Summary
A popularOne Piecetheory has the Straw Hats competing against the Red Hair Pirates in a long-awaited callback to Long-Ring-Long Land. TheOne Pieceseries’ world-building is detailed and full of long-term payoffs, making it reasonable to expect certain plot points to return. If this theory is correct, Long Ring Long Land Arc may easily become one of Oda’s mostimpressive feats of foreshadowingyet.
The Long Ring Long Land mini-arc sees the introduction of the “Davy Back Fight”, a seemingly irrelevant competition that allows the competing factions to win the adversary’s crew members. The mini arc is currently still regarded as canon filler and fans are patiently awaiting its payoff, but this might change when the Straw Hats finally encounter the Red Hair Pirates.
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What Happened in Long Ring Long Land?
The “Davy Back Fight” is a series of challenges that allow crews to win members of the opposing team. Believed to have originated as a pirate tradition in Hachinosu, the competition in its standard format features a series of three consecutive events that pit two teams of seven against each other.
TheLong Ring Long Land arc’s main antagonist is Foxy, a comic relief character that gives the arc a light-spirited and low-tension feel. This dishonest slow-slow fruit user tricks pirate crews he encounters into Davy Back Fights, then uses backhanded tactics to conscript the adversary captains to the Foxy Pirates. He initially backs the Straw Hat crew into a corner but is eventually defeated in a one-on-one fight against Luffy, never to be seen again. While Foxy himself is unlikely to become an important character, it is in the Davy Back Fight that some fans see the solution to the Straw Hats vs. Red Hair Pirates encounter.
Shanks vs. Luffy
The Red Hair Pirates are at anadvantage in the race to reachLaugh Tale and find the One Piece. Though they are technically competing against Luffy’s crew, the relationship between Luffy and Shanks makes it highly unlikely for the two crews to engage in proper combat. Nonetheless, it is just as unlikely for either of the captains to give up on their dreams and when they do eventually meet, there will have to be a confrontation of sorts.
A popularOne Piecetheory finds the solution in the nature of the Davy Back Fight as this competition would allow the two crews to compete without ill-intent. The theory states that the two captains will be each other’s final obstacle to obtaining the title of pirate king, leading them to challenge each other for the title on the shores of laugh tale. This is an exciting prospect as if this competition were to take place, there could be some very interesting matchups such as the possibility of a marksmanship challenge between Usopp and his father, Yasopp.
Long-Ring-Long Land’s unique status as an isolated filler arc remains odd as all otherOne Piecearcs that were once regarded as canon filler turned out to foreshadow major events. A prime example of this is Skypeia, an arc the community once thought to be skippable that actuallyforeshadowed Luffy’s final form as Joyboytwenty years before Wano’s Gear 5 reveal.
Oda has proven to be an intentional writer and though it is certainly possible for Long-Ring-Long Land to remain an isolated instance, it isn’t likely. With the Manga’s current developments regarding Hachinosu and its ties to Davy Jones and the pirate tradition, the Davy Back Fight seems to be the most probable element to return. Regardless of whether thisOne Piecetheory turns out to be true, fans can rest assured that Oda’s solution tothe Red Haired Piratesvs. the Straw Hats confrontation will be as entertaining as all his others.
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