This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.

Summary

  • Immortality is the biggest power of the Holy Knights and Five Elders in One Piece.
  • Soul damage is the key to beating the Holy Knights and Elders.
  • Joy Boy's Haki caused damage to Five Elders, showing soul damage is effective.

One Piece's Final Saga has introduced fans to a ton of exciting elements already, and while some mysteries of the world have now been solved, many others have emerged due to the chaotic development of the story since Egghead.

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One of the biggest and the most important additions that Oda made to the story in the Final Saga was the introduction of the Holy Knights, and at the same time, having the Five Elders enter the fray as well. Now, all of these characters are major players in the big fight, the prelude to which is currently being shown to the fans. Of course, the Holy Knights and the Five Elders hold tremendous strength, but Oda might just have revealed their biggest weakness already.

The Biggest Power Of The Holy Knights And The Five Elders

  • The Five Elders Showed Immortality In Egghead
  • The Holy Knights Showed Immortality In Elbaf

Undoubtedly, fans know that the Holy Knights and the Five Elders hold tremendous powers up their sleeve. After all, they're Imu's fighting forces and they need to be overpowered. One Piece’s final saga showed fans that the Five Elders hold overpowered Yokai beasts up their sleeve, which possess mighty power, and that the Holy Knights too have special Devil Fruit abilities that set them apart from the vast majority of fighters in the story.

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Robin, Chopper, Hide! We cannot beat them, they're immortal! — Saul about the Holy Knights

Yet, there is one ability that far surpasses all else when it comes to the Holy Knights and the Five Elders, and that is the power of immortality. Fans know that both the Holy Knights and the Five Elders are immortal. The Elders showed their immortality in Egghead, while the Holy Knights were confirmed to be immortal in Elbaf. It goes without saying that their power is immense, but Oda might already have revealed the true counter to it.

Why Soul Damage Is The Key To Beating The Elders And Holy Knights

Imu Suffering Damage From Joy Boy's Haki Proves It

As has been clearly highlighted by Oda time and again, any damage that is dealt to the likes of the Five Elders and Holy Knights is useless as they simply regenerate from it. But, there are some attacks that do in fact hurt them. For instance, when Joy Boy unleashed his Haki, all the Five Elders got hurt by it, and even Imu suffered, despite being 100s of miles away. It was almost as if Imu's soul is linked to the Elders and they felt the damage.

I control all the souls! — Big Mom

More recently, Gunko, after kicking Brook, suffered pain, when she didn't feel anything from the strongest of attacks. This was because Gunko likes Soul King and hitting him caused her soul pain. Clearly, what Oda is implying here is that the Holy Knights and the Elders aren't invincible. They might be able to counter physical damage, but they suffer from soul damage, which is the key to beating them. While Conqueror's Haki is the best counter, it can also be done with other Haki, as Haki is simply a manifestation of the spirit, which in itself should be connected to the soul. Gaban will likely show the Straw Hats how to hit the souls of the Holy Knights with Haki, and that is precisely what can be used to counter the strongest in One Piece.

One Piece chapter 1148 will be out soon, in a week's time. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on May 11. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1148 is May 11, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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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
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Mayumi Tanaka
    Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Kazuya Nakai
    Roronoa Zoro (voice)

WHERE TO WATCH

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Studio
Toei Animation
Creator
Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV