One Piece Season 2 Ending Explained

The Straw Hats split the load, with Zoro and Usopp fending off Wapol's army alongside Dalton and Kureha, Sanji and Chopper taking on Wapol's lieutenants, and Luffy handling Wapol himself with an assist from Vivi. Once the motor-mouthed menace is punched into oblivion and pink cherry blossom is raining down, all is well in Drum Kingdom as the Straw Hats set sail with Chopper in tow as their new crew member.

One Piece Season 2's Ending Directly Sets Up Season 3

One benefit of faithfully adapting a manga series with over 1000 chapters is always knowing where the story goes next, and just as One Piece season 1 ended with the promise of reaching the Grand Line, season 2 wraps up with the Going Merry headed directly for Alabasta.

As a result, One Piece season 3 will be markedly different compared to past efforts. Whereas Netflix's first two seasons saw Luffy's crew hopping from island to island adventuring in jungles, mountains, snow, and fish-based theme parks, One Piece's next season will take place almost exclusively in the desert kingdom of Alabasta.

The goal will be kicking Baroque Works out of Vivi's land. For reasons live-action One Piece is yet to reveal, the criminal organization has taken root in Alabasta and is up to no good. Vivi has risked her life going undercover as a Baroque Works agent, but now her ruse is rumbled, she and the Straw Hats must face their enemies head-on.

It's a regular occurrence in Eiichiro Oda's manga series, but One Piece's next live-action season will be the first arc set in a single location where the Straw Hats are pitched against one big crew of villains.

Who Is Crocodile? One Piece Season 3's Main Villain

And the leader of said villainous crew makes his full One Piece debut in season 2's ending. The shady Mr. 0 briefly appeared while the Straw Hats were on Little Garden, but the finale reveals Joe Manganiello's character in all his wicked glory.

Even better, One Piece season 2's closing moments finally expose Mr. 0's secret identity. The Baroque Works leader is none other than former pirate and current Seven Warlords member Crocodile.

The immediate question is whether Crocodile, as a government-appointed warlord, should be invading a member state of the World Government like Alabasta. The answer is a resounding "no," and that's precisely why Crocodile is hell-bent on concealing his identity. If the government discovered his actions, Crocodile's status as a warlord would be swiftly revoked.

Vivi still isn't entirely sure why Crocodile is digging his hook into Alabasta, but One Piece season 2 offers some salient clues. We know Alabasta is ruled by the Nefertari family, with Vivi's father currently sitting on the throne. By all accounts, the Nefertaris are kind and just rulers, but Crocodile appears to be sowing division among the kingdom and secretly inciting a rebellion against the royal family. According to Garp, Vivi's country is already on the brink of civil war. It can perhaps be assumed that Crocodile seeks to exploit the mess and take the throne for himself.

***MANGA SPOILERS BELOW***

Crocodile seeks to depose Alabasta's royal family and bring the island under his control, but why? A warlord could probably invade an island outside World Government jurisdiction and get away with it, so why Alabasta specifically?

The answers can be found in One Piece's manga. Crocodile knows a dark secret about Vivi's homeland - that it holds the location of a legendary warship known as Pluton. With this weapon, Crocodile would immediately become one of the most powerful forces on the Grand Line. Since the Nefertaris guard that secret with their lives, Crocodile needs them out of the way.

***END OF MANGA SPOILERS***

Is Vivi A Member Of The Straw Hat Pirates Now?

Tony Tony Chopper officially becomes the Straw Hats' doctor in One Piece season 2's ending, but he may not be the only new member. Since boarding the Going Merry, Vivi has viewed herself as merely a passenger, but after hearing Monkey D. Luffy's passionate declaration to help eject Baroque Works from Alabasta, the princess finally accepts her position as a true Straw Hat.

But is she, really?

The reality is a little more nuanced. On one hand, Vivi has been fully accepted into the Straw Hat fold, and anyone who enters that fold is there for life. As Luffy is always keen to remind us, he never abandons his friends. On the other hand, Vivi's entire mission is to save her kingdom from ruin - the kingdom she's destined to lead one day. It's highly unlikely Vivi will abandon her people after going to such lengths in the name of saving them.

Vivi is best considered an honorary Straw Hat crew member. If future Luffy was asked to list his nakama, he'd undoubtedly include Vivi, but she isn't going to be a permanent fixture on the Going Merry.

Why Kureha Insults Chopper In Their Final Conversation

Despite having a bedside manner that makes House look cuddly, Dr. Kureha and Tony Tony Chopper share a sweet bond in One Piece. As abrasive as Kureha can be, being so brutal to Chopper during their final conversation is still surprising, as Katey Sagal's One Piece character delivers insult after insult and accuses her student of being ungrateful by leaving with the Straw Hats.

Kureha doesn't mean it, of course, as proven by the revelation that she had Chopper's medical supplies packed and ready to go, so why is she so awful to him beforehand?

As Kureha implies during her talk with Dalton, she verbally attacks Chopper to avoid an emotional goodbye. Kureha is a kind soul who uses meanness as a defense mechanism, so rather than give Chopper a proper goodbye and risk her hard exterior cracking, she's combative and spiky.

It would also be fair to say that Kureha is attempting to inspire Chopper in her own weird way. She knows the Grand Line will be tough, especially following a captain intent on becoming the Pirate King, and is testing Chopper's resolve to achieve his dream of sailing the seas. If the reindeer caved to her wickedness, he wouldn't be ready to join the Straw Hats on their voyage. Chopper sticking to his guns represents his first step on a brand-new journey.

What's Chopper's "Secret" In One Piece Season 2's Finale?

As Chopper sorts his belongings on the Going Merry, he packs away a suspicious-looking container of small round objects, but when asked what they are, he claims it's a "secret."

Earlier in One Piece season 2, Dr. Kureha made a reference to "rumble" in regard to fighting, but that word carries a much deeper significance. The "secret" is the Rumble Ball, a drug that unlocks extra transformations for Chopper's Devil Fruit. Viewers have already seen Chopper's larger human form, his four-legged deer form, and his two-legged hybrid form, but the Rumble Ball adds a transformation suited for defense, one suited for jumping, one suited for battle, and one that enlarges Chopper's horns.

We might ponder why Chopper wants to keep such a great ability under wraps, and that's likely down to the Rumble Ball's devastating side effects. The drug only lasts three minutes, but if Chopper pops more than two pills within a short period, he activates a monstrous transformation he currently cannot control.

Luffy's Connection To Gol D. Roger Explained

One Piece season 2's parting scenes involve Kureha revealing the truth behind Gold Roger's name - that he's really called "Gol D. Roger," just like Luffy is Monkey D. Luffy. Kureha also mentions the "Will of D." Even after more than 1000 manga chapters, One Piece still hasn't fully explained the Will of D., but the mystery is at least a little clearer.

Those possessing "D." in their name are descendants of an ancient clan considered the natural enemy of "god." In other words, they're the World Government's worst nightmare. Roger and Luffy (as well as Garp and Dragon, of course) all hail from that lineage, but Luffy and Roger are not directly related. Nevertheless, members of the "D" clan do share similar traits, which goes some way toward explaining why so many One Piece characters glimpse Roger's spirit within Luffy.

The One Piece manga has heavily suggested, if not directly confirmed, that the "D" stands for "Davy." A legendary pirate named Davy Jones once opposed the leaders of One Piece's world, and "D" characters in the current era seemingly carry his will. Exactly how that works and what it means is yet to be revealed by any iteration of the One Piece tale.