One piece is currently in the climax of the Elbaf arc, with a lot of focus on the straw pirates heading into battle against Nero Imo and his holy knights. The Elbaf Arch also officially marks the prelude to the Great War, as stated in One piece Chapter #1146. With the dawn of the end One piece creator Eiichiro Oda prepares to round out the crew by adding the final member to the mix, further strengthening Luffy's group.
At the moment, there are 3 primary candidates for the position of the final member of Luffy's crew, and Eiichiro Oda has given each of them plenty of reasons to join. Primarily, Eiichiro Oda lined Vivi up in the crew a long time ago, but along with her is Prince Loki the Cursed and now a new contender in the form of Princess Shuri. When Elbaf ends, we will officially find out which of the three will eventually join the crew.
One Piece Chapter 216 and 1130 Prepare Luffy and Vivi's Reunion
Vivi is one of the most important characters in the overarching story One piece and a character that Eiichiro Oda officially established to rejoin the Straw Hat Pirates One piece Chapter 216, officially released on January 28, 2002, in WSJ Issue #9. In this chapter, it was officially confirmed that Vivi would like to travel with the Straw Hat Pirates again, and that when that happens, Luffy and the crew would not hesitate to call her a colleague again. In the final saga of One Piece, things escalated significantly regarding Vivi. Her father, King Cobra of Arabasta, died in Reverie. When CP0 searches for her, Ima wants to claim Vivi for herself. He has no safe place to turn and is currently holed up with Wapolo and Big News Morgans.
“I'll stay here. But if we ever see each other again, will you call me your partner?” – Nefertari Vivi shows that she wants to rejoin Luffy in the future, One Piece Chapter #216
Vivi sent a message to Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece Chapter 1130, officially released on October 21, 2024, in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #47, setting up a reunion for them and making a strong case for her to become the last Straw Hat. However, it is unclear if Vivi will rejoin the Straw Hats before Imu gets to her. The latter is just as likely, if not more likely, and leaves the door open for other potential candidates to join the Straw Hat crew instead.
One Piece officially introduces the 3000 year old mythical Zoan
The Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit class is preparing to receive the new divine addition shown on Harley's mural in One Piece Chapter 1138.
How the Elbaf arc connects Loki and Shuri as potential Straw Hats
Along with Princess Vivi, Eiichiro Oda also lined up other characters in Elbaf to join the crew, and one of them is the Cursed Prince of Elbaf, Loki. Although initially set up as a villain with the potential to destroy the world One piece Chapter 1130, Loki has already formed a friendship with Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates and fights together to protect Elbaf. In fact, Monkey D. Luffy also asked Loki to join his crew directly One piece Chapter 1152 which was officially released on June 23, 2025 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #30.
“Loki, join my crew, man! If he joins me, then you can't complain if I free him, can you, Hajrudin?” – Luffy asks Loki to join the Straw Hats, One Piece Chapter #1152
That said, the only obstacle to Loki joining the crew is the fact that Elbaf will have no one to protect them if he leaves. Loki was also given this responsibility directly by his father, King Harald, before he died, and as such, he would have to leave Elbaf to his fate if he were to join the Straw Hat Pirates. Regardless, if Luffy and the crew succeed in defending Elbaf once and for all, Loki will be able to follow his heart and join Luffy and the crew.
In addition to Loki, there is also Princess Shuri, who was recently set to become a member of the Straw Hat Pirates as well. Shuri was a princess of the kingdom of Esperia who was born as a celestial bloodline individual from the Manmayer family, as confirmed in One Piece Chapter 1186 June 28, 2026 in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump #31. Shuri eventually took control of Nerona Imu and she was dragged to the Holy Land of Marijoa where she was completely brainwashed and eventually became a Holy Knight.
In the Elbaf arc, Shuri is the main princess for Luffy and the crew to save, and they're going to save her one way or another. Once Shuri is rescued from Nerona Imu's clutches, she has nowhere to turn as Esperia is officially destroyed, as confirmed by Brook in One Piece Chapter #1183. With no one to turn to and the world government on her back, Shuri could potentially only travel with the straw pirates and Brook. In fact, in the latest Esperia Kingdom flashback, Shuri even stated that she would like to sail the seas together with Brook as pirates in One Piece Chapter #1185 on June 15, 2026. Whether or not that happens depends on whether or not Luffy manages to save her from her cruel fate at the climax of the Elbaf Arc.
Shuri: I thought you wanted to be a pirate, Brook?
Brook: My burden comes first. Dreams are secondary.
Shuri: Ah, well. So when you leave, I'll go with you.
Brook: You can't!
Shuri: I can!
— An exchange from One Piece Chapter #1185 showing Shuri wanting to become a pirate with Brook.
Why can only 1 character permanently join the straw hats after Elbaf
Although there are three candidates for the position of the last Straw Hat, only one of them can actually go ahead and join the crew. This is because Eiichiro Oda has already lined up 10 henchmen for Luffy to take on the other emperors. For example, the Blackbeard Pirates already have 10 Titanic Captains, and for a possible clash between the Straw Hat Pirates and the Blackbeard Pirates, Luffy would need 10 powerful subordinates to face the Titanic Captains. Similarly, Shanks also has 10 strong minions that follow him into battle. Luffy currently only has nine and only one can be added to the crew.
As such, this person could be any of the three, but the most likely of all is Princess Vivi, with Shuri being second in line. Loki, even if he would be the strongest of the group, would need to protect Elbaf and thus his chances of joining the crew are the lowest overall. With Elbaf already at its climax and heading towards its end, we will soon know the answer to who will join the Straw Hat Pirates. We absolutely can't wait to see who Oda ends up choosing for the Straw Hats.
All new One Piece manga chapters by Eiichiro Oda are available to read through Manga Plus and Viz Media.
