One Piece: SWORD's founding member is obvious (and chapter 1097 makes it clear)

Earlier this week, fans saw the initial spoilers for One Piece’s upcoming chapter 1097 be released, bringing with them some exciting promises of looming events. Per the alleged spoilers, the issue is set to continue Kuma’s flashback, but does so in a very exciting and intriguing manner.

While nothing is considered officially canon until released via one of Shueisha’s many official platforms, One Piece’s leakers and spoiler process have historically been very accurate. Many fans are excitedly discussing the upcoming events of the series in earnest, with there certainly being plenty to discuss.

What One Piece fans are especially focused on is the claim that Monkey D. Dragon, commander of the Revolutionary Army, was once part of the Marines. Furthermore, fans have already gotten to work on what Dragon’s legacy from his time in the Marines could be, identifying one key mystery which could be answered by this reveal.

---

One Piece’s SWORD group matches Dragon’s ideology perfectly, suggesting him to be the original founder

As revealed relatively recently in One Piece’s thousand-plus chapter and 26-plus year run, the SWORD group is a subset of the World Government’s Marine fighting force. More specifically, the group consists of Marines who resigned themselves from the actual command structure of the Marine organization, but still operate on its behalf.

Several key figures of the Marines have also been revealed to be members of the group, such as the pirate X Drake and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp.

Interestingly, the group has also been said to be the rival of Cipher Pol Aigis Zero, with the word “Aigis” being derived from the ancient Greek “Aegis,” meaning “Shield.”

In other words, it seems that SWORD is meant to be the freeflying offensive tool of the Marines, while CP0 is the rigidly regulated shield of the Marines and those they serve. Coincidentally, it’s also said that Monkey D. Dragon left the Marines when he found there was no justice to be had within its ranks (in his eyes), according to One Piece’s latest spoilers.

Given that Dragon is Garp’s son, he likely expected a similar level of freedom to what the Vice Admiral had accrued after a long and legendary career. However, upon realizing that he would have to play along with a command structure whose goals and values he disagreed with, he likely began looking for a way to circumvent this hierarchy.

Thus, it’s likely that Dragon founded SWORD as a means of breaking free from what the Marines, and CP0, represented. However, as seen in recent endeavors by SWORD, just being a member of the group doesn’t allow one to fully do as they please.

Upon realizing this, Dragon likely left the group and the Marines, allowing his father Garp to take over and make it what it is in contemporary One Piece.

Admittedly, there’s very little evidence to support such a theory outside of the circumstantial and Dragon seemingly confirmed as having once been a Marine. However, all the pieces line up for Oda to eventually reveal the SWORD group's origins as those being described above.

In the meantime, all fans can do is wait and see if more evidence supporting such a claim can be found.

---

Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.