One Piece's Elbaf arc may be serving as setup for a Hachinosu arc, and be shorter than fans want likewise

Modified Sep 01, 2024 08:48 GMT

Without a doubt, one of the most highly anticipated arcs in the history of the One Piece anime and manga series has been the Elbaf arc, which is seemingly, finally at hand in the manga. Although the Egghead arc hasn’t officially ended in mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s original series, protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew are already allegedly headed to the island.

However, exactly how they’re getting there has yet to be revealed by the series; in other words, it’s unclear if the Giant Warrior Pirates are using an Eternal Pose set to Elbaf, or a Log Pose. If revealed to be the former, then it seems fans will finally be getting the Elbaf arc, and in a long format as they’ve hoped for in recent years.

However, if the crew is using a regular Log Pose to get there, then there’s a chance that the Elbaf arc may be preceded by a brief stop at Sphinx Island. What’s more, One Piece’s Elbaf arc may be shortened as a result, and serve instead as the setup for a Hachinosu Island arc, which will serve to mirror the circumstances of the Marineford arc.

One Piece could be delaying and shortening its Elbaf arc in order to directly head into Hachinosu & final war

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The biggest support for the idea that One Piece’s Straw Hat Pirates will visit Sphinx Island before Elbaf stems from the fact that Shanks dropped Marco off thereafter Wano’s events. With Shanks having next been seen in Elbaf, this suggests that Sphinx is one of the islands in the area of Wano, which one can visit before heading to Elbaf. Taking it a step further is the emotional connection Luffy has to Sphinx Island both via Marco and Portgas D. Ace.

For the former, Luffy and Marco were allies during the Onigashima Raid, and Luffy is often very fond of anyone he fights with. He likewise may want to spend some time at Sphinx Island and party with Marco before offering to bring the island into his territory. For the latter, the Sphinx Island area is where both Whitebeard and Portgas D. Ace were buried after the Marineford War, with Luffy having yet to visit Ace’s grave since his death.

From here, Marco may tell Luffy of Garp’s capture in the spirit of mourning the two biggest casualties of One Piece’s Marineford arc and wanting to prevent such a tragedy again. This may inspire Luffy to briefly go to Elbaf and do what must be done there for both himself and his crew before departing for Hachinosu. It’s worth emphasizing that, while the Elbaf arc may be shorter than it otherwise would’ve been, it’ll be short by no means and still do everything it needs to.

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In terms of what the manga has already said it must do, there’s the latest silhouetted character in the series and the act of formally introducing them. This is especially significant since they seem to be waiting for Luffy and Co. There’s also Nico Robin’s reunion with Jaguar D. Saul, which the Egghead arc set up. Finally, Usopp will likely still get the development fans are expecting him to, and become the main focus of the arc while the others do their own things.

As for why a Hachinosu arc seems likely, it would serve as a perfect mirror to the Marineford arc. Egghead being a major inversion of and having parallels to the Sabaody Archipelago arc further supports this idea. Likewise, Sphinx would be the Amazon Lily arc to Egghead’s Sabaody, Elbaf the Impel Down, and Hachinosu the actual Marineford arc. This would lead directly into the series’ final war and, with it, the beginning of the very end of Oda’s story.