Chapter 1081 gives new clues about the identity of the mysterious “Man Marked by Flames”

The man with the burned mark isn’t who you think.

So back in Chapter 1056 we were introduced to this mysterious character. When Luffy, Law and Kid are discussing their next moves before leaving Wano. After they decide the routes Kid remarks they are going to meet the man marked by flames and that he has info on the fourth missing Road Poneglyph.

A few chapters later (Chapter 1066), we learn Vegapunk knew Jaguar D. Saul survived the Ohara Buster Call and that he was gathering the Ohara books and delivering them to Elbaf along with a few giants. Vegapunk also said Saul was in Elbaf keeping this info safe and in hiding. Many in the community assumed Saul was and is the man marked by the flames.

Many have speculated for years that he was alive because of the attack Kuzan used in the Ohara incident, Ice Age: Time Capsule. This revelation with the fact ice can also create burn marks fueled that Saul is this man. This is the first key evidence that his community speculation is not correct. We have seen Kuzan using his fruit powers many times but no ice burns. He used them on Luffy, Doflamingo, Whitebeard, Robin, Vasco Shot and Sanjuan Wolf and no one of them have burn marks.

Now in current Chapter 1081, we learned via the dialogue of the Blackbeard Pirates and Kuzan a few more things of this man marked by flames:

1. He has the power to create whirlpools and sinks enemy ships with it.
2. He travels in a black ship.
3. There isn’t a mention of Elbaf.
4. Again its mentioned he has the Road Poneglyph.
5. This man travels in a ship, he is not in hiding like Jaguar D. Saul is on Elbaf.
6. Vasco Shot says the man has the marks for a long time when Kuzan jokingly says when asked about the man by replying Kuzan has only had marks recently.
7. Kuzan, a former Admiral and candidate for Fleet Admiral didn’t know of the existence of the Road Poneglyphs.
8. Notice also that Shiryu says it’s possible this man with the burned marks could be affiliated with the World Government, so they could guarantee no pirates would reach the One Piece.

So the present theory is that Saul is not the man marked by flames. To the Saul fans, don’t worry. He will still be important for the story, since he does have vital research about the Void Century and several scrubbings of blue poneglyphs, which are still vital and important to understand the Void Century, Robin’s dream to discover the Rio Poneglyph and the truth about the Ancient Kingdom. This becomes even more obvious by the fact there are 30 poneglyphs, while the Straw Hats have only gathered 5 Poneglyphs so far. This is how Saul is definetly still important for the story, so he gives the Straw Hats all the research on Historical Poneglyphs that the Ohara scholars gathered while traveling around the world, as was the case with Professor Clover and Nico Olivia (Robin’s mom).

In Chapter 1067, Vegapunk is confirmed that Vegapunk has the Brain Brain fruit and one of the capabilities of these fruits is that he can memorize large chunks of information which makes his dream of the Punk Records particularly dangerous for the World Government. The fact he has also researched the Poneglyphs and holds all the info that Saul managed to save from Ohara gave him a huge target on his back by the World Government.

See, here is another key evidence that Saul is not the man marked by flames. Vegapunk never mentioned the Road Poneglyph was in Elbaf that he saw it and knew its whereabouts. In fact, due to his devil fruit giving him the ability to store large quantities of information, he would have replicated the Road Poneglyph and made a deal with the Straw Hats in trade of them protecting him.

So who is this man marked by flames?

It’s Saint Jay Garcia Saturn. He has a scar that resembles a burn mark on his face, the whirlpool power was used to remove the Road Poneglyph from Fishman Island. The fact Kuzan didn’t know Road Poneglyphs exist also is very suspicious, which means in the World Government very few know of the existence of Road Poneglyphs (CP0, Five Elders, maybe Fleet Admirals and Commander In Chief). There is also a small chance he is a potential traitor in the Gorosei group and that he ventures out of Pangea Castle more than we know. For now, let’s only assume he is the man marked by flames and wait for evidence he could be a traitor. This also aligns with what Shiryu said in Chapter 1081.

Another interessting thought is: the 100 ships heading to Egghead with Saturn and Borsalino had very little time to travel between New Marineford and Egghead. From what we’ve seen, only a few hours to a full day has passed between the arrival of the Straw Hats’ to Egghead Island and the World Government finding out about it. Now if Saint Jay Garcia Saturn is the man marked by flames and can create whirlpools, this suggests he can manipulate sea currents, greatly cutting the travel time of that massive fleet.

Finally, there is Saint Jay’s characterizarion. The guy looks like a rabi and holds a staff. If he indeed has the power to manipulate currents and sink enemy ships, the inspiration is a biblical one: Moses. This also aligns well to how devote the Five Elders are to Imu, who omniously has been show to have deity like powers and status.

So, what is the implication here?

Saint Jay Garcia Saturn will very likely be taken hostage by the Straw Hats or Blackbeard Pirates. The faction who loses him in Egghead island will have to chase the other faction to grab the final Road Poneglyph. To me it seems Luffy will be the one to take him hostage and Teach will have to follow the Straw Hats to Elbaf. The destruction of Egghead island will be pinned on both Straw Hat Pirates and Blackbeard Pirates, rising the bounties in the crews. The participation of the World Government will be leaked after by Morgans or Punk Records.

*Theory by Cocabonzao