One Piece's Gorosei aren't expandable as Imu has led fans to believe, and it's obvious why

Modified Sep 20, 2024 09:03 GMT

One of the most unanticipated and exciting revelations in recent memory for author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series came in the form of a Gorosei’s death. More specifically, fans saw Imu end Saint Jaygarcia Saturn’s life, which directly resulted in Saint Garling Figarland, leader of the Holy Knights, becoming the new Warrior God of Science and Defense.

Likewise, this led fans to believe that Imu views the Gorosei as expendable, tools which can simply be replaced once they’re served their purpose or proven themselves not useful. Saturn’s case specifically at least suggests to many that One Piece’s enigmatic antagonist can at least replace Gorosei members with relative ease and little to no preparation.

Yet in reality, this is unlikely to be the case when considering what the Gorosei are relative to Imu and the information and responsibilities they’re resultantly trusted with. When considering these factors, it’s obvious that One Piece’s Gorosei aren’t quite as expendable as some fans currently believe.

One Piece’s Gorosei can’t be replaced easily, and it’s because of the knowledge they inherently possess

One Piece's Imu must ensure that, above all else, the Gorosei are loyal to them (Image via Toei Animation)

One of the biggest reasons why Imu can’t replace the Gorosei at will and with relative ease in One Piece is for the fact that they need to be able to trust each and every Gorosei member. By nature of being aware of Imu’s existence, and likely who they truly are in turn, they’re in possession of incredibly sensitive information. Dr. Vegapunk’s broadcast would also give this info much more credibility in the general public’s eyes, further supporting the idea of a requisite level of trust.

The appointment of Saint Garling Figarland specifically further supports this when analyzing Garling’s titles and roles. Firstly, he is the leader of the Holy Knights, who are in direct service to the World Government and are the official law enforcers of Mariejois. As their leader, this means that Garling was likely already aware of Imu’s existence and proved his loyalty. This would also match the apparent authority he has as Mariejois’ judge, jury, and executioner as seen in Chapter 1086.

With this in mind, Imu likely chose Garling not randomly out of a desire and need to replace Saint Saturn, but rather due to the fact that they legitimately trust Garling with such knowledge. This also speaks, in turn, to the necessity of confirming each member’s true allegiances before bringing them into the fold. While the method of execution which Imu used on Saturn surely acts as an after-the-fact deterrent, Imu also likely tests each member prior to their initiation.

Imu must ensure the secrecy of their existence is maintained as top priority (Image via Toei Animation)

One could argue that, assuming Imu exclusively recruits for their ranks from Mariejois’ Celestial Dragons, there’s no need to test their loyalty or risk of betrayal. However, the late Saint Donquixote Mjosgard inherently disproves this, showing that under the right circumstances Celestial Dragons can change their ways. Oda also seems to be setting up Saint Shalria for a similar change via her comments on the Void Century as seen during the Egghead arc.

In fact, Garling may have been chosen by Imu to replace Saturn specifically for the role he played in sentencing and executing Mjosgard. This could be perceived as the ultimate sign of loyalty Imu could look for by nature of the fact that Garling killed a dissenter, a free-thinker, without any sign of hesitation or regret.

However, this is speculative as of this article’s writing, though it would make logical sense given the order of the Egghead arc’s events.