One Piece Won't End in Less Than 10 Years, and Here's Why

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

Summary

One Piece has been ongoing for 28 years with 1150 chapters, indicating a long road ahead for the series.
Oda cannot realistically finish the story in less than 10 years due to the complexity and length of the Final Saga.
With many arcs left and Oda taking more breaks, every arc takes double the time to finish, extending the series further.

Fans of the popular series “One Piece” are feeling a mix of excitement and apprehension regarding the ending of their cherished manga. It’s uncertain when Oda will bring the tale to a close at this juncture, but I firmly believe that it would take more than 10 years for him to wrap up this story, and here are my reasons.

One Piece Has Been Ongoing For 28 Years Now

There is Still a Lot to Explore in the Series

The anime series “One Piece” originated way back in 1997, that’s a full 28 years ago. Currently, it boasts an impressive collection of 1150 chapters, with no signs of slowing down or wrapping up just yet.

Every few years, Oda hints at the conclusion of his story being near in just a few more years, though this has not yet come to pass. Initially, Oda didn’t plan for One Piece to span as long as it has, but now that he’s immersed so deeply within it, altering its course would require removing significant portions of the Final Saga.

At present, we find ourselves immersed in the Elbaf chapter of the narrative, and it appears that this particular chapter may continue unfolding for some time yet. In fact, based on estimations, it might be another one and a half to two years before Oda completes this arc alone.

Speculations among the series enthusiasts suggest that “One Piece” might wrap up within 3 to 6 years, but this idea appears rather implausible. The Final Saga is expected to be incredibly dense, and given the extensive amount of material yet to be covered, a duration less than 10 years seems unrealistically short.

Why One Piece Will Not End in Less than 10 Years

A lot of Arcs Left in Addition to Oda Taking More Breaks

One Piece’s prolonged continuation primarily stems from the numerous unexplored plot points and impending story arcs that remain uninitiated. In essence, with countless mysteries left unsolved and plenty of new developments on the horizon, it seems One Piece has a lot more to offer us yet.

Another significant factor contributing to the continued run of “One Piece” is the frequent breaks taken by its creator, Oda.

Over time, Oda has noticeably grown older, which has naturally led to a decrease in his energy levels and overall health. Being a mangaka is no walk in the park; it requires a considerable amount of time, energy, and dedication. Given these circumstances, Oda has been taking more frequent rest periods – often one every three weeks, but occasionally even more frequently.

Each sketch that Oda creates these days doubles the time he needs to complete compared to earlier. For instance, the Dressrosa arc, with 102 chapters, was finished by Oda in two years within the manga. If drawn today, it would likely take him around 3 to 4 years to finish. On the other hand, Egghead, which consists of only 64 chapters, took Oda roughly as long as Dressrosa did in the manga, which is rather surprising. This slowdown significantly hinders his ability to wrap up the story any sooner than ten years.

Where to Read One Piece?

Available to Read On Manga Plus

In exactly one week’s time, we’ll be getting our hands on One Piece Chapter 1151! Typically, this manga gets released every Sunday, but for those in Japan, it drops at midnight JST on Monday. The rest of the world will have access to the chapter on June 8th. So mark your calendars, fans! You can enjoy reading One Piece Chapter 1151 for free on Manga Plus.

2025-06-05 15:34

One Piece Won’t End in Less Than 10 Years, and Here’s Why