Charlotte Pudding (+Garp lol): Catalyst for "God Valley 2.0"!? A One Piece Theory
This has been a theory brewing in my head for some time now. I even already posted a much more condensed version of it over on twitter [x], but only now have i found the time to sit down and go over everything in depth.
You may think, at first glance of the title, that this is completely preposterous and would never happen, but I aim to show anyone willing to read it, that it isn't. I would like to add that I have heard via a Japanese fan, that the Japanese fandom has already been thinking about things in a similar vein as me, so take from that what you will.
I personally believe that Pudding gets largely ignored by the western fandom due to all the hate her character receives, so I do not think the overall fandom pays enough attention to what Oda is doing with her to be able to pick up on what I believe is long planned set up. I also largely believe that people are purposefully ignoring much of her narrative significance because of what it means for not only Sanji, but the Sanji/Pudding ship as a whole.
However, since I am a known Pudding aficionado, I will not ignore what I feel are clear clues to the future of the character simply because it may not be the popular opinion. If I see it in the writing, I will talk about it. I hope you all can do the same and read this with an objective mind, or just scroll along and get on with your day lol.
Anyways, please be aware there are major spoilers for the manga! Do NOT read unless you have read to at least chapter 1161! This is your warning!!
During Egghead, Vegapunk kicks off the final saga by reinvigorating the world's desire for the One Piece, claiming that whoever finds it will have the "fate of the world" in their hands.
As you can see in the panel above, everyone is after the damn thing now! From major pirates crews to the marines/government, the RA, & even random no name pirates who are being driven by greed.
Except, there is one important piece of the puzzle that most of the interested parties don't have an answer to....
Even if you were to find all 4 road Poneglyphs, you still need to be able to read & understand their true meaning. This is how you get the coordinates to Laughtale. This is why Robin has been running for most of her life, and why people in this story keep trying to abduct her. She is one of the only people alive right now who possesses the knowledge needed to decipher these mysterious stones.
However, Oda has shown us time & time again that no matter how hard they try (& they've tried!), NOBODY is going to take Robin away from the Strawhats!
I mean, not even a Gorosei was able to steal Robin from the weakling trio (+ Brook)!! The. Weakling. Trio. Need I say more?
So, what is everyone else to do? How can they possibly be a threat to Luffy if they can't even do anything useful with the Poneglyphs they acquire?? How would they get to Laughtale!? WHO CAN POSSIBLY ACT AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO RO—
Pudding. Charlotte Pudding. Oda has already set up Robin's substitute in the story back in WCI.
The girl with the three eyes! The one Oda told us is from a special race that are born with the potential to read Poneglyphs. The race that, in Egghead (the same arc Vegapunk got everyone hungry for the One Piece), were implied to be hunted down by the WG similar to the Buccaneers & Lunarians; most likely due to their threat & implying they can reach Laughtale with their abilities.
The one Oda keeps reminding us of, so that the we don't forget the lore surrounding her, despite also trying to act like there's a possibility her 3rd eye WON'T awaken (me think you dost protest too much sensei. I see right through you lol.)
Also, The one who just happens to be kidnapped by Blackbeard of all people!!
Now....what does this mean? What am I getting at? Well, here it is. Here is what I feel Oda has been building up to. Here is my theory:
Word will get out Pudding is a member of the 3rd eye tribe & how she can help people reach the One Piece. It will trigger "God Valley 2.0", just like how Shakky's kidnapping caused the 1st one, & this will lead to an ironic twist of Hachinosu being the new "ground zero", as Blackbeard is forced into the same position as the Celestial Dragons who terrorized him as a child during the first God Valley incident. He & his crew will have to try & stop the entire world from "stealing" their most valuable & coveted "prize".
You may be thinking...what in tf lead me to THIS conclusion? Why Pudding specifically & how tf are the Strawhats going to be involved, because surely they would need to be apart of something as big as "God Valley 2.0" right!?
Let me explain. I promise I am not talking out my ass & I am not clouded by bias (i swear!). I have legitimate reasons to believe that Oda is using this God Valley flashback to eventually tie back into the plot point of Pudding being kidnapped in the cover stories. Let's get into it....
1.The Kidnapping & why it matters
I think that most of us could not have predicted God Valley being a kind of nod to Helen of Troy, but here we are (whether you like it or not lol. i do, but i know that isn't across the board.)! Shakky's kidnapping ended up being the entire reason God Valley became an "incident". Not only were the majority of the important characters there only to save Shakky (Rocks is a very important exception, but I will get to that later), but it is because of the presence of her on the island that soooooo many random pirates pulled up & fucked up what was supposed to be a controlled event for the Celestial Dragon's. Her power, amiright?
So, I think it's fair to say that it is not out of the realm of possibilities for another kidnapping to set off God Valley 2.0 & boy! Oda showning us multiple accounts of attacks on women in this story as of late. Let me go over them & explain why I think they do NOT make the cut to be a "Shakky 2.0" type of figure.
Boa Hancock
Kidnapping Murder attempt: FAILED
Despite Hancock also being a Kuja, having strong narrative connections to both Shakky & Rayleigh, & even already experiencing a kidnapping as a child, she was able to get away, so therefore I do not think Oda would have her taken again right after. I even suspect the reason Oda wrote this situation in the first place was to deter fans from speculating Hancock being Shakky 2.0 once the God Valley flashbacks started. Especially since I think Gloriosa is meant to be Hancock's old gen. parallel instead of Shakky.
BTW since I think Gloriosa = Hancock, I also wonder if Oda used this situation to segue into Hancock joining Cross Guild at the request of Rayleigh, since the last time we saw them they were discussing how best to protect her & Amazon Lily. Since Rayleigh knows Buggy, I can see him trusting & asking Buggy to take in his foster daughter & Hancock will not only need the allyship, but might even convince herself it will help her find Luffy because Cross Guild is also heading to Laughtale. Some people really don't like this idea though lol.
Nefertari Vivi
Kidnapping attempt: FAILED
One would think that since Imu is especially invested in Vivi & a ton of people, including the Strawhats, would be desperate to rescue her, she'd be the prime candidate for our leading lady of God Valley 2.0 right? ...except that Vivi not only escapes her own capture (mind you, after claiming she's rather DIE than be a slave lol) I have a feeling that Vivi is going to have her own little adventure in the final saga, which will also prove her to be extremely important, just not in this way.
Also, no I do NOT think this grand adventure will be becoming the final Strawhat. Sorry. I explain my reasonings here [x]
Shirahoshi
Kidnapping attempt(s): FAILED
Ok, this is the only one who makes me second guess myself lmao. How many times has poor, sweet Weepyhoshi survived a kidnapping atp? 3 at least right!? It is precisely because of the many attempts that I do not think Oda will suddenly have her freedom taken away. It's the same line of reason why I do not think Robin will get taken. At some point, we just have to assume she's the luckiest, unlucky victim in the world lol. This & the fact she is very obviously apart of the Harley mural make me believe Oda wants her free to move around vs being locked up somewhere same as Vivi. She has things to do for the overall plot damnit!!
I will say that I have come across some compelling theories about Blackbeard being told by Caribou that Shirahoshi is Pluton & therefore he & his crew will be kidnapping her like they did Pudding while we are busy being on Elbaph with the Strawhats. We shall have to see. For now, I'm sticking to my guns.
Then there's Pudding
Kidnapping attempt: SUCCESSFUL
Pudding is the ONLY female character in the current timeline that has been successfully kidnapped & when looking at the God Valley flashback, I think that's pretty significant. She's also already established to not only be a beloved member of her community, but is one of the favorites amongst the Charlotte Family. So, while canonically she is not considered beautiful enough to stop economies, Oda has already laid down the foundation for investment in her safety to be HIGH.
Don't forget, the citizens of WCI give all the credit of stopping Big Mom to Pudding. She was elevated to an even greater status of favoritism and I have no doubt that they, her siblings, and even Chiffon & Lola would be eager to rescue her. She already has an entire island backing her up, similar to how Shakky had the favor of all of Hachinosu.
I mean, Pudding literally implied herself that kidnapping her was not going to be as easy as they thought. I was already convinced Big Mom was still alive, but her sentiments here mirror Rocks' when he tells Harald the CD's made a huge mistake taking Shakky.
2. Pudding ending up a "prize" like Shakky fits her personal arc as a character & further strengthens her position as the Robin "alternative"
Pudding's greatest struggle, & the reason why she has so much inner turmoil is because she has been dehumanized & treated like an object to be used for the benefit of those around her, her entire life. Her mother literally calls her a "doll" so I think Oda making Pudding even more of an object to an even wider audience would pave the way for some really good character growth and be an amazing stepping stone for Pudding to finish her journey of self actualization.
She had just taken back some control in her very stifled life only to be put into another cage & continued to only be valued for her 3rd eye again? Oh, that is tragic. Tragic & just the right kind of angst for Oda to do amazing things with!
It's worth noting that Robin has also been dehumanized in a very similar manner, except she was called a "tool". However, are tools & dolls all that different once you think about it? Most exist as objects of utility. Both are controlled by others. Something to think about.
3. The Power of Love
Oda made love a central aspect to God Valley. Heck, just look at the title of chapter 1161!
So, I ask the class fandom...is there anyone in the current story connected to Pudding that Oda can draw parallels to the RaySha plot of God Valley 2.0?
Anyone at all? Someone who'd be invested in Pudding's safety??
Is there an obvious answer??
Sanji. It's Sanji y'all. Which leads me into my next point...
4. This is a perfectly curated storyline for Sanji to take center stage.
I don't think there's anyone else in the story who can more perfectly take up the role of the gallant knight coming to save the damsel in distress.
This has quite literally been one of his biggest fantasies since the start of the series. He IS Mr. Prince after all. This would be his ultimate chance to prove to Pudding that he is, indeed, a "proper" Prince.
I also want to point out the similarities to Sanji and the men of the God Valley incident. They've been simping so....agressively, that even the fandom started calling God Valley "Goon Valley". Is Oda drawing purposeful parallels here?? BTW, If the top dogs of the last gen were all simps, is that Sanji upscale?? lol
5. The Luffy/Rocks parallel
Some of you might be thinking " Well, even IF Sanji wanted to go rescue Pudding, what makes Luffy agree to drag the rest of the crew into it?" and to that I have to say, plenty!
For one, if it is important to Sanji it is important to Luffy. I think Oda has shown us enough times that Luffy will derail his own plans for his friends, especially for members of his crew.
Secondly, Luffy also has someone in Pudding's vicinity that is of interest to him: Garp.
Garp, in a funny twist of fate, finds himself in a very similar position to Ace in Marineford. So, I think that once Luffy discovers his grandpa's predicament, he too will be incentivized to storm Hachinosu. This makes a direct parallel to Rocks' own motivations in the OG God Valley incident. His only concern was for his wife and child, his family.
Romantic love wasn't the only kind of love the og God Valley was about. Love of family was also a driving force and Luffy more than anyone would not just sit back and allow his Grandpa to be murdered. He will never let his perceived failure on Marineford to happen again.
But what is the "How"?
Now, for the most speculative part of this entire theory. HOW does word of Pudding's whereabout get out & who is responsible for it? First, let's look to how og God Valley kicked off in the first place:
There was an information leak.
Ginny's radio message is the only reason people knew where Shakky was. Without her efforts it never would've turned into an "incident" and poor Shakky might've been lost forever. The question for me now, is who could possible fill in the role of Ginny? And who will be responsible for spreading the word out to the masses? Here are my current best guesses:
1. Kuzan will be the leaker
Not only have people already been speculating that Kuzan will betray Blackbeard sometime in the future, but he canonically has gone against his duty to save an innocent person. Tying back into Pudding being a sort of Robin alternate in the narrative, I think it's very possible that Kuzan will feel guilty for Pudding's capture and send out a radio message like Ginny, in hopes that someone will come and rescue her. A sort of hail mary, not completely unlike him giving a tiny Robin a slim chance at survival.
2. Morgans will spread the intel (again!)
Morgans was already responsible for Ginny's message getting out to the world in the og God Valley, and I think he will do it again! Since the og God Valley propelled him to his current level of success, I do not think he would dare to pass up on the opportunity to re-create the same level of hype. Anything for a juicy story! So via the newspaper, Pudding's kidnapping will get out to everyone and once again, chaos will erupt as the entire world scrambles to get ahold of their best chance at finding Laughtale, while the Strawhats perform a rescue mission.
So in conclusion, I feel pretty strongly that i've caught on to Oda's plan. If you've been following my blog for a while, you would know i've already thought Pudding's kidnapping would be significant and now I think I know exactly why.
Of course, I am not Oda and I could be proven wrong, but I am willing to make my bet on this. We shall have to see what the future of the story has in store to be sure, but in the meantime I hope you enjoy the ramblings of a crazy woman like me.
I HAVE DONE A LITTLE ONE PIECE CHARACTER FUSION >:3
I imagined doing a "what if they had a kid/fusioned", so I rolled a character picker and had these two as the first : Perona and Blackbeard.
Her name is Primrose and she has Gecko Moria's shadow-shadow fruit. She gives her shadow a vampire bat like appearance. Also the hair is inspired by Teach's mother and father's hair, heheh those who know...
