Look, One Piece has been pretty good about death being a permanent thing when it comes to main characters. That said, there are ways in the series to bring the dead back to life, and we could see some of those playing out soon. Exactly how they’re going to come back is a little complicated since it involves multiple moving parts, but if done right, it could see some surprising returns. This poses the question, can the Dead One Piece Characters Could Come Back to Life ? Let’s find out!
This article will contain a butt-load of spoilers for One Piece, so catch up on Viz or MangaPlus to avoid them. There will be a lot of speculation and theory with recent chapters in mind.
How Can Characters Come Back to Life?
Through quite a few ways, and none that will be a total ass-pull either. A lot of series like to pull the death card way too often just to continually revive characters (looking at you, Dragon Ball). When someone is confirmed dead in One Piece though, they’re gone. Then there’s just the matter of getting hold of the body, and a lot of characters haven’t put themselves above grave robbing. Whether it be in the name of science or in the name of creating an army, there are more than a few ways to bring the dead back to life.
Shadow-Shadow Fruit
The most obvious right off the bat since there was an entire arc centered around it. The Shadow-Shadow Fruit is able to remove the shadows from living beings, essentially stealing their abilities and personality quirks along with it. Otherwise, the body maintains its memories and relative skill from whoever they were in life, though with some added bonuses assuming the shadow is suited to their skills.
The greatest example of this is Ryuma the Dragon Slayer. He’s a secondary antagonist in the Thriller Bark arc, and still retains memories of his past even though he’s acting more like Brook. It’s enough to make him maintain his sense of samurai honor though, and along with Oars shows the volatility of the Shadow-Shadow Fruit. As long as the body is at least decently preserved, it can be brought back. Hell, judging by some of the Thriller Bark zombies, the bodies don’t even have to be that well-maintained.
Gecko Moria was last seen being surrounded by the Blackbeard Pirates, so it’s unsure if he’s still alive. Odds are he would kiss ass to save his life until he sees a moment to strike, but Blackbeard could have stolen his Devil Fruit instead. Then again, Blackbeard may have just given him an offer to experiment on some very interesting bodies, and Moria would agree quickly.
Clones
Vegapunk has more than shown how well he’s able to make clones out of whoever he wants. From the regular clones like Buckingham Stussy, whom he keeps undercover as a Cipher Pol Agent, to the weaponized clones like the Seraphim. In all reality, the Seraphim S-Bear is going to outlast the original Bartholomew Kuma. The World Government wouldn’t be above using dead pirates to create powerful clone warriors, especially if it was someone strong in life.
Other possibilities exist though, because Vegapunk isn’t the only one that made cloning technology. Vinsmoke Judge and his Germa66 team have an entire army of cloned super soldiers, with no end in sight. They churn them out like a freakin’ Amazon warehouse, or like Terminators marching out of the factory. Clones will definitely have a higher role in the future of One Piece.
Puppetry
This one is specific to Donquixote Doflamingo and his String-String Fruit powers. During the events of Dressrosa, he uses his powers to loop his strings around citizens or innocents, manipulating them like marionettes. During the big fight at the end, he takes it a step further by using the near-death Bellamy as his primary weapon, controlling him and his Devil Fruit powers to fight against Luffy. It’s a special kind of sadism that only Doflamingo is capable of, and he’s absolutely deranged enough to use it on already dead bodies if he needs to.
The bodies wouldn’t be infected in battle, and of course, couldn’t talk independent of Doffy’s ventriloquism. That said, it would be one hell of a psychological tactic to pull out dead loved ones to torment the Straw Hats or others.
Who Could Come Back to Life?
Despite how few characters have actually met their end during the main story of One Piece, there are numerous dead before the story begins. Some have fallen in the course of battles though, and they’re going to be the prime candidates for revival if that ends up being the route Oda takes. How they revive is the real point of contention though.
Ace
Probably the one that would absolutely ruin most of the fanbase and Luffy himself. Ace dying right in front of his brother in the process of saving him was one of the turning points in One Piece, and tragic highs of the story. So to bring Ace back as a zombie fighting on the side of the Blackbeard Pirates would be just the type of dirty, underhanded tactic the Emperor is capable of. It would be the best way to totally catch Luffy off guard, and could be one of the few things to break his smile when he goes into battle. The only thing that remains in question is: how does this affect his Devil Fruit ability?
We haven’t seen a shadow get shoved into a former Devil Fruit user. There’s always the argument that since Logia changes the user’s DNA so much, Ace could feasibly still have his powers. It’s not likely to happen, but could turn into an interesting prospect. Especially since it would add a more emotional reunion if he were forced to fight the current Will of Flame in Sabo.
Whitebeard
If there’s one way to terrify the hell out of the opposing army, it’s to take the hulking, battle-ruined corpse of Whitebeard and reanimate it. Think about his gargantuan stature walking across a battlefield, half of his head missing, with nothing standing in his way and the same insane power he had in life. This one goes back to the whole Devil Fruit question, but even without that Whitebeard’s incredible power is going to pose a threat if he’s revived by the Shadow-Shadow Fruit.
Then there’s the possibility of cloning him. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that Vegapunk could have gotten some Whitebeard DNA. He has Stussy’s after all, and Kaido’s but that’s a different story. A clone of Whitebeard would be the ultimate show of the World Government weaponizing its enemies, but it’s a highly unlikely possibility.
Gold Roger
Bringing back the Pirate King from the dead would be one hell of a bold choice for Eichiiro Oda. Though if done right could be amazing. Think about him having a shadow put in to stand in a fight against someone like Luffy. It would be one of those ultimate passing of the torch moments. Then there’s the question of whether the body would retain Haki’s abilities after being revived.
The other thing that makes this plausible is that the World Government likely has access to Roger’s body. After execution at Loguetown, it doesn’t say if he has a burial at sea or anything. So they could have him in cold storage under Mary Geoise. Would be the kind of low trick that Imu and the Gorosei are likely to play, with absolutely no line they wouldn’t cross.
Rocks D Xebec
This assumes that Xebec died at God Valley, which is one of the most likely outcomes. Though possibilities exist since they were fighting against the God Knights that they were able to subdue and take him. Reanimating his body wouldn’t be the thing to do for Xebec. Making a clone out of him that they could control would definitely be something that the World Government would do.
The other option comes from Blackbeard, who probably wouldn’t hesitate to get Xebec on his team. If they could find the body, wherever it may be. Blackbeard could use the Shadow-Shadow Fruit in no time to return his inspiration to life. The two would rule like a strange twist on the Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker team. Eventually creating their own empire across the Grand Line. This all hinges on finding out what actually happened to Xebec though, so don’t hold your breath.
Joyboy
Not too far out of the realm of possibility is the original liberator. Joyboy was the enemy of the Celestial Dragons all those years ago, with the same powers as Luffy. Now, Imu has been shown beside the massive hat that Joyboy once wore, the Straw Hat similar to Luffy’s. If they have more than just Joyboy’s hat, they could have his whole body. It would be just like Gecko Moria did with Oars back in Thriller Bark. Cloning him would have been the best bet at trying to recreate the powers of his Devil Fruit.
That said, it’s unlikely the Gorosei would ever reveal the existence of Nika or Joyboy to anyone who has the cloning tech. They’re already trying to kill Vegapunk for asking about the Void Century, so he’s out of the question as is. If anything Joyboy would simply serve as a perverse puppet for the World Government to parade as a warning. It sounds pretty metal, but likely won’t happen in One Piece.
Kaido
There’s no confirmation that he’s dead yet. Dropping down into a massive lava pit doesn’t often have a fantastic outcome. That said, Kaido’s DNA was the basis for the first successful Artificial Devil Fruit. Now that DNA is still sitting in a lab somewhere. Come on, would the World Government really use the just the Seven Warlords to create the Seraphim? Something in the vein of the Seraphim with the DNA of Kaido would be a weapon of ultimate destruction.
Other than that though, it’s doubtful there’s much left of Kaido after he meets his end. Sure we’ve seen people pull through some heinous fake-out deaths, but One Piece and Magma have a bad history. It’s exactly what ends Ace, but in the case of Kaido he was totally submerged in the stuff. That’s making any chance of a true comeback through the Shadow-Shadow Fruit near impossible. But hey, maybe he’ll climb out like it’s a relaxing sauna. Don’t put anything past Oda for a joke.
Big Mom
Probably even more of a hard sell for bringing back to life than Kaido is. Big Mom also ends up down in the lava, but she may not be as deep in as Kaido was. She certainly didn’t go through nearly as much as he did, though Law and Kid didn’t take it easy on her. The same rules apply if she is dead, there’s likely nothing that survives the massive heat of the lava. She’s dead for good when it comes to the original Big Mom, but that’s where the clones come in.
They have DNA from Stussy and Kaido, would it surprise anyone to have the other major Rocks Pirate besides Whitebeard? The World Government was known for taking things that weren’t theirs. They very easily could have obtained the DNA of a young Charlotte Linlin from Mother Carmel. The old bat was already working on recruiting the kid for Cipher Pol. So, snatching some hair or blood wasn’t an issue for her. A clone of Big Mom would certainly be a fright too, especially if she’s emaciated and starving.
Is there any guarantee that One Piece will bring these characters back to life? Nah, not really. That said, there’s always something going on in the background, and setups from long ago are finally paying off. Whether it be by zombie, clone, or some other malice though, some characters have ways to make their way back to the land of the living in One Piece.
