I don’t have any proof but I will dare to say that One Piece is one of the anime with more theories than there are drops of water in the sea, not because of the amount of chapters it has, but because of the story it tells and the subtext that we can sometimes find in the art or dialogues.
So this time we will embark on one of the most recent theories: Who is the man marked by flames?
Now, many names have been mentioned, but just with that nickname we can’t guess exactly who it is, after all, there are many characters with burns on their bodies.
Since 2008 I have been following this anime and manga, paying attention to every detail that leads me to discover more of its lore and worldbuilding, it’s something I enjoy very much and I hope you can do it too, without further ado, let’s sail!
Who is the man marked by flames in One Piece?
Currently, we could say that we are in a moment of preparation for the culmination of One Piece, it seems that all the important characters are heading to the last poneglyph, thanks to this that they mention this name.
The first time we hear this name being mentioned is during the Wano saga (chapter 1056 of the manga) when Law, Kid, and Luffy decide to go their separate ways and Kid mentions that he will go to see ‘the man marked by flames’, Luffy does not know who he is referring to, Law observes him keeping silent -which could indicate that he does know who he is referring to- and Robin is curious.
But that has not been the only time, Blackbeard mentioned this name to Aokiji, telling him that they heard a rumor that he has a poneglyph in his possession.
We must remember that there are multiple ways to find the various poneglyph and one of them that seems to be the most used is to steal information from other pirates, this could be an important factor as it could be a pirate they are talking about.
Theories and speculations on the man marked by the flames
Something important to highlight is that Blackbeard’s gang does not know who this man is, since they mention that he could be a marine and that, apparently, he has a pitch-black ship and has the power to alter the sea.
As I mentioned, there are many characters that appear with burns on their bodies, but we will explore these characteristics and which character has more weight in the story.
Monkey D. Dragon.
Luffy’s father is one of the most influential men, despite having appeared little in the story because it could be said that there are three groups in this world: World Government, Pirates, and Revolutionaries, being Dragon the leader of the last ones.
The theory points out that probably the tattoos on his face could be a cover for fire scars, or they could mean something deeper, like that each square represents one of the 4 poneglyphs, of course, he only has three squares on his face but maybe it implies that he has in his possession the fourth or that he is only in his ‘vision’ as maybe his eye is a representative part of the message.
It has also been seen that Dragon’s ship is one of the darkest as in the manga it looks totally black, and his Wind Wind fruit allows him to control the wind, which could be indicative that he can ‘alter the sea’, as with that power he can alter the direction of his ship and the rest.
Jaguar D. Saul.
Robin’s giant savior, the only connection to the past that our favorite archaeologist has, it wouldn’t be strange if the giant managed to not only save some Ohara books but also discovered information about the last poneglyph.
We also know that in his past he was an admiral who deserted from the navy after meeting Nico Robin’s mother, Nico Olvia, we don’t know exactly what these two must have talked about but it was shocking enough for Saul to reconcile his position.
In addition, Oda later lets us know that he is alive but covered in bandages probably from the burns of the overwhelming fire at Ohara.
Scooper Gaban.
We know little about this character, but we know that he was important in Roger’s crew, we also know that Oda loves to make parallels so Gaban could represent the ‘Sanji’ of Roger’s crew.
Being Gol’s right-hand man and having seen the One Piece with his own eyes, we can’t forget that he is a pirate and probably took some information with him.
Our favorite candidate
Personally, I like the option that it is Saul who possesses the last poneglyph, this way Nico Robin could close her cycle with Ohara with the man who saved her, besides, Oda placed it on the same page where they first mentioned that nickname.
And it didn’t take long to show us Saul covered in bandages in the Egghead saga, surely it won’t take long to know if he possesses pitch black ship or not, but what is certain is that he possesses important information and that he is covered in scars.
Conclusion
To answer the question : Who is the man marked by flames? I will say If we are guided by the rumors that are in the dialogue everything seems to indicate that Dragon is the perfect candidate to be recognized as ‘the man marked by flames’, but the truth is only rumors that have been mentioned, besides he has never been seen fire marks on his body.
While Saul seems to be a character more attached to the mystery of the poneglyphs and, in addition, he was a member of the navy, although it could also be Gaban who is behind all this, at the end of the day we do not know exactly who owns the last One Piece, it could even be a new character that Oda has been saving for a long time.
We can only wait to discover more and more in each manga, for now, who do you think Blackbeard and Kidd were referring to when they mentioned the man marked by flames?
