Let’s skip the small talk, there’s a real case to be made that in One Piece, the flame of heroism might not end with Monkey D. Luffy. It could pass to Jewelry Bonney. Yes, that Bonney, the brash, food-devouring Supernova with the power to twist age and time. What once looked like comic relief now feels like foreshadowing. A theory born on Reddit (and fanned by ScreenRant) argues she’s the one being quietly set up to inherit Luffy’s legacy.
Whether you buy it or not, the idea cuts straight to the core of One Piece: freedom, rebellion, and the will that refuses to die, even when the person carrying it does.
Fans aren’t making this up for kicks. The breadcrumbs are right there.
Bonney’s story mirrors Luffy’s in all the ways that matter. She’s a free spirit who spits in the face of authority, acts on instinct, and throws herself into danger for others. Since the Egghead arc began, her defiance has sharpened into something unmistakably Luffy-like, a moral compass that points toward freedom at any cost. As ScreenRant put it, “One Piece quietly confirmed Luffy’s successor in a low-key scene you forgot.”
Her ties to Bartholomew Kuma and the Revolutionary Army only deepen that mirror. The mysterious “Will of D.” has always represented rebellion against tyranny, and Bonney, though not a “D.” by name, embodies that same current by belief alone. Reddit threads have been quick to notice: she’s carrying the flame, not through blood, but through conviction.
And then there’s timing. As Luffy’s quest grows ever more mythic like gods, ancient kingdoms, the shape of the world itself. Bonney’s role has expanded too. No crew, higher bounty, open war with the World Government. Her enemies now match Luffy’s own. Fans are calling her “the best candidate for next Straw Hat since Jinbei,” and even skeptics admit her spotlight isn’t accidental.
Luffy’s story was never meant to freeze time. One Piece is a saga about passing torches, not preserving them. If the tale continues beyond him, Bonney fits the evolutionary path perfectly.
Reddit summed it up best: “Bonney’s ability lets her be whatever she dreams her future could be.” Her fruit isn’t just about changing age, it’s about potential. She literally embodies the future. And in a story obsessed with inherited will, that symbolism is almost too on the nose to ignore.
The ScreenRant piece calls the hint “low-key,” meaning Oda isn’t waving a flag, he’s whispering through parallels. Another fan said, “Ever since Egghead started, people have been saying Bonney will join the Straw Hats. I think she’d make a perfect addition.” That’s more than a fandom crush; it’s a sense that the story’s moving toward her.
Her power reflects legacy. Her father’s tragedy reflects injustice. Her fights mirror the same enemies that shaped Luffy’s war. The Age-Age Fruit can reverse youth or accelerate age, a literal metaphor for passing time and ideals. Maybe her ability isn’t about control at all; maybe it’s about knowing when to let go.
Kuma’s story gives that weight. He was broken down for a cause greater than himself, the ultimate act of sacrifice. Bonney fighting for him isn’t just a daughter’s revenge; it’s a mirror of Luffy fighting for Ace, Robin, and every soul crushed by the system. Her anger burns for the same reason his joy does: because both are forms of love.
And when she faces the Celestial Dragons and the Gorosei, she’s no longer a side note. She’s clashing with the top of the food chain. That’s narrative elevation, the kind that Oda saves for characters about to redefine the board.
So if she is the successor, what shape could that take?
She could join the Straw Hats, cementing her as part of Luffy’s found family and giving the story a clean visual of inheritance. But the crew is already full, and Oda’s careful about overcrowding.
Or she could walk a parallel path, her own fleet, her own cause, carrying Luffy’s ideals outward. That keeps his legend intact while expanding the world beyond his ship.
The most interesting version might come later: Bonney as the next era’s protagonist, the “after-story” hero who builds on what Luffy leaves behind. A mirror, not a clone.
If that happens, One Piece would evolve from one man’s dream into a legacy, from a personal quest to a movement. The “Will of D.” would stop being a family name and start being an ideology. Freedom wouldn’t belong to those who inherit it; it would belong to those who choose it.
And that’s where Oda might be heading. Luffy tears down the world. Bonney rebuilds it. The torch doesn’t die, it adapts.
It’s worth noting, too, how radical that would be. A woman taking the helm of One Piece’s next age? That’s more than narrative symmetry. That’s transformation. Oda’s always played with inversion, giants with soft hearts, pirates who save kingdoms, monsters with dreams, so a female successor to the Pirate King fits right into that pattern.
Of course, not everyone’s convinced. Some fans argue Bonney arrived too late in the saga to shoulder that kind of weight. Thousands of chapters have tied readers to Luffy; could someone introduced halfway through really inherit that emotional investment?
Others note that the Straw Hat roster is already balanced, and adding Bonney could disrupt the chemistry. And then there’s the stubborn mystery of the “D.” lineage; fans who see it as strictly hereditary won’t accept a successor without the letter.
But maybe that’s the entire point. The “D.” has always represented the unpredictable spirit of defiance. Maybe the letter was never the key; maybe the belief was.
So what should we watch for next? Signs. If Bonney openly declares herself aligned with the Will of D., or if Luffy entrusts her with something symbolic, a hat, a promise, even a sentence, then the handoff begins. If she becomes pivotal in the fall of the Celestial Dragons, the writing’s on the wall.
And even if she doesn’t, her trajectory tells us what matters: the will doesn’t end with a name. It lives on in whoever dares to carry it.
If the theory pans out, don’t expect a sudden dethroning. Luffy will finish his era. He’s earned that. But Bonney might be the spark that shows what comes next, the bridge from myth to rebirth.
So yes, it’s speculation. But speculation is the heartbeat of fandom, especially in a world built on dreams. And this one feels different, not just fanservice, but thematic symmetry.
Because One Piece has never really been about finding treasure. It’s about what you do after you find it.
Bonney, in all her messy humanity, her hunger, her grief, her defiance, represents that next question. What do you do when freedom is no longer a dream, but a responsibility?
Maybe she won’t wear the straw hat. Maybe she’ll build something new entirely.
But the story of One Piece was always bigger than one boy and his hat.
And if you’ve been paying attention, the wind’s already changing.