One Piece Finally Settles a 14-Year-Old Debate With New Character Debut

Riding on the sails of the spectacular Wano and Egghead arcs, One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc somehow continues to up the ante with every new chapter bringing an exciting revelation or introducing another highly anticipated character. After the groundbreaking revelation of the Jewel Tree Adam mural and the ancient Harley texts, it didn’t seem like the Elbaf arc could possibly have anything more exciting in store. However, the latest chapter of One Piece has unwittingly surprised fans yet again with the introduction of Roger’s left-hand man, Scopper Gaban, finally settling a 14-year-old debate in the process.

Chapter 1139 of One Piece surprisingly sees Luffy and his group encounter Scopper Gaban at Aurust Castle while looking for the key to free Loki. The latest chapter also confirms that the figure waiting for the Straw Hats on the coast as they approached Elbaf at the beginning of the arc was indeed Gaban, just as many had theorized. More importantly, Gaban’s appearance in Elbaf also finally lays to rest an old mystery, with his clothing and straw hat finally confirming that the man seen drinking with Crocus on the cover story of Chapter 631 was Scopper Gaban after all.

[Related: One Piece’s Elbaf Arc Revives One Forgotten Devil Fruit Mechanic]

One Piece Finally Reveals the Identity of Crocus’ Drinking Companion

Despite being Gol D. Roger’s second-in-command, Scopper Gaban has made only a handful of appearances in One Piece so far, the last being during Oden’s flashback. Little was known about what happened to Gaban after Roger’s execution, though given how Luffy and the Straw Hats encountered a member of Roger’s crew at nearly every major milestone in their journey, many expected Gaban to finally make an appearance in the Final Saga, mirroring the encounters with Crocus at the entrance to the Grand Line and Rayleigh at the entrance to the New World.

As such, Chapter 1139 has finally sated fans’ curiosity about Gaban, while also resolving a mystery that fans have been trying to unravel for about 14 years. This mystery is, of course, the identity of the man seen sharing a drink with Crocus on the cover story of Chapter 631, which was first released way back in July 2011. For over a decade, fans have been analyzing the mysterious figure’s hair, style of clothing, and potential relationship with Crocus, with theories ranging from Golden Lion Shiki and Scopper Gaban, to the elusive man marked by flames, and finally, after all this time, fans have their answer.

Given how at ease Crocus appears to be in the cover story, it does make the most sense for the mysterious figure to be his former crew mate, Scopper Gaban, though what exactly Gaba was doing away from Elbaf all the way near the entrance to the Grand Line remains a mystery. Nonetheless, Scopper Gaban’s appearance in Elbaf yet again draws parallels to the time-skip arcs and it is very likely he may take on a similar role as Rayleigh in helping Luffy to get even stronger as the final leg of the race to Laugh Tale takes off.

One Piece is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.