One Piece theory: How Carrot might become Kuma's successor, explored

One Piece's final saga has gotten even more exciting after chapter 1110, which introduced all Five Elders on Egghead Island. With the giants on Luffy's side against these devils, how will the Egghead arc conclude now that the battlefield has been set?

In all this hype, there are certain characters who Oda could be trying to divert the attention from fans, and for good reason because he could be planning a grand entrance for these characters. One of these characters could be a Mink who has been the most helpful to Straw Hats, and that is Carrot.

Currently, her whereabouts are completely unknown, but a theory claims that she is nearer to the Straw Hats than fans had imagined.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series.

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One Piece: Why Carrot would inherit Kuma's Paw-Paw Fruit

Carrot is a member of the Mink Tribe who was introduced in chapter 804. She is one of the few pirates who accompanied some Straw Hats to the Whole Cake Island, which could emphasize that she is a candidate for becoming the next Straw Hat.

Her last appearance was in chapter 1056, but in chapter 1086, after the Lulusia Island incident and Garp's disappearance, the reaction from the whole world was showcased. Strangely enough, no reaction from Zou or any minks was shown, which fans speculate could be Oda trying to hide something from them.

Carrot as seen in her Sulong form in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

This raises the question of where Carrot is. Logically, her current whereabouts should be at Zou, but as there has been no update, fans speculate that she is somewhere other than Zou. Her last appearance featured her being declared the next duke by Inuarashi and Nekomamushi, which didn't sit well with fans.

Yes, she inherited the will of Pedro, who was killed during the Whole Cake Island. Still, Carrot's reaction to this event was nothing special, which could again emphasize that Eiichiro Oda is planning something regarding her. So, what could be her current whereabouts? For this purpose, let's focus on a certain Caribou whose current whereabouts are also unknown.

Caribou as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In chapter 1107, Caribou suddenly declared Blackbeard his idol to Van Augur and Catarina Devon. He requested they take him to their captain, as he had valuable information that could help them achieve more. The Blackbeard Pirates became suspicious of Caribou's claim, so fans speculated they could knock out Caribou while traveling to their home base. They don't want to believe a random pirate's claims and endanger the life of their captain.

After Caribou gets knocked out, everything he had absorbed through his Swamp-Swamp fruits comes out, and fans speculate that this is where Carrot makes her entry. She could have been absorbed by Caribou's fruit in the past after Wano (as Caribou was also present there), and this is where she would appear again.

As Caribou's current whereabouts are unknown, he could still be at Egghead Island under the interrogation of the Blackbeard Pirates. This would make sense if he gets knocked out here and Carrot gets released from his devil fruit after the Blackbeard Pirates leave. With Kuma also currently at Egghead and possibly nearing his death, Carrot could be the next inheritor of Paw-Paw Fruit, according to fans.

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The significance of the Paw-Paw fruit

Paw-Paw fruit has been the talk of the town since Eiichiro Oda revealed it in the SBS section of Volume 59. A fan asked Oda how the devil fruits of the Straw Hats align in numerical order, leaving behind the numbers 2 and 9.

This led to the fan asking where Kuma would be the next Straw Hat, considering his devil fruit fits the devil fruit numerical order of the Straw Hats (Kuma's devil fruit is Paw-Paw Fruit, or in Japanese Nikyu-Nikyu fruit, 'ni' means '2' and 'kyu' means '9' in Japanese). The author ignored the question in an amusing way and went on to the next question.

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Final thoughts

Nefartari Vivi as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Certain aspects of this theory make sense, and some don't. A more popular theory regarding the Paw-Paw fruit is that Nefartari Vivi could inherit it for the same reasons as Carrot. Still, this fruit would make more sense if the latter inherited it because Carrot has natural paws compared to Vivi.

Oda has a history of trolling his fans by making them believe things and later speculating wrong things regarding One Piece. The SBS reveal of Kuma's devil fruit being the next part of the Straw Hats could also be one of these trolls. So, where nothing is confirmed in One Piece, it is advised to take every theory, including this one, with a grain of salt.

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