Will Urouge play a major role in One Piece's final saga? Explored

A tale of adventure, mystery, and friendship, the record-breaking shonen One Piece is known for its incredibly large and variegated cast. Throughout, almost three decades of serialization, the franchise’s creator Eiichiro Oda introduced and developed countless characters, many of whom have become unforgettable fan-favorites.

Of course, given the sheer size of One Piece’s cast, not every character in the series can get the same emphasis and screen time. For example, this is the case with “Mad Monk” Urouge. Despite being one of the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation, Urouge didn’t get the same spotlight as his fellow colleagues.

Luffy is One Piece’s absolute protagonist, and his right-hand man Zoro is the franchise’s second main character. Law, Kid, and Killer have been greatly highlighted during One Piece’s post-timeskip narration, while Bonney played a prominent role in the recent Egghead Arc. With the story now entering its final act, it’s interesting to speculate whether or not Urouge will be more involved in the plot.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1125.

Urouge is the only Worst Generation Supernova that One Piece hasn’t focused on

An overview of Urouge’s character

Urouge before the timeskip (Image via Toei Animation)

“Mad Monk” Urouge didn’t receive much screen time in the series, to the point where the thing he is most famous for among One Piece fans is, unironically speaking, his habit of always smiling. Even in the most difficult situations, including when his own life is at stake, Urouge always has a smile on his face.

Urouge was born in an unspecified sky island. It remains unknown how and why he ended up in the Blue Sea, but he eventually made a name as the captain of the Fallen Monk Pirates, which prompted the World Government to place a bounty of 108 million Berries on his head.

The Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation (Image via Toei Animation)

The adventures of the Fallen Monk Pirates in the Grand Line are unknown, but they reached the Sabaody Archipelago at about the same time as the Straw Hat Pirates. As one of the rookie pirates who were awarded a bounty of over 100 million Berries before entering the New World, Urouge earned himself the status of Supernova, i.e. “super rookie”.

The eleven super rookies from the nine different pirate crews who got to Sabaody before the Paramount War are known as the “Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation”. Impressively enough, Urouge is one of them, which makes him a particularly infamous individual.

Rather than taking into account a character’s feats and accomplishments, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda often creates the bounties of outlaws based on puns and jokes of all sorts. The mangaka also did a similar equivalence with Urouge’s bounty, which revolves around the number “108."

Urouge fighting a Pacifista in Sabaody (Image via Toei Animation)

In Japanese Buddhism, this number represents the earthly temptations that all men must resist before reaching Nirvana. Oda used the same number for Roronoa Zoro’s 108-Pound Phoenix attack, which is interesting as Zoro is frequently associated with Buddhist imagery and the same religion seems to be the leitmotiv of Urouge’s character.

A physical brawler who uses both his raw strength and a large pillar to fight in close combat, Urouge ate a yet unnamed Paramecia Devil Fruit which allows him to convert any damage he suffers into a boost to empower his muscles. He can also use Karmic Punishment, a technique that enables him to enlarge his entire body, becoming gigantic.

Needless to say, the name of this move is a clear reference to the Buddhist concept of Karma, which refers to actions performed to complete the cycle of rebirth, thus attaining Nirvana.

The effects of Urouge's Karmic Punishment technique (Image via Toei Animation)

Although disgusted by the Celestial Dragons, Urouge, like anyone else, lowered himself at the sight of the nobles to avoid any trouble. When Zoro stood up against a Celestial Dragon, Urouge was particularly impressed and wondered what sort of person the former’s captain would be, to have such an incredible individual as his right-hand man.

As Luffy punched Saint Charlos, leading to Sentomaru and Admiral Kizaru’s attack to the Supernovas, Urouge started fighting a Pacifista. Using his peculiar Paramecia ability, he was able to land powerful blows on the cyborg, damaging it.

Kizaru then attacked Urouge, knocking him out with a single blow that sent him crashing through several buildings. Heavily injured and weakened, Urouge was only able to evade capture as Kizaru directed his attention towards the Straw Hats.

Urouge's latest appearance in the series so far (Image via Shueisha)

During the two-year time skip, Urouge and his crew traveled to the New World. After a stop on Raijin Island, the Fallen Monk Pirates arrived in Big Mom’s territories, where Urouge fought and defeated Charlotte Snack, who, at the time, was one of the Big Mom Pirates’ Sweet Commanders.

Shortly after, however, Urouge was brutally defeated by another Sweet Commander, Charlotte Cracker. To recover from his injuries, Urouge was forced to spend some time on Ballon Terminal, a Sky Island in the New World. There, Urouge and his men saw Kaido attempting suicide by jumping off the island.

This iconic scene, which fans remember as Kaido’s official introduction in One Piece, also marked Urouge’s latest appearance in the series so far, not counting the non-canon events recounted in the movie One Piece: Stampede.

Urouge’s potential role in One Piece's Elbaf Arc

Urouge's proverbial smile (Image via Toei Animation)

Fans have not seen Urouge since his cameo in chapter 795, which the anime adapted in episode 739. In all fairness, unlike his fellow Worst Generation Supernovas, Urouge never had a chance to receive a proper narrative focus. Still, even with his very limited screen time, he managed to capture the interest of fans.

As One Piece is now in its final saga, it’s fascinating to theorize if Urouge will appear in the upcoming arcs and, if so, in which context. One Piece author Eiichiro Oda typically crafts multiple intertwined subplots, allowing even secondary characters to shine. With Urouge being the only Supernova left in the story who never had a major impact, perhaps Oda is saving the best for last.

Urouge made a potentially important move when he tried to invade Whole Cake Island, but his attempt failed miserably as he got wrecked by a barely above-average Yonko Commander. At least until the end of the Dressrosa arc, he was forced to rest from his injuries.

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While Urouge should be fine by now, and probably has grown stronger since then, it’s hard to see him playing a major role in the future of One Piece. Instead of having an important part like Trafalgar Law, Eustass Kid, and Jewelry Bonney, his role would probably be more secondary, similar to Scratchman Apoo, X Drake, Capone Bege, or Basil Hawkins.

With the Elbaf Arc being about to begin, maybe Urouge will show up in the homeland of the Giants. The Straw Hats are heading to Elbaf, and Urouge is the only Worst Generation Supernova in the series to have not yet met Luffy in person. As a famous warlike country, Elbaf would be the perfect place to reveal the name and nature of Urouge’s Devil Fruit, whose ability is based on physical might.

Urouge excels in physical strength (Image via Toei Animation)

Urouge’s exact role is hard to predict, considering that both his background and current objectives remain unknown. Considering his religious imagery, as well as the already implied link between the Elbaf Giants and the story of Joy Boy and Nika, perhaps Urouge’s character will be used as a narrative device to connect the “Sun God” lore with the history of Skypiea.

Urouge was born on a certain sky island. Maybe, his homeland was Birka, the sky island that Enel destroyed before going to Skypiea, Urouge is currently 47 years old, which makes him quite older compared to the other Worst Generation Supernovas. He was definitely doing something before becoming a pirate.

A very fascinating hypothesis postulates that Urouge was the Sky Knight of Birka and that he decided to take the sea after Enel defeated him and destroyed the country. Enel is just a few years younger than Urouge, which makes him having a shared past with the latter everything but impossible.

Perhaps, Urouge was Birka's Sky Knight (Image via Shueisha)

Skypiea is implied to be of great importance for the lore of the series. With their top positions, Enel and - if the theory proved to be true - Urouge might be well-informed about the secrets of the Void Century. With this in mind, if Enel and his priests were to ever reappear in One Piece, Urouge might be the perfect character to pair with them.

Given his constant portrayal as a religious man, which may be vaguely reminiscent of Bartholomew Kuma’s, Urouge would be an excellent choice to explain and contextualize this part of the One Piece lore. Assuming that he comes from Birka, his involvement on Elbaf could emphasize the Skypiea Arc in a new light, even exploring the Shandia Tribe’s mysterious connection with the Poneglyphs.