Can you imagine Usopp becoming one of the most important characters in the story? Fulfilling
prophecies, acquiring conqueror's Haki and taking out one of the Yonko? No? Well, I can.
I think that after Whole Cake Island being Sanji's arc and Wano being Zoro's arc, Elbaf
will be the arc of God Usopp, where the cowardly, insecure and lying boy from Syrup Village
will become one of the fiercest and bravest warriors the endless seas of one piece have
ever seen. So let me now share with you the gospel of the the almighty and all-knowing
God of sniper island.
Hi there, I'm Manu and Usopp has always held a very special place in my heart out of any
fictional character. Rarely have I ever changed my mind about someone as drastically as this
obnoxious boy, Luffy decides to recruit into his crew. I want to walk you through his incredible
character arc until Wano that turned him into one of the most-beloved characters in fiction
and then share a number of carefully-selected exquisite theories with you, that might foreshadow
some major developments for Usopp and his powers, very soon.
Usopp is an incredibly interesting character in a multitude of ways. Take his name for
example. Usopp is a combination of the famous greek storyteller and fabulist Aesopp and
the Japanese word uso, that literally means lie. Oda clearly was fully aware of where
he wanted the character to go. Because Usopp is both, a great liar and a fantastic story
teller and to me it shows how well-planned and consistent he was written. On top of that,
he is by far the most 'normal' member in a crew of absolute monsters, making it super
easy for me to relate to his experience traveling with the straw hats.
I was incredibly impressed, how well established these fundamental traits were established
in Syrup village, where we first get to meet Usopp. Immediately you and I know, that this
is someone who craves attention above all else. He lies and exaggerates to any- and
everyone he meets, just to have people notice him. The way he deceives the villagers that
pirates are coming until no one believes him, is literally the story of Peter and the wolf.
This deceptiveness and pretentiousness in everything he says and does made Usopp immediately
unlikable to me. However, a little later , we find out why. Usopp is basically an Orphan.
His mother died when he was young and his father left him to become a pirate. Now to
be fair, it was Shanks who is fighting for a better world, and I don't think Yasopp is
a bad person from what we have seen of him, but let's be real, he doesn't deserve a father
of the year award for it either.
In my eyes, this left Usopp with 2 choices: Resent his father for leaving or, as he did
in the end, glorified him. After all why, would he leave his kid behind if he wasn't
a legendary pirate with important work to do? This really hits home hard, when you realize
that it's probably this insecurity about being left behind, that lead to Usopp's chronic
lying. He lies about being a great and powerful man, having had many adventures, just like
his father, because he feels like he can never be this person in reality. He feels weak,
insecure and worthless. His worst side. Keep that in mind for water seven.
At the same time however, I love that we also get introduced to Usopp's best side. On the
sickbeds of his dying mother and of his friend Kaya, he also fabricates stories. However,
while his usual lies are meant for getting himself some attention, these stories are
meant to brighten up the day of people he cares about. It's the story-teller inside
him, caring for others. And to me, it is exactly this altruism that is the basis for Usopp
becoming a brave warrior of the sea. And according to the theories I have in store for you, he
will be a great warrior indeed.
In Arlong Park, during his fight with Chu, he finds his dream, to become a brave warrior
of the sea. But honestly, I do believe, that Usopp is brave right from the beginning. Usopp’s
cowardice is actually very self-imposed. Effectively, it is another one of his lies. This even links
to the concept of him telling lies that later become true. Usopp’s self-doubt acts as
what is called a ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. Even though he is often scared, in the end
he always decides to stay, fight and do the right thing. He has shown time and time again,
that when it really counts, he is undeniably brave, proud, and honourable. He even goes
on to defeat Chu, a fishmen way stronger than him. So to me, his arc is not about becoming
brave, because bravery requires fear to be overcome, no to me his real arc is about building
confidence, accepting himself and finding a purpose.
The next big step in his character arc is during Alabasta. I couldn't help but be impressed,
how he overcomes his fear to be hurt, and once again steps out against an opponent he
thinks is way out of his league. He is willing to give his life for his captain and declares
his loyalty for Luffy.
Interestingly enough, just a while later, we experience Usopp's lowest point in the
story. I'd argue that his fight with Luffy and his leaving the crew doesn't diminish
his believe that Luffy will be pirate king. The going Merry, the ship they had been given
by his village, had become a member of the crew, to the point where Usopp could even
see a manifestation of its will, something that will be important later on by the way.
Conquerors haki. Now, this member of the crew had gotten too weak to fulfil its purpose
and was about to be left behind by the rest. Usopp sees himself to be the next in line.
Despite all the courage he has shown, he still has the worlds biggest impostor syndrome.
The same reason why he tried to forcibly put himself on a level with Luffy. This is hammered
home by this scene here. [you are not a shipwright usopp] Usopp is the only one, that doesn't
have a fixed role in the crew yet. He is not recognised as the sniper of the crew at this
point. Only during Enies Lobby, does he come back as Sogeking, a representation of everything
Usopp thinks he wants to be. He hides behind a mask, that allows him to slip into a more
confined persona. As a result, his actions on Enies Lobby establish him as the sniper
of the crew and after witnessing the lengths Luffy would go to to keep a crew member for
robin, he overcomes his fear of being left behind and apologizes.
Thriller bark proves to us though, how insecure Usopp still is, even under the mask of Sogeking,
while once again taking down a strong opponent.
I was very positively surprised to see, that Dressrosa out of all places, was Usopp's biggest
moment of character development yet. The tontatta put all their hopes into Usopp, thinking that
there hero Usolando will come help them. The stress for Usopp in this arc has been building
up steadily and in the end he couldn’t handle the pressure of his responsibility he caused
with his own lies,so he runs away. Unfortunately Usopp represents one of the main themes of
Dressrosa here, deception. All this time Doflamingo had been deceiving the tontatta and Usopp
was essentially doing the same. However in the end their cries finally reach Usopp. Without
Sogeking to hide behind, he finally accepts himself as a true and strong member of the
straw hat crew. [announces that he is Usopp of the strawhat pirates] Usopp gains confidence
in himself and his capabilities to be a real hero and is rewarded immensely for it with
one of my favourite moments after the time skip. As a result, the Usopp we see in Wano,
is the most confident, but also most competent version of him, we have ever seen, turning
the tides wherever he appears.
So now that I want to move on to Usopp's future in the story, what's important to know is
that Usopp keeps fulfilling many of his major lies one after another, becoming more and
more the hero he aspires to be.
As always, everything from here on out is speculation based on my previous analysis,
but I'm excited about all these possibilities. And as you probably already suspected, Elbaf
will be the bases for all these theories. Elbaf spelled backwards after all is fable,
and I think I might become the most important arc for our story telling fable master yet.
Throughout the story, Usopp has forget relationships with the giants he met.
First on Little Garden with Dory and Broggy, that inspire him to become like the giant
warriors, inspiring his dream and promising to go to Elbaf. On Enies Lobby he frees Oimo
and Kashi from their bonds to the world government, perfectly reciting the giants weapons and
techniques [].
Once again he promises to meet them in Elbaf. And finally he gains the respect of Hajrudin
on Dressrosa, who declares him a god, giving Usopp a very high standing across multiple
generations among the giants of Elbaf.
The first lie I want to look at is this [Descendant of noland].
As I have discussed in my big one piece theory, Noland is actually one of the most influential
characters in the entire story and a direct parallel to Roger himself. Outside of Shandora,
Noland traveled the New World multiple times and is worshiped by the tontatta. Usopp is
tied to Noland through the two statues he has, one in Shandora and one in Dressrosa.
And so I think it would make a lot of sense for Noland to also have been to Elbaf. A popular
idea is that Usopp will defeat Loki, the current ruler of Elbaf, which would fit Usopp's arc
perfectly. A great reference to David vs Goliath. A legend in which the small David defeated
the giant Goliath with a slingshot. And I don't find it too far fetched to theroize
that Usopp might find out his relationship to Noland here as well.
If this were true, this could have some major implications for Usopp. It is quite possible
that Noland, just like Roger, was one of the people who inherited Joy Boys will, while
failing to keep the promises they made. Other characters that might fall into this line
are Binks and Nika. And the sun god was actually mentioned the first time during Nolands flashback.
And as you know, Usopp has also earned the status of god. If this were true, it would
not be Luffy, but Usopp who would be the inheritor of Joyboys will, setting him up to be the
liberator of the Giants. Now, I DO think that Luffy is Joyboy, but I DID find this line
of thought very entertaining. And even if Usopp was JUST a dependent of Noland, that
would already be awesome by itself.
Next let's look at something that has been hinted at a lot throughout the story: Usopp
getting conqueror's haki. Yes you heard me right. I'm suggesting that THE Usopp, our
Usopp, might unlock what only Luffy and Zoro have within the crew so far. So how does the
ambition and will of a king fit together with the king of cowards? Well the first clue is
already in the name. Usopp has proclaimed himself to be a powerful pirate captain throughout
the story and wants to become a brave warrior of the see. In a way he has these kingly ambitions
in a more literal sense than even luffy or zoro. As for willpower, I already have explained
that to me Usopp has been brave and strong willed from the start. The only thing holding
Usopp back really are his self-doubts and his self-image. However this is slowly melting
away. Usopp has already unlocked one type of haki and that on the most extreme level
we have seen in the story so far, picking out the exact aura of a person miles away
from him.
So, could there have been hints in the story? Similarly to Zoro? I believe there is actually
a ton of foreshadowing for this. Usopp has actually lied about having conquers haki twice
now. Once I this scene here with the tontatta [underground shaking, actually my haki]. And
a second time during the raid on onigashima. Additionally, we have two instances where
Usopp knocks out powerful opponents by literally crushing their will. Once with sugar [] and
once with Perona. Both times we can see the characteristic foaming mouth, that is reserved
for someone knocked out by conquerors haki.
Conqueror’s Haki relates very much to one’s spirit and spiritual presence, as well as
to ones ability to affect the spirits of others. And Usopp was originally the only one able
to interact with the Going Merry’s Klabautermann. So could this be another one of his lies coming
true once Usopp reaches his full potential in elbaf? Well I would lie if I told you I
wouldn't absolutely love it.
To round things up, now that we have a quite powerful Usopp, the last theory I want to
discuss has been proposed by a Reddit User called africhic, who proposes that Usopp might
be the one to bring an end to big mum's chase after the straw hats. Shoutout to him.
We have already talked about Usopp's relationship with the giants. And Big mom shares this affinity
with him. She has gone to great lengths to include the giants into her piece project
and has been inspired by their warrior spirit. As you might have noticed, one of her main
attacks is the same giant technique used by Dory and Broggy. [Ikoku Sovereign] She uses
it three times, ones on WHole Cake island, once on the life floor in onigashima and once
on the rooftop with kaido. And yet, funnily enough, the only straw hat who hasn't experienced
this attack yet, is Usopp, the man who knows all of Dory's and Broggy's techniques. Both
of these character arcs are on a collision course for Elbaf and yet their standing among
the Giants couldn’t be any farther apart. Big Mom, who is seen as a force of destruction and
usopp, who has been heralded as a warrior and a God. So Usopp might well be the only
person to end the feud between the straw hats and big mom.
To solidify all this, we're gonna have some shenanigans with the chapter numbers again.
You know I love those. This time however, instead of the word plays we'll just rearrange
some numbers, because Oda loves doing that. For instance take the first panels of chapter
592 and 925. Or 387 and 783.
The chapter I want to look at is [Chapter 834 “My Dream”], that shows big mom talking
about her dream to have the giants with her, as well as [Chapter 483 “The End of the
Dream”] which features Lola, the daughter who ruined the wedding with Loki.
Usopp has the opposite standing with the Giants than Big Mom, two sides of the same coin.
..what happens when we flip it? [Chapter 438... in which Usopp choses to return to
the crew instead of his dream of going to Elbaf.
What blew my mind is that, actually no matter which way you rearrange these three numbers
it **always** has to do with characters thinking they have to give up their dreams:
348, the chapter that Robin chooses to go with CP-9 in order to protect the Strawhats
- giving up on her dream of learning the history of the world and Saul’s last wish of finding
her friends. 384, the chapter where Usopp tells Oimo and
Kashii the truth. Moments before they thought they had to give up on their dreams of seeing
their captains again. And 843, the chapter Sanji tells Luffy he’s
leaving - giving up on his dream of the All Blue in order to protect his friends.
What will Usopp say, when he sees Big Mom's attack? Will he say that he's friends with
the giants, that he fought with them and has Hajrudin as his underling? It would sound
like the biggest lie ever but turn out to be nothing but the truth.
Another character that is strongly linked to Elbaf and nordic mythology is none other
than Shanks himself. If you want to know why, I strongly recommend you check out that video
right here.