WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ONE PIECE MANGA CHAPTER #1181

When readers learned that One Piece would finally be exploring the long-teased island of Elbaph, expectations were huge, but few could have guessed the arc would progress into a literal battle of gods. Like most great shōnen series, One Piece‘s plot and its characters have grown significantly since its first arc. The scale of its battles and their impact on the world are almost indistinguishable from the tales of the East Blue, and it’s only going to get bigger from here.

One Piece began with a story about adventure with super-powered pirates, and in its nearly 30 years of publication, it’s evolved into much more. As the story grew, so did the ongoing narrative that became increasingly poignant and unafraid to tackle mature themes such as government corruption, genocide, slavery, and racism. And after 33 arcs, the One Piece manga has finally reached the point where there is a literal battle of gods deciding the fate of the world.

The existence of gods in One Piece has been lightly teased throughout the series, with a lot of clues being presented in the divisive Skypiea arc. Everything changed in Wano when Luffy’s battle against Kaido forced the Straw Hat captain to awaken his Devil Fruit abilities. The series then revealed his fruit’s true name and nature: the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika, which is named after the Sun God Nika, the personification of freedom itself. Now, the Elbaph arc has revealed even more gods, and One Piece will never be the same.

One Piece Now Has Gods Who Make Giants Look Small

After the events of Egghead featured Gear 5 Luffy confronting the mysterious Five Elders and their monstrous demonic transformations, exploring the giant’s homeland of Elbaph almost seemed like it would be a pleasant vacation. But as of One Piece chapter #1180, the island has become host to not one but two more god-like beings other than Luffy. And one of them has quickly become the top candidate as the next Straw Hat crew member.

Elbaph has already included several climactic battles and shocking twists, including the full character reveals for legendary figures that the series has only teased with silhouettes. While it was incredibly satisfying to finally see the events of God Valley and the most feared pirate in history, Rocks D. Xebec, the arc’s introduction to Prince Loki and the King of the World, Neroma Imu, has been divine in multiple ways.

Elbaph Has Become Home To A Battle of Gods

Thankfully, the Straw Hats and the giant allies were able to endure and regain control of Elbaph from the assault of the World Government’s Holy Knights. The tide of the battle turned drastically when Gear 5 Luffy and Loki’s colossal Nidhoggr dragon transformation entered the fray. Against the might of the reincarnated Sun God and Loki’s Dragon Fruit, which once belonged to a legendary giant warrior god, there was not much the Knights could do, but that all changed when the closest thing One Piece has seen to the literal devil arrived on Elbaph to turn the tide.

There are still many mysteries about the World Government’s secret ruler, Saint Nerona Imu, but everything readers have witnessed up to chapter #1181 demonstrates that their power and influence can easily be considered god-tier. The One Piece villain easily broke Zoro and Sanji’s defenses with a single strike, and Imu was only getting started. Their overwhelming presence sent shockwaves across the island and even intimidated Luffy into not joining the fight until he could fully replenish his strength, and the demonic figure only got more terrifying in his battle against Loki, who has essentially become Elbaph’s new warrior god.

Elbaph’s battle of gods so far has only included Imu versus Loki in a battle that is redefining what large-scale battles can be. While the giant has proven his strength and toughness, the King of the World has seemingly introduced a new power system that could be stronger than Haki. Imu’s Omen powers have allowed him to easily repel attacks that would’ve made even Kaido blush, shape shift weapons, and even increase the King of the World’s size, which is a surprisingly similar moveset to Luffy’s Gear 5 abilities, and fans are anxious to see them clash.

Elbaph’s Clash Of Gods Is Only An Appetizer For One Piece’s Final Arc

One Piece‘s Elbaph arc has successfully raised the stakes higher than Egghead, but it’s likely gearing up for an even grander final arc of the series. Imu’s devilish Omen powers, Loki’s Nidhoggr Warrior God abilities, and Luffy’s Sun God transformation are not the first time the series has introduced Mythical transformations. While it’s currently unknown which of those three will make it to the final arc, they will not be the only God-like and mythical characters readers are likely to see in action before One Piece comes to an end.

God-like characters and abilities have a wide range of meaning throughout the anime medium. While characters like Hunter X Hunter‘s Ant King and Dragon Ball Super‘s God of Destruction Beerus have considerable differences in the scale of their powers, the scale of abilities the gods of One Piece have displayed so far has unfortunately been quite vague and varied.

Many of One Piece’s strongest Devil Fruits belong in the Mythical Zoan class, which author Eiichiro Oda has filled with characters based on creatures of folklore from cultures around the globe. Transformations like Kaido’s asura dragon, Yamato’s ancient wolf deity, and Marco’s brilliant phoenix would easily be considered creatures of divine nature to someone unfamiliar with Devil Fruits. However, the series final arcs have introduced several characters who resemble something more akin to a god than a magical creature from fairy tales.

The One Piece Gods We Know About

Throughout its long story, One Piece has mentioned the existence of five separate gods. Luffy’s awakening in Wano revealed his Devil Fruit to be that of the Sun God, while Nerona Imu represents the oppressive darkness, the god of the abyss. There is also a sea god, earth god, and a forest god who may hold the keys to some of One Piece‘s greatest mysteries that have yet to be resolved. However, that has not prevented speculation about the identity of these gods, or the possibility that they were introduced many years ago.

Characters like Usopp and Enel have adapted the god moniker, but very few characters in One Piece deserve the title that insinuates absolute power within their domains. The mermaid princess Shirahoshi seems like the most obvious candidate for the current incarnation of the sea god, with her ability to communicate with the sea kings, essentially living titans of the sea. But there is a good chance that readers have known the forest god since the Drum Kingdom arc.

While many skilled giant warriors struggled against their brethren possessed by Imu’s powers, the monster form of Chopper had much less difficulty for a mysterious reason. All it took was a single strike to reverse the demonic effects, and a popular theory suggests the reason being because Chopper’s Devil Fruit is the reincarnation of the forest god, which may prove to be the greatest threat to Imu, possibly One Piece‘s final villain.

At first glance, the Straw Hat’s doctor is prone to inspiring many questions, some of which have still gone unanswered. After supposedly eating a Human-Human Devil Fruit he found in the wilderness, Chopper gained sentience and the ability to transform his body into several configurations. Much like how Luffy’s Gum-Gum Fruit failed to fully explain his abilities until the Nika revelation, Chopper’s Fruit feels like a part of something more that will hopefully be further explored sooner rather than later.

The Gods Have Altered One Piece’s World, And They’ll Do It Again

Custom image by Merlyn De Souza

Lastly is the earth god, who, according to the ancient Elbaphian mural in chapter #1138, which provided almost as many questions as it did answers, once fought against and defeated Nika, the sun god, in order to take over the world. While it also sounds like the role of King of the World Imu, it’s unlikely one character would fit the role of two separate gods. And according to the mural, the sun god and the earth god are destined to meet, and few confrontations are now as anticipated as Luffy versus Blackbeard.

The most likely candidate for One Piece‘s earth god is Marshall D. Teach, who seems destined to be the final antagonist of the series and the ultimate hurdle for Luffy becoming the next Pirate King. His ambition to take over the world matches what is currently known of the earth god, and the series has been brilliant in building up both characters for a clash that the One Piece world has prophesied for thousands of years. The current situation on Elbaph truly feels like the beginning of the final battles of One Piece and the gods that inhabit its world.

First Film

One Piece: The Movie

Cast

Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

Character(s)

Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)