Warning: The following article contains spoilers for One Piece’s Egghead arc for anime-only watchers.
From its first chapter release in 1997, One Piece has contributed to the manga stratosphere at an astronomical level. As the most-sold manga of all time, the story created and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda introduced millions of people all over the world to the One Piece universe, engulfing its readers and viewers alike in an unprecedented adventure unmistakable for its numerous tales of laughter, loss, and ambition, as well as its gigantic arsenal of characters who have all marked fans’ lives in one way or another.
Despite not being exactly known for killing off his characters, Oda does have a knack for sad goodbyes every other arc. Naturally, this has caused fans to become somewhat familiar with the author’s tactics and motives after such a long time. Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped fans from wondering about the events in the latest Egghead arc, and even after two decades, One Piece is still surprising fans week after week. Most recently, two of the largest fleets ran into each other for a second time: the Red Pirates and Kid’s crew, but did the latter leave the battle unscathed?
How did Shanks and Kid meet again?
Predictability is not a trait of One Piece, and the most recent manga arc occurring in Egghead is the materializing proof of that. Week after week, Oda has introduced and re-introduced characters in every single chapter. From finally meeting Vegapunk, to seeing Shanks in a battle for the very first time, fans have been fed with lore while on this remote island inhabited by the genius scientist and all of its six satellites.
Undoubtedly, this is one of the arcs with the largest amount of information dumped thus far, and as the Straw Hats face CP0 as well as Seraphim’s bombarding of the country, several side events and quests are also occurring at the same time. All the warlords of the sea are currently being hunted by the Marines per the newfound law that their existence is no longer necessary, Blackbeard and Law face one another — with it likely ending in disaster — and the Kid pirates reach Elbaf. The country known for its giant population is currently under the care of Shanks, who met a vengeful Kid in his protected territory.
The pirate belonging to “the worst generation” is once again facing the Emperor responsible for Kid’s lack of arms, upon Benn Beckman getting slaughtered by Kid before he even got a glimpse of Shanks. The latter is also known for having the largest Haki radius in One Piece thus far, letting Kid know he was nearby before he even reached Elbaf. This chain of events led to an obvious altercation between the two pirate crews, and while some may have been rooting for Kid, it was obvious the young pirate stood no chance against Shanks once more — despite defeating Big Mom just in the prior arc.
In a swift motion, the audience was met with Shanks fighting for the very first time. The pirate moved at a neck-breaking speed, quickly defeating Kid before the readers even internalized what had just happened. Appearing to have slaughtered Kid’s now-robotic arm once more, Shanks’ ginormous conqueror’s Haki was enough to defeat the rest of the crew, who were left foaming at the mouth upon facing the Emperor. However, this does not necessarily mean Kid has died.
Is Eustass Kid dead?
In what appears to be an obvious defeat of the Kid pirates, it is unlikely that Oda decided to kill the orange-haired pirate out of seemingly nowhere. Unlike Ace, whose body was seen entirely decayed after being violently killed by Akainu, neither Law nor Kid’s deceased bodies have yet been shown. It would not be the first time Oda has knowingly opted to have major events occur off-screen; however, the author has not once killed any major side characters without notice.
While some fans may theorize that there is no way Kid or Law could’ve survived the two emperors since it is impossible to predict what is on the horizon, Oda may just be very likely tying all the ongoing events together. Ultimately, the largest fight in One Piece will undoubtedly render all pirates and marines together, as each of them fights for their own goals at Laugh Tale. As more and more commotion set in place before this fight, the author is probably setting the stage for the Straw Hats’ journey toward Egghead, where they will certainly face Kid once more — albeit defeated.
So there you have it. There is a very low — nearly impossible — chance for Kid’s ultimate demise. Even though fans have met with sudden and heartbreaking deaths in One Piece, it has almost become a rule that if there is no body to be found, then it’s almost certain that no one is dead.
One Piece is coming out weekly on Viz, and all the arcs until mid-Wano are available to stream on Crunchyroll.