A Figarland may be the Elbaph Arc's true antagonist in One Piece (& it's not Shamrock or Shanks)

Modified Mar 27, 2025 09:30 GMT

One Piece could have another Figarland involved in Elbaph (Image via Toei Animation).

One Piece has established the Holy Knights as the main antagonists of the Elbaph arc in the manga due to their actions in the story. However, there is a case to be made that someone is leading them. An X user named @3SkullJoe has theorized that Figarland Garling is manipulating the arc's current events and has a broader vision than what readers may think.

Saint Figarland Garling is the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights in One Piece and was recently promoted to a fifth member of the Gorosei after Saturn's death at the hands of Imu. This means that he now wields more influence than ever and is pushing forward with the plans to create an army of giants to gain absolute power for the World Government. This could explain why his order of elite fighters is currently in Elbaph.

Disclaimer: This is a theory and should be considered as such.

Explaining how Saint Figarland Garling is pulling the strings in the current One Piece arc

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Chapter 668 of the manga established that, according to Trafalgar Law during the Punk Hazard arc, the World Government aimed to create Giants and Ancient Giants to become nearly unstoppable. Caesar Clown's experiments on young children exemplified this. Now that Saint Figarland Garling has become the new Defense Science Warrior God of the Gorosei, there appears to be a desire to move forward with that agenda.

This theory suggests that, from the moment Garling joined the Gorosei, the Holy Knights traveled to Elbaf and began capturing children, who could potentially be used for experiments. Additionally, his son, Figarland Garling, has been summoned back to Mary Geoise, and Sommers mentioned the events of the Reverie, implying that the Revolutionary Army might be making their move.

Moreover, considering Garling's military experience—evident from his participation in the God Valley incident and the notoriety he gained there—he may be encouraging the World Government to take a more proactive stance. In this context, he emerges as the main antagonist of this arc, operating from the shadows as the leader of the holy order of warriors.

Figarland Garling as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

Notably, in chapter 840, Yonji, Sanji's brother, mentions that Dr. Vegapunk discovered the factor of the bloodline elements in people's genetics. This connects to the fact that some of the Giants, like King Harald, descend from the Ancient Giants, which is something the World Government aims to exploit for greater power.

This ties into the current actions of the Holy Knights, who are kidnapping children—a tactic similar to what Caesar Clown was doing in Punk Hazard with regular children. This process appears logical given this theory, as they would likely want to experiment on children to increase their chances of success, in line with Caesar's own comments.

Final thoughts

One Piece could introduce Figarland Garling as the mastermind behind the current actions of the Holy Knights in the Elbaph arc. Furthermore, this theory aligns with the notion that the World Government aims to experiment with the Giants and create an army from them, which has been hinted at during the events of the previous arcs.

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Edited by Shreya Das