In a previous article I explained the theory that the Egghead Arc is a homage to the Monkey Crab Battle folktale.
The cover of Chapter 856 — one of the key pieces of evidence — shows a crab wearing a straw hat piloting a robot.
The way I see it, this reads as:
Straw-hat crab → Nika
Robot → the Iron Giant
So that cover image is a hint that Luffy’s long-held dream finally comes true during the Egghead Arc.
There’s solid evidence to back this up, so let me walk through it.
Luffy’s Lifelong Robot Obsession
One of the most striking things about the Egghead Arc was how many characters from past arcs came back.
Looking back at the arcs where those characters first appeared, I noticed that almost every island had robot foreshadowing hidden in it.
Little Garden Arc
The Giant Warrior Pirates — Dorry the Blue Ogre and Broggy the Red Ogre — showed up as reinforcements.
Back in Little Garden, where they first appeared, there’s a panel of Luffy staring with starry eyes at Mr. 3’s “Candle Champion”:
Enies Lobby Arc
All of CP9 returned, having been promoted to CP0.
And there’s much more — Sauro, the Buster Call, the Will of Ohara — most of the Egghead Arc is built from Enies Lobby self-homages.
The robot element from Enies Lobby: the Gum-Gum Friendly Robot —
Impel Down Arc
Sabo’s infiltration of Mary Geoise mirrors Luffy’s infiltration of Impel Down.
Add in the returns of Magellan and Doflamingo, and Impel Down homages feel more dense than most other arcs.
The robot foreshadowing from Impel Down:
Luffy finally got to wear the Candle Champion he’d been longing for since Little Garden —
The panel of Luffy with sparkling eyes and tears of joy is one of my personal favorites.
Whole Cake Island Arc
This is a homage that’s easy to miss unless you’re an active theorist — but as my earlier article explained:
Kizaru in the Egghead Arc is in exactly the same situation as Sanji was during Whole Cake Island.
Wanting to save Vegapunk but unable to defy the Five Elders’ orders — just like Sanji being torn between his crew and Big Mom. Kizaru’s inner conflict is Sanji all over again. Stussy’s return fits too.
So Egghead is also a Whole Cake Island self-homage.
The robot from Whole Cake Island: Bege’s Big Father.
And yes — Luffy’s eyes were shining that time too:
Luffy’s Chance to Finally Pilot a Robot
The Iron Giant reacted to the rhythm of Nika’s heartbeat and marched forward, apologizing to Joyboy in what seemed like an inner monologue.
Zunesha also heard Nika’s heartbeat and said “Joyboy has returned.” And Vegapunk’s silhouette of Joyboy looks like Nika — so it’s safe to read Joyboy = Nika = Luffy.
That means the Iron Giant will fight on Luffy’s side.
But it would be pretty anticlimactic if it just followed Luffy’s orders. Plus its movements are slow — relying on it alone to fight the Five Elders feels underwhelming.
So what would actually be interesting?
A Thriller Bark Homage
The Iron Giant’s horns, arms, and body silhouette look unmistakably like Oars from the Thriller Bark Arc.
Egghead is packed with Thriller Bark references already —
The self-homage is obvious.
And Thriller Bark had its own robot foreshadowing:
Luffy was thrilled to be inside a robot — his excitement was through the roof.
Then Moria stretched Oars’s shadow so that Oars’s body became rubbery like Luffy himself.
The result: the ultimate being combining Oars’s giant frame with Luffy’s agility and rubber abilities.
So:
At the climax of the Egghead Arc, Nika merging with the Iron Giant would recreate this very scene.
Does Fighting the Five Elders Require Simultaneous Attacks?
I wrote a previous article asking: “What if the Five Elders are like an RPG boss that revives unless you hit all of them at the same time?”
If that hypothesis is right, Nika merging with the Iron Giant would suddenly make a lot of sense.
Right now, Nika’s attacks aren’t getting through to Saint Jaygarcia Saturn —
We don’t know what the Iron Giant is made of, but merging with it would at least mean punches stop bouncing back.
And that’s the case for Luffy finally becoming a robot.
All the Foreshadowing Comes Together
Oda has a well-known structural pattern: the beginning and end of an arc echo each other visually.
If the prediction holds — Nika merges with the Iron Giant — then Egghead would start with a giant robot and end with an even more giant robot. Beautiful symmetry.
One more prediction: the finishing move will be a homage to that film.
The Finishing Blow Against the Five Elders
The finishing move Luffy uses against the Five Elders in the Egghead Arc is already being telegraphed here: Gum-Gum Battle Axe.
A Gum-Gum Battle Axe at Iron Giant scale could stomp all five Elders at once.
Which would make this line from Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro a piece of foreshadowing — he’s about to become the one getting stomped:
And if the Thriller Bark homage brings us to this panel —
A lightning-charged giant’s foot crushing a legendary old man —
That’s the recreation of the climax of Film Strong World.
The appearance of Shiki the Golden Lion at God Valley in Kuma’s flashback was probably setting this up too.
So: if Nika and the Iron Giant merge, every last piece of foreshadowing clicks into place. If I’m right, please spread the word!