I’ve seen a bit of discussion and doubt regarding Bonney joining the crew, however, at this point i’m almost fully convinced she WILL be joining post-Egghead island & i’ve decided to lay out every single reason as to why in one comprehensive post to put any doubts to rest.
Now, It’s entirely possible this could be another Yamato situation, however my argument against this possibility is as follows: Yamato only came into the picture during the raid on Onigashima and was overly eager to join Luffy and his crew, which had been the case with no other Straw Hat up to that point; she was giving off red flags from the beginning. Not to mention she was almost stronger than the crewmate that had just officially joined that same arc with much more development at that point, Jinbe.
Bonney on the other hand, has been almost the center of this arc aside from Vegapunk & the Elders. She was the FIRST thing we encountered upon arriving to Egghead island, even before Vegapunk/Lilith themself! From the very start we had the classic future Straw Hat signals; Bonney had no real respect or care for Luffy & his crew which has completely 180’d currently. Of course there was the “Boggy” situation where Luffy had a goofy nickname for her as he does with most regular tag along characters, which she immediately corrected and he hasn’t done again since (Oda even elaborated on this during an SBS) which is a requirement for all Straw Hats. Finally, she spent a good amount of time with Jinbe, Luffy & Chopper, explored the island together, ate loads of food with them and was being just as childish as them, showing the friendship dynamics. This is just the foundation, but already we can see how much she clicks with members of the crew as opposed to someone like Lilith.
Early into the arc we see her purpose for being on Egghead is finding Vegapunk to have him explain why he turned her father Kuma into a mindless cyborg, and to force him to turn him back or she’d kill him. Further along we get a full backstory (one of the best in the series btw) explaining Kuma’s past and Bonney’s past which ends with the World Government trying to track down Bonney. Though this backstory elaborates more on Kuma than Bonney, we’ve seen the highlights of Bonney’s adventures throughout the story at this point and can piece most of her narrative within it together. Not only does this flashback serve perfectly as a future Straw Hat’s backstory but also helps establish two main points within this argument.
Kuma has done an abundance of favors for the crew by both sparing then saving their lives on Thriller Bark and Sabaody respectively, and protecting their ship during the timeskip. The Straw Hats know they are eternally indebted to him for these reasons, and what better way to pay back their savior than protecting his daughter from the World Government as an Emperor of the sea?
In addition, we see Bonney’s main goal throughout her time as a pirate was to find her father, confront Vegapunk, and have him fixed. However, before Kuma had even been completely out of the picture, Bonney WANTED to be a pirate. She originally wanted to sail the seas with her father and see the world, however this is nearly impossible at this point with Kuma being almost completely nonfunctional and mindless & Bonney being a target of the government due to her control over the Pacifista, among her general defiance & title as a pirate. We also see how much both Kuma and Bonney idolize Nika during the flashback, so much so that not only did she seek out the real Nika, but uses distorted future to copy his attacks. What better way to still fulfill her dreams than exploring the most important parts of the world with basically her & her father’s idol? She’s already been to many islands including some the Straw Hats themselves have already visited, the only ones left are those deep within the New World, previous islands the Straw Hats have been that she has not which could possibly be revisited by the end of the story, and islands hidden away from the world such as Laughtale. Not only would she be sailing with basically her favorite superhero, but she’d be one of THE most protected girls in the entire world.
Then again, she wouldn’t only be around them for protection, as she has her own strength as a former supernova. She’s shown herself to be a competent fighter, taking out a CP-8 agent at only 10, easily handling Vice Admirals and using armament haki at 12 and of course surviving on the Grand Line for 2 years as the only true fighter on her crew. Her devil fruit has pretty much limitless potential & shows her to have abilities almost on par with Luffy himself.
Speaking of Luffy, let’s talk about her role on the crew as an apprentice/cabin girl. There are a number of reasons this works perfectly within the story. This works as a perfect parallel to Roger and Shanks as Roger perfected only the power of haki which Shanks then went on to replicate. Luffy has progressed through the series by perfecting his devil fruit and his haki, which Bonney can go on to do as well, but thats not all. They both have fruits based in imagination which Luffy can show her how to expand upon with his creative techniques and of course his reality breaking Gear 5 abilities. This isn’t to say Bonney will just be Luffy 2 and only use his abilities or moves for the remainder of the story and copy-paste Gear 5 when things get tough. I believe she will learn how to do what Luffy does in her own unique ways or simply craft her own fighting style based on what she learns from the crew as a whole, as she can’t even maintain her Gear 5 copy for more than a single punch. Her boarding as an apprentice is also completely appropriate for this part of the story, as an apprentice would not be needed or required pre-timeskip or the first part of post-timeskip, as Luffy himself had not learned all there is to learn about haki & devil fruits nor was he as generally skilled as he is now. Now that he is a newly appointed Emperor, there could not be a more perfect time to claim an apprentice for the next generation. Furthermore, this also parallels Luffy’s father, Dragon, as he had both of Bonney’s parents, Kuma and Ginny, in the Revolutionary Army, with Kuma acting as his right hand man next to Ivankov. There are so many connections to tie Luffy and Bonney together, it would be almost foolish for Oda to not have them stick together for the remainder of the story.
My main point of contention within this argument, however, is Bonney’s crew. Not due to that fact that she had one, as other Straw Hats have originated from different crews (Nami working with Arlong, Robin working with Crocodile, etc) and we’ve even already had established captains join the crew (Jinbe from Sun Pirates, Franky from Franky Family, etc), my issue is a bit different. Post Marineford it’s been stated that Bonney’s crew was taken to Marine Headquarters which she alone escaped from. It would be odd for her to simply abandon her friends from Sorbet Kingdom in New Marineford, however, I definitely do not expect her to get them out on her own. I’m not entirely sure how that issue could be resolved without jumping to unproven speculation but if i had to guess i’d say they’ll find some way to get out themselves and return to Sorbet Kingdom, as they only tagged along with Bonney for her protection (though she didn’t really need it) and to give her the illusion of having a real pirate crew. If she were to join the Straw Hats they would no longer be needed as her protectors and would honestly be safer in Sorbet Kingdom as they wouldn’t be risking their lives sailing the Grand Line when they don’t really do much fighting. Regardless, if she doesn’t have a crew anymore and is being pursued by the World Government, where else can she go but with the people that are literally saving her right now?
Of course there will be those claiming that she should join the Revolutionary Army or go sail the world with Kuma. First of all, to address the latter, I’m sorry but that’s just not going to happen. I love Kuma but I think it’s pretty evident at this point that he is not returning to the Kuma she once knew as her father and her sailing in the New World lugging around his husk is both extremely depressing for everyone and unrealistic, and again, she has no ship, crew or even any support to fend off Marines, the government or even other pirate crews while sailing the world. The Revolutionary Army however, is a decent idea, but as I’ve previously mentioned, Lilith is most likely already on that train and I’m not too convinced Dragon would want to mentor a girl while trying to…well allegedly trying to overthrow the government. She serves no real function in the Revolutionary’s arms and has showed no interest in joining or finding them. I’m not even sure Bonney knows Dragon or his connection with her father. I could see Lilith trying to take her with her if she goes to seek them out, but she’s already developed trust and a relationship with Luffy and his crew, so why join up with random people she does not know? And again, remember from her and Kuma’s flashback, we know she wanted to be a pirate since about 9 years old. The most realistic option is of course, joining the crew of an Emperor.
This brings me to my final point and conclusion. Throughout Egghead we have seen a concentration and focus on Bonney akin to that of a Straw Hat such as Chopper in Drum Island or Franky in Water Seven, and she has served as the main emotional force from start to finish without being swamped by other side characters like other candidates from previous arcs such as Yamato in Wano or Law in Dressrosa. The very reason I’ve become so confident in her addition to the crew and why I decided to post this in the first place was due in part to chapter 1121. The chapter’s climax may have distracted from one of the biggest indicators I’ve seen yet for her being a new Straw Hat.
When Bonney and Luffy take down Saturn together, it’s extremely evident how little damage Bonney does to him. Luffy does 99% of the work, but by egging her on and encouraging her, Luffy not only shows how perfect of a mentor he is for her, he also liberates her and her father from their chains placed on them by that very same man by allowing her to help deliver the finishing blow and claim her freedom. He shows her how much potential and power she has, which will simply grow more wild as the future pirate king’s apprentice.
A Definitive Argument for the Next Straw Hat
If after all of this you still have doubts, concerns, or fears, let me share with you an SBS many have forgotten that may ease all worries…
*Theory by stupidcupidrdt
