Buggy's ultimate goal in One Piece can only be achieved if the Cross Guild recruits these ex-Shichibukai

One of the most heavy and constant pieces of speculation throughout One Piece’s Final Saga thus far has been the role that Buggy the Clown and his Cross Guild allies will play. Although their last appearance in the series made it clear that they intend to chase the series’ titular treasure, exactly how they plan to do so still remains unclear.

Likewise, before Buggy chases after the One Piece, he still has a fairly unresolved plotline as it relates to Captain John’s treasure, which he’s mentioned constantly throughout the series thus far. In fact, many would call it his ultimate goal, given how highly he’s spoken of the treasure and the lengths he’s seemingly willing to go to in order to find it. However, in order to achieve his ultimate goal, he’ll likely need the help of two of his former Shichibukai allies.

Buggy’s ultimate goal isn’t the One Piece, but Captain John’s treasure, and he’ll need help to find it

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Buggy’s search for Captain John’s treasure is first mentioned during the Jaya arc, as X user @Poneglyphing points out in their thread on this intriguing theory. Likewise, they assert that the treasure has seemingly become something more as more and more information is revealed about Captain John, starting with the Thriller Bark arc. Here, John appears as one of Moria’s zombies, which leads to Luffy receiving an armband marking the way to John’s treasure.

Buggy attains this band at Impel Down in exchange for assisting Luffy. However, he hasn’t mentioned Captain John since, as he’s been busy with first becoming a Warlord during the timeskip and then becoming a Yonko and leader of the Cross Guild in the post-timeskip. However, recent events in the series have also divulged further information on Captain John, revealing him to have been present at God Valley as a member of the Rocks Pirates.

Likewise, One Piece fans saw Captain John discuss that he went to God Valley for his “precious treasure,” which could be what the Celestial Dragons had stolen from Hachinosu. While this is still speculative, it’s clearly a significant point of intrigue since Oda deliberately brought it back up in a recent flashback, suggesting it will play a major role in the Final Saga.

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With Buggy being the only character to show interest in the treasure, it’s expected that the Cross Guild will help him in his efforts to locate it on their path to finding the series’ titular treasure. In fact, the likely next recruit for the Cross Guild, Gecko Moria, will be of great help in locating this treasure thanks to his prior experience with Captain John. There’s also the popular theory that Thriller Bark is the remnant of God Valley, making his help even more useful.

Moria was also a prisoner at Hachinosu, as seen during One Piece’s Egghead arc, which means he could not only have crucial information about John and God Valley but also the treasure’s potential point of origination. It’s also likely that Moria was in prison with Ochoku, the former boss of Hachinosu and a former crewmate of John’s under Rocks D. Xebec. This assumption is safe to make since Blackbeard was unlikely to kill Ochoku given his value as an informant.

It’s also implicitly confirmed that Moria was freed from Hachinosu in the island’s recent breakout, thanks to the deal Perona made with Coby, his own successful escape, and how true to his word he is known to be. Perona’s relationship with Dracule Mihawk also makes it likely that the pair are currently on their way to the Cross Guild, potentially with information on Hachinosu’s treasure and the Rocks Pirates.

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This would almost certainly land him a Commander’s position in the Cross Guild, making the infamous “Cross Guild foreshadowing panel” 80% accurate. The missing 20% stems from Donquixote Doflamingo’s current absence in the group, which is unlikely to last much longer considering he can also help with finding Captain John’s treasure.

One of the key factions at God Valley, as seen during the flashback in One Piece’s Egghead arc, were the Celestial Dragons. With Moria providing intel from the Rocks pirates’ point of view, Doffy can offer knowledge that may be exclusive to the Celestial Dragons. While he and his family have yet to be confirmed as being directly there, it’s almost certain that he heard stories of treasure and God Valley as he grew up in Mariejois.

It’s almost certain that Buggy can only achieve his ultimate goal by enlisting Moria and Doffy into the Cross Guild’s ranks. Moreover, it’s possible that Captain John’s treasure is a key to getting to Laugh Tale, whether by nature of being the last Road Poneglyph or a tool that circumvents the need for the Road Poneglyphs. While this is all speculative, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the Cross Guild will soon add some big names to its roster.