One Piece Chapter 1129: Elbaf Arc truly begins as Straw Hats escape the Sun God's clutches

One Piece Chapter 1129 was expected to continue focusing on the Straw Hats’ escape from the Sun God’s clutches following the destruction they wreaked. Officially released earlier this weekend, the issue did indeed highlight this, seeing Luffy and co all but escape the LEGO kingdom thanks to Nami’s quick thinking.

One Piece Chapter 1129 also revealed the Sun God’s true identity in the process, teasing the Straw Hats’ true location which has yet to be fully revealed. Likewise, it seems that this issue marks the true start of the Elbaf Arc with almost all of the current major questions now answered.

One Piece Chapter 1129 sets up the Straw Hats to discover their true location, launch a counterattack

One Piece Chapter 1129: The great escape

Nami proves herself integral to the Straw Hats' escape in One Piece Chapter 1129 (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece Chapter 1129 began with the cover story, which continued Yamato’s Wano pilgrimage. They were now in Amigasa Village, watching Otama train to be a Kunoichi under Shinobu’s guidance. Shinobu has also reverted to her original design in the time since the Wano Arc ended. The cover story also revealed the issue’s title of “Living Dolls.”

Story content began with the townsfolk of the LEGO kingdom trying to calm the Sun God down. However, the Sun God instead ranted at the Straw Hats (calling them “living dolls”) for destroying their room/temple and hurting their pets/guardians. As the Straw Hats escape, Luffy asks Iskat to jump over the buildings so as to respect the time and effort the Sun God put into making them.

One Piece Chapter 1129 then saw the Sun God ask Iskat why it was aiding the others, while Nami began explaining the map of the LEGO kingdom after memorizing it. She the explained that they’re roughly halfway through the kingdom, and that the reflection of the door up ahead is where the wall is.

Expand Tweet

The Sun God then told the Straw Hats that the blueprints don’t tell them everything about this room, revealing it to be a prison meant for Giants. Sanji noted that the Sun God spoke like a samurai as they turned their staff into a net, which they then used to capture Iskat and the Straw Hats. They added that it’s a dead end behind the mirror so the crew’s plan was pointless, as Sanji and Zoro broke the iron net.

One Piece Chapter 1129 saw the Sun God to say it was fine since they were headed for the Ear God’s domain. However, this led the townsfolk to inform them that the Ear God had been killed based on the charred corpse they found earlier today. The Sun God was initially in disbelief that the Straw Hats beat the Ear God, before laughing and discussing how marvelous this was.

The Sun God specifically celebrated that a story was playing out in the world he created which saw him be the hero and the Straw Hats the villains. As they ranted, the townsfolk took their opportunity to escape while the door to the cage was still open. The Sun God then brought up Hajrudin, commenting on how he may recognize them, but they don’t. Usopp then used his Skull Bombgrass attack to crack the mirror, revealing a wall which Luffy said he’d handle.

One Piece Chapter 1129: The Sun God’s identity, revealed

The East Blue crew members all play a major role in One Piece Chapter 1129's events (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece Chapter 1129 saw the Sun God comment on how he loves seeing weaklings struggle against their fate, calling setbacks and disappointment necessary for character development. The Sun God then intriguingly said each of the Straw Hats’ names, which Nami and the others also noticed.

Meanwhile, Luffy turned just his left arm into Gear 4, preparing an attack to bust through the wall with. Nami then asked Usopp if natural disasters are anyone’s fault, which he said wasn’t the case. This prompted Nami to discuss how the Sun God was making her angry, with Sanji joining in and agreeing while threatening to fight him.

However, One Piece Chapter 1129 saw Nami tell him to calm down due to a feeling she had. This prompted a flashback showing Mugin carrying the Thousand Sunny to the Sun God, who was revealed to be Road, the navigator of the New Giant Warrior Pirates. Road realized that they must’ve gone through an area known for causing travelers to pass out for quite some time.

Expand Tweet

Road then ranted about this being a great turn of events, clearly disagreeing with Hajrudin’s decision to follow Luffy as a part of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. Road even asserted that Hajrudin had no pride for doing so before picking up Luffy and Nami in his hands. However, as she started to wake up, he sprayed them all with something to put them back to sleep, leading to the recent events seen.

One Piece Chapter 1129 then returned to the present, where the Sun God confidently declared his victory. However, a giant thunderstorm then appeared above him, which was revealed to be Nami and Zeus’ doing. This prompted a giant lightning strike to hit Road, seemingly knocking him out likewise.

As this happened, Luffy used the Gum-Gum Kong Gun to smash through the wall, with the crew praying that the outside was Elbaf while celebrating their escape. Luffy successfully smashed through the walls, prompting the others to celebrate. However, fans didn’t learn where they were, with the issue ending on Luffy smiling and exclaiming when seeing what was outside.

One Piece Chapter 1129: In summation

One Piece Chapter 1129 sets the Elbaf Arc up for its true beginning in the next issue (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece Chapter 1129 serves as a satisfying and informative end to the opening focus of the Elbaf Arc. Likewise, given how the issue ends, it’s expected that the crew will indeed be in Elbaf at the start of the next release.

Chapter 1129 also seemingly sets up a larger plotline about the Straw Hat Grand Fleet and how many of its members truly do support Luffy. This could come into play against whoever the Elbaf Arc’s antagonists end up being, especially with the New Giant Warrior Pirates’ current presence.