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One Piece Chapter 1059’s reveal of Shakuyaku (Shakky) as one of the former Empresses of Amazon Lily two generations prior has fans praising author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s writing. While the foreshadowing related to the character was minimal, the clues were certainly there for those perceptive enough to see them in the Post-Marineford arc.
With the reveal of Empress Shakuyaku’s reign coming after Gloriosa’s (also known as Granny Nyon), One Piece fans are trying to piece together who bridges the gap from Shakky to Hancock. While no women in the series quite match up in terms of age, origin, and location, there is one male character whom fans have previously suspected to have once been a woman.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down why One Piece’s Sir Crocodile is the missing link among Amazon Lily’s known Empresses.
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Sir Crocodile's age, mysterious past have One Piece fans pegging him as former royalty
One of the most popular and divisive theories among One Piece fans is the Croco-Mom theory. In brief terms, the theory essentially claims first that Crocodile was once a woman, and second that he is Luffy’s mom. The first part of the theory hinges on a moment during the Impel Down arc, where Ivankov, a character who can change others’ genders, says he knows a secret of Crocodile’s, causing Crocodile to become visibly distressed.
The second part hinges on some suspicious actions Crocodile takes after learning who Luffy’s father is during the Marineford War. However, the latter half of the Croco-Mom theory is irrelevant to the current discussion, with the former half and its focus on establishing Crocodile as a former woman. Fans who are unfamiliar with the theory can check out this summarization of it from Sportskeeda.
Why Crocodile may be a former Empress
With the Croco-Mom theory already establishing how and why Crocodile went from woman to man, all that’s left is to prove that the ex-Shichibukai is a Kuja and a former Empress at that. While there aren’t a lot of facts and plot points that support this claim, those that do are very strong points indeed.
A theory posted to the series’ subreddit has become quite popular on Twitter, thanks to user @ganesh798 sharing the post as a tweet with the hashtag "#ONEPIECE1060." The theory outlines that the current Empress is Boa Hancock, with an unknown woman, Shakuyaku, and Gloriosa being the Empresses from one, two, and three generations prior, respectively.
Knowing that Hancock is currently age 31 and Shakky age 64, fans began scouring the series’ list of characters for a woman around 47 years of age. However, realizing no woman in the series who matched this rough age could have possibly been the former Empress, caused fans to instead turn their attention to the 46-year-old Sir Crocodile.
One of the major arguments for the theory is the previously mentioned secret that Ivankov was said to have known about Crocodile. As discussed above, many fans widely agree that it's about Crocodile’s true gender being that of a woman, especially given how overemphasized Ivankov’s gender-based powers and gender itself were at the time.
Another strong argument in favor of the theory has to do with an Amazon Lily motif and an aspect of Crocodile’s character design. Regarding the former, fans have come to agree that Amazon Lily’s symbol is that of the heart, with Hancock using it with her powers and having it on some of her clothes. Shakky, now revealed to be a former Empress, also has a heart on her belt.
Regarding Crocodile’s character design, he’s always seen having a ring on every single finger of his on each hand beside one, that being the ring finger. Traditionally, the ring finger is associated with the heart and is even called the heart finger in certain cultures around the world.
Final Thoughts
While not great in number, the two major arguments for the theory’s validity are certainly quite strong. One aspect of One Piece that fans always praise is Oda’s attention to detail, as well as his subtle foreshadowing of future plot points (as discussed heavily in the abovementioned Croco-Mom theory summarization).
There is, however, one major argument against the theory that is certainly difficult to counter. When Hancock is initially falling in love with Luffy during One Piece’s Amazon Lily arc, Gloriosa discusses the past Empresses’ experiences with love, including her own. She says that the Empress before Hancock (whom Crocodile would be) actually died from the disease.
However, this could be Oda’s attempt at using Gloriosa as an unreliable-narrator-esque figure in this current discussion. This would be further supported by Gloriosa’s having survived the disease that is love for the Kuja, as well as Hancock’s continued survival despite remaining in love with Luffy. If it were so easy to overcome the disease’s fatal effects, surely the previous Empress could have also done so.
Unfortunately, this is all speculative as of One Piece Chapter 1059. While fans are certainly hopeful about learning the identity of the Empress before Boa Hancock, all readers can do with the currently available information is speculate. Nevertheless, fans’ enthusiasm for the latest One Piece theory hasn’t been dampened, being one of the most popular subjects on social media currently for the series.
Follow along for more One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as the year of the series’ 25th anniversary progresses.
