With One Piece having recently reached its final saga, Eiichiro Oda is finally beginning to reveal all of the secrets that he teased fans with. The most current chapter, 1097, focuses mostly on Kuma, but it also sheds some light on Dragon and his prior life. It is finally revealed that the Dragon was a Marine and that he left the organization for some fascinating reasons. Fans have already speculated on Dragon’s legacy from his time in the Marines, highlighting one crucial enigma that could be answered by this announcement.
After the revelation about Dragon being a marine, many theories have been developed that portray that Dragon might be the founder of SWORD, a Marine Headquarters Secret Special Force. This would yet add another feather to the achievements of the Revolutionary Army’s leader Monkey D. Dragon.
What is SWORD in One Piece?
The SWORD unit is a branch of the Navy itself. It is made up of Marines who have formally resigned from the organization’s command structure yet continue to function on its behalf. They have submitted their resignations and turned in their identifying codes on paper, but in actuality, they remain loyal and can operate as part of the Marine troops. Members of SWORD, unlike regular Marines, can ignore instructions and move as they wish without consequence, allowing them to embark on tasks that would otherwise be illegal or require approval.
Several key Marine personalities, like X Drake and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, have been members of the group. The mentality of SWORD matches with Dragon’s ambition to join the Navy which points to his connection with the branch and also proves that he might be the one to form the branch in the first place.
Monkey D. Dragon Might Be The Founder of SWORD
One Piece fans are particularly interested in the fact that Monkey D. Dragon was formerly a member of the Marines but left after seeing all that was rotten behind the World Government. Dragon’s desire to join the navy corresponds with the SWORD member’s desire. SWORD is designed to be the Marines’ free-flying attacking tool. Given that Dragon is Garp’s son, he probably expected a similar level of independence that Garp had amassed following a renowned career. However, once he realized he would have to work under a command structure, he most likely began looking for a means to go around it.
As a result, it’s possible that Dragon established SWORD to break free from what the Marines represented. However, as seen recently, even the SWORD members are not allowed to do as they please. When Dragon realized this, he most likely quit the group and the Marines, leaving his father Garp to take charge and shape SWORD into what it is now.
