"One Piece" continues to keep fans wanting for more chapters on the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates. The manga serialization has been coming out in "Weekly Shonen Jump" since 1997. The series creator, Eiichiro Oda, is known to be one of the most hardworking manga artists and “One Piece” rarely went on hiatus. However, there has been a notable increase in Oda’s breaks which fueled persistent rumors that the manga is about to come to a close and the finale will happen soon. Yet, this is pure speculation for now since there has been no word from Oda, Shueisha or Viz Media addressing the rumors.
"One Piece": Story So Far
At the moment, the manga follows Luffy and the crew on Whole Cake Island where they had another momentous battle. Only the "Big Mom" arc is coming to an end, but "One Piece" is far from over. The upcoming chapter 843 of "One Piece" would hold some exciting scenes based on spoilers, but it might be delayed for a week since Oda is again planning to take a break.
"One Piece" Not Canceled
Prior to cancelation rumors, there were theories that "One Piece" would be released monthly instead of weekly. This has been debunked by Shueisha. At the moment, Shonen Jump is still releasing the manga on a weekly basis.
Another round of rumors followed this, claiming that the manga would come to an end because Oda is tied up with other commitments. There were earlier reports indicating how committed Oda is to the manga that he would go with just three hours of sleep every day to meet the deadline. One of the editors he worked with, Naoki Kawashima, quoted him as saying, "Die for One Piece."
With such dedication, it would be impossible for Oda to abandon the story that shaped his career. In an interview back in June, Oda stated that the manga is 65 percent completed. The most notable mention of the story's progress was in 2012 where Oda admitted it was 60 percent completed. The series editor, Suguru Sugita, also revealed that the manga is almost 70 percent completed but it would be quite some time before the manga reaches 80 percent completion. With Oda's current pace, "One Piece" could stay around for another decade.
