Wano won its freedom, but its biggest decision is still waiting beneath Mount Fuji. Momonosuke inherited a country that can finally choose its future—and a weapon that could make that choice everybody else’s problem.
The theory: Momonosuke will open Wano to release Pluton
Momonosuke will eventually bring down Wano’s walls so Pluton can enter the conflict surrounding the world’s future, with Wano choosing to support Luffy. The strongest version of this theory gives Momo the decision; it does not require him to captain the battleship or fire its weapons personally.
That distinction matters. Opening Wano releases Pluton: confirmed in chapter 1055. Opening it specifically to help Luffy in the final conflict: speculation. The first is the mechanism Oda has explained. The second is the payoff we are arguing for.
Our Wano recap covers the liberation. This is about the responsibility left behind after the victory feast.
The evidence: a promise, a delay and a dangerous door
Chapter 1055 turns Oden’s ambition into a physical problem. Sukiyaki leads Robin and Law beneath present-day Wano, where an older settlement lies submerged. He explains that removing the enclosing walls would make Pluton accessible while stripping away the country’s natural protection. Robin immediately spots the question that should bother us: why would Oden want to unleash that?
Sukiyaki cannot supply the missing answer. He knows the knowledge passed down through the shogunate, not everything his son discovered at sea. That leaves room for Oden’s goal to have a purpose beyond trade and travel. Opening the country could also mean allowing Wano to take a deliberate role in a struggle it has spent centuries sheltered from.
Momo’s hesitation strengthens this reading. In chapter 1041, he questions opening Wano when crucial pages are missing from Oden’s journal. In chapter 1050, he tells Zunesha he will keep the borders closed for now. Taken together, those scenes make the delay feel like a decision awaiting understanding. He has inherited an instruction without its full explanation.
Zunesha is also a plausible helper. Chapter 821 establishes that Momo can direct the elephant to act against Jack’s fleet. That gives the story an existing connection between Momo’s judgment and an ally capable of enormous physical force. Zunesha breaking Wano’s walls remains a prediction, however; the earlier feat does not prove that job belongs to it.
The political connection is firmer. In chapter 1057, Luffy gives Momo the Straw Hat flag as a warning to anyone who threatens Wano. GrandLineReview’s latest Wano discussion revisits the possibility of that bond paying off in a future war. The useful clue is the alliance itself: Wano has a reason to stand with Luffy that does not depend on a secret prophecy.
Why Pluton makes this more than a reunion theory
Water 7 gave Pluton a history of choices about power. Chapter 399 explains the shipwrights’ safeguard: preserve the plans so another vessel could oppose the original if necessary. Franky burns those plans after seeing the Straw Hats fight for Robin. His decision closes one route by which the Government could acquire that power; it leaves the original weapon elsewhere.
Ohara’s recent Robin analysis returns to how her knowledge connects the race for the One Piece with the Ancient Weapons. Wano gives that connection a location and a ruler who must weigh the consequences. Knowing where a weapon sleeps does not settle whether waking it is right.
There is pressure from outside, too. In chapter 1056, Caribou overhears Pluton’s location. Chapter 1122 shows Blackbeard agreeing to hear him out. Those scenes establish a route for dangerous information to reach Teach, not proof that he has seized Pluton. They do give Momo a possible future dilemma: keeping the borders closed may buy safety without keeping the secret safe forever.
The evidence against: release does not mean control
The biggest weakness is that this theory joins several separate steps. Wano’s walls can fall without Momo intending it. Pluton can become accessible without being usable. Even a working battleship need not end up supporting Luffy.
Chapter 1056 supplies a blunt counterpoint: Luffy declines the chance to pursue Pluton when Robin raises it. Any theory built around his eagerness to collect Ancient Weapons is already fighting the text. A future alliance would need a changed situation and a reason beyond wanting bigger firepower.
We also lack the operational details. Sukiyaki has not seen the ship himself. Its crew, condition and requirements are unresolved. Claims that Momo can command Pluton as he commands Zunesha add an ability the manga has not established.
Finally, Momo’s duty is to Wano’s people. Losing their defenses to help an ally would carry a cost. A convincing payoff must address their safety; Oden’s wish alone cannot make that responsibility disappear.
Verdict: likely opening, uncertain deployment
Momo eventually choosing to open Wano looks highly likely. Pluton entering the final conflict on Luffy’s side is plausible, with substantial unanswered questions. The promise, the explicit delay and the weapon’s location form a strong setup. They do not identify its captain, target or first shot.
The scene to watch for is Momo learning enough to decide that opening Wano protects its future better than keeping it sealed. That would complete something more satisfying than an inherited order: the frightened heir becoming a shogun who understands the choice his father left him.
Spoilers through chapter 1196.
