No one really thinks that's likely, as we saw this Young Xehanort in 3D and he had yet to even inherit a Keyblade, let alone take the Mark of Mastery.
That's exactly my point. The Young Xehanort we see in 3D doesn't have a Keyblade, and he certainly isn't a Keyblade Master either.
However, it’s important to remember that Young Xehanort has always had rounded ears while Old Xehanort has always had pointed ears. Because of this, we can assume that pointed ears aren’t an intrinsic trait of Xehanort’s, rather they must be an acquired trait instead. It has been shown time and time again in this series that the heart shapes the appearance of the body, and this acquired trait of pointed ears has become so integral to Xehanort’s being that those who receive a part of his heart start to manifest this very same trait within themselves. So the logical conclusion here is that Xehanort developed pointed ears as a result of his heart changing in some capacity. But what capacity would that be? Is there anything in this series that lends itself to potentially answering this question?
The Keyblade, No Name, would like to say ‘yes’. In Backcover we learn that the Master of Masters literally puts a part of himself in that Keyblade. How do we know that he’s not just messing with Luxu in that scene? Because the incredibly deep bond that the Master of Masters shares with that Keyblade transcends time itself and allows him to construct the Book of Prophecies. Okay, so No Name contains a part of the Master of Masters, how does that relate to Xehanort having pointed ears?
Well, the conclusion I’ve come to is that the Master of Masters must have had pointed ears. One thing to consider is the concept of “The Age of Fairy Talesâ€, elves and fairy tales go hand in hand. While elves have a very “blended†mythology, certain aspects are more prominent than others, they have a mischievous nature, supernatural powers, and are (as
Wikipedia puts it) "ambivalent towards everyday people… capable of either helping or hindering them" – does that sound like anyone we know? Another more important thing to consider is the reason that Nomura hid the faces of the Backcover characters in the first place.
Grass’s Rebirth Theory comes to mind, but merely looking similar to current characters wouldn’t be reason enough to keep their appearances hidden. No, the reason that makes the most sense is that their appearances serve as a spoiler for future events in Chi and/or KH3. One such spoiler (among potential others) is the connection that could be made between the Master of Masters and Xehanort by comparing their ears.
But I mentioned the title “Keyblade Masterâ€, didn’t I? In Re:Coded’s "Reconnect" scene, Young Xehanort mentions that “Every Keyblade Master is bequeathed a Keyblade of his very own.â€, which seems odd that he specifies “Keyblade Masterâ€, but it seems possible. After all, Aqua externally inherits Master’s Defender, Riku externally inherits Braveheart, and Xehanort clearly externally inherits No Name. As mentioned, I believe that it was Xehanort obtaining No Name that led to his development of pointed ears. If then he received the keyblade upon showing the Mark of Mastery, then it may very well be the case that this Young Xehanort we see in KH3 now is a Keyblade Master. After all, it would only make sense for the time travelling Young Xehanort to be slightly older every time that he goes forward in time.
Yeah I was wondering about the chess scene. YX's hair there looks completely different in the chess scene, but he could have been even younger there I guess.
It's interesting to note that Benjamin Diskin (Young Xehanort's English VA)was coached to sound younger in that scene than he did in his Dream Drop Distance performance. He also (arguably) looks younger too.
