This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.
Summary
- The Holy Knights are not the main villains of the Elbaf arc.
- Imu is hinted to be the final villain of Elbaf, bringing higher stakes.
- The possibility of Straw Hats losing to Imu could establish a new rivalry.
One Piece's Final Saga arc is going strong, having enjoyed what can be considered to be the best start to a One Piece saga. Elbaf, the second arc of the Final Saga, is no different in that regard and fans know that this arc has been absolutely fascinating. In fact, Elbaf has proven to be a big step up from Egghead in quality already, but there is still a missing factor here.
One Piece: Why The Holy Knights Battle Will Be The Biggest Test For The Yonko Crew Straw Hat Pirates
The Straw Hat pirates are about to face a huge ordeal. The Holy Knights will be their biggest challenge yet in One Piece.
Fans are not sure who the main antagonist of the Elbaf arc is, despite the Holy Knights being present in the country already. It is almost as if Oda is saving room for some bigger threat to show up at the end of the arc, and fans are eagerly waiting for it, as it might just be the strongest character in all of One Piece.
Why The Holy Knights Are Not The Main Villains Of Elbaf
- The Holy Knights Are Not Engaging Luffy
- The Level Of Threat Isn't Great Enough
Fans know that the Holy Knights are incredibly powerful, and Oda has done well to hammer him that feeling over the last few chapters. In One Piece chapter 1146, fans saw the Holy Knights take on various enemies and they all seemed to be overwhelmingly stronger. Even against the Straw Hat Pirates, which included someone as strong as Jinbe, Gunko proved to be far too big of a challenge. Clearly, the Holy Knights aren't weak enough for a mere Yonko Commander to take down and that's precisely what makes them special. To make things worse, the Holy Knights are all in possession of a regeneration power, which simply means that even if they are hit by the strongest of attacks, they cannot be taken down at all, making beating them impossible, as things stand.
I won't let you do that, no matter what! — Scopper Gaban
Yet, based on how Oda has written them, the Holy Knights don't seem to be the final enemies of the Elbaf arc at all. At the moment, Shamrock Figarland, who could've been the main villain of the Elbaf arc, seems to have left the country already. In his stead, Saint Sommers and Saint Killingham were called to the country, and together, the three threats are deemed strong enough to bring the country to its knees. Yet, Oda is setting up a battle between the Straw Hats and the Holy Knights without Luffy even getting involved. Clearly, without Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji, if this battle is won, that only means one thing — a bigger enemy is coming.
Imu Is The Final Villain Of Elbaf
The Sovereign Of The World Could Show Themself
Fans might be shocked to know that Imu themself could be the main villain of the Elbaf arc of One Piece. This is simply down to the fact that Oda usually introduces stronger villains with each progressive arc, and since the Five Elders showed up in Egghead, the only one stronger than them that could show up in Elbaf is none other than Imu. The Abyss is already in Elbaf, meaning that if Imu wants to, they can easily show up and fight the Straw Hats.
One Piece: Oda Teases A Major Power-Up For The Straw Hat Crew
The Straw Hat pirates are about to unlock a powerful power up. They need just that to take on the Holy Knights in One Piece.
Elbaf will be brought to heel, no matter what! — Shamrock Figarland
The Straw Hats Might Lose The Battle Vs Imu
In this scenario, the Straw Hat Pirates will have to end Elbaf with a defeat, because it is too early for Imu to fall in One Piece. This would also give Oda the perfect opportunity to flex Imu's powers, since they are largely under the wraps at the moment. If Imu comes and fights Luffy and the crew, and goes on to defeat them, then the stakes in the final stretch of One Piece will be higher than ever before and a rivalry between Luffy and Imu will be established, and fans would absolutely love that.
One Piece chapter 1146 will be out very soon, later this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on the upcoming Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on April 20. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1146 is April 20, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
