The Role of the “Flame-Scarred Man”
Rumors have been circulating that the “Flame-Scarred Man” might be:
- Someone who can read Poneglyphs
- Someone who knows the location of the 4th Road Poneglyph
Let me start by debunking both of these theories.
The Overlapping Readers Problem
If the “Flame-Scarred Man” could read Poneglyphs, he’d be redundant — the crew already has Robin, and he’d overlap with Pudding and Kozuki Sukiyaki too.
Having multiple rare ancient text readers who are also major criminals saturating the crew of one pirate makes no narrative sense.
There’s no point introducing such a character now, so the “can read Poneglyphs” theory is the least likely of all.
The 4th Road Poneglyph Theory Is Also Wrong
Next, the theory that he “knows the location of the 4th Road Poneglyph.” This is also wrong.
The Road Poneglyph that was on Fish-Man Island? I believe Whitebeard took it.
Here’s my reasoning:
When Roger and Oden showed Neptune the contents and meaning of the Road Poneglyph, he looked visibly troubled.
And that makes sense.
If pirates other than Roger could read Poneglyphs and came to Fish-Man Island, they’d be coming for the Ancient Weapons — meaning Neptune’s daughter would be in danger.
So Neptune wouldn’t want to keep a stone covered in Ancient Weapon information on Fish-Man Island. Without the Road Poneglyph, Poseidon’s secret stays hidden.
But throwing such an important stone into the ocean floor feels wrong too.
So he’d want to entrust it to someone reliable and have it moved to the surface.
Whitebeard arrived at just the right time. ‘In exchange for borrowing Whitebeard’s flag, I’ll give you this Road Poneglyph.’
So I believe Whitebeard was the one who brought the Fish-Man Island Road Poneglyph back to the surface.
And Blackbeard, who was present at the time, naturally knows this. He may even already have a copy.
So the “knows the location of the 4th Road Poneglyph” theory is also out.
The True Role of the “Flame-Scarred Man”
At the end of the Wano arc, among Luffy, Law, and Kid, the one closest to the One Piece is:
- Owns 3 Road Poneglyphs
- Has an archaeologist crew member who can read ancient texts
- Has a navigator who can chart seas from decoded text
— Luffy, without question.
And yet Kid mocks Luffy for not knowing about the “Flame-Scarred Man”:
“You don’t know? Ha, all the better for us — HAHAHA!”
Let me lay out the situation of all three and compare them again:
(*) Luffy and Law’s alliance should have split Big Mom’s Poneglyph between them.
Kid is showing confidence despite being clearly at a disadvantage. Is the information about the “Flame-Scarred Man” really that crucial to the race for the One Piece?
What’s notable is that Kid says “the race for the One Piece” — not “reaching Laugh Tale.” Kid and Killer are looking ahead to what comes AFTER reaching Laugh Tale.
Is the “Flame-Scarred Man” Needed to Land on Laugh Tale?
If Laugh Tale were a special island like Raijin Island, being the first to find it wouldn’t matter — you’d need information on how to actually land there.
So who holds that information?
“Big Mom’s intelligence network is widely considered the best in the industry…”
This might be the reason for Kid’s confidence.
Kid had cornered one of Big Mom’s sons, a commander and Sweet Commander, and made them “steal a Road Poneglyph.”
How he forced such a massive act of betrayal is a mystery, but they probably had a crewmate with a mind-control ability.
And that Sweet Commander spilled everything Big Mom had gathered for her “One Piece hunt” — including intelligence.
Within that intelligence was the revelation: ‘To land on Laugh Tale, you need the Flame-Scarred Man.’
So Kid got the Road Poneglyph AND the intel on how to actually land on Laugh Tale from the Sweet Commander he cornered.
And that intel was: ‘Find the Flame-Scarred Man.’
Law vs. Blackbeard — Blackbeard Wins
As I wrote in a previous article, Luffy and Blackbeard must always be evenly matched rivals.
Blackbeard defeated Emperor Whitebeard and gained two abilities; Luffy similarly defeated Emperor Kaido with two abilities (rubber + Zoan) and rose to the level of the new Four Emperors.
So for Blackbeard, who’s far behind in the race for the One Piece, someone needs to take everything from Law once Law’s role is done — and that someone is Blackbeard.
In other words: Kid might also get everything taken by Shanks or Buggy.
So all four Emperors are now searching for the “Flame-Scarred Man.”
Could the “Flame-Scarred Man” Be a “Skull’s Right Eye” Pattern?
There’s also a possibility that the “Flame-Scarred Man” isn’t even a living person. If they died of illness or an accident, the search would be over.
In the movie The Goonies — which inspired Weeble and Usopp’s inventions — the skeleton of a pirate called “One-Eyed Willy” was a key plot element.
A “skull’s right eye” pattern is possible too. Though in that case, there are zero hints right now, so we’d just have to wait for new information.
Giants Not from Elbaf
The theory that the “Flame-Scarred Man” = Sauro is popular — but I think it’s impossible.
If it were Sauro, he’d be called the “Flame-Scarred Giant.”
Also, all the books Sauro collected have already been read by Vegapunk, so Sauro’s brain holds no special value.
He has no connection to the 4th Road Poneglyph, Laugh Tale, or the One Piece.
The only thing he has going for him is a connection to Elbaf — and Hyldon is more useful for that anyway.
Oh, and he shares a birthplace with Kid — both from the South Blue. That’s about it.
Anyway, I was surprised to realize how many giants exist outside of Elbaf. Here’s a quick breakdown:
Jaguar D. Sauro
San Juan Wolf
Morley
Oars
Little Oars Jr.
Yeti Cool Brothers
