Eiichiro Oda is the creator of One Piece and man who has been drawing the manga for over 23 years now. Although Oda had planned to end the story in 5 years initially, the world of One Piece became so massive that even after being over a thousand chapters in, the end has not yet arrived.
While Oda's first statement on when One Piece would end was off, he's said a lot of intriguing stuff about the story over the years, including when he thinks it is going to reach its conclusion.
10 One Piece Will End In Five Years
One Piece is quite close to its end right now, with around 80% of the story having been covered already. Eiichiro Oda recently stated that Luffy's journey is coming close to an end and that he would like to end it in the next five years.
Whether Oda will actually be able to end the story in five years or not remains to be seen, however, his editors certainly believe that it is possible for Oda to wrap it up in that time.
9 Oda Already Knows How He Wants To End It
Eiichiro Oda is known for his skill to plan things ahead and then display it in his manga. With regards to the end of the story, things are no different. Eiichiro Oda had long ago decided how he wants his story to end.
Although hardly anyone knows what he has planned, knowing how Oda executes his ideas, fans have every reason to be excited for the end of the story.
8 Oda Has Already Decided On The Final Panel Of The Series
While having a rough idea of how a story will end is somewhat normal, Oda has gone further by having the final panel of his manga already decided.
What's even more surprising is that he had decided this long ago and made it public knowledge back in 1999. The only people who could possibly have any idea of what Oda is talking about are those working with Oda himself.
7 The One Piece Is A Real Treasure
Often, fans wonder what the One Piece is going to be, and "the friends we made along the way," comes to the minds of many. However, in an interview with Momoko Sakura, Oda confirmed that the One Piece is, in fact, going to be a physical treasure.
According to him, it would be quite unfair to have the Straw Hat Pirates journey for this long and not get a reward at the end of it all.
6 Oda Will Never Change The Ending
Long ago, Eiichiro Oda claimed that he would change the ending of One Piece if a fan theory would get it right. However, recently, it was confirmed to be untrue.
In January 2021, Editor Isaka asked Oda if he would ever change his ending for the story, and Oda simply denied wanting to do that. For someone who has planned the end of the story long ago, it makes sense to stick to it to the end and illustrate it the way you want.
5 Oda Is Determined To Die For One Piece
Every fan of One Piece loves the story but nobody loves it as much as Eiichiro Oda himself, as evident from the amount of work and effort he's put into it. According to editor Kawashima, Oda is determined to die for One Piece.
During their first meeting, Oda also told Kawashima to "die for ONE PIECE," which shocked the editor but impressed him at the same time. Needless to say, Oda's love and care for the story is really evident.
4 Oda Often Cries When Drawing One Piece
Back in a TV interview that took place in August 2020, editor Naito revealed that the late arrival of the manuscripts for the chapter where Rebecca met Kyros frustrated him but upon looking at them, he couldn't help but cry.
Oda is also known to have cried while drawing this scene and according to him, his audience won't cry unless what he draws pushes him to the brink of tears as well.
3 Oda's Favorite Moment Is The Opening Scene Of Wano
While Oda loves all of One Piece, he certainly does have his best moments picked out and in 2020, they were finally brought to the knowledge of the fans. Oda's favorite scene in the entire story is the opening scene of Wano Country from Chapter 909; a beautiful double-page spread.
Following this is a beautiful bit of comedy from Sabaody Archipelago where Robin wipes the sap from the island on Usopp's clothes. Finally, the campfire scene from Skypiea comes in third for Oda because he always looked forward to drawing it.
2 Oda Never Changed The Spelling For Laugh Tale
The One Piece treasure is known to be on the Final Island, which was once known as Raftel. However, in One Piece: Stampede, followed by Chapter 967 of the manga, it was actually revealed to be "Laugh Tale."
According to editor Naito, all the staff who worked with Oda knew this right from the beginning of the story. The fact that Oda finally revealed it could mean that the story is edging closer to its end.
1 The Wano Arc Is Related To The One Piece Treasure
Editor Naito, one of Oda's editors, revealed last year that Oda mentioned the Wano Country arc being heavily related to the final chapter of the One Piece manga. The arc is said to be the most important arc (to date).
Furthermore, Naito went on to say that the arc is going to be linked to the biggest mystery, which is, "What is the One Piece treasure?" With the arc reaching its climax, fans will find out bits about the One Piece very soon.