What If the Sun Pirates Never Disbanded?
One Piece is basically a giant tapestry of "what ifs." Eiichiro Oda has built a world so tightly wound that if you tug on one single thread, the whole thing starts to unravel and re-knit into something completely different. One of the most heartbreaking and pivotal threads is the fate of the Sun Pirates. In the canon timeline, Fisher Tiger’s death and the subsequent internal friction led the crew to split into factions—Jinbe’s heroic path, Arlong’s path of hatred, and Macro’s path of greed. But what if that never happened? What if the Sun Pirates stayed together as one unified, unstoppable force of Fishman liberation?
This single shift doesn't just change Fishman Island; it ripples all the way back to the East Blue and forward to the Final Saga. If the Sun Pirates remain a singular crew, the entire power balance of the Grand Line is thrown into chaos. We’re talking about a group that contains some of the strongest warriors in the sea, all united under a single banner of justice and defiance against the World Government.
The Fisher Tiger Factor: A Living Legend
The core of this theory hinges on Fisher Tiger surviving or, at the very least, his death not leading to the crew's fragmentation. If Tiger lives, or if Jinbe manages to keep the crew's spirit perfectly intact, the Sun Pirates become a mobile sanctuary. Instead of Arlong heading to the East Blue to terrorize Nami and her village, he stays under the watchful, disciplinary eye of Tiger and Jinbe. This alone saves years of trauma for our favorite navigator and completely alters her introduction to Luffy.
In this timeline, the Sun Pirates don't just "exist"—they thrive. They become the primary antagonists of the Celestial Dragons, actively liberating slaves across the Red Line. Because they are still together, their collective strength is massive. They wouldn't just be a pirate crew; they’d be a symbol of Fishman pride that the World Government couldn't ignore or "manage" through the Warlord system. This pressure would likely force the Marines to dedicate Admirals specifically to hunting them, shifting resources away from other rising threats.
The Ripple Effect on the East Blue
It’s crazy to think about, but without Arlong’s Empire, the East Blue is a totally different place. Cocoyasi Village is peaceful. Belle-mere is alive. Nami is probably still a brilliant cartographer, but she isn't a thief. When Luffy sets out, he might not even meet the same people in the same way. Maybe he still meets Zoro in Shells Town, but his need for a navigator leads him elsewhere. The stakes of the early journey feel lower, but the world is actually much more dangerous because the Sun Pirates are out there making waves that the World Government is desperate to suppress.
The "weakest sea" would still look the same on a map, but the legends being told in bars would be different. People wouldn't be whispering about the "Fishman Arlong"; they’d be whispering about the Great Sun Fleet that just raided a Government facility in the Grand Line. This higher level of global tension means the Marines in the East Blue would be on much higher alert, potentially making Luffy’s early steps much more difficult. You can see how this would impact our One Piece character tier list, as characters like Jinbe and Fisher Tiger would remain at the absolute top of the "global threat" category for much longer.
Jinbe and the Burden of Leadership
In the original story, Jinbe carries the weight of his people on his shoulders, often sacrificing his own freedom to protect Fishman Island. If the crew never disbanded, his role changes from a "solitary protector" to a "general." He would have to manage the fiery temper of Arlong and the specialized skills of the rest of the fishmen. This version of Jinbe is less of a diplomat and more of a revolutionary. He doesn't join the Seven Warlords because the Sun Pirates are too big and too defiant to be tamed by a title.
This also means the Straw Hat crew might never get their helmsman. If Jinbe is busy leading a fleet of fishmen, he isn't at Marineford in the same capacity, and he isn't there to save Luffy’s life or mentor him through the "what do you still have?" moment. The emotional core of the series takes a massive hit here. Luffy’s growth is tied to the lessons he learned from those who came before him, and if Jinbe is occupied with the Sun Pirates' grand mission, Luffy might have to find that strength elsewhere.
A New Power in the New World
By the time we reach the New World, a unified Sun Pirates crew would basically be a fifth Yonko force. They wouldn't necessarily be interested in territory like Kaido or Big Mom, but they would control the routes to Fishman Island so effectively that every other pirate would have to pay them respect—or a toll. Their presence would disrupt the "Three Great Powers" balance much earlier than the Worst Generation did.
- The World Government: They would be in a state of constant panic, unable to use Fishman Island as a bargaining chip.
- The Yonko: Whitebeard would likely be an ally, but Big Mom would be a direct rival for influence over the Fishman Kingdom.
- The Revolutionaries: Dragon would almost certainly seek an alliance with a unified Fishman fleet, creating a "World-Sinking" coalition.
For more on how these individual powers stack up, you should check out every Straw Hat Devil Fruit explained to see how the current crew compares to the raw physical power of a Fishman army. The Sun Pirates wouldn't need fruits; their Fishman Karate and control of the ocean would be enough to sink entire Marine buster calls before they even got close.
Conclusion: The Dream of the Sun
Ultimately, the disbanding of the Sun Pirates was a tragedy that allowed for the growth of our main heroes, but it cost the Fishman race their greatest chance at immediate liberation. If they had stayed together, the world would be a more just place for Fishmen, but perhaps a more divided one for everyone else. The beauty of Oda’s writing is that even in these "darker" or "messier" alternate histories, the core theme remains: the inherited will and the dream of a world where everyone can live under the same sun.
It’s honestly a bit emotional to think about a world where Fisher Tiger, Jinbe, and even a reformed Arlong sail together. They wouldn't be the "Straw Hats," but they would be a beacon of hope in a very dark ocean. While we love seeing every Straw Hat pirate powerup in the final saga, there's something legendary about the raw, natural strength of the Sun Pirates that will always make them one of the most "what if" heavy groups in anime history. What do you think? Could Arlong have been saved if he stayed with the crew? Let me know, because I honestly think about this every time I re-watch the Fishman Island arc!
