As One Piece heads into the Final Saga, its latest story arcs have proved the series is finally ready to divulge some of its biggest, best-kept secrets. Both the Egghead Arc and the Elbaf Arc blew fans away with major lore bombs about enigmas like Joyboy and Imu as well the world of One Piece itself. That said, besides these big, important revelations, One Piece’s latest arc may just answer another inconsequential yet nagging mystery that has evaded fans for decades, this being the identity of Luffy’s mother.
With the exciting Rocks Pirates reveal almost entirely stealing the spotlight in Chapter 1156, it’s easy to brush over the introduction to the gorgeous Kuja Pirates. However, hidden among these panels dominated by Gloriosa and Shakuyaku’s beauty is a new character who just made her first canon appearance outside of the SBS, even getting a formal introduction of her own. This character is none other than Tritoma, the Kuja Empress before Boa Hancock, who was first revealed in the SBS of Volume 109. Tritoma finally appears in Chapter 1156, where she is seen handing Gloriosa a pile of fan mail, and if the fan theories are right, Tritoma could very well be Luffy’s mother.
One Piece‘s Elbaf Arc May Have Snuck in Luffy’s Potential Mother
In the SBS section of Volume 109 of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda was asked about the previous empresses of Amazon Lily. This is when Tritoma was mentioned for the very first time, along with an illustration of her as a young woman and the revelation that she had died of the mysterious love-sickness that famously plagues the Kuja. Admittedly, there have been countless theories about who could be Luffy’s mother, almost to the point of becoming a running joke among fans of the series.
However, when Tritoma was revealed, it seemed for the very first time like she could be a legitimate candidate. The biggest reason for this was the physical resemblance, with Tritoma’s round eyes and face and thin eyebrows being quite reminiscent of Luffy. the latest chapter further drives the similarities home. The younger version of Tritoma seen in Chapter 1156 looks even more like Luffy, with even her smile being a lot like Luffy’s, albeit not as wide and toothy. While her hair and eye color will remain a mystery until the anime adapts the latest chapter, Tritoma remains a very strong candidate, as she also checks many other boxes besides her appearance.
Tritoma Would Tick All the Boxes as Luffy’s Mother
First and foremost, Tritoma would have belonged to the same generation as Dragon, making her the perfect age to be Luffy’s potential mother. Chapter 1156 takes place approximately 48 years ago, at which time Dragon would have been around seven years old, and while Tritoma appears to be in her mid-teens if not older, the age gap between her and Dragon would be roughly the same as the one between Luffy and Boa Hancock, making the ship very much plausible.
As for her death from the love sickness, much like Gloriosa and Shakky were drawn to strong personalities like Roger and Rayleigh, it is possible that Tritoma was similarly smitten with Dragon. While this is only speculation at best, considering how Dragon kept his distance from Luffy to protect him and to prevent Luffy from being used against him, perhaps Dragon was similarly forced to leave Tritoma when he decided to form the Revolutionary Army, thus causing her to succumb to the love sickness. Lastly, having Luffy’s mother hail from Amazon Lily would perhaps finally explain why Kuma sent Luffy there, of all places, during the timeskip, especially since Kuma already knew he was Dragon’s son at the time.
All that said, it is unclear whether Oda will ever give fans confirmation on who Luffy’s mother really is, given that her identity doesn’t seem to hold much plot significance at the moment. However, this could still change when Dragon finally steps into the limelight in the Final Saga. The fact that Tritoma made it out of the SBS and into the main series at all is more than enough proof that she could be a far more important figure in One Piece than fans think.
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