One Piece's Elbaph Arc may be when Dragon finally makes his move

Modified Feb 01, 2025 00:30 GMT

With the release of One Piece chapter 1137 earlier this week, fans saw Figarland Shamrock officially introduced as a Commander of the World Government’s Holy Knights. While fans are still debating the finer points of Shamrock’s title and family life, what chapter 1137 makes clear is that the Holy Knights are indeed the Elbaph Arc’s antagonists.

This is incredibly exciting for One Piece fans, as it suggests that the series’ final war arc, which mangaka Eiichiro Oda promised many years ago, is finally at hand. Further supporting this idea is the fact that, as it currently stands, the Elbaph Arc’s circumstances are the best yet for Monkey D. Dragon and his Revolutionary Army to finally make their move.

Holy Knights’ presence in Elbaph teases a One Piece fan-favorite finally getting more involved

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One of the biggest reasons why the Elbaph Arc may see Dragon finally make his move in One Piece is dialogue from Dragon himself when the Holy Knights were introduced. He specifically said that if the World Government were to “mobilize the Holy Knights, that’s where the fighting will begin” for the Revolutionary Army.

With Shamrock and Gunko’s arrival at Elbaph, it seems likely that the Holy Knights are indeed mobilizing, and will soon meet the Revolutionary Army.

This happening at Elbaph would make even more sense for what the Revolutionary Army could achieve by coming to Elbaph, and what’s known of Dragon’s character arc.

On the former, Elbaph is currently where both Bartholomew Kuma and Jewelry Bonney are, with their ties to the Army being obvious. There’s also the library with Ohara’s books in Elbaph, the knowledge within which can be used to persuade the public against the World Government.

About the latter, recent One Piece arcs have put the focus of Dragon’s backstory on the connections he’s made, specifically with Dr. Vegapunk, Jaguar D. Saul, Bonney, and Kuma.

All four of these individuals are now on Elbaph, with the former having a slight caveat. Nevertheless, if Dragon comes to Elbaph, it will be a place where he can reunite with all of these people who’ve had an impact or are present in his life.

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There’s also the fact that Dragon could reunite with Luffy in Elbaph, something that has been years in the making for the series.

While neither Luffy’s arc nor Dragon’s hinges on their reuniting with the other, it’s something Oda potentially wants to give focus on before the story ends. Doing so in the Elbaph Arc ahead of the promised war arc where they’ll likely be fighting on the same side would make perfect sense.

Finally, there’s also the theory that Figarland Shamrock both kidnapped and forcibly married Ginny, eventually having Bonney with her. Settling the score with someone who both kidnapped one of his ex-commanders and forced another to join the World Government’s ranks is likely something Dragon would want to do.

Final thoughts

Dragon and his Revolutionary Army may finally enter the fray by the Elbaph Arc's end (Image via Toei Animation)

While all aforementioned serves as logical motivation for Dragon to head to Elbaph, it’s still purely speculative as of this article’s writing. There has likewise been no canonical indication of Dragon preparing to join his son and the others in Elbaph in recent chapters.

With this in mind, all fans can do is wait and see if these logical motivations for Dragon to come to Elbaph play out as they hope.