The Wano Country Arc has been soaring in the sky since Luffy’s awakening. While everyone is enjoying the thrill and excitement of the recently released chapter, One Piece manga author Eiichiro Oda has revealed another interesting fact about the Straw Hat Pirates.
In an interview during the SBS Volume 102 release, Eiichiro Oda was asked about the details of the One Piece Chapter 1031 color spread. The color spread for the said chapter features the 2nd-strongest characters from several pirate crews.
The question goes like this:
Hello Odacchi, judging from the color spread of chapter 1031, Bepo is the No. 2 of Heart Pirates?! I was surprised since I thought him, Penguin, and Shachi are all No. 2s. So is Bepo (sulong form?) the strongest out of them?
Many were expecting to see an answer to the question, but Eiichiro surprised fans with his answer. Here’s the response of the One Piece author:
Talking about that color spread huh. Same goes for Zoro, not everyone on there holds the position of vice captain. They are just the No.2s that I picked out. Penguin and Shachi are more reliable in normal circumstances, but those two have seen Bepo’s sulong transformation, so they acknowledge that “combat wise Bepo is superior!
With Eiichiro Oda’s answer, Zoro is clearly the second strongest, but not the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates. Many believe that Zoro was the vice-captain, knowing that he’s the second strongest and also the first person that Monkey D. Luffy invited. However, it seems that it was not the case, as Oda already clarified this confusion.
You may have been wondering who was the vice-captain. With the current status of the crew, it seems that Usopp is the vice-captain of the Straw Hat Pirates crew. Looking at the old chapters of the manga, Usopp has been announcing that he was the vice-captain of the crew. Every time Usopp announces his position on the ship, no one objects to it, suggesting that the other crew members accept him as the vice captain.
Nah at the time when Luffy become Pirate King Zoro will be the vice captain, he’s the right hand man of Luffy from the beginning