Kizaru may have been involved in One Piece's most influential event

Following the reveal of his backstory and his role in One Piece’s Egghead Arc, Admiral Kizaru has become one of the biggest fan-favorites in mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s series. Likewise, many have taken the opportunity of the manga’s ongoing two–week break to reflect on Kizaru’s character and truly appreciate his development.

However, this has also given birth to some exciting theories surrounding his pre-story origins as a result of fans rediscovering subtle facts of his life. In fact, it seems possible that Kizaru may be responsible for arguably the single-most important event in the entire series, period. This is, of course, Luffy first eating the so-called Gum-Gum Fruit and starting his journey as a pirate.

Luffy may have Kizaru to thank for his powers in One Piece

This One Piece theory starts by establishing that 12 years prior to current events in the series, then-Vice Admiral Kizaru captured Arlong at Koala’s hometown. He’s then brought into the G-2 base by Kizaru for interrogation, being imprisoned and later released. While Jinbe was said to be responsible for this pardon, it can also be said that Arlong acted very brashly and confidently in their conversation after.

In other words, he exuded a level of confidence which even for his arrogant character was excessive, as if he had assurance of his ability to achieve his twisted goals. Coincidentally, the Wano Arc sees Who’s Who reveal that he heard of the legend of Sun God Nika while imprisoned after losing the Nika Fruit to Shanks. Who’s Who also asserts that Jinbe’s Sun Pirate status is related to Nika by nature of the crew being made up of slaves.

However, it’s possible that there’s a deeper meaning to Who’s Who point when considering Arlong’s history. It’s possible that the Sun Pirates were knowledgeable of Nika and the Nika Fruit specifically, and that Arlong shared it with the Marines while in G2 for some sort of future immunity. Who’s Who may have been imprisoned in G2 after his failure in protecting the Nika Fruit and heard of the origins of his task via his connections at the base.

Likewise, if Arlong did make such a deal in One Piece, Kizaru himself would surely be involved as the then-Vice Admiral who brought Arlong in. Kizaru likely then leaked the information to Shanks due to motivations relative to his close friendship with Vegapunk. This seems especially likely since it would be after Ohara’s destruction, which is what radicalized Dr. Vegapunk into studying the Void Century.

Kizaru likely chose Shanks specifically by nature of dubbing him the strongest pirate still approachable for Kizaru without drawing any major attention to himself. This would’ve been before Shanks was a Yonko, yet at a time when he still had a strong reputation (especially as an ex-Roger Pirate). Shanks was merely a means of accomplishing an end, whereas Kizaru’s end itself was to undercut the World Government likely out of respect for Vegapunk and his allies.

This would also explain how he became an Admiral, since he’s the one who captured Arlong, got information about the Nika Fruit from Arlong, and ensured its initial capture. His position secured and all doubt cleared from his name, he then leaks the information to Shanks who ambushes Who’s Who’s vessel and recovers the Fruit. This directly leads into the events which start Luffy’s story and shape his journey in a fundamental way.

Final thoughts

While still speculative, Kizaru's role in the series may be a fundamentally integral one (Image via Toei Animation)

While the above is speculative, there are several seemingly unrelated events which can be fairly easily linked together with the above perspective in mind. Given Oda’s modus operandi for the series, such a reveal eventually coming is not entirely out of the question. However, fans will have to wait and see to know for sure, starting with the manga’s official return on Monday, December 2, 2024 at 12AM Japanese Standard Time.