One Piece's Creator Only Tells This One Person How Each Episode Ends
As one of the longest-running and most popular manga series of all time, "One Piece" is recognizable to most manga readers and anime fans. How series creator Eiichiro Oda plans to continue the story of "One Piece" is a closely guarded secret. The show is currently on its 22nd year airing since it debuted in 1999 and crushing it on streaming platforms. At this point, dedicated fans are so invested in what happens next that hearing anything about the series' continuation is a huge deal.
It's no surprise then, that Oda tends to keep the latest events of his story a secret to the general public. Of course, he has to let those secrets out eventually. Manga authors may write, and often draw, their projects but they aren't the only people involved in the process. Most professional manga authors have assistants that help them draw, and all of them answer to editors and publishers when it comes to their stories. Furthermore, the anime's production studios need to be able to adapt new chapters as they release. Thus, when it's time for a new chapter of "One Piece" to come out, Oda only tells one person how it ends.
Oda only tells his editor the endings to chapters
On July 17, 2015, "One Piece" editor Suguru Sugita appeared on an episode of the Japanese TV show, "Gold Rush" (via Onepiecepodcast.com) There, he took part in an interview where he revealed several aspects of what it was like to be a manga editor, and more specifically, the editor to Eiichiro Oda. Of the various topics he touched on, he also revealed that he (and other editors) are the only ones Oda tells the endings to. In addition, he's also one of the only people who know how "One Piece" is going to conclude.
"[He told me] about seven hours after I became his editor on the phone. He asked me whether there was anyone around. I told him no, and he said, 'alright, I don't have anyone around me either, so let's talk,' and then he told me," Sugita said.
Among other things, Sugita also discussed in the interview how much longer the manga had before Oda planned on finishing it for good. At the time, Sugita told interviewers that "One Piece" was around 70-80% complete. Since then, a grand total of around 30 chapters have been released (via One Piece wiki). This would make Sugita's estimation fairly accurate, as Oda has recently revealed that "One Piece" is in its final stages. Until that's complete, however, the ending of "One Piece" is a secret that will stay only with Oda and Sugita.