As One Piece heads into the Final Saga, everyone’s eyes are on who could potentially turn into an ally or enemy of the Straw Hats, especially with a supposed all-out war on the horizon. The Egghead Arc and Vegapunk’s message especially set this conflict into high gear and the Elbaf Arc has introduced even more key players such as Loki, the Holy Knights and the Giants. Amidst this speculation about who could end up on which side, theories about traitor and potential villain redemptions have been running rampant, and One Piece‘s latest chapter has indeed redeemed a major villain, giving Luffy a brand new ally, though it isn’t who fans expected.
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The cover story of Chapter 1146 reveals that Ulti has agreed to follow Yamato out of gratitude for saving her and her brother, Page One, from Who’s Who, confirming a suspicion that fans have had ever since the Tobi Roppo sibling duo first appeared in the cover story. The latest cover story sees Ulti sobbing while clinging to Yamato, with the title of the cover story being Ulti’s words to Yamato, “I’ll never forget the debt I owe you!! I’ll be your follower for life!!” As such, it seems all but clear that Ulti and Page One are on the path to redemption and becoming Yamato’s new retainers, much like Oden had the Akazaya Nine.
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One Piece Just Revealed the True Objective of Yamato’s Cover Story
Over the last few chapters of the Elbaf Arc, many fans have speculated that Gunko could end up being an ally in disguise as a double agent for Dragon, much like Stussy was for Vegapunk. That said, the latest chapter has thrown fans a complete curveball with Gunko outright defeating the Straw Hats with Collun, while giving Luffy a new ally through the cover story instead. Though Yamato’s cover story has been uneventful so far, the latest chapters are finally proving its true purpose, which is to see Yamato gather her own retainers like Oden did and give Luffy more powerful allies by extension.
Although Ulti and Page One both had their own confrontations with the Straw Hats during the Wano Arc, a redemption of this sort is very much possible given the circumstances. With Kaido defeated and presumably dead, it is safe to say that Ulti and Page One have nowhere else to go. This is especially true since the SBS of Volume 111 revealed that Ulti and Page One were only left to survive among the Beast Pirates because their father, Hanafuda, the former Warlord, met an untimely death.
More importantly, unlike other, more cruel members of Kaido’s crew, Ulti and Page One haven’t committed any outright atrocities that make them immediately unlikable, which creates hope for their redemption. As for their hand in Wano’s persecution, Oden’s own retainers were also once outcasts and nuisances. Most importantly, One Piece has redeemed far worse antagonists in the past, even turning them into Straw Hats, so there’s no reason why Ulti and Page One and perhaps even more of the Tobi Roppo can’t turn a new leaf.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
