Elbaph Arc proves again that Oda planned One Piece's end from the beginning

Modified Feb 18, 2025 11:30 GMT

Elbaph Arc proves again that Oda planned One Piece's end from the beginning (Image via Toei Animation and Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha)

One Piece is known for its world-building and foreshadowing. While some foreshadowing might look like a longshot, some amaze the fans over how they overlooked these details. Since the reveal of the Void Century mural, fans have been looking for some foreshadowing hints, and, to the fandom's surprise, this foreshadowing hint might be present in the series' starting chapters.

In chapter 59's cover story, Eiichiro Oda showcased a side character fighting a battle in his dreams while sleepwalking on a half-moon night. In his dreams, the character was fighting a black figure with a sword and shield, with the latter having the design of the Sun. As given in the Harley Texts and Void Century mural, this character's dream might be the hint to the series' last battle.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and has the author's opinion.

One Piece: Exploring the foreshadowing of the series' final battle

The cover story of chapter 59 (Image via Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 59 featured a very unique cover story, featuring the Buggy Pirates. The spotlight of this cover story was Richie, Mohji's lion, who was sleepwalking during a 'half moon' night. In his dreams, Richie was fighting a 'black figure' with his sword and shield. An interesting thing about Richie's weapons was the 'sun' portrayed on the shield.

At first glance, this cover story looks like one of the most random ones because it features characters that are hardly important to the series. However, the cover story hints at elements that are depicted thousands of chapters later and this more or less confirms that Oda might have planned the series' ending from the very start.

The mural and Harley Texts as seen in the manga (Image via Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1138 showcased the Void Century mural which was portrayed as 'scribbles of children of the past.' However, alongside the Harkey Texts (ancient writings that the giants followed), the mural looked like a picture of the past, plus the prediction of what might happen in the series' future.

The mural's left side featured a black figure going against small figures, one of which resembled the Sun God (Luffy's Gear 5). Coincidently, this side of the mural resembled Richie's dream. Another detail that makes Richie's dream even more amazing is its resemblance with the Harley Texts.

The texts from the 'second world' from the Harley Texts stated that the 'people of the half-moon dreamed,' similar to the night when Richie dreamed of his battle with the large black figure. Considering this, it might be safe to say that Eiichiro Oda might have still not altered his magnum opus' ending, which he decided from the day he started writing his magnum opus.

Analysis and final thoughts

Luffy and Imu as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

While taking this theory with a grain of salt is recommended, to be on the safe side, it might also be entirely possible for it to be true. As a series known for its foreshadowing, it wouldn't be surprising to see the ending depicted as an indirect hint in the starting chapters.

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Edited by Tiasha