According to Natalie, Oda Eiichiro’s interview was published in AERA magazine on December 14th. In the interview, he said he decided not to create full length manga other than One Piece. He thinks One Piece should be for shonen and he wrote the story under restrictions such as:
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No romance
Avoid scenes of murder and deaths
A happy party comes after each battle
Last month, Oda said the story reached the climax of its middle stages by the volume 55.
Sources: Natalie, Asahi.com