One Piece‘s Trafalgar Law is a fan-favorite character, and unfortunately, the series already confirmed he met a tragic fate after his battle with Blackbeard. After leaving fans holding their breaths for months, Eiichiro Oda finally revealed the fate of the Heart Pirates and their Captain Law, who have been wiped out by the might of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Chapter #1081 of One Piece mostly focused on Aokiji, the former Marine Admiral who is now one of Blackbeard’s Ten Titanic Captains. However, the chapter also found the time to show fans the outcome of the battle between Law’s Heart Pirates and Blackbeard, which began in chapter 1063.

Despite their best efforts, the Heart Pirates could not stop the power of Blackbeard and his closest men, Van Augur and Burgess. However, Bepo the Mink uses his trump card and consumes a medicine given to him by Chopper, which allows him to assume his powerful Sulong form even without a full moon. Thanks to that, Bepo rescues Law and manages to run away from the battlefield, leaving the rest of the crew behind.

Blackbeard Destroys Law’s Heart Pirates

The battle between the Heart Pirates and Blackbeard’s team came as a surprise to fans, who were not expecting something so important to happen right after the end of the momentous Wano Arc. Blackbeard was waiting to ambush any of the pirate crews who left Wano, and Law was the unlucky one.

Considering the strength that Law showed in Wano and the incredible power of Law’s awakened Devil Fruit, some fans were hoping he could at least fight on par with Blackbeard, but sadly this proved to not be the case. The powerful Yonko has now gotten his hands on the transcripts of two Road Poneglyphs, which puts him closer than ever to finding the One Piece and claiming the title of Pirate King.

After the brutal defeat of the Kid Pirates at the hands of Shanks, Law is the second member of the Worst Generation to be taken off the board in a very short time. Both events came as a surprise, as after Law and Kid’s exploits in Wano it was easy to consider them at the same level as Luffy, or at least close. Instead, the dreams of both young pirates were crushed by the harsh reality of the New World.

However, in Law’s case there is still hope. While all the Kid Pirates, including their captain, were sunk to the bottom of the sea by Shanks’ devastating attack, Law is saved by Bepo, meaning he has a chance to still play a role in the future. The Heart Pirates, instead, are gone, with the rest of the crew either killed or captured by Blackbeard, and their submarine sunk.

Law’s Escape Means He Will Return In The Future

Even a year after Law’s battle with Blackbeard, the character has not reappeared yet, casting some doubts on his well-being. However, given the other extremely momentous events occurring in the Egghead Island arc, it is hardly surprising that Law wouldn’t get much of a focus.

Since Law is a major figure in the politics of One Piece‘s world and also possesses the key to immortality within them, it is likely guaranteed that they will return in one form or another, maybe allying with the Straw Hats against Blackbeard to avenge his crew. Thus, it is very likely that Law will reappear in the story once One Piece covers the aftermath of the events on Egghead Island.

What makes Law’s return seem all the more likely is that fans never actually saw him die. Law is not only a beloved character within the series’ fandom, he is also incredibly important to the world and overall story of One Piece. Given this, combined with Oda’s penchant for having believed characters return at pivotal moments, it’s clear that the story is setting up Law’s return.

Why Law’s Defeat was So Important to One Piece

Law’s Fate May Have More to Do With Setting Up Blackbeard Than Anything Else

Blackbeard represents a far more existential threat to the Straw Hats’ mission

Given the raw power of Law’s Devil Fruit and his prominence within the story, it may be surprising to see him and his pirates so thoroughly defeated by Blackbeard. While this is definitely an important moment for Law himself, it’s possible that Law’s defeat is less about him and much more about putting the pieces in place to make Blackbeard one of the Straw Hats’ final enemies. Imu and the World Government might be Luffy’s biggest looming threat at the moment, but Blackbeard represents a far more existential threat to the Straw Hats’ mission.

The World Government represents an oppressive symbol of tyranny that is easy for the Straw Hats to oppose on a philosophical level. In contrast, Blackbeard is a fellow pirate like Luffy. While Luffy uses his status as a pirate to live a free life helping those who are oppressed, Blackbeard instead uses his freedom and outlaw status for completely selfish ends. Given this ideological conflict, it only makes sense for Blackbeard to defeat Law and his Heart Pirates to truly confirm why Blackbeard is such a threat to Luffy’s goal of becoming King of the Pirates.

Law’s Tragic Fate Signals One Piece is Entering the Endgame

It’s quite shocking to see Oda get rid of two of his most popular characters, Kid and Law, in such a short span of time. This is the best possible proof that One Piece has truly entered its endgame, and from now on no character is safe, no matter how popular they are with fans. Surely, Bepo’s last-minute rescue means that Trafalgar Law will surely come back before One Piece ends, but the tragic fate of the Heart Pirates was decided the moment they met Blackbeard.