So with Luffy now being acknowledged as the “5th Emperor among the Yonko”, I realized that Luffy’s power comes from him not having anything to hold him back.
The world balance being kept as is from the beginning of the story is because if any of the Yonko or the World Government makes a move the other Emperors (or the World Government) will use this chance to gain something from it, for example:
- If Big Mom tries to fight Kaido in order to get a copy of the Poneglyph or vice versa, Shanks, Blackbeard or even the World Government could use this chance to their advantage.
- Same with World Government…if they try to capture one of the Yonko, it will need all their military power to put on a fight and that will leave the world nobles and their bases without anyone to protect it.
But with Luffy in the equation, everything crumbels. Him essentially not needing to protect anyone that stays at the same place all the time, gives him the freedom to fight anyone he wants without worrying about them.
He went to Whole Cake Island, gained things and left things behind but in the end he still survived and is on his way to fight Kaido.
Wether he defeats Kaido in Wano or not, I am sure he will come out with at least damaging Kaido’s territory and defeating most of his strong fighters (Calamities, Shogun, etc…). And here is the thing: when Luffy escapes from an Island, nobody knows where he is at or how they can lure him because he himself doesn’t have a territory to return back to and if Kaido or Big Mom wants to chase after him, they need to risk leaving their territories in the open for a long period of time because as far as we know they won’t be able to pinpoint his location quickly.
Imagine if Luffy has a territory at his current strength, firstly he won’t be able to protect it from other Yonkos and the Marine. Secondly Luffy’s way of life is that he wants to have adventure not staying at the same place for a long time. Him also having Kingdoms that support him in secret like Alabasta, Dressrosa, Water 7 and Fishman Island (which is supposed to announce soon that they are under Luffy’s protection) works to his advantage as nobody knows about them except Smoker (Albasta), Fujitora (Dressrosa) and Aokiji (Water 7) which are considered very honorable people.
*Theory by Mad-Oka
