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One Piece chapter 1125 brought a shocking development to the series, revealing both the ruthlessness and the supernatural powers of Imu-sama. Without a second thought, the enigmatic ruler of the World Government killed Gorosei member Saint Jaygarcia Saturn to punish him for his bad decisions, which indirectly helped Monkey D. Luffy, the second coming of Joy Boy, escape from Egghead.
Despite Saturn’s pleas for mercy, Imu engulfed the Gorosei in black flames and lightning, which somehow stripped him of his immortality. Being much more than 200- years -old, as confirmed by his flashback of Emet’s attack on Mary Geoise, which happened about 200 years before the present One Piece narration, Saturn died as soon as the immortality that Imu had bestowed upon him was removed.
Saturn’s skin wrinkled like a mummy’s, and then a massive burst of energy reduced him to a skeleton. After Saturn’s gruesome death, One Piece chapter 1125 featured another jaw-dropping twist, as Imu gave Saturn’s position among the Five Elders to Saint Figarland Garling. Garling, as Saturn's replacement, is likely to receive the same immortality and demonic transformation as his fellow Gorosei.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1125.
Saint Figarland Garling became a Gorosei in One Piece chapter 1125
Who is Figarland Garling?
A Celestial Dragon of the Figarland Family, Saint Garling is the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights, elite warriors whom the World Government sends to punish insurgent kingdoms and tasks to settle disputes between Celestial Dragons. Cruel and cold-blooded, Garling mercilessly executed Saint Mjosgard to punish him for helping Sai and Leo protect Shirahoshi from Saint Charlos.
Saint Garling earned a reputation as a champion in the horrific human-hunting contests held periodically by Mary Geoise’s Celestial Dragons. 38 years before the present One Piece narration, he indiscriminately slaughtered countless people during the competition hosted in God Valley.
In the present day, Figarland Garling appears as an old man with long, pointy hair and beard. Combined, his hair and beard resemble a crescent moon. He carries and wields a long saber. This sword is strikingly similar to Shanks’ Gryphon, which is one of the reasons why many One Piece fans speculate that Garling is the father of the iconic “Red Hair.”
Admittedly, the young Garling as seen during the God Valley Incident looks exactly like Shanks, just with a different hairstyle. This is all the more intriguing, as One Piece had already hinted at a family connection between Shanks and the Figarland household.
In One Piece Film: Red, the Five Elders questioned if Uta was a Figarland based on the fact that she was known as the daughter of Shanks. Clearly, this would only make sense if, according to their knowledge, Shanks is a Figarland too. One Piece never revealed the identity of Shanks’ parents, as the Roger Pirates found him inside a chest.
At the time, Shanks was a one-year-old infant. What’s even more compelling is that he was found near God Valley, of all places. So far, there has been no official confirmation, but the age difference and aesthetic similarities between Garling and Shanks, as well as the circumstances surrounding the latter’s ties to the Figarland Family, seem to indicate that Garling is Shanks’ father, or, at least, a close relative.
In any case, One Piece chapter 1125 shows Saint Garling approaching the other Gorosei. Shortly after, he takes a seat in the Pangaea Castle’s Room of Authority as he is officially introduced as the new Warrior God of Science of Defense in place of Saint Saturn.
As a Gorosei, Garling is set to have his demonic transformation
Saint Figarland Garling was first introduced in One Piece in chapter 1086, which was titled “The Five Elders.” With this masterful piece of foreshadowing, the story’s author, Eiichiro Oda, had already hinted that Garling would eventually become one of the Five Elders.
Garling’s capabilities as a fighter are yet to be revealed, but there can be little doubt that he is exceedingly powerful. Even Monkey D. Dragon is wary of the Holy Knights, and Garling is the leader of this group of formidable warriors. Given that his weapon of choice is a sword, Garling is probably a very strong swordsman.
Perhaps Garling’s sword is one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades, like Saint V. Nusjuro’s Shodai Kitetsu. In fact, like Nusjuro, Garling may be the only Gorosei who, in addition to Haki, immortality, and demonic powers, can also rely on his own personal fighting style.
As it’s well known, all the Five Elders can transform into terrifying creatures, most of which are Yokai, i.e., supernatural beasts of the Japanese folklore, and use their powers. The exact nature of these transformations is unclear, as, even though they are surrounded by clouds of steam, which is a trademark feature of Awakened Zoan Devil Fruits, One Piece has never officially revealed them as such.
In fact, the series has named the Yokai that each Gorosei can turn into but has never mentioned the name of a corresponding Devil Fruit. For this reason, many fans believe that these creepy transformations come from something even beyond Devil Fruits.
Be that as it may, having chosen him as one of the Five Elders, Imu will likely grant Garling both immortality and a fiendish transformation in order to put him on the same general level as his new colleagues.
Two intriguing possibilities for Garling's power up
With his moon-shaped hairstyle, Garling’s character seems to be themed around the Moon, which is consistent with him being one of the Five Elders, as the names of each other Gorosei recall a celestial body. According to many theories, Imu-sama represents the Earth as the leaders of the Elders, the planets that, in the perspective of the geocentric model, rotate around the Earth.
Taking this into account, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda may opt to give Garling the ability to turn into a werewolf. The source of this transformation is, indeed, the full moon. Garling is probably related to Shanks, who in turn has a strong connection to Elbaf, a country that Oda created, taking inspiration from Viking Age Scandinavia and Norse mythology.
Thus, Oda’s choice for Garling may not be just any wolf, but the Fenrir, a monstrous wolf from Norse mythology. The Fenrir plays a key role during the Ragnarok, a major mythological event that is said to dramatically change the world.
Several catastrophes are supposed to occur during the Ragnarok, including the submersion of the world underwater. The coincidence is astounding, but the plans of the group of which Garling is a prominent member revolve around submerging the world.
Although striking, that’s not the sole coincidence, as Fenrir is also the name of one of Saturn’s irregular moons. Garling’s character is moon-themed and took the position of someone named Saturn. Furthermore, as per the Norse mythology, the Fenrir has two sons, Hati and Skoll.
Many One Piece fans believe that Shanks is Garling’s son and that he is not the only one. Despite being an infamous pirate, Shanks was allowed to have a private meeting with the Five Elders. During the latest Levely, the “Red Hair” went to Mary Geoise to tell them about a certain unspecified pirate.
On that occasion, the manga depicted Shanks without his scar, which captured the attention of One Piece fans. Usually, even when Shanks is shown with a close-up of the right side of his head, his large scar on the left half is visible. If it was a drawing error, Oda would have corrected it in the volume release, but that didn’t happen, suggesting that it was a deliberate choice.
In One Piece chapter 1083, the Holy Knights were shown in the form of darkened silhouettes, one of which strongly resembles the appearance of Shanks. The clothing style and body shape of the mysterious character look like those of the “Red Hair.” Also, the individual has a sword seemingly identical to Gryphon and carries it with the same stance and on the same side as Shanks.
If one were to compare Shanks’ blackened figure with the silhouette of this Holy Knight, it would be impossible to tell the difference. Admittedly, everything would make sense if the person that the Gorosei met and the mysterious Holy Knight were the same person, with this individual not being Shanks but another son of Garling, i.e., Shanks’ twin brother.
The final spread of One Piece chapter 1121 depicted several major characters, one of which was only shown as a blackened silhouette carrying a sword very similar to Shanks’ Gryphon. Most likely, this individual is the same person who, according to the aforementioned theory, would be Shanks’ brother, making them the Hati and Skoll to the Fenrir represented by their father Garling.
Another possibility for Garling’s transformation is the Griffin, a mythological creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion and the head, talons, and wings of an eagle. Garling is most likely blood-related to Shanks, whose sword is called Gryphon, which, of course, is just an alternate spelling of Griffin.
In the anime, Shanks was even shown using his blade to unleash a griffin-looking aura. Given the connection between Shanks and Garling, it’s entirely possible that Eiichiro Oda will grant the latter the ability to turn into the Griffin.
Granted, neither the Fenrir nor the Griffin are Yokai from Japanese culture, but there is already a precedent for this, as not all of the demonic forms of the Five Elders are based on a Yokai. Saint Ju Peter’s transformation is the Sandworm, which is based on the homonymous fictional creature featured in the Dune novels.
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