Signs are heavily pointing to yes, if there are any sort of plot devices from earlier arcs to go by, as Trafalgar D Law will die and may not be long for the world of One Piece. The Heart Pirates Captain was ready to give up his life back in Dressrosa, but changes his mind after seeing Luffy’s bravery. That said, there are a few setups for Law that could point to his death, and they’ve been glaring from the moment one major plot point was introduced.
Warning that this article contains spoilers for the manga One Piece through chapter 1094. The manga is available online from Viz and MangaPlus online. Catch up before reading on!
Who is Trafalgar D Law?
The ‘Surgeon of Death’ Trafalgar D Water Law is a former Warlord of the Sea and current independent pirate. He’s incredibly strong, with a piece of extensive medical knowledge, Op-Op Fruit powers, and master swordsmanship. Law leads the Heart Pirates, an infamous crew across the Grand Line for their part in the Marineford War as well as the infamous Rocky Port Incident.
His skills are legendary as both a doctor and fighter, and that’s what makes him the most dangerous to wield the Op-Op Fruit. He can surgically replace the heads of enemies with cannonballs or remove their hearts but leave them functioning if he so chooses. There’s no telling what may be up Law’s sleeve, as he typically plans ahead for every situation possible.
The Immortality Surgery
This is the real secret of the Op-Op Fruit that Law holds. There exists a mythical surgery that can only be done with this Devil Fruit through extensive medical knowledge. Doflamingo was originally trying to get the Immortality Surgery done on himself, trying to use the Fruit for his brother Corazon while knowing that he already has a Fruit. This just makes Doffy more evil though, as the Immortality Surgery carries an incredibly high cost for eternal life.
The one who performs the surgery will die upon completion. It’s unknown if this is because of the toll it inflicts on their Devil Fruit power, or on their physical body though. Law does say that he knows how to perform it, likely through the innate knowledge gained through eating the Devil Fruit when he was younger. Or through his extensive medical studies and travels, both equally likely.
Who Could Get the Immortality Surgery?
From the looks of things, Imu already has the Immortality Surgery and has been alive since the Void Century. Though that’s always up for debate until Oda confirms or denies otherwise, and it could relate to Devil Fruit’s abilities or somesuch. That rules them out from going after the power for the Immortality Surgery though. That said, there are a few active pirates that it could end up going to. First of all could be Luffy, in the midst of battle, there’s every possibility that Law sacrifices his own life in an effort to save him.
Then there’s every possibility that Doflamingo breaks out of Impel Down and goes back after Law for it. However it would take a lot to force Law into performing it, and he would have to be under an immense amount of duress. Then there’s Blackbeard, who most recently may have taken Law prisoner, and has dreams of surpassing even Rocks D Xebec himself.
Law’s Dream
Even after he tries to die during his fight with Doflamingo, realizing he’s not enough to beat him, Law finds a way to continue. He eventually decides to follow the Straw Hats in going after the One Piece, and namely wants to know what the Will of D is. Law has more questions than that though, as the Void Century and what it contains are also of particular interest, especially because he has some personal history with grudges against Celestial Dragons.
He isn’t likely to die before realizing his dream, as One Piece has set him up as a major part of the journey. Although it may happen not long after he finds out, and he’ll gladly pass on anything he can to help his friends after that. Unfortunately, he may not get that chance if some people get to him first though.
Debt to Luffy
There’s no way any of Law’s recent character arc would have played out if not for Luffy adding in his own form of chaos. He owes everything to the Straw Hat Captain, and he knows it too as there was no way Law would have brought down Doflamingo himself. This leads to his help in Onigashima to take down Kaido, and his eventual fight with Big Mom that leads to a major bounty increase. It’s not easy for him to repay that debt, but he also helps Luffy in Marineford so it sort of evens out.
Still though, he’ll do anything to protect the Straw Hats, even if he acts like he isn’t friends with them. Law even has respect for Chopper as a doctor, and knows the little guy is going to do great things. The Heart Pirates are going to play in big time when they come up to Laughtale, and will likely end up helping the Straw Hat Fleet in a tough situation.
Law’s Current Status
That’s the thing though, is that Law is currently in need of saving himself. There’s no way he’s getting out of this without some sort of damage, and it’s not going to be pretty depending on who rescues him. The Blackbeard Pirates are going to jump at any chance they can to take a strong Devil Fruit like the Op-Op Fruit. They may use Law as a pawn alternately though, as he can draw out the Straw Hat Pirates with ease by holding him as a hostage.
They also can quickly take the Fruit for themselves if Law won’t cooperate. Blackbeard may try to make him perform the surgery on him, using Law’s life instead of one of his crew, but there’s also the possibility they just take it for themselves since he won’t cooperate how they want him to. Either way, things aren’t looking great for Law.
Immortal Villains
The concept of an immortal villain isn’t too far off the realm of possibility, and it’s already looking that way since Imu is likely a Void Century survivor. They’re likely the very ones that wiped the information from history about the Void Century, and there’s definitely something they don’t want other people finding out in the meantime. The immortality likely won’t stop there though, as Blackbeard would be a fool to pass it up.
Then again a whole other villain could re-emerge to claim the immortality. Perhaps Shanks changes sides, or Rocks D Xebec is still alive somewhere, hiding for all this time. Trafalgar D Law certainly has a lot of work cut out for him in the future of One Piece, and it’s likely that things are going to come to a head very soon if he doesn’t die!
