One Piece's Wano arc marked the conclusion of the long Yonko Saga that spanned over half of the post timeskip, and with that, the manga is finally entering its final saga as Luffy approaches the final island, Laugh Tale.
One Piece usually does not feature a lot of deaths, and so far, only a couple of major characters have died after the timeskip, such as Izo, Shutenmaru, or Pedro from the Yonko saga. However, the Final Saga is the endgame of the story and with it, most characters will conclude their character arcs. As such, Eiichiro Oda, the author, could choose to kill off more characters, even if it isn't in his nature to do so.
Updated on June 18, 2023, by Rei Penber: The Final Saga of One Piece is finally underway and quite a lot of intriguing plot points have been building up in the story already. Fans have already seen major events shaking up on Egghead Island, at the same time, the other major powers, such as the Yonko, the Revolutionary Army, and even the World Government are making their moves.
With a massive war on the brink, several characters are going to die in the final saga of One Piece. While this list already goes over some characters who could end up dying in the Final Saga, there are others who have found themselves and precarious situations and could very well face a cruel fate as well. With that in mind, this list has now been updated.
12 Five Elders
The Five Elders recently became the focus of the Final Saga of One Piece. Oda revealed their names as well as their positions within the World Government to the fans very recently. In fact, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, who is the Warrior God of Science and Defense has already set out on a mission where he will likely engage the Straw Hat Pirates. Fans have great expectations for the Five Elders and, judging by the way Oda has handled them so far, they certainly won't be disappointed.
The Five Elders are incredibly powerful and, at the same time, very influential in the One Piece world. They are some of the most important antagonists in the entire story and, thus, would need to be eliminated entirely. The chances of the Five Elders dying at the end of the story are very high.
11 Saint Garling Figarland
Saint Garling Figarland was once the Champion of God Valley. This character is one of the highest-ranking members of the Celestial Dragons, which is evident from the fact that he can pass judgment on other Celestial Dragons. He is the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights and, thus, possesses great power as well as authority. Saint Garling Figarland also has connections to Shanks, who also belongs to the Figarland Family.
Although fans have not seen much of him just yet, his character appears to be rotten to the very core. He has a deep hatred of the Fishman race and adheres to the core values that all evil Celestial Dragons. A character such as him has no chance of redemption and will most likely end up dying by the end of the final saga of One Piece.
10 Trafalgar Law
Trafalgar Law is one of the members of the Worst Generation and a pirate worth 3 billion berries. He is extremely powerful and has made a great name for himself lately, however, Law is in the great game now and could end up dying at any point. Recently, Law faced Blackbeard in a gruesome combat where he ended up losing nearly his entire crew. Bepo saved his life, however, Law does not have any crew to belong to right now.
He is a broken pirate and, thus, at his weakest. When the Great War begins, Law might be involved in it in some shape or form, however, his death can't be written off anymore. Furthermore, Law also has the power of the Ope Ope no Mi and this Devil Fruit can grant one immortality. If he were to use it to grant immortality to someone, he would end up losing his life. Thus, the chances for him to die in the Final Saga of One Piece are quite decent.
9 Eustass Kid
Eustass Kid is also a member of the Worst Generation, just like Law. He also rose to extreme infamy after the Wano arc and attained a bounty of 3 billion berries, although he was not made an Emperor of the Sea. Kid is extremely powerful, however, not as strong as the likes of the Yonko. Recently, Kid fought against Shanks, and his entire crew got decimated by the Red-haired Emperor in a single swing of his sword.
The Kid Pirates are no more and Eustass Kid was seen sinking to the bottom of the ocean. They could very well have already died, however, knowing Oda, he is likely alive, but broken. Nonetheless, the chances for Kid to die in the future are quite high, that is, if he involves himself in the Final War. At this point, nobody is safe in One Piece, especially a character without a crew, such as Kid.
8 Garp
Garp is one of the legends of the Navy in One Piece and a character that fans hold very close to their hearts. He is incredibly powerful even in his old age, and his recent display confirmed that to the fans. Garp has found himself in quite some trouble lately as he invaded the Pirate Island all by himself. On the island, there are several powerful members of the 10 Titanic Captains of the Blackbeard Pirates, including Kuzan. While Garp is strong, taking them all down by himself is quite a challenge and he could very well be defeated.
Furthermore, Blackbeard is on his way back to the Pirate Island and if Garp were to get captured, the chances of him dying at some point in the future would go up by quite a lot. Garp is an old man and Oda doesn't hesitate from sacrificing them, as seen with Whitebeard in the past. It will be quite interesting to see what direction Oda takes with the character of Monkey D. Garp as the story hurtles towards its end.
7 Blackbeard
Marshall D. Teach is a recurring antagonist throughout the One Piece series, ever since his first proper introduction in the Jaya arc. Following this arc, his actions led the story into the Summit World Saga that shook the world of One Piece with the deaths of Yonko Whitebeard and the son of Gol D. Roger, Portgas D. Ace.
Blackbeard is a character that has been set up to play a major role in the final saga as an antagonist to Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy isn't the type to finish off his opponents but it's fair to assume Blackbeard will meet his end one way or another.
6 Sabo
Sabo is a character the readers were introduced to at first in the post-Marineford arc, where fans got to witness Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Luffy's childhood in the East Blue. There, it was discovered that Luffy had a second brother, Sabo. As fans know, Sabo was perceived to have died but was later revealed during the Dressrosa arc as being alive. During this time, Sabo had risen to the Revolutionary Army's Chief of Staff and their Number 2, after Monkey D Dragon.
Sabo was believed to have died during the Reverie while rescuing the enslaved former Warlord, Bartholomew Kuma from Marigeoise. Recently, Oda confirmed that Sabo had survived, however, shortly after, he was struck by Imu and his fate remains unknown.
5 Monkey D. Dragon
Monkey D. Dragon is the father of One Piece's protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, as well as the son of Marine legend, Monkey D. Garp. He is the head of the Revolutionary army and one of the most wanted men. With all that said, he is a very mysterious man with little known about him.
As the Revolutionary army infiltrated Marigeoise to save their cammarade, Bartholomew Kuma, the group also declared war on the Celestial Dragons, meaning it's a matter of time before Dragon goes into action during the final saga. He could very well die to accomplish his goals.
4 Usopp
Usopp is a member of Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates crew and acts as their marksman. He is one of the first few people Luffy recruited back in the East Blue and has, since then, accompanied Luffy on his journey despite some conflicts and disagreements here and there. With the end of Wano, Usopp has come close to death on a few occasions, most recently in his attempt to fight the Tobi Roppo, Ulti, and Page One.
Usopp's dream is to become a great warrior of the sea and this conflicts with his cowardice and deceiving nature. One way he could realize his dream is by sacrificing his own life. He is also symbolized by the number 4 in the crew, being the 4th member to join, and it is a number used to represent death.
3 Akainu
Sakazuki, also known by his epithet of Akainu, is the current Fleet Admiral in the Marines, having taken over after Sengoku retired. He fought for the position with Aokiji on Punk Hazard. Akainu is a cold and heartless individual who only cares about one thing: Absolute Justice. He can be so ruthless as he doesn't mind killing innocent people if he deems fit, with Ohara being the prime example where he struck down the ships of the civilians.
Most notably, during the Summit War in Marineford, he was the one to end Portgas D. Ace's life. After reaching the Fleet Admiral position, he relocated the headquarters of the Navy to the New World to prepare for the new pirate age and conflict that will arise during the final saga. It wouldn't be shocking if someone managed to kill Akainu for everything he's done.
2 Shanks
Red Hair Shanks is one of the 4 Emperors of the Sea, making him an extremely infamous pirate in the One Piece world. He is the man who set Luffy on his path to becoming the King of the Pirates by entrusting him with his Straw Hat.
Shanks bears a scar on his face which could just be a taste of his fate to come. Indeed, even though he is a Yonko, a clash with Blackbeard led to his face being scarred. This leads a lot of people to believe that Shanks will die at Blackbeard's hands in the final saga.
1 Imu
Imu is an extremely mysterious individual that has been introduced in the story only very recently during the Reverie arc. This individual is someone who sits on the Empty Throne in Marigeoise, having even the 5 Elders bow down to them, marking them as the character with the highest authority in the World Government, or even the entire world.
Imu is sure to be properly introduced during the final saga at some point as, so far, only their silhouette has been seen. It's not unlikely that to truly free the world from the grasp of the World Government, Imu will have to die – perhaps at the hands of the Revolutionary Army.