One Piece: Are Nami and Usopp still a match for Catarina Devon and Van Augur? Explored

With the latest official release in creator, author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s original One Piece manga series, readers of the long-running series found themselves in for quite a treat. The issue not only dove right into the peak of the Egghead arc’s climax, but even set up future developments and teased some significant info to be revealed in the future.

A large portion of these latter points were done via the appearance of the Blackbeard Pirates, who had been teased as circling Egghead Island several months prior. After a long wait, they finally arrive on Egghead Island in the form of Catarina Devon and Van Augur, which took many One Piece fans by surprise.

While the information the pair teased and the events they set up are significant, many One Piece readers are instead focusing on how powerful the pair seemed to be in this appearance. In fact, it has many fans questioning whether or not Nami and Usopp (the two Straw Hats historically matched up with the pair in potential fights) can still reasonably take them on.

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One of One Piece’s longest standing hypothetical matchups brought into question with latest chapter

Can Nami and Usopp handle Devon and Van Augur? Explored

Traditionally, Usopp versus Van Augur and Nami versus Catarina Devon made good sense for the series’ final matchup. The former would be sniper versus sniper, while Devon is known for being someone who enjoys killing beautiful female pirates. The two also share similarities in terms of their reputations and skill-sets.

Likewise, Devon and Nami’s matchup and its potential of happening remains largely unchanged based on what fans can fully confirm from the former’s most recent appearance. Devon’s powers or strength has not been shown to be altered in any major way, other than her gaining Saint Jaygarcia Saturn’s appearance (which should be irrelevant in this context).

There’s also Devon’s penchant for killing beautiful female pirates, which would obviously limit her opponents to either Nico Robin or Nami given the current Straw Hat crew members. Given this, it seems that Devon and Nami is still not only possible, but the most likely matchup for each of the two One Piece characters. However, Van Augur’s new Devil Fruit brings his matchup with Usopp into significant question.

This is largely due to how unpredictable Van Augur’s movements and attacks can become with the Warp-Warp Fruit. While Usopp has been shown to use Observation Haki, he hasn’t used the ability since initially tapping into it during the Dressrosa arc. As a result, Usopp would be at a major disadvantage in their potential matchup given his current abilities.

That being said, the Elbaf arc is around the corner, with Usopp’s motivations and character development having strong ties to the Giants of Elbaf. It’s expected, but not confirmed, that Usopp will receive significant training during the coming One Piece story arc, especially in the way of Observation Haki.

However, this is still speculative, as is any discussion of his power level and combat skill following this potential training. As a result, it seems that Usopp won’t be able to handle Van Augur given his current strength and skill, while Devon versus Nami still seems fairly realistic. Hopefully the Elbaf arc does see Usopp rise to the level at which he can reasonably challenge Van Augur and secure victory against the enemy sniper.

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