Though often overlooked, One Piece’s cover stories very often end up being crucial to the main story down the line or impacting it in ways no one could have imagined. Besides giving the anime extra material to adapt, these cover stories also help fans keep up with other side characters and locations and expand on One Piece’s worldbuilding without diverting too much attention from the main storyline. More often than not, these seemingly mundane cover stories only prove their significance much later, and it seems the same may be true of One Piece’s latest cover story following Yamato, which may have just given Luffy two very powerful allies.
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The cover story for Chapter 1145 continues Yamato’s pilgrimage across Wano as he defeats Who’s Who, saves the carpenter Minatomo and the missing women who had been kidnapped, as well as Ulti and Page One, who had been captured by Who’s Who. The cover story of the latest chapter reveals that both Ulti and Page One are live and well, with Ulti pictured crying tears of relief while holding her brother. With nowhere else to go now that Kaido has been defeated and is presumably dead, One Piece could very well see the two former Tobi Roppo become allies to the Straw Hats under Yamato out of gratitude for being saved from Who’s Who, potentially even becoming Yamato’s retainers.
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One Piece Teases Ulti and Page One Could Switch Sides
Besides proving why Yamato could not leave Wano and join the Straw Hats, One Piece’s latest cover story has also been helping to wrap up the loose threads left at the end of the Wano Arc. One of the biggest questions that fans had at the end of Wano was what happened to the Tobi Roppo and other members of the Beast Pirates, now without their captain, and Yamato’s cover story has answered just that question, revealing that Who’s Who went on to establish a base in Udon and had been kidnapping the women Yamato had heard were missing.
That said, Ulti and Page One being part of the picture was quite unexpected, especially since they were being held captive by Who’s Who, who was using the siblings for cruel entertainment. While the thought of any of the Tobi Roppo joining Luffy would have normally been unthinkable, recent revelations about Ulti and Page One’s backstory and how they came to join to the Beast Pirates suggests that the two siblings may not have had much attachment to Kaido as fans think, making it much easier to picture them switching sides by becoming Yamato’s new retainers. In fact, it seems Ulti and Page One may not have had much of a choice at all when it came to joining Kaido’s crew.
As revealed in the SBS of Volume 111, Hanafuda, the former warlord of the sea who was defeated by Ace, is in fact Ulti and Page One’s father. In the SBS, Oda confirms that Hanafuda and Kaido used to be rivals but eventually formed an alliance, after which Hanafuda entrusted his two children to Kaido. However, after Ace defeated him, Hanafuda was killed on the way back to Ulti and Page One, leaving them to be raised by the Beast Pirates.
While it may seem like Kaido took them in, as seen with Yamato, Kaido was anything but a father figure even to his own child, which means Ulti and Page One were likely left to survive on their own. The SBS of Volume 100 even states that Ulti stole her and Page One’s devil fruits from Kaido to help them survive in the crew and climb their way up to the top, till they eventually became members of the Tobi Roppo. Ulti and Page One simply did what they had to in order to survive and are now presented with a very similar situation wherein joining Yamato, and by extension Luffy, might just be their best bet.
Ulti and Page One Might Become Yamato’s Retainers
Although Ulti has displayed some annoyance with Yamato before, it is possible that the trio grew up together, which may further weigh into Ulti and Page One’s decision to follow Yamato. More importantly, the entire goal of Yamato’s cover story and his pilgrimage across Wano was to follow in Oden’s footsteps. If so, Yamato, much like Oden, might pick up retainers along the way, and Ulti and Page One might just be the first of them.
Though they served as antagonists throughout the Wano Arc, Ulti and Page One, unlike other members of the crew, haven’t been pictured committing any outright evil, unforgivable acts, which makes it easier to redeem their characters. This also wouldn’t be the first time One Piece has redeemed a former villain, having done so time and time again with characters like Hachi, Helmeppo, St. Mjosgard, and even Straw Hats like Nico Robin and Franky. It is also important to remember that nearly all of Oden’s retainers were outcasts, criminals, or troublemakers who had nowhere to go, much like Ulti and Page One, making them the perfect potential retainers for Yamato. If so, Wano may have just acquired two very reliable protectors, and Luffy may have gained two incredibly powerful allies through Yamato, which could end up being a game-changer in the Final Saga of One Piece.
One Piece is available on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
