One Piece’s Alabasta arc had Crocodile, while the Summit War saga had Blackbeard. The East Blue saga’s arch-villain, however, isn’t so clear cut.
The sprawling tale of One Piece is smartly compartmentalized into different sagas, with each being a large story comprised of one or more arcs as part of the same narrative. Most One Piece locations have a memorable chief villain, starting with Sir Crocodile in Alabasta, Gecko Moria in Thriller Bark, Doflamingo in Dressrosa, and Big Mom at Whole Cake Island.
Meanwhile, One Piece‘s “East Blue” saga has many arcs and an individual villain for each, from Higuma the mountain bandit to Captain Kuro and Don Krieg. They are all fine starter villains, but none truly stand out as a saga-defining supervillain. Here’s why the “East Blue” saga’s best villain, metaphorically speaking, is actually the World Government’s own Navy.
The Marines Were Foreshadowed as Luffy’s Worst Enemy in East Blue
Most One Piece sagas have that one plot-defining villain whom fans remember for years after the fact, but the “East Blue” arc is more like an anthology and a true free-roam adventure. During that time, the fresh-faced hero Luffy was free to wander aimlessly and recruit anyone he liked to his tiny crew, and no East Blue villain lasted longer than one or two fights on a particular island. Buggy the Clown did appear in both Orange Town and Loguetown, but it’s a stretch to call him the saga’s arch-villain for that reason. Instead, the Navy and all Marines gradually became Luffy’s main antagonist.
Luffy was rather unfriendly toward the Marines right away and vice versa, starting with his battle against Helmeppo and his father, Captain Morgan, at Shells Town. To recruit Roronoa Zoro and protect the locals, Luffy fought and defeated Captain Morgan; the other Marines cheered their cruel boss’s downfall while also sternly shooing Luffy away as a pirate. They didn’t want to attack Luffy but also had a duty to capture pirates like him, so they briefly overlooked his pirate status at the time. After this point, the Navy only grew more hostile.
The Navy struck again when Captain Nezumi, who was stationed in the East Blue sea, intervened in the battle at Arlong Park. Nezumi was a sleazy, untrustworthy and cruel Marine captain, and he and Luffy’s crew were bitter enemies from the start. Luffy also gained his first bounty around that time, with his wanted posters appearing all over the place so Marines could hunt and capture him. The Navy nearly captured Luffy’s crew at Loguetown, with then-Captain Smoker and his junior officer Tashigi clashing with the Straw Hats.
Luffy only escaped because his own father, Monkey D. Dragon, intervened and scared Smoker off. Still, Luffy was a wanted young man who now had the Navy’s close attention, and Smoker would continue his pursuit well into One Piece‘s “Alabasta” saga as well. Once again, a Marine force nearly captured the Straw Hats, the latter only escaping because Mr. 2 Bon Clay held them off.
Luffy’s Escalating Feud, Then War, With the World Government & Its Marines
Even if no single Marine or Navy officer was the strongest villain in the “East Blue” saga, it clearly established the Navy as one of Luffy’s most powerful, widespread and bitter enemies of all. One Piece is all about foreshadowing and worldbuilding, often name-dropping or hinting at characters dozens or even hundreds of chapters ahead of time, such as Captain Blackbeard or Dr. Vegapunk, the World Government’s top scientist. The “East Blue” arc did that with the Navy, setting up Luffy and One Piece fans alike to expect more trouble with these officers in the future.
Sure enough, Luffy ran afoul of the Navy and its Marines at the end of the “Alabasta” saga, echoing his close call with Smoker and Tashigi in Loguetown. Most of all, Luffy and his crew declared war on the World Government and its Navy in the “Enies Lobby” arc, symbolically attacking the World Government’s flag and waging war with countless Marine forces to rescue Nico Robin from CP9’s clutches.
Spandam stood out as the “Water 7” saga’s main villain, putting him in the same league as Crocodile and Kaido. But overall, it was the entire Navy that stood as Luffy’s worst enemy — and the “East Blue” saga made sure this hardly came as a shock. This pirate vs Marine war was a few hundred chapters in the making, a classic example of One Piece‘s legendary worldbuilding and foreshadowing prowess.
Src: cbr.com
