Summary
Throughout many of the arcs of theOne Piecestory, Oda has often introduced a central group or organization that either serves the role of the central heroes or villains. Quite a few examples of both come to mind, with heroic groups being the Satellites of Vegapunk during the Eggheard arc or the Nine Red Scabbards in the Wano arc. Similarly, notable examples of villainous groups are the Donquixote Pirates or Germa 66.
As stated earlier, this theme of central groups being present for the majority ofOne Piece’sstory arcs offers valuable insight for discussion, since the common trend among them is the fact that they have all had atraitor from within their ranks. Many believe that this is a story beat Oda has included multiple times on purpose in order to prepare fans for the greatest betrayal in the series, which could potentially be within the Gorosei.
Story Arc
Jaya
Part of the reason whyEiichiro Oda is considered by manyto be among the greatest writers of all time is the subtlety of his storytelling. Oftentimes, he introduces elements to his story that initially seem inconsequential only to have massive implications much later on. This kind of deliberate attention to detail is one of the biggest reasons whyOne Pieceis such a beloved franchise.
As such, many feel that St. Shepherd Ju Peter will potentially betray the World Government precisely for this reason. As stated earlier, almost every notable group in the series tends to have had a traitor in their midst, such as Corazon in the Donquixote Pirates, Sanji in Germa 66, Robin in Baroque Works, and even Kanjuro within the Red Scabbards, to name a few. This trend of betrayals within such important organizations hints that there may be something similar for the Gorosei as well.
Back to the point of how Oda makes very intentional design choices, it can be seen that there are many facets of Ju Peter’s design that are vastly different from his contemporaries. Firstly,he is the youngest of all the Elders, as can be seen by his comparatively youthful appearance and blond hair. Another notable difference is the way that he dresses.
Of course, St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro is the most different due to being the only member of the Elders who doesn’t wear a suit, but Ju Peter is the only one within their ranks whose fashion sense is notably more casual and relaxed, since the buttons of his shirt are open and he doesn’t wear a tie, wearing his clothes loosely instead of tightly like the others. On top of this, in the few appearances in which the Elders are actively conversing with one another, Ju Peter has seemed the most distant, always opting to stand to the side and keep quiet for the most part, and also seems the least aggressive out of them all.
The only thing all humans are equal in is death.
While this may seem like grasping at straws, it should be remembered that Oda always makes small but meaningful decisions when it comes to characters like this. Moreover,whenever the Gorosei have been seentalking about the various ways to deal with the pirates or the world in general, many fans have made the observation that Ju Peter’s comments are always reserved and sound far less genocidal and inflammatory than those of his contemporaries, which is a huge deal since the Celestial Dragons are famously hateful people.
Another detail lies within the scars that the few Elders have. Both Warcury and Saturn have scars on their faces, which they seem to wear proudly for the world to see. The only other Elder with a scar aside from these two is Ju Peter, whose wound is located on his chest which is always hidden beneath his clothes. This shows that wherever the scar may have come from, it’s not a mark of pride for him like it is for the others.
In the Egghead arc, the Elders finally showcased the truth of their powers, which were revealed to be powerful Yokai forms akin to Mythical Zoan transformations.Each of these Yokai were based on mythical monstersfrom Japanese folklore with very traditional-sounding names, except, of course, for Ju Peter’s transformation, which was a Sand Wyrm. This was something that most fans took notice of, since his Yokai was the most different in many ways, especially since many even thought that Ju Peter’s showing on the island was the worst.
The common sentiment here is that perhaps he never even wanted to fight against Luffy and his allies, so he never really made much of an effort to defeat them. Moreover, the Sand Wyrm is defined as a creature that burrows underneath, hidden until the moment is right for it to strike, which many fans have taken to be symbolic of what Ju Peter will likely do in the Final War against the World Government.
It’s imperative that we snuff out something this problematic.
Moving on, most of Ju Peter’s appearances in the manga have him on the leftmost side of the page, which would place him as the final Gorosei that the reader sees each time, since manga is read right to left. In doing so, they get an idea of what an Elder typically looks like, being an old and sharply dressed man, only for theexpectation to crumble upon seeing Ju Peter.
In some notable moments in the franchise, Oda has made the explicit choice to show only Ju Peter’s reaction, which could hint at something more. One of the greatest pieces of evidence has to do with the Elder’s names since Ju Peter is the only one of the original Elders whose name doesn’t denote any high or important position; rather, it’s the opposite. His family name is Shepherd, which personifies the everyday wage earner rather than a ruler of some kind, unlike the names of Marcus, Ethanbaron, Topman, or Jaygarcia.
Why Would St. Shepherd Ju Peter Be A Traitor?
A Reason For His Deceit
Although there are many connections to be made about how Ju Peter may be the traitor among the Five Elders, it doesn’t explain why he would be one. Here, speculation comes in. It is known that upon being promoted to the rank of an Elder, the character is granted immortality andterrifying powers by Imu, an example of which was shown on Egghead when a flashback showed Saturn looking at Emet 200 years before the start of the main story. Due to this, it can be surmised that Ju Peter is also immortal.
It could be possible that Ju Peter may have been an ancient ally of Joyboy during the Void Century who was appointed to the rank of Elder quite early on. If this is the case, then he would have had to be working toward the fulfillment of his ally’s 800-year-old plan, perhaps even stepping in at crucial moments to ensure it follows through. However, at the current moment, this is all just speculation and there’s no substantial proof of it.
