So. One Piece. It's easily my favorite anime/manga I've ever experienced; it certainly far outshines the other two members of the 'big three.' Hunter X Hunter and Cowboy Bebop come close, but thus far, One Piece is the king.
With that out of the way, if you don't follow the anime or, further, the manga, this probably isn't going to make any sense to you.
With that out of the way, a word on my lack of credentials. One Piece is notoriously hard to predict! Captain Oda is very good about keeping us on the edge of our seats. There is only one time ever that I made a prediction that came true, and I'm pretty proud of it.
When Blackbeard showed up at Impel Down, I knew Whitebeard was a dead man and I knew Blackbeard was the man who would kill him. I didn't expect him to take Whitebeard's fruit, and I thought for sure that Ace was going to escape, but the fact remains: I knew Whitebeard was sailing to his death, but it wasn't the marines that were going to claim his head.
Thus far, that's just pointless bragging. The only reason I'm proud of it is that I'm hoping my own novels become good enough to publish one day, and to be able to understand the web that Oda was weaving, even in such an incomplete fashion, makes me feel like I might succeed one day.
Now to the new theory. This begins during the Fishman Island arc, and the first time it occurred to me was when Robin and Neptune were discussing Princess Shirahoshi inheriting the ability to control sea kings; essentially, she is one of the three great weapons, 'Poseidon.' The reason I think the way I do is routed in facts revealed before this point, but this is where the theory occurred to me.
By now, you might be guessing at my theory, and you might think I'm insane, but let me take you through the motions before you pass judgment =P.
1. Madame Sharley, Arlong's sister and the mermaid famous for predicting the dawn of the great pirate era, saw a man in a straw hat in her crystal ball. She saw this man destroy fishman island. Madame Sharley assumed it was Luffy. It was explicitly stated that she had no way of knowing when her predictions would come to pass, only that they definitely would. It is also important that she said she saw a man in a straw hat destroy the island; when she described her vision, it's important that she didn't say 'I saw Straw Hat Luffy destroy Fishman Island.' She assumed it was him, but I believe she was mistaken.
So, to summarize bullet point number one: I believe Fishman Island will still be destroyed by a man wearing a straw hat. As a conversation between a fishman child and his father revealed, straw hats are about to become a hot fashion item on Fishman Island, and most of the population seems to have forgotten about Madame Sharley's prediction. http://www.mangapanda.com/one-piece/653/15
2. We still don't know what purpose the giant boat Noah serves, but we know it's very important to Fishman Island. While the story of Noah's ark is obvious to all of us who live in prominent Christian countries, it may not be obvious to the Japanese fans. Still, I think most of us have quietly assumed that the boat Luffy nearly destroyed was intended to bring the Fishmen to a new home one day.
I believe Noah will be repaired and used when the man in the straw hat destroys Fishman Island. I doubt the way Noah was supposed to be use will surprise any of you, but it's important!
3. This may be the most important point of my theory. Wet-hair Caribou overheard Robin and Neptune discussing Shirahoshi's identity as Poseidon. This is why he tried to kidnap her. Obviously, Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji stopped him, but after he reawakens and begins searching for the treasure that Luffy took from him, he says this: "If I bring back the secret of the mermaid princess(...) to you know who, then maybe I'll gain bonus points with you-know-who!" http://www.mangapanda.com/one-piece/652/9
I believe that whoever "you-know-who" (or whoever Caribou ends up telling about Poseidon, since Drake captured him, maybe it's whoever Drake's working for? +Andrew Lastrollo, you know who I'm talking about) turns out to be will be the man in the straw hat who destroys Fishman Island, and I believe this person will destroy Fishman Island in their attempt to take Poseidon for themselves.
4. As discussed during Robin and Neptune's conversation, Joy Boy predicted that a fated man would one day fulfill a broken promise 'Joy Boy' made to 'Poseidon' or 'Fishman Island.' You can probably guess where my theory is going now. http://www.mangapanda.com/one-piece/649/16
5. Jimbei has promised to join the Strawhat pirate crew when he has fulfilled his obligations to Fishman Island and cut his ties to Big Mom. Those are his stated reasons, but I believe Oda delayed his joining of the crew because he needed Jimbei to be on Fishman Island when it was destroyed. Because:
I believe that, when the island is destroyed, Neptune and the princes will focus on evacuating the Fishmen to Noah, delivering them to their new home (wherever that may be). But no matter where they go, the Fishman Kingdom will never be safe so long as Shirahoshi lives there. Even the dreaded Straw Hat name, becoming more famous every day, won't be enough to keep the people who want Poseidon from attacking again. So,
I believe Neptune will ask Jimbei to take Shirahoshi with him to the Strawhats and protect her while Monkey D. Luffy fulfills the promise that 'Joy Boy' made to 'Poseidon' or 'Fishman Island.'
So there it is. This is a mess as it stands, and I'll likely edit it later (and if you like the theory and want to add to it, I'll be happy to include it and credit your addition!) If I'm an idiot, tell me so, and tell me why!
