One Piece's Whole Cake Island introduced fans to quite a lot of compelling characters from a Yonko in Big Mom to the powerful assassins of the Vinsmoke Family and then the underworld agents of the world. The arc was jam-packed with incredible action, with the menacing forces of the One Piece world in full display as a war brewed between the Straw Hat Pirates, the force of science in Germa, and the might of a Yonko crew.
Among all the antagonistic characters in the Whole Cake Island arc, perhaps none stood out nearly as much as the second son of Charlotte and the man known to be a perfectionist – Charlotte Katakuri.
How Katakuri Stands Out Among The Yonko Commanders
Charlotte Katakuri was introduced to the fans as the leader of the Sweet Commanders, the three most powerful generals of the Big Mom Pirates. Despite Big Mom being much stronger than him, as is expected of a Yonko, Katakuri is the spine of the Big Mom Pirates, being the most level-headed person in the crew and someone who every other Charlotte sibling relies on. With such massive responsibilities, Katakuri had no choice but to become the strongest version of himself. With years upon years of training, he earned a massive bounty of 1,057,000,000 berries despite being a reserved pirate, and what's even more impressive, attained an undefeated legendary record in combat.
Katakuri is, simply put, the strongest Yonko Commander of the Big Mom Pirates. Fans are well aware of his importance to the Whole Cake Island arc, however, the way Oda wrote his character made it quite clear that he has much more to offer in the future of the series. For one, Katakuri really stands out among all the other Yonko Commanders in the One Piece world and it is quite clear that Oda has bigger plans for him. While all the Yonko Commanders in One Piece, other than Ben Beckman, have a Devil Fruit ability, Katakuri is the only one to receive a special Paramecia Devil Fruit. To date, he's the only character with this class of Devil Fruit, which already makes him quite unique, however, Oda didn't stop there.
Katakuri's Haki is also incredibly refined. So far, he's the only Yonko Commander with an advanced grasp of this ability. Katakuri's Armament Haki is at an advanced level, while his Observation Haki allows him to see the future itself. Neither Marco, King, nor even the likes of Shiryu have shown either of those abilities but what's even more damning is the fact that Katakuri has the spirit of a conqueror.
Charlotte Katakuri was born with the ability to use Conqueror's Haki, which is incredibly rare and only a few right-hand men have had this ability in the story. Other than Silvers Rayleigh, only Katakuri and Roronoa Zoro are the confirmed users of this power, which just goes to show that Oda considers him to be among the most important right-hand men in the story.
Furthermore, for some reason, Eiichiro Oda gave Katakuri an awakened Devil Fruit, something that even Big Mom didn't seem to possess. Katakuri is one of the only five characters in the story to have awakened his powers. All this adds up to him having a bigger role in the future of the story. After all, Oda is clearly setting him apart from the other Yonko Commanders in the One Piece world and making him stand out as special.
Charlotte Katakuri's Role In The Future Of One Piece
Given how special Katakuri is, it isn't a surprise that he has loads of potential in the bag to grow even stronger. With Big Mom's fall, the onus could be on Katakuri to lead the crew in the future of the story. Given that Katakuri has Conqueror's Haki, there is no doubt that he has kingly ambitions and for him to become the next captain of the Big Mom Pirates is quite possible.
Katakuri is also a direct rival of Luffy's and although he's much weaker than him right now, he could always grow stronger and improve his abilities as well. As the captain of the remnants of the Big Mom Pirates, Katakuri could play a massive role in the future of the series and potentially even ally himself with Luffy. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Katakuri believes Luffy will become the Pirate King and in a way, he was liberated from his burden of being the perfect big brother during the Whole Cake Island arc by being defeated by Luffy. Katakuri, quite clearly, has put his trust in Luffy and wants him to succeed and become the Pirate King.
Interestingly, with SSG and the World Government leaning towards a Great Cleansing, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that pirate alliances will need to be formed. To ensure the safety of his crew and to help Luffy, Katakuri could potentially become a very important ally to Luffy in the future. The old era of piracy has crumbled and Big Mom is no longer the figure that she once was. Given how special Oda has made Katakuri and how he's developed his relationship with Luffy over the course of the Whole Cake Island arc, it's apparent that big things await the billion berri man in the future of the story.