone else.
It was supposed to be Carrot[]
I know I made this argument a ton of times, but the evidence is there. The Straw Hats meet Carrot along with the Mink Tribe in Zou, she is fascinated by them, and before they know it, Carrot stows away with them on the mission to Whole Cake Island. She expresses a desire to see the world, and throughout that arc, she is cleanly and progressively fleshed out. She forms certain cute dynamics with the crewmates; she sets herself up as the crow’s nest lookout, a position that no Straw Hat formally held. During the climax of the arc, Carrot experiences a tragedy: her mentor, Pedro sacrifices himself. Carrot remembers a dream that Pedro passed on to her: the Minks’ dream to see the “Dawn of the World.”
Carrot now has all the makings of a potential Straw Hat: a dream, a tragedy, a need for adventure, crew dynamics, and while she displays great strength, she’s not on par with the powerful Straw Hats, so she has the potential to get stronger just like Usopp or the others before her. Also, we later learn that the Mink Dukes stowed away with Oden and wound up on big-name pirate crews. A parallel.
But come the Wano Arc… Carrot was very awkwardly and disappointingly sidelined with the most minimal dialogue. Aspects of Yamato’s character suggest that he was meant to replace Carrot, for whatever reason. Yamato acts cutesy and cuddly with Luffy just like Carrot did, he has an animal form, and a certain piece of dialogue suggests that Yamato was stealing—I mean, “sharing” Carrot’s dream. But another thing Yamato is lacking, besides a more fleshed-out setup, is the potential to get stronger. Because he already has Advanced Conqueror’s, AND an Awakened Mythical Zoan! We suddenly meet this guy and he’s already the second-strongest Straw Hat!
As someone who has lots of OCs… Yamato genuinely feels like the typical “Gary-Stu” character. The kind that awkwardly paints himself in a bright image, putting the more deserving characters to shame, with a fancy design, too many powers, and no real flaws.
For this rewrite… I’ll be giving Yamato a more organic buildup, along with other changes I wanted to see in the arc. This will be written in summary format, not in a proper story-and-dialogue format. In fact, I’m sort of inspired by certain rewrites of Sonic Forces and other things. Also, I may misremember certain factoids about the Wano Arc, but I still think these things could’ve worked, so fill in the blanks as you will. Also, Yamato will start off as a female as part of his development.
Yamato’s Arc[]
Act 1 of the Wano Arc. In a brief cutaway of Onigashima (though the manga doesn’t explicitly show it, yet) some Beast Pirates are wondering where Yamato is. One says, “Did she sneak out again?!” Another claims, “Kaido-sama’s going to be pissed!”
We then have a shot of silhouetted Yamato somewhere in Wano. There is a close-up of her mouth as she bites her lower lip in an emotional manner. She then puts on the mask that she would have in her debut appearance, in which we then get a full-body drawing of her masked form.
Yamato first meets Luffy and O-Tama in Leftovers Town; they can either bump into her while running or she watches Luffy fight some pirates and decides to step in. Yamato is quick to recognize Straw Hat, but while she introduces her name, she is hesitant to say any more. Yamato also talks in a masculine voice as part of her disguise, leaving Luffy to mistake her for a man and call her “Yamabro.” Yamato feels a little flattered by the name, and Luffy goes on to praise her strength. Tama happily thanks Yamato for the help as well.
While Luffy is going to rescue Tama and recover the food for Leftovers Town, Yamato wanders the town and observes the misery and suffering Lord Orochi is forcing the people through. After Luffy delivers the food and the people are awash in joy, Yamato shares in their joy… but one of the citizens bumps into Yamato, knocking her mask off. Her face is revealed, and the citizens are horrified: they recognize her as the daughter of Kaido and call her the Oni Princess. The people cower back from her, and some children even throw stones. Luffy shouts at them to stop, but Yamato cries and runs from town.
Luffy and Tama (riding Speed) chase after her (using Haki to trace her), finding a sobbing Yamato in the outskirts of town. Luffy apologizes for the citizens and asks if she’s really Kaido’s daughter. In a stuttered response, Yamato shouts that she never wanted to be his daughter. She claws at her neck, as if gripping something invisible. Luffy puts on his signature grin and tries to comfort her. Yamato smiles and says he reminds her of Ace, sparking surprise from the captain.
This is immediately followed by Kaido’s arrival in his colossal dragon form. Luffy rushes to battle him and, inevitably, loses terribly. Yamato shows up and strikes at her father in Luffy’s defense; Tama catches up with her, still mounted on Speed, who is visibly terrified of her master. Kaido violently attacks his daughter. He questions, “Yamato… are you still idolizing that man?” There is a flashback panel of a silhouetted Oden.
Quivering on her knees from Kaido’s attack, Yamato stutters, “I…I’m going to be…!”
But Kaido thrashes her before she can finish, knocking her out cold. His men take Luffy to Udon while Kaido begins to drag Yamato back to Onigashima. But the Emperor casts a glare to Speed and Tama, who freeze in terror. “Ah…I see you’ve found Orochi’s niece, Speed.” Tama creases up from the statement. The cowering civilians, overhearing this from their homes and hiding places, gasp and look at the purple-haired child with distaste. Kaido leaves Speed to her task and continues. Tama quickly orders Speed to retreat them from town.
Going into Act 2, we later see Yamato imprisoned in a dungeon. A Seaprism ring is around her neck, chained to the wall. Yamato clutches the ring and tries to push away from the wall, grunting agonizingly and choking against the ring. After a while, she gives up and gasps amid sobbing.
We then get the flashback of 8-year-old Yamato trapped in the same dungeon, in which the captured samurai offer their rations. One of them shows her Oden’s journal, inspiring the princess. She later exclaims, “I wanna be Kozuki Oden!” But this, in turn, fuels Kaido with anger, and the flashback ends as his kanabo swings at her face.
Present time, Yamato looks up to see King the Wildfire enter the dungeon. Kaido’s first mate himself. The mysterious man hands a tray of food to Yamato. Outraged, Yamato kicks it out of his hands. She yells out at King, calling him a monster like her father and questioning if he takes pleasure from so many peoples’ suffering. King, with a mild look of remorse in his eyes, replies, “I won’t speak justly of your father… but there are some things in this world that aren’t easily explained.” With a light flap of his black wings, King leaves. Yamato glances down at the fallen food.
Meanwhile, Tama is facing scorn from citizens, who now know her as Kurozumi Tama. The child cries and runs, but Momonosuke and his retainers chase after her. Momo tells her he doesn’t care if she’s Orochi’s niece, saying that she’s a friend of Luffy’s. Tama, her face soaked with tears, questions him, saying her family nearly destroyed Wano Country once, that her uncle is hurting Wano now. Momo states, “But none of that is your fault.” Tama calms down a little.
Kin’emon intervenes and wonders what happened to Tama’s parents? She explains they died under Orochi’s enslavement. They are left to wonder why Orochi would enslave his own family. Regardless, Tama feels grateful to Momo and stays with him as he trains in swordplay.
When the Onigashima Raid begins in Act 3, Luffy senses a familiar presence with his Haki. He finds Yamato in the dungeon. Luffy questions how Yamato knew Ace. We get the flashback of Yamato meeting Ace in Onigashima. Ace insists that Yamato go to sea with him, but she is afraid, saying that her father would kill them. Ace promises that he’ll come back when he’s strong enough to beat Kaido, and when that time comes, he’ll take her to sea!
Luffy, feeling internally emotional that Ace couldn’t fulfill his promise, vows to take Yamato to sea in his place. Yamato declines, for too much is weighing on her mind. Her father is too powerful; she doubts Luffy can beat him. And even if he could, Yamato was Kaido’s flesh and blood. She didn’t deserve to be with kind people. But Luffy yells at her to stop being a crybaby, asking what she really wants to be, and Yamato briefly remembers her vow as a child.
Insisting that Yamato come with him, he tries to break her restraint… only to find out it’s a Seaprism ring. Fortunately, the jailer returns to check on Yamato; Luffy easily knocks him out and steals his key. Though her heart still weighs with doubt, Yamato exits the dungeon with Luffy, helping to fight the Beast Pirates as she did in the canon story.
Later, Yamato reunites with Tama, who is with Nami and Usopp after they narrowly got away from Page One and Ulti. Tama remembers their first meeting… and she realizes they’re the same. Tama explains that she’s Orochi’s niece, shocking Yamato. She explains how the citizens were unkind to her, and Yamato begins to tear up in sympathy.
But then Tama conveys Momo’s words: that she never did any of the things her uncle did. That her own parents were enslaved. That she lived in poverty. And she realizes… Orochi doesn’t even care about his own family. He wants all of Wano to burn until nothing is left. Crying, Tama declares, “I DON’T WANT TO BE A KUROZUMI!”
(Translation note: Kurozumi means black charcoal, which Hiyori later references as “Kurozumi was born to burn.” Tama’s words can also be transcribed as not wanting to burn.)
Yamato embraces Tama in a strong hug. Her words reached deep into Yamato’s core… and with that, the “princess” is finally determined. Holding her kanabo tight, Yamato runs to the top of the castle. She feels the wishes of Ace, Luffy, Tama, and the samurai at her back. She bears witness to Kaido defeating Luffy once again, and challenges him as she did in canon. This time, Yamato stands her ground with powerful Haki, utilizing the training that her father and his subordinates forced her through. Yamato reciprocates her vow from childhood: “I’M GOING TO BE KOZUKI ODEN! I won’t cry… or be afraid of you any longer! I… AM A MAN!”
…But he doesn’t have Advanced Conqueror’s. We gotta limit his powers somehow. Normal Conqueror’s? Maybe. Strong maybe. Honestly, Conqueror’s Haki used to feel special, but it doesn’t, anymore. Awakened Zoan? I don’t know. But for the time being, though Yamato can now muster the full extent of his Haki, Kaido still overpowers him. At the very least, Kaido acknowledges Yamato’s growth and is proud of his son.
Luffy makes his return, happily greeting “Yamabro,” and the latter trusts Luffy to finish the battle as he returns downstairs. Flashing forward to the aftermath of the battle, Yamato makes it clear, much earlier on, that he won’t be joining the Straw Hats, yet. He wants to stay and help Wano recover from the chaos. He also feels the need to support Tama, to show everyone that neither of them are like their families. Oh, and he also doesn’t act needlessly cuddly with Luffy.
Thus, we bring Yamato’s arc to a conclusion… for now, anyway. Yes, the “crybaby” demeanor is similar to other princesses or characters Luffy met in the series. But fact is, it was a pattern Oda had going ever since Koby. Luffy inspires people to get strong and learn to fight for their dreams. It’s fine to avoid patterns or clichés sometimes, but Yamato just feels far less impactful with his ambitions and feelings already resolved. Making him as flawless as he was just wasn’t the way to sell him.
One more thing I’ll say is I feel like Oda is leaning too far into Haki and high physical power, which is fine in the case of the Top Straw Hats or main villains, but it’s starting to feel like the “weaker” Straw Hats or characters have less and less value. Which may be a reason Yamato was conceived over Carrot, because the new Straw Hat needed to have the power to survive in the upcoming battles. And I don’t like that. For most of One Piece, every Straw Hat pulled their weight, not just in their position, but in battle. They were always matched with villains they could adapt with. But with the overreliance of Haki, which the weaker crewmates don’t have but the villains do, it feels like we’re forgetting an important aspect of the crew. Which leads to our next topics.
Carrot vs. Perospero[]
This was Carrot’s only noteworthy moment in the arc: “That’s the guy who killed Pedro!” Indeed, he was. Perospero is the center of Carrot’s hatred. The man who killed her mentor. All while wearing that sick expression, smiling with his long tongue hanging out. And he talked, JUST… LIKE… THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!
…I couldn’t resist. Anyway, this was Carrot’s big battle of the arc. Her chance of revenge. Her buildup across the Whole Cake Arc amounted to this: …an off-screen battle. That she loses. …Extremely disappointing. “That’s the guy who killed Pedro!” was the pinnacle of her development.
I won’t change the outcome of the fight. But I would give it more justice. More scenes of Carrot (and Wanda) fighting Perospero, epic imagery of their Sulong forms. And if we’re gonna say that Perospero is super strong, have him bust out some cool new candy powers that totally overpowers the girls.
But as Carrot lays weakened, gasping for breath, she pushes herself up with a fierce expression. Perospero laughs, saying she’ll die just like that jaguar. Carrot says that Pedro isn’t dead… because his will lives on. “I’m going to see the Dawn of the World!”
The Candy Man narrows his gaze. “You won’t even live to see the dawn of tomorrow.” He aims his arrow at her… and Nekomamushi arrives.
The Duke of Night heard Carrot’s words and looks at her in pride. “Pedro’s will truly lives inside you, Carrot. You will lead the Minks to that dawn… I know it.” Entering his Sulong state, the Cat Viper ends Perospero.
In the aftermath, the Dukes propose that Carrot become the new ruler of the Mink Tribe. But Carrot refuses. She still wants to see more of the world… she thinks she needs to get stronger… so, she goes to the Straw Hats. She passionately asks to join their crew… and they agree! How does she affect later arcs? More on that later when I feel like it! But who becomes the new Duke? Take your pick. Could be Wanda, could be one of the Musketeers, choose your favorite.
Usopp vs. Page One[]
I’ve been very disappointed with Usopp between this arc and Egghead. In Egghead, I feel like almost every drawing of him was of him screaming. In Dressrosa, Usopp unlocked a semblance of Observation… and he hasn’t used it since. Wano should’ve been his chance to develop that. So many side characters got so many moments, so it’s just not fair if Usopp or anyone else gets shafted, especially as one of the original Straw Hats who’s well known for great character moments.
So with that, it’s time for his second chance with Page One. When Usopp goes to rescue Kin’emon and Kiku, the Spinosaurus ambushes him. He is still injured from Big Mom’s attack, but he’s got enough stamina to threaten the sniper. Usopp runs from him in a small labyrinth of corridors. To Usopp’s horror, and to keep up the tradition of funny Ancient Zoan techniques, Page One is capable of curling up and rolling on his spine like a gigantic tire! And it cleanly saws the floor it treads!
Usopp shoots out dummies of himself to divert Page One’s attention, but Usopp can hardly get a good angle on the guy before he comes zooming his direction. So, he taps into the power he felt at Dressrosa: he remembers the auras of Luffy, Law, and Sugar. He realizes… this is Observation Haki. Usopp can see Page One through the walls. Furthermore, he can sense his injured points due to Big Mom’s attack.
To expand on his ammo a bit, maybe he found some unique plants and seeds in Wano? There was a 2-week time-skip, after all. He had to do SOME training. Perhaps some plants that could grow through the walls and strike Page One on the opposite side. Maybe bladed sakura blossoms, to take inspiration from Bleach. Utilizing these new plants, Usopp is able to bring Page One to his knees, defeated.
He then goes to save Kin and Kiku, but a Beast Pirate platoon arrives. Usopp doesn’t have the stamina left to fight them off while protecting them, but that’s when Izou arrives. The top gunner of the Whitebeard Pirates admits that he witnessed Usopp’s battle in secret, praising his skills. “You’re almost as good as Yasopp.” Brimming with confidence, Usopp takes the samurai and leaves Izou to take out the riffraff.
Later on, perhaps there can be a moment where Usopp mourns the late Izou. He remembers Izou’s words and feels determined to meet his dad soon.
Kaido’s Backstory…?[]
This was definitely another big letdown of the arc. What was Kaido’s motivation? What was his purpose? “There are some things in this world you wouldn’t understand,” he said to Yamato.
The only backstory we got was some vague flashback we got in the VERY FINAL chapter of his battle with Luffy. We see snippets of him being sold as a slave, defecting to the Rocks Pirates, and… something about Joy Boy. I couldn’t even enjoy the climax of the fight as much as I was supposed to, because I was just confused. Was that it? What did we learn? It really bogged the climax down.
I’m sure Oda wasn’t ready to tell us the story of Joy Boy, yet. Will we see Kaido’s extended backstory when it’s finally time? Maybe. But I feel like it would’ve had a greater impact when Kaido was the center of attention. Not long after he’s done and melted. We should’ve had something more concrete. Make us understand why Kaido believed heavily in the legend of Joy Boy, why he hoped to be the next Joy Boy and why his dream couldn’t be achieved. The moment that Luffy defeated him was when Kaido found Joy Boy, potentially at the end of his life. Should we feel happy for Kaido now? Is Kaido finally at peace? There was probably so much more to that moment… but instead, we’re left in confusion.
King’s Redemption?[]
King and the Lunarian race likely have some connection to Joy Boy, too. From what we can garner, King thought Kaido could be Joy Boy. They both shared the dream of finding him. They were determined to… no matter what kind of monsters they had to become.
When King realizes that Luffy was the victor, he requests the samurai to bring Luffy to him. Luffy is brought to Udon, where King is in cuffs. Maybe Yamato comes, too. King tries to apologize for everything… and he tries to explain the truth. The truth that Luffy is the man they awaited all along. Because his people fondly believed in a legend. When the Drums of Liberation would play. King renounces his codename and returns to his real name, Alber. He no longer wants to hide. Alber bows and asks to be Luffy’s subordinate.
“No way!” Luffy is not as forgiving this time; rather, he has no idea what Alber is even rambling about. “If you wanna do what I say… then I want you to stay here and help the people of this country!” … Alber accepts. Though hesitant, the samurai undo his cuffs; Luffy at least trusts him enough that Alber won’t go on a rampage. Maybe later, there can be a Cover Page where Alber is keeping his former crewmates in check, with Queen calling him a traitor.
Brook vs. Apoo[]
While I’m not as upset about this one… Brook should’ve fought Apoo. Freakin’ music battle of the century right there. Brook also didn’t have a major fight outside of Maria’s minions. This might not be a character development-heavy fight, but it sure as heck would’ve been a fun one! Imagine the crazy dances and musical imagery we would see! The power of their souls bursting forth! Oh, a missed opportunity…
And that’s about everything I wanted to get out of my head. Between the SBS revelation that Tama is a Kurozumi, Kaido and King’s unspoken backstory, to any of these potential fights, there was so much more I wanted out of Wano. The arc still had many more great scenes than bad, and Oda really put his all into crafting it… but I also think shortcuts and sacrifices had to be made along the way. The arc could’ve been even greater… and the same also goes for the Egghead Arc. But more on that later.