One Piece's Bon Clay could appear during the Elbaf arc, and his lack of appearance during Egghead's reactions tease it

Modified Sep 02, 2024 23:12 GMT

One Piece could be setting up Bon Clay's return (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece has recently ended the Egghead arc in the manga and it is very likely that the next one is going to take place in Elbaf, especially because the Straw Hats were saved by the Giants of that island. In that regard, there have been a lot of theories surrounding what could happen in that place and one of them is that it could feature the return of Bon Clay into the story.

This was discussed recently on Reddit and is something that makes a degree of sense by the way author Eiichiro Oda writes One Piece, which leads to fans focusing heavily on the small details. When it comes to said small details, Bon Clay did not feature in the segment of Egghead where most characters in the series were reacting to Dr. Vegapunk's message, which is something that could hint at the character's eventual return.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda.

One Piece could see the return of Bon Clay in the Elbaf arc after a small detail in Egghead

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Bon Clay sacrificed himself during the events of the Impel Down arc so Luffy and his allies could head to Marineford in what is widely regarded as one of the best moments in the entire series. It was later shown through Oda's mini-stories in the manga that he managed to survive and built his own hideout in that prison, which is why a lot of fans have wondered when he is going to make a comeback.

The idea of Bon Clay returning into the story during the upcoming Elbaf arc is because he was not shown during the part of Egghead where people all over the world were reacting to Dr. Vegapunk's message. That is something that could make a degree of sense, especially considering how much of a fan-favorite he is and how a lot of manga readers perhaps missed out on his return through the mini-stories because they started with the anime.

However, perhaps the biggest question is how he managed to escape from Impel Down and how he winded up on Elbaf. Especially considering that, as of this writing, Bon Clay no longer has any affiliation with a faction of the series, it would make little sense how he was saved and got to the Land of the Giants before the Straw Hats.

The legacy of Bon Clay as a character

Bon Clay and Sanji fighting during the Alabasta arc in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

There is no denying that Bon Clay is one of the most beloved One Piece characters and that is because of the arc he goes through in the series, starting as an antagonist in the Alabasta arc but eventually showing he was a caring and committed individual to his friends. That started when Sanji showed him mercy after defeating him, thus leading the former Mr. 2 of Baroque Works to become a friend of the Straw Hats.

However, it was during the events of Impel Down that he became an absolute fan-favorite since he sacrificed himself earlier so the Straw Hats could escape Alabasta, which is why Luffy meets him in that prison. It was also in this arc that he saved the protagonist several times and then sacrificed himself so he can go to Marineford, thus leading to one of the most memorable stories in the history of the franchise.

Final thoughts

The idea of Bon Clay making a comeback during the Elbaf arc in One Piece is a very interesting one when considering he didn't appear reacting to Vegapunk's message. However, that is a mere fan theory at the moment.

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Edited by Sreerupa Das