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The long-awaited Elbaf Arc in the One Piece manga has finally begun. To be fair, Monkey D. Luffy and his comrades have just started their adventure on Elbaf off on the wrong foot, as before reaching the island, they fell asleep due to sailing through a nefarious sleeping area. As a result, they were captured by a certain self-proclaimed Sun God who changed their clothes into Elbaf’s typical Viking-style garms and placed them into a diorama-like world of his own design.
The alleged Sun God of Elbaf wanted to keep the Straw Hats there as his dolls, but Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper soon busted out. As seen in the recent One Piece chapters, they easily defeated the Sun God’s guardians and even the Sun God himself. While it’s always fun to see the original Grand Line Straw Hats in action, this subplot seemed rather unexciting, especially considering the other potential options to introduce the Elbaf Arc.
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Fans expected the Straw Hats to meet the Red Hair Pirates or encounter the mysterious Man with the Burn Scar. Instead, they were haunted by an unknown character who was soon revealed to be too weak to pose a credible threat. This was almost disrespectful, given the Straw Hats’ status as a Yonko crew. On closer analysis, however, it’s interesting to note how the start of the Elbaf Arc sounds like a metaphor for the entire One Piece story.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1129.
The latest One Piece chapters may not be too exciting, but there’s a hidden meaning in the Elbaf Sun God’s subplot
Are the recent One Piece chapters useless?
A common feeling among One Piece fans is that the recent manga chapters are a waste of time, especially since they are supposed to be the beginning of a long-awaited arc such as Elbaf. Admittedly, it was underwhelming to have three chapters dedicated to Elbaf’s fake Sun God when the mysterious antagonist was revealed to be Road, a nearly unknown character with little or no relevance in the story.
The Road is a former friend and subordinate of Hajrudin within the New Giant Warrior Pirates. He decided to leave Hajrudin’s group when the latter swore allegiance to Luffy and joined the Straw Hat Grand Fleet. It must be noted that Hajrudin was much weaker than even Dressrosa Arc Luffy in terms of overall combat ability.
Back then, Luffy effortlessly destroyed Hajrudin with a single blow without even using Gear 4. Things get even worse as Luffy has grown many times stronger since then, mastering Gear 4, achieving Gear 5, and learning to use the advanced forms of all three types of Haki. Color of Observation, Color of Armament, and even the all-powerful Color of Conqueror.
As a comrade – if not subordinate – of Hajrudin, Road should, at best, be comparable in power to him, meaning that he is a total nobody compared to the current strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates. In fact, in One Piece chapter 1129, Nami easily defeats Road.
Understandably, many fans didn’t appreciate the fact that in an incredibly slow-paced series like One Piece, three chapters were wasted on this trivial character. Some even labelled these chapters as sort of manga fillers, and it’s easy to understand why. Seeing the Straw Hats, now a full-fledged Yonko crew, ensnared by Road felt forced and unnecessary.
An Emperor and his main crewmembers are supposed to inspire fear, making people tremble at the mere thought of challenging them. Even Big Mom maintained a somewhat intimidating aura for all her low-end moments. In all fairness, One Piece author Eiichiro Oda fails to portray Luffy, Zoro, and the others in the same way.
No matter how strong Luffy and the others become, Oda insists on writing them as the underdogs, which may not be the best idea in the story. Granted, as the series' main character, Luffy can’t come across as infallible because that would kill the story's stakes, and in fact, no one seems to be really infallible in One Piece.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that many fans would like to see the Straw Hats treated better in the context of their current power and role in the world. It’s true that they only got kidnapped because they were unconscious, and as soon as they woke up, they steamrolled over everything in their path with total ease. In all likelihood, they would have been able to do that even at the beginning of the post-time skip narration.
The problem is that this only makes the Road subplot more forced and unnecessary. While it’s hard to argue against the fact that this storyline seems to be an end in itself, it’s evident that the mangaka still put some thought into it.
In the storytelling there's more than meets the eye
The Elbaf Arc has only just begun, and there will be plenty of opportunities to see the Straw Hat Pirates facing real and far more pressing challenges than Road. The fake Sun God subplot wasn’t meant to show the Straw Hat crew’s true power but simply to introduce the arc. Clearly, there were more exciting ways for One Piece author Eiichiro Oda to do this, but this was the mangaka’s pick.
What’s certain, however, is that Oda didn’t fail to impregnate these chapters with the core themes of his story. The mini-adventure that opened the Elbaf Arc is a direct analogy to the main plot of One Piece, which is probably something that only the most attentive readers have noticed.
The microcosm that Road has created inside his diorama represents the big picture of the One Piece world, just reproduced in small size. Road sends his beasts to capture asleep people whom he later keeps captive and turns into dolls for amusement.
Likewise, the World Government relies on propaganda and lies to numb the minds of people in order to keep them subjugated. Hiding behind a facade of democracy, the World Government has established a hypocritical tyranny.
People are oblivious to the truth of history and unaware of the World Government’s true intentions. They have only recently begun to ask themselves questions, thanks to Dr Vegapunk’s decision to reveal the shady things he learned in his research. Even then, many people remain unwilling to face the truth that they have been lied to about everything.
Just like Road mistakingly sees humans as puny and weak dolls, the World Government’s higher-ups think of them as nothing more than insects. Or, depending on the moment, rabbits are hunted down and murdered in a sadistic game.
In the same way that Road conducts his activities behind closed doors, the enigmatic Imu-sama rules the world from the Pangaea Castle in the sole presence of the Five Elders. To symbolize the equality between the nations, no one should sit on the Empty Throne in Mary Geoise, but Imu does. The existence of Imu and the latter’s role as the true leader of the World Government remain a secret from the public.
Road rules his diorama-like world as a false deity, the self-styled Sun God of Elbaf. Similarly, each of the Five Elders holds the title of “Warrior God”, and they rule the world on behalf of Imu. Despite their titles, however, they are fiendish demons rather than heavenly gods.
The Straw Hat Pirates have now shattered the illusion of Road’s fake world. They are meant to do the same to the evil schemes of Imu and the Five Elders. The current story sees Luffy and the others breaking through the diorama’s mirror-like wall to reach the true Elbaf, but they will soon do a similar thing on a much larger scale when they reach Laugh Tale and learn the truth about the One Piece world.
To do that, Nami cannot prescribe Straw Hats. Although far from being the group’s strongest fighter, the “Cat Burglar” still plays a vital role in the crew’s journey. One Piece chapter 1129 masterfully reminded fans that the Straw Hat Pirates won’t go anywhere without their navigator.
In a few moments, Nami memorized the map of Elbaf and discovered how to escape from Road’s world. No matter how strong they are, Luffy, Zoro, and the others would never reach Laugh Tale without her.
At the end of One Piece chapter 1129, the false Sun God was defeated, freeing his prisoners. It’s safe to say that at the end of the whole One Piece story, the world's entire population will be liberated in a similarly breathtaking manner, metaphorically speaking.
Related Links
- One Piece chapter 1129 raw scans: Sun God's true appearance revealed as Straw Hats all but escape
- One Piece: Every Straw Hat crew dynamic in the Elbaf Arc so far, explained in detail
- One Piece reveals the identity of Elbaf's fake Sun God
- All Monster Trio moments in One Piece, listed as of the Elbaf Arc
- Move over Usopp, One Piece's Elbaf Arc may be Nami's show
