One Piece's Elbaph Arc proves once again that Skypiea arc is a must read

Modified Feb 08, 2025 17:00 GMT

One Piece chapter 1138 was released on February 3, 2025. The chapter featured the mural, which has been the talk of the town ever since. The mural represented history and predicted the future of the series' timeline, making it a kind of its own. However, something that the fans might have already expected, this mural also represented the history of Skypiea Island.

Just like the residents of the Void Century, Shandians also fought for their 'Sun' from a mysterious entity. As represented in the mural, Imu mirrored Enel's acts as he used his version of 'the Sun' to eradicate Skypiea. As represented in the third war, the fans saw an all-out battle between Enel and 'subordinates,' who went against different races.

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

One Piece: Exploring the resemblance between Elbaph's mural and Skypiea

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

One Piece chapter 1138 displayed one of the most lore-worthy in a long time. This panel was accompanied by the 'Harley Texts,' which explained events from the past and predicted the future in a very professional way. However, an even bigger detail was how this mural explained the events that happened during the Skypiea arc.

The resemblance between the Shandians and the residents of the Void Century, the resemblance between Imu and Enel, and so many other details depicted that fans might have already experienced the events of the mural. Let's break them down comparatively from the first war to the last.

The Shandians as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

The first war stated something about 'humans touching the forbidden sun and doing something to enrage the Gods.' These events might depict the Shandians, who, 800 years ago, got their hands on the Poneglyph. As explained in One Piece's timeline, they were overtaken by a 'mysterious entity,' which might explain that the Shandians did something to enrage some 'big' personality.

The second war stated something about the 'spreading of war.' These events might explain the events after Shandia became Upper Yard (after becoming a part of Skypiea Island). The events this Harley text depicted might be the arrival of Enel on Skypiea Island, followed by everyone being reduced to slavery by the self-proclaimed Skypiea God.

The third war stated something about the 'return of the Sun God.' These events might explain the arrival of the Straw Hat Pirates on Skypiea Island and how Luffy liberated the island from the dictatorship of Enel. The mural portrayed numerous events that happened during these times.

Enel's Raigo as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

Imu used the Mother Flame to eradicate the Lulusia Kingdom. The true version of the Mother Flame might be present in the mural as the 'Sun.' Enel's Raigo would be paralleling this, where the self-proclaimed god gathered thunderclouds to produce a gigantic Thunderball that could potentially destroy an entire island.

The mural's right side depicted Imu and his Gorosei, which would parallel Enel and his God's Guards. Lastly, the final war between Imu and the World's races paralleled the final fight between Enel's Army and the races like Skypieans and Shandians.

Final thoughts

In this case, the bigger question might be whether the Skypiea arc predicted the climax of the final war (as the Skypieans and Shandians won against the Tyrant Imu). This might be another case where the fans, who skipped this arc might again be reminded of how important this arc was for the entire lore of One Piece.

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Edited by Toshali Kritika