This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Final Saga.
The world of One Piece has seen the introduction of many powerful characters over the years. Fans know that Im is the ultimate being in the world of One Piece, known to be the strongest of all. There also exist other monsters, such as the likes of Roger, Whitebeard, and, of course, as fans know in the current era, the Yonko and the likes of the Admirals.
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However, other shadowy individuals lurk behind their shadows and hold tremendous powers. These individuals are labeled by Oda as the War Gods of the One Piece world, and they are none other than the Five Elders. At the end of the Egghead arc of One Piece, which happened recently in the anime, Oda introduced a new War God, and that is none other than Saint Garling Figarland.
The Five Elders Are Labelled War Gods By Oda
- The War Gods of One Piece are Imu's loyal servants
- They wield the Abyssal Covenant of Imu
The Five Elders are the highest ruling authority in the World Government under Imu. Fans always knew them to be incredibly important as far as political influence goes, but few knew that they possessed tremendous combat might as well. It wasn't until the Egghead arc of One Piece that Oda finally revealed their names as well as their powers to the fans, and it is safe to say that they are incredibly overpowered.
The Five Elders belong to the 20 Royal Families that form the Celestial Dragons. At one point, fans assumed that these families did not really have a fighting force in Marijoa. However, in One Piece's Final Saga, it was finally cleared up that not only do they possess a force of Knights, labelled as the Holy Knights, but also the Five Elders are powerful combatants themselves. The very first elder that fans saw in combat was St. Jaygarcia Saturn, who took it upon himself to go to Egghead to deal with the threat of Vegapunk.
The Five Elders Hold The Abyssal Covenant Of Imu
The powers of the Five Elders are quite unique. Each of them has a Covenant with the Ruler of the World, Imu, which grants them tremendous powers. The Five Elders are known to have the Abyssal Covenant, which grants them the power of regeneration, immortality, stops their aging entirely, and allows them the power to use the Magic Circle of Abyss, with which they can travel instantaneously to any place anywhere in the world.
With the power of this Abyssal Covenant, the Five Elders have also received unique transformations of Yokai. These Yokai are incredibly dangerous. In the case of Saint Saturn, fans know that he possesses the Gyuki Yokai at his disposal. Similarly, the other Elders have unique Yokai as well. Nusjuro has the power of the Bakotsu, Mars has the power of Itsumade, Warcury has the power of the Houki boar, and Ju Peter has the power of the Sandworm Yokai. All these powerful Elders are unique in their own ways, and their strength is such that Luffy, even with his Gear 5, could not go on to defeat them.
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It makes sense as to why the Five Elders are as strong as they are. Not only do they have the strongest Covenant from Imu, but at the same time, it is quite clear that Oda has labelled them to be special by calling them War Gods. This goes to show that in the war that was fought in the Void Century against the Ancient Kingdom, those who led the battles and then became Gods most likely came to be known as the War Gods, and that is what the Elders represent.
Garling Figarland Is The Latest War God In One Piece
- Garling was once a Holy Knight
- Imu made Garling the War God of Science and Defense
At the end of the Egghead arc of One Piece, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn ended up losing his life. This is because he let Nika escape and, in a way, failed his goal at Egghead. Imu demanded a steep price for this failure and eventually took away his Covenant powers, which left his body a husk of bones, and he essentially died.
Saturn, why did you let Nika escape? This shall not go unpunished. — Imu to Saturn, Egghead
With the Elders losing one character, someone new had to step up and take this position, and that was none other than Garling Figarland, the father of Shanks. Garling became the War God of Science and Defense instead of Saturn, and fans know that he has a very exciting role to play in the future of One Piece. Garling is already known to be very powerful. In fact, Oda himself stated that Garling possesses tremendous strength and that he will be important later down the line.
For now, all fans know is that Garling has now received the Abyssal Covenant from Imu and that his powers have been upgraded to the next level. Garling has most likely also received a powerful Yokai beast, meaning that he is stronger than ever before. During the God Valley incident, Garling was powerful but certainly not strong enough to defeat Rocks. It was quite clear to see that Garling lost in the battle against Rocks quite badly. Still, he was the one who delivered the final blow to Rocks and ended up taking all the credit, becoming the Champion of God Valley.
Later down the line, fans saw Garling become stronger, just like everyone else. By the time of the present timeline, Garling went on to become the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights and now that he has become one of the Five Elders and received the Abyssal Covenant, he should be stronger than ever before.
Oda Will Reveal Garling’s True Worth In The Next Arcs
After his recent display in God Valley, most fans are underestimating how strong Garling truly is. While the display was certainly shameful in the battle against Rocks, the fact is that Garling was still quite young back then and not at the peak of his powers. Since then, he has likely grown tremendously, and now that he has received a new Covenant, he should be a much bigger threat.
Now then, let's try to get along, fellow Elders! — Garling Figarland to the remaining Elders
In the most important page of the Egghead arc where Oda highlighted the crucial characters in the Final Saga, Garling was given special focus as well. It is quite clear that he has big plans for this particular individual. Garling is connected to the likes of Shamrock and Shanks, and that alone makes him tremendously important. Oda will go on to play around with his connection to the likes of Shanks, and possibly even deliver a phenomenal rivalry between these two individuals. For now, fans will have to wait and see what comes of this Figarland Family plotline and how War God Garling affects the end of One Piece.
Eiichiro Oda's One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1172 is February 1, 2026. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.