Highlights

One Piece had a huge presence at Jump Festa 2024, with fans anticipating a new message from Oda and more details about the manga in 202
The first arc of the Final Saga will end in 2024, with the Egghead Island arc wrapping up and the Straw Hat Pirates heading to Elbaf.
Oda has planned an alternate path for the Straw Hat Pirates, but he may not be able to stop Luffy from going to Elbaf. Additionally, a major battle between two characters is teased for 2024, possibly Luffy and Shanks or Shanks and Blackbeard.

One Piece had the biggest of all stages at Jump Festa 2024 and this was something that fans already expected, given that it was saved for last and also because it is the biggest manga in all of Japan, as well as the rest of the world. Fans were expecting a new message from Oda and, at the same time, more details about what to expect from the manga in 2024.

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The adventure is going to continue as the series progresses and that is certainly going to be very exciting. Finally, Oda has announced the beginning of a new arc after Egghead in One Piece and, along with that, more exciting information pertaining to many One Piece projects that are currently going on as well.

Oda's Jump Festa 2024 Message

As with every single year, Oda delivered a proper message for One Piece fans at Jump Festa 2024. Fans expected this message to reveal the major successes that One Piece had in the previous year and, most importantly, what to expect from the manga in the upcoming year. In this message, Oda revealed quite a lot of information. Here is what Oda had to say:

“Everyone who came to Jump Festa, are you having fun? this is Atarashii Gakko!'s leader assistant. Nah, It's me, Eiichiro Oda.

So many things happened in 2023 that the year flew by in the blink of an eye. FILM RED had an encore rerelease in Japan, so thank you very much for that! And for half the year, I was giving it my all with the live-action adaptation. I even went to LA. Despite how busy I am, I nervously witnessed its release! It even reached the top of Netflix for three weeks in a row, it was a big hit!! Incredible!! This success was a result of more struggles and battles than you could imagine, so it was a massive relief for me as well.

The fact that a Japanese manga could win an "Emmy" or an "Academy Award” someday! That'd be a dream for me.

I feel like that can become reality thanks to the production team from all over the world and everyone in the cast, including Inaki-kun and Jacob-kun who showed up at Jump Festa today, who all love One Piece so much. So, hoping that these five can become Hollywood stars, let's do our best for Season 2!!

NOW then, in the anime, the Wano Country's emotional last scene was animated, and we head to Egghead!! The anime episodes are also streaming on our Japanese YouTube channel, so please give that a watch. Next year, the anime celebrates 25 years!! We have a massive project in mind for that. It'll be fun!!

Though of course, I'll keep working hard on the manga as well, but this past year, many characters have faced many events. Truly a terrifying world! If Luffy and the others can leave Egghead safely... they should be going to that island. I also considered not taking that route, but I may not be able to stop Luffy. And finally, at last, it'll happen. The battle between that character and that character may lead to unexpected results!! Onward! To next year, alongside the 25th anniversary of the One Piece anime!! I'll be in your care once again!!

– Eiichiro Oda.”

(Translation by Artur, Library of Ohara)

New Arc After Egghead

Just by taking a single look at Oda's message for the upcoming year, it is clear for the fans to see that One Piece is going to be ending the first arc of the Final Saga in 2024. The Egghead Island arc is going to wrap up at some point in the new year and that is absolutely exciting for the fans. Oda also teased that after the Straw Hat Pirates managed to escape from Egghead, they will have to go to *that* island. Oda did not namedrop the island, however, he doesn't need to because the story already mentioned that the Straw Hat Pirates will head to Elbaf as soon as they managed to escape from Egghead.

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This is something that fans are incredibly excited about. Elbaf was teased in the story in the Little Garden arc ark, after all, and that only means that it has been decades since it was first teased. Fans have been waiting in anticipation for this arc to begin for quite a while now and, finally, in 2024, the Elbaf arc will finally begin.

Alternate Path For The Straw Hat Pirates.

Curiously enough, Oda also mentioned that he has planned an alternate Path for the Straw Hat Pirates as well. Oda usually doesn't mention these details at Jump Festa. However, the fact that he did means that there might be other ways for the Straw Hat Pirates to move forward. This essentially means that the Straw Hats might not go to Elbaf and take an alternate route somehow. However, at the same time, Oda also mentioned that he might not be able to stop Luffy.

This might confuse quite a lot of fans, however, Oda has previously clarified that he believes that his characters have a will of their own. Luffy, for example, is such a well-crafted character that fans can tell what decision he will take going forward. If Oda makes Luffy take a decision that would feel out of character, then it would ruin the entire story. Essentially, the alternate path that Oda has made might not be something that Luffy would agree with and, in that case, as Oda mentioned, he might not be able to stop him from taking the part to Elbaf instead. This is very interesting and just goes to show how much care Oda has put into crafting Luffy and the other members of the Straw Hat Pirates over the years.

A Big Battle In 2024

Luffy Nika Gear 5 Oda Freedom One Piece 1103

Finally, Oda has also teased a major battle happening in One Piece in 2024. According to Oda, these two characters will finally be fighting and this implies that this clash has been teased in the story before. When thinking of the next island that the Straw Hat Pirates will be on in 2024, only three characters come to mind. Luffy is certainly going to be one character heading towards Elbaf and, the other two characters would be Shanks and Blackbeard. It is highly likely that Oda is talking about Luffy and Shanks. These two characters might finally end up clashing in 2024 and that would happen on the island of Elbaf.

Fans already know that Shanks protects this territory and, Kid recently met a terrible fate in the vicinity of this country. Now, with Luffy heading towards this island, it might be time for these two characters to meet. Alternatively, Oda could also be talking about a fight between Shanks and Blackbeard. These two characters are destined to fight at some point in the story and, perhaps, this fight will finally end up happening in 2024.

Regardless of what happens, 2024 will be very exciting for all One Piece fans. One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. Since One Piece is going to be on break, the release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1102, is set to be December 25, 2023.