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l-in-the-light · 2 months ago

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Chapter 1136 & 1137 commentary (and analysis)

New chapter, let's go :D time to analyze all the tiniest and obscure details probably most fans wouldn't even spend a second on lol. Lots of conversations this time, so there will be quite a lot of focus on context reading, something I should actually suck at by definition ;)

Last choice is basically "show me the results", just made it an actual option haha. Come on, betting is fun, so what if we end up being wrong :D

Wait, is that Who's who base? Even the guys inside wear the characteristic cat ears of his crew. Will we finally learn what's up with him?? But this is just a cover story, so any answers we will discover won't really be that clear, I guess (because no actual dialogues). But it's still interesting. It's like we're Momotaro again venturing into the den of Oni haha. And we have lion-dog, a centaur lady and little ninja girl for trusty companions instead of dog, monkey and a pheasant. Also Yamato's face when they peek inside the base is priceless :D

But wait, isn't Yamato the oni? So it's actually reversed Momotaro tale, we're cheering for oni and defeating the hero?? damn, now I got myself confused LOL.

I love how Luffy says his thanks not only to Hajrudin, but Stansen as well! He cares about everyone, not just the leaders of groups. And now that he got to know Stansen a bit better and got to interact with him, he's already treating him as a friend.

It's wholesome that it's Luffy thanking Stansen while not even taking credit himself for releasing him in Sabaody (last chapter Luffy just said it's awesome Stansen managed to get away, but never said anything even close in meaning to "you're welcome". If anything, he gives the credit back to Stansen in a way, underlying the fact that it was Stansen's own initiative that allowed him to get away in the end). It's like he only accepts half the credit and who does it remind me of? Trafalgar "give half of your thanks to Strawhat-ya" Law when he released Jean Bart, heh. It's of course all implied not said directly, but I even like it better this way.

Also hi Colon (doing a Nika pose as he runs and grins), aren't you too young for those drunken feasts? XD

No offense, Jarul, but that comment is sort of ignorant? Why is he glossing over this fact? I mean, it's clear to him *why* humans can't make their way up to "true Elbaf" (he points it out by himself!). It just shows that despite knowing the reason and about the obstacles, he doesn't ultimately care whether humans will make it up here or not, or die in the realm below. He claims humans will just flee, but we saw the underworld and many humans seemed to have stayed behind, despite being terrified and ending up relying on Loki for the lack of better options. Many humans must have also died there, eaten by the beasts or because of other circumenstances. We also saw what happens when pirates make it below, Giants have no problems attacking them. I don't think Giants in general like humans all that much, it's the level of "tolerance", at best.

I think what Jarul is not saying is that sure, they *might* don't mind humans, as long as they're somehow associated with some Giants (Shanks and his fleet, Luffy and the Strawhats). Which means if Kid never attacked anyone and instead bragged about defeating Big Mom, he could have been allowed to "actual Elbaf" as well. I will leave this food for thought here if anyone's hungry ;)

So, why is Jarul downplaying the reality like that? Is he trying to appeal to Luffy this way, perhaps because everyone in Elbaf seemed to have heard already that Luffy looks like a sun god?

Look who's bragging about defeating Oars and delivering the final blow, lol. Well, to be fair, all Strawhats delivered the final blow together, so technically he's not lying, he's just not mentioning this tiny fact.

So the Giants heard about "legendary warrior" Oars, interesting. We wanted to know if there's any sort of connection between Oars and the Giants for a while already and seems there is, indeed! We just don't know exactly what it is though XD if I were gonna guess, he was probably described in the infamous ancient text of Harley as well (he was born more than 500 years ago, so it's a possibility)! Or perhaps, once upon a time, Ancient Giants were considered to be the most "pure blooded" Giants and Elbaf used to be their home. Then they went extinct and the worship sort-of-ended, but not really, because ancient giant blood survived in some of the current giants, as we can see with the example of King Harold. Maybe he was even chosen to be king *thanks* to his horns/ancient giant blood. Him ripping off his horns would bring a new meaning then: to part with the old ways and to show his dedication to treat all Giants as equals. But isn't it Hajrudin's wish as well? It could point towards them sharing the same dream and King Harold influencing his son, hm. King Harold was at the very least not opposed to having a child with non-Elbaf Giants, and that's sort of a fact. But then Harold is also a father of Loki who proudly declares himself a god of destruction. Yeah, there's certainly some odd duality going on here with the king.

I'm still wondering whether Elbaf was once a different place, unrelated to any Giants, before they took over the New World.

I need to say Jimbei is taking those comments in good faith, I'm proud of him. Comments about skin color can be triggering, even if they're not meant in bad way. It's worth noting though that his first reaction is "!" which means it did alert him. If it was only neutral realization, the visual indication (on the far right, I marked it with a red frame) would be enough to communicate it to us. And I'm going to tackle this issue seriously and I don't care if most people would just brush it off as whatever. Giving this interaction some weight honestly makes reading this scene much more interesting than just seeing it as simple smalltalk, lol.

Jimbei laughs this comment off, as we can see the typical "laughter" visual cue next to Jimbei (also marked with red frame by me). But is it an honest reaction? I would say it's likely he's probably a bit divided inside about this. This is Jimbei, after all, the very same guy who declared in Marineford that he only follows those he personally acknowledges. He loved Whitebeard, he even wanted to die alongside him in the war, but he wouldn't even travel on his ship with him, instead swim beneath it, like he didn't want to be considered part of them. I think we can safely assume Jimbei wasn't very fond of humans or at least really wary of them, and that's likely something he kinda inherited from his beloved Fisher Tiger. His opinion about humans must be kinda bad as the result (but he would never admit it outloud, he's a very "keep everything to yourself" kind of guy), which can also explain his hesitation in joining Luffy's crew (yes, responsibilities were likely only part of the reason, but an important one!). But here he can see that not only humans but Giants can be untactful as well. This could be a small eye-opening moment for him, perhaps? I don't think he had many opportunities to interact with other races than humans and fishmen before, so this could be widening his horizons. You can't know things like that unless you travel the world yourself (or someone really open-minded who did that shares the stories with you). In his flashback, he also says fishmen and other races just need to understand each other, so here he is, experiencing it first hand.

This scene reminds me of some interesting details I read about before in anthropological books. Not only we as outsiders but native people themselves are almost always curious about body differences, any outstanding physical differences can bring out some curiosity. I saw similar remarks in books about Japanese culture. In one book a woman from overases joins a closed world of geishas and trains to become one herself. The others help her with applying the characteristic white make up, but realize their usual method doesn't work because of the longer nose of the woman, which of course results in a comment about it and a joke about their physical differences. Many Japanese caricatures of foreigners often emphasize their bigger or longer noses too, it's not always done tactfully, but it is a fact that differences tend to attract attention from both sides. We can see it reflected perfectly here with fascination about fishmen coming from the Giants from one side, and Sanji's fascination with the Giant women from the other.

Does it mean One Piece is untactful here? I actually wouldn't say so. Why? Because One Piece is full of characters with many different noses and body shapes, and yes, occassionaly even skin colors (despite all the controversies about whitewashing Usopp). My point is: when both sides are curious about each other and don't use their differences in judgemental way, it's just normal human curiosity. Here are some examples as to when it's not okay to point out a physical difference: when drawing harmful conclusions (like this: all asians have pretty and cute small noses while foreigners have ugly big ones), using them in completely unrelated contexts (why bring it up if it's not related to anything that's being talked atm?) or to underline the differences to point out their "otherness" (then it becomes an indirect message of "you don't belong, because you look different than us"). But I will allow everyone to draw their own conclusions, this is just my opinion on this particular scene, not on the topic in general (which is a much more complex and sensitive issue).

But back to the scene. Of course the topic quickly turns to fantasies about mermaids lol. I wonder if Sanji might have derailed the topic there slightly on purpose? Like yes, he would use probably any occassion to talk about his fantasies, but it's worth noting that he also stayed around Jimbei. Maybe he wanted to keep an eye on what people talk about to him or around him, you know? And we know Sanji is a very considerate and caring guy for everyone in his crew (but not only limited to his crew), so I wouldn't put it past him that he sticked around Jimbei on purpose just so he can tactfully control the topic of conversation, so it doesn't become offensive. But also just because staying around Jimbei means he might inevitably be able to brag about mermaids lol. Still, he quickly changes the topic of mermaids to the topic of Giant women, which makes me believe even more in my idea of Sanji just being mindful and supportive friend here. It's maybe not really obvious, but that's even better that it's so subtle, Jimbei doesn't have to express openly his gratitude which could be awkward and make him simply feel bad, because he's trying so hard himself not to take things the bad way. I don't think Jimbei would be ready to admit his fears so openly, he's tbh a rather private type of guy who doesn't talk about his feelings or opinions much.

Lol, Brook's utter dismissal to the question. Unlike Jimbei though, he doesn't even care and can take it on, no problem. Still, I sometimes do feel for Brook in some situations. For example, in One Piece World Seeker game, where this issue is addressed in one of the side quests. I think it was one of the rare times when I realized Brook can feel really alienated just because he is a walking skeleton and doesn't expect common people to think it's not a big deal. He can be quite sensitive sometimes too, even if he often plays it off as a joke material.

But, Zoro is lowkey doing him the same favour Sanji was doing for Jimbei. He's implying with his comment "I'm surprised so many Giants have never gone out to sea" that Brook isn't so outstanding as Giants think he is (even though we know he actually is!). Of course it's also Zoro so maybe he didn't even realize he's kinda siding up with Brook. But I want to have a bit of faith here in Zoro. He might not be the best in it, but he tries to be there for his crew and has more empathy than we assume he has.

Also, same here, Nami. But considering the case of Dorry and Brogy it's becoming kinda clear that Giants have only one major Pirate Giants group at a time. They like never mention any multiple ones, you know? And now with the Hajrudin taking over the tradition it seems Giant pirates are only a chosen few. Not quite like in the viking times when it was said many men went to sea and women had to often take over the villages in their absence. Or at least that's what I remember reading about vikings.

Ahaha, Rodo and Gerd are finally in same place, so I can see more of their dynamics when they're actually together. And I kinda love them, they're so silly. Seems Rodo is apologizing because Gerd made him do that. But it's worth noticing how shocked Rodo is at her words and the strict scolding. This suggests it is NOT a common occurance between them. In fact, seems like this is the first time it ever happened! I did share my guess in previous commentaries that Gerd wasn't openly hostile to Rodo before the Strawhats incident, but now she feels the extra need to be this way to show a clear difference between herself and him (she doesn't want her lovely human friends to think of her as a freak! And yes, it's just about the fact that she doesn't want to be considered a geek or a freak. She's like this type of fan who secretly spends all her free time on her hobby, but at school or work declares she just likes it a little bit, you know, like a normal person. Pffff).

Rodo though likes Gerd so much that nothing she would say could possibly make him dislike her lol. Which is why he's ready to embrace submissiveness as his new kink, which is the extreme 180 degrees turn in his character from the "I'm a god, listen to me peasants" roleplay. He loves Gerd that much, huh. It's kinda endearing really. Besides it being just, you know, a silly gag.

And that means Rodo is already on Strawhat's side lol. That was quick �� not only that, he even became Nami's slave number 3 pfff. He's also very good at it. Just look at how fast he adjusted there: "My vision is awful, I wouldn't even notice any treasure missing". Omg he's so funny. And he's enjoying every second of his newly found passion of s&m play haha. I'm afraid I have already forgiven him locking down the Strawhats at the beginning of the arc. And for no other reason than him being just himself LOL.

Now all that's left is for Hajrudin to forgive him too. Honestly, one good word from any Strawhat about Rodo would be enough at this rate, to make this happen :)

Funny how Rodo is trying to shorten the distance by pointing out something that is actually true, as we learn from the next chapter. Rodo and Nami do share some things in common, like, both of them wanted to draw maps since they were kids ❤ but Nami doesn't open her heart to people easily, making Rodo her personal slave is already big enough leap of faith from her. It's a bond she accepted but on her terms, heh. No matter what, Rodo respects her boundaries (maybe because he can indeed relate to her in more ways than one) and doesn't try to overstep them anymore. Actually, he finds pleasure in simply being useful to her (probably the same way he feels happy to be useful to Hajrudin too) and speaks with the Strawhats as earnestly as he can, which is probably also not something that comes easy to him! After he is scolded here he starts to refer to himself as "sessha" which is the humble, old way of speaking Okiku used in Wano (roughtly translated as "this unworthy one"). This means that Rodo actually takes extra step back to assure Nami he won't overstep. It feels a bit silly and again very roleplay-like, but also actually surprisingly genuine.

A moment of appreciation for Zoro acting like a true, intimidating pirate, hehe. Love moments like these in my pirate manga :D

Also bonus for scaring the heck out of Rodo. He indeed realized he didn't take the threat seriously lol. And yet he must have seen their bounties before, after all he knew all of their names when he found them.

More sun god lore dropped :D seems there are different depictions of sun god. He's a god of laughter, a god of destruction, a god of liberation, and... a ruler of the world? One of these is not quite the same as the others, hm. One sounds less godly and more, you know, mortal. Okay, so it's time to bring this question to the table: were they all four different Nikas? You know what I'm thinking about, right?

Except here there are even five, not four :) one is an unexpected double, despite all of them being quintuplets. Many people have said it before and I think this is the time to say it again: this is most likely a foreshadowing of some kind. Which kind exactly? I'm not sure. Will there be a point in current timeline of events where there will be as many as 5 nikas? (we're slowly getting here, let's count it together: Sun God Rodo, Sun God Loki, Sun God Nika aka Luffy, Sun God Nika aka Bonney... hey, we're at four already! Of course I don't think this is the end game situation so to speak lol. Just the same parallel used again!) But of course this can also simply mean there were 5 Nikas already in the past, including Luffy in the present.

Maybe each time a Nika appeared in history he brought about big changes with him, just like Jarul said it, but those changes were once seen as good (liberation) and other times as bad (destruction), depending on the perspective of a winner's interest, ofc. If the winner wanted to be seen as good he would label Nika as something bad, like destruction. If the winner was the same side as Nika, then he would portray the events as liberation then, something positive that helped him win. Honestly if that's the case then no wonder the rulers always fear Nika, it's always in their interest to preserve the order the way it is, which is in their favour ofc. You never know when Nika would pop up and on which side it will end up being.

But you know what? Knowing Oda, it's all three references I mentioned used at once (remember, the rule of three, Oda likes it a lot): the playful parallel at Elbaf, the Nikas through history and foreshadowing the end game Nika situation. LOL. Can't wait.

One last observation about the previous screenshot. Giants said "We all look up to Nika! We all share the same dream!" But if you pay attention to what they said, it's actually not true. Like yes, they all aspire to be Nika, but for each of them that means a different thing! Some of them want to be rulers because they believe in the interpretation of Nika being a ruler of the world. Others believe in Nika as the liberator instead so they want to liberate people. There are also those who wants destruction of the world, like Loki himself. And finally we have those that just associate Nika with laughter so all they ever aspire to be is to make other people laugh or apply a lifestyle in which they laugh and are joyous no matter what, despite the hardships and pain they might experience. I think it might end up being important that same people can share same dream, but that dream might mean something different to them. Like Luffy and Roger having "same dream" in this context, for example!

(btw I saw the memes already that original Nika warrior was black, because the shadowy figure appears to look like it, lol. Tbh I would find it absolutely fantastic if it turned out to be true! 💖)

Speaking of different interpretations of history and Nika lore, we know it all thanks to the ancient text Harley that Giants preserved, even though no one apparently can read it correctly anymore. Oh boy, I hope this is NOT a reference to poneglyphs, because that will throw everything into pure chaos. Imagine multiple interpretations of the poneglyphs... it's probably not the case, since unlike Nika's parallel, this is the first time we hear about this. But it's worth remembering that Enel couldn't read the poneglyphs despite them using Birka's writing. Let's also not forget that poneglyphs can be heard, like in Roger's case (is it possible to hear the message engraved on them without the need to read the signs? And is it the same message as the written one?).

As for the Harley text itself in Japanese it's ハーレイ (haarei) and is classified as shintei (holy scripture, like in religious context). This might be a reference to things like Edda (the original source of Norse mythology) or Codex Regius ("Royal Book" or "King's Book" that starts with a prophecy) which in Japanese is called: monogatari uta (narrative poems, except uta can be also taken more literally as songs. Slight hint towards Binks Sake song, perhaps :D sound was also very important theme in Skypiea, arguably one of the oldest civilisations we found in OP world). We also had a prophecy about Loki in this arc. If anything, those could have been Oda's inspirations here.

This is also the first time we heard that world has been destroyed twice already! This means the current world of One Piece is actually the third world! Rule of three, here, yet again!! Yes, we're totally going to destroy the world by the end, to make it go full circle. Okay, so we can safely assume the previous time it happened it caused a Void Century, right? No confirmation of that but it's the most likely option, even if not the only possibility.

In theory, Void Century could have been "end of the world" prevention or delay measure. Why? We actually have no evidence that the world ended. Imu is still around and many different places with a history spanning over thousands of years, like Alabasta. If the world ended shouldn't Alabasta get erased as well? And also it's been mentioned before that Void Century was the history of a war between two fractions that left "scars on the world". Again, if world ended back then, there wouldn't be anything left. Also, do you remember the clever trick Vegapunk did in Egghead arc? Erasure of memories. And what is Void Century if not a bigass erasure of memories of the whole planet? (even the title of the chapter in which Vegapunk's trick is explained, the Void Fortnight, is playing with this idea). As the result, Egghead wasn't really destroyed, but instead severed into two parts, one got sent to the sky, the other ended up in hands of the Government. I admit I always like to imagine Void Century as the history of the Biggest Foil Trick in History lol. Everyone thinks Joyboy lost, but he never actually failed in what he tried to achieve :)

But putting that theory aside, let's consider that Void Century was actually a successful destruction of the world instead, because many will consider this to be the most obvious answer. That means something like a Void Century happened before already as well. And we have evidence of that! Lunarians were once on the Red Line, right? But that doesn't seem to fit the timeline of Void Century we know of, at all. It was the conflict between Joyboy, the first pirate, fighting against an alliance of 20 kingdoms instead. There was no battle against certain rulers like Lunarians occupying the Red Line mentioned anywhere. Which means that must have happened way earlier than that and it just makes more sense this way. Perhaps the Ancient Kingdom was the one who brought down Lunarians and made them go extinct eventually, and ruled the world as the result. History likes to repeat itself so Ancient Kingdom got defeated by people who then took over which place? The top of the Red Line again. And now we know them as Celestial Dragons, a mere shadows of their past selves.

There's one problem though, I still can't decide where to put the sky people in this scenario. Shandorians, Skypieans, Birkans. Were they connected to the first end of the world instead? I guess we need Urouge plotline to gather more hints, because whatever I try to guess now feels like a shot in the dark, at best. My current best shot would be Egghead's top stratum shotting up to the sky and maybe that's how original Skypieans ended up there too. That though supports my idea that Void Century wasn't destruction of the world but a scam instead. Unless Skypieans were in the sky even longer than we can imagine. We actually have no clue when did the moon people go down to earth, at all. Maybe it was at the beginning of times, lol. Like a parallel to our world's belief that UFO build the pyramids in Egypt, you know. Maybe first place Moon People visited was Alabasta and they build the pyramids there as well XD

Also, it all kinda points out to the idea that devil fruits existed even before Void Century. Which makes more sense than their sudden creation only in the span of 100 years, at least to me.

Another thing worthy to mention is the whole idea of world destruction. It can mean anything, from literally destroying a planet (remember the missing "moons" on Clover's solar system setup?), to something more symbolic like shifting of poles (equator and north/south poles changing places) which could result in current islands getting submerged in water and the reveal of the previously sunken Ancient Kingdom, together with the All Blue. It could by all means also just be a figure of speech, meaning current power systems would get destroyed and new system will arise, for example: common folk will become the rulers, kinda like Drum Island situation. Ruler will now be one of the common people, living among them, sharing their happiness and sadness of daily lives. But I don't think all of the mentioned "end of the world" or "destruction of the world" can happen at the same time in the plot, even if we have sort-of foreshadowing for all of those outcomes (maybe shifting of poles gone wrong can result in destruction of the planet?). Maybe destruction of the world is also a choice between options, and not a foreordained outcome. If you have your own ideas about this please share :D

Jarul was there when this happened, right? He admitted as much this chapter. He saw Loki killing King Harold, and he's the only person in the room who doesn't actually judge him for it. This reminds me of that situation from Little Garden, Dorry and Brogy said if you don't die then it means that's the will of the Elbaf's god. And if you die, you were in the wrong, and the winner was in the right. Jarul thinking Loki isn't wrong is not because he didn't like King Harold. It's just the old belief of Elbaf that he still has faith in: Loki didn't die despite everything so he might be in the right and it can be a proof he has "divine protection", while King Harold died so he was wrong. That's all there is to it. God of Elbaf decides outcomes of all conflicts.

But new generation of Giants seemed to have forgotten this belief already and judge Loki very harshly, unlike Jarul. And why did they forgot their old ways? Because of King Harold changing whole politics in Elbaf; from being a warrior country to centering on education and avoidance of violence and fighting. This could make Giants easy targets to eliminate, keep that in mind, Government considered Giants to be dangerous enemies for a long time, it would be extremely handy for them if Giants became weak, were easy to control (like use them for the upcoming war so they're on the side of the Government) or to erase them easily (in case they refuse, duh, to prevent them from joining the enemy's side).

In other words, King Harold indeed might have been in the wrong and Loki was right. Consider it. In which arc of One Piece the situation as we're told turns out to be correct? Dressrosa? People just live happily with the toys and toys are not slaves for fake saviours who kicked out a good king? Wano in which Orochi painted Oden as the bad guy and himself as the good ruler? Why would Elbaf be any different? The surface story we're told is ought to turn to be a lie as well, the only question that remains is: in which way exactly? There are still many possible answers to that and all are still likely.

Seems Luffy has already decided that Loki is a good guy, lol. I never doubt Luffy :D

Loki's terrible reputation is even more terrible than we thought. Not only he has been born cursed (according to the prophecy, ha, what did I tell you all, I knew it had be a prophecy :D) and fated to kill his father. Seems his birth was accompanied by bad omens (the horse dying. ain't no way a toddler killed a horse, come on. and also same year Linlin caused a death of a giant. year later a queen died... you get the drill).

He was apparently also a mischief (many people pointed it out and I also agree: that part sounds like Oden's story) and an arsonist. But if we remember Oden's case, he was still beloved despite being a menace stomping over the social rules. He also at least once took the blame for someone else (Kinemon and the mountain god incident. Only Kin and Denjiro, and Oden himself, knew the truth). Perhaps Loki also took the blames for the fires on himself or, you know, people might have blamed all calamities on Loki. "Unknown fire? Someone said they saw Loki nearby!". Yeah, sounds plausible to me. It's easy to put the blame on the guy everyone supposedly hates. Let's not forget we learned that Loki spend the time in Underworld Elbaf ever since he was a child. What was a prince of Elbaf doing there instead of sitting in the castle? yeah, I still think he was an outcast.

"Caused mischief whenever the King wasn't looking" part is curious though. the same with the insinuation that Loki could do whatever the heck he wanted as soon as the King was away (why was the King away anyway? We learned already there's only one dedicated Giants Pirates crew at a time). This is something worth keeping in mind. Perhaps Giants ought to run havoc (like in that proverb with mice partying when cats aren't around) and again, blamed it on the cursed Prince. Or maybe there's something more to all of this... seems King Harold had to leave Elbaf quite often, he did end up meeting Hajrudin's mother somewhere away from Elbaf, I guess, and brought both of them with him. Despite Harold being so loved, Hajrudin's mom wasn't even allowed inside the castle, because people of Elbaf didn't acknowledge her and even bullied her :/ all things considered, did King Harold really love his people after all of this...?

Interesting, we learn that the "land of warriors" wanted to connect with the world outside. Seeing their change in education, maybe they even attempted to join the countries united under the World Governement. But why would they do such a thing? Perhaps it was to overthrow the prophecy or to unite with others? If Elbaf is no longer a land of warriors but instead a land of peace, then no prince will kill the king. In one of his theories Joyboy even suggested that King Harold decided to shower his son with love to make sure he won't hate him. That's a nice thought, unusual, but would fit the guy's image. After all he did have a child with Giants outside Elbaf and brought that kid to Elbaf as well (Hajrudin). I guess it shows he wasn't a barbarian but instead a kind monarch who was personally against prejudice. Sadly, seems he couldn't really make the folks change their minds and they still ostracized both Hajrudin (because of impure blood) AND Loki (because he's cursed) as the result. Though who knows, maybe Elbaf at first loved the prophecy. A true warrior kills others in battle, it's a honour, right? Perhaps the view on Loki changed only after the Elbaf's big change occured and at first he had god-like status instead and was indeed seen as a true god of destruction! Which would explain why he thinks everyone should still see him this way.

But then we also have Hajrudin, who wants to unite all the Giants races and become a king. I can't help but wonder why didn't Loki become a king after killing Harold? Perhaps he never wanted to be a king himself, unlike Hajrudin? After all he could think of himself as god of destruction but not as a ruler, as those are two opposing views on Nika, their ideal. Btw, worth noticing, on the arsonist panel Loki is presented in Nika's pose (which I would personally call god of laughter, heh).

So Shanks captured Loki on the seas 6 years ago. What was Loki doing rampaging on seas? It again supports the idea that he didn't want to become the next ruler. Especially since we also learn it was 14 years since King Harold was dead. 8 years is a long time, in which Loki didn't attempt to rule Elbaf at all. And finally he ditched it all and went to sea, huh.

Zoro's reaction is worth noting. Perhaps he realized he should keep Luffy in check. We see them talking shortly after outside and Zoro immediately catches on to Luffy's plan for freeing Loki and he is against it. Which is funny, considering he usually enables Luffy's chaotic energy, even in this arc, it's not like him to pause and question, instead of following Luffy's lead no matter what. This is like 180 degrees from his fuck up in Wano, when he let Luffy cause a rebellion (would freeing Loki cause a rebellion or turn Giants against Strawhats? Seems likely from their big reactions!). Back then Law trusted Zoro to keep Luffy in check, but Zoro didn't truly even try and that led to horrible consquences (Luffy landed in Udon, Zoro was a fugititve the whole arc and basically useless to their plans, wandering on his own instead). In the raid he tried to control Luffy a little, but instead caused as much havoc himself as well. I would say Zoro learned his lesson and tries to act smarter than this. Back in Wano his pal Law trusted Zoro to be able to keep Luffy in check when needed, but Zoro failed, despite being with Luffy since the very beginning, being his first trusted crewmate and friend. My guess is he thinks Law was right in general and Zoro himself should do better.

At first, Zoro is pushing the "reputation is just a reputation" and "I never met Loki" approach, but quickly shuts up. He probably got reminded of his own past. Zoro has really good intuition (even if he doesn't always know how to act on it) and I would say this is one of those moments. He wants to keep Luffy in check, but realizes Luffy never relies on reputation about someone. And he's usually right not to do that indeed. So even though he expects Loki might be lying to Luffy, he decides to give it a small leap of faith, while keeping an eye on the situation. Good old Zoro :)

Interestingly we learn that Government sent informants to Elbaf before, but they all mysteriously vanished thanks to a giant crow. We saw that crow before, it's definitely the same one that carried Strawhats to Rodo. Which means all those CP agents? Landed in Rodo's lego diorama! LOL. Now who's a chad without even knowing it? That's right, our pal Rodo :D Those skeletons probably belong to some of the more obnoxious agents too, so you don't have to feel too bad about them, lol.

While we don't really have it confirmed that it was Cipher Pol, they're called 諜報部員達 Chōhō Buin-tachi "Intelligence agents." Very similar to how CP is called. It's not the exact same kanjis, but we have a similiar situation in Egghead with the kidnapped agents. Chōhō kikan was how CP agents were referenced to in Egghead arc. Only first kanjis are the exact match, but the meaning in both cases is overall still almost the same: (ちょうほう) means "intelligence" or "espionage," and "部員" (ぶいん) means "member." The term refers to forces specializing in gathering secret information. At this point it would be weird if it was anyone else than CP, especially after we learned that CP0 is Celestial Dragon's shield (God Knights are said to also hold the same power or even be Celestial Dragons themselves).

Funny how Loki calls Knights "noble" in same sentence he calls Celestial Dragons scum. Does it mean that at one point in history those fractions weren't the same thing or even linked in any way? Let's remember Giants have a long standing history and preservere knowledge about the world that might be lost to other nations and races already.

This also confirms God Knights is actually some sort of knight order. Not every God Knight seems to hold the "saint" title like Celestial Dragons though (we need to keep an eye on it for confirmation).

Let's examine Shamrock's behaviour a bit closer. He seems to be rather levelheaded and would want to avoid uneccessary bloodshed. If an objective or goal can be achieved without killing anyone (even a wolf), he would definitely prioritize that option. He also stops Gunko from being too hasty/hot tempered, which shows 1. he's higher than her in hierarchy (duh, we know that already, but it's really neatly reflected in this dialogue) 2. despite the fact he is letting her execute the orders without doing much himself, I don't think the order actually came from Shamrock, but instead someone higher up (like Garling?).

Seems Shamrock isn't even allowed to make his own decisions without consulting it with anyone first. And that despite being the leader of the Knights! I gotta say, so far, Shamrock actually doesn't score any bastard points yet, lol. Despite fandom expecting him to be "the evil twin" ;) as for me? I'm just observing him. and observing. lol.

I know many people think Loki is really coldblooded here, but I disagree. Here, he's not actually talking to the God Knights. What he's saying is meant for his wolf friend. He tells him to die in peace and accept his fate, while Loki will avenge him (TCB translation directs Loki's speech to third person for the wolf, like Loki is talking to God Knights about him instead of to him, but he's not. He's talking directly to the wolf, which is emphasized by the "tomo yo" - my dear friend, end of his speech). He also tells him to die like a warrior, without opposing his own fate, scowling or complaining. And the wolf is listening, it literally stops howling in pain when he hears that. This is the multitude of their bond, it's genuine. Those beasts don't follow Loki because they have to, they follow him because of the warrior code. Loki is the true leader of their horde!

His words might seem harsh, but they're mostly assertive, he wants to assure his friend that nothing can break him and things will end up in their favour in the end. It's to appease his spirit. He's not apologetic for not choosing to spare him, but he assures he will never forget about this sacrifice. This is indeed probably the best thing he could have done in this situation. To the people who blame Loki for not choosing a better option: you know what, you should direct your rage instead on the God Knights that toy with the lifes of other creatures like it's nothing. Know who your actual enemy is. Loki is a victim who is faced with an unfair choice from the very beginning. Shamrock and Gunko know it, that's why they try to play with his emotions. They somehow know Loki is more compassionate than he seems.

This is probably how Loki himself also thinks about fate. Don't oppose it, just accept it like a true warrior should. Might explain why, despite being rather kindhearted, he embraced his role as the god of destruction and prophesized cursed prince. Perhaps.

In next line he declares: Kono Ikari o Kuratte Ore wa!!! (I will receive this rage for you, or literally "this rage, I will receive!"), which is the exact same wording style as the famous line Luffy always says: Kaizoku ou ni ore wa naru! (the reversed order of words, The Pirate King, I will become!) And I didn't see it pointed out before, but for me it's a clear sign we're talking about inherited will here. Loki will take the wolf's will on himself, he will inherit it, and that will is rage. Sometimes the will can be a dream, love or care (Saul's case?), protection and many other things too, apparently, Which means the moment Luffy declared his dream as becoming king of the pirates, which he shared with Roger, he at the same time inherited his will, even if he isn't exactly aware of it. Now that's a thought!

This is a tiny little scene, with Zoro being attentive. This detail brought back warm memories. Zoro was definitely not acting like this in Zou, which were similar circumenstances! In both scenarios the crew discovers a ransacked place. In Zou, Zoro thinks the gate is simply open, not paying attention. Law corrects him, pointing out stuff, and Zoro soon catches on, trying to do the same ("something wrong with the road too!"), a bit like he wants a praise, haha. Anyway, Zoro inspecting this door to the castle (it was broken from the inside, you can tell by the damage it left, and it's something that happened recently too!) is the Zoro who is smarter after spending some time with his pal Law :) that's Law's influence on him, right there. God I miss Law.

Cute moment with Rodo being a big chicken and Nami reassuring him. Her intention here isn't dictated by kindness. She commented just a moment ago that "this is too vast to be walkable". She was nice because she wanted Rodo to carry her, so she doesn't have to walk so much. But for that to happen, she needed to convince Rodo to be brave and walk inside together with them, lol. Zoro of course joins in for the ride, because he's a lazyass like that (he did the same thing in Punk Hazard, lol. always riding on Brownbeard's tail). It's worth noting he's resting his swords, is that a small bit of trust?

It's cute how Luffy remembers Rodo's name. I guess it's because Rodo is part of the Hajrudin's crew. Seems Luffy took it to heart to remember the members of his own fleet, which is admirable for someone who has such poor memory like Luffy, lol. So he remembers Hajrudin, Stansen and Rodo now. I think Rodo is actually really appreciating it. Not only did Rodo capture Strawhats, Luffy doesn't even hold it against him. In fact, he had quite a blast in his lego town, was a bit sad to leave it so soon and regretted they had to destroy some of the stuff. In other words, Luffy actually likes Rodo. Luffy usually likes good people and doesn't believe anyone is unworthy of living, keep that in mind.

The interior of the Aurust castle is quite interesting. Some speculate the name comes from english word for owl (who knows, who knows). What are those catacombs down there (they remind me of catacombs in Alabasta that we could explore in One Piece Odyssey, they were also destroyed, and it wasn't because of Crocodile)? Why did everything overgrow like this in mere 14 years? And why was this place out of access, to the point that no one even buried the Giants that got killed in the battle? Things are really suspicious.

We also learn about ancient giant blood which often shows as the presence of horns. Ain't that interesitng?

And we finally learn how King Harold looked like. I swear he reminds me of Kratos, lol. Minus the moustache. Some people pointed out he also looks a bit like Kaido, and since we know that Kaido also had horns (as well as Yamato) and was always kinda huge (though not Giant sized), it would make sense. But I'm not sure he's another illegitimate child of Harold, I think Kaido's blood is more dilluted, that's why he's not big like a Giant himself, unlike Hajrudin!

This brings up a question though. Hajrudin doesn't seem to have horns, and we have no idea if Loki's ones are real or just a helmet (though one of his horns on his helmet was glued back on, if you look closely). Does it mean there's no guarantee to have the horns as a child of someone who has them?

Apparently King Harold ripped his horns off as the declaration of changing his ways and seeking peace, which I think makes sense, since he was known as Great Warrior, he wasn't born a pacifist. Do you think Loki, his son, did a similar thing? is it possible Loki at some point blinded himself, as a sign of his conviction? Perhaps, like Fujitora, he couldn't stand the sight of the world and all the atrocities he saw in it. Yeah, I don't think all that rampage in the palace was caused by Loki. But I could believe Loki saw it all with his own eyes and blinded himself afterwards, having enough of seeing so much cruelty. That could be why the gentle and kindhearted Loki we heard about from Lola's flashback turned into bitter destroyer of the worlds he thinks he is today. Yeah, there's still so many possible explanations and none is truly dismissed yet.

But there's one more possibility here I wanna mention. Loki might have been framed, but instead of trying to tell people the truth, he decided to push that lie and took the blame on himself. Maybe he knew people would blame him anyway, because of that stupid prophecy, and Loki doesn't really believe in opposing his fate. But that would mean Jarul knows what actually happened and lied to us (he did avert his eyes when he talked about Loki). That sword he has in his helmet seems to belong to King Harold, btw. We don't have a proper close-up of it in the portait, but the handle has the exact same, unusual shape. I think it's more likely King Harold attacked Jarul with it rather than Loki stole his sword and tried to kill his father with it. It just makes more sense, you know. Maybe Harold was manipulated (Mingo's strings?) or maybe he was never the nice ruler everyone thought he is, or maybe he went insane. My bet personally is still on Government turning against Giants. That circle in the throne room must have been there before, I wouldn't be surprised if God Knights entered through it before and caused all that massacre we saw remnants of, and blamed it all on Loki. Government always lies and discards the pieces it doesn't need anymore. After all, everyone are just insects to them.

But why would God Knights want Loki? Okay, hear me out. Not only Loki didn't deny the blame they put on him (which put him ironically in their favour, heh), he also ate his father's devil fruit. It's likely to assume most if not all God Knights wield powerful devil fruits. Maybe that's why they killed Harold, to get his fruit (it is said to be one of the most powerful fruits after all!). But before they could do it, Loki ate it and ran off or chased them away. I'm still not sure what is Jarul's role in all of this though. Why is he not telling the truth, if that's the case? Did Loki asked him not to? Or was Jarul's life spared on the condition he never shares the truth of the event, and as the result he was the one who commanded the castle to be abandoned and sealed away, so that no one knows the truth. I hope we will get more leads, this honestly feels like an investigation of a crime scene, haha.

Jarul seems to know more than he seems to. 1. Gerd and Goldberg want to report to him after they check on Rodo, because they witnessed a giant crow carrying a ship. Goldberg also mentions "they're supposed to arrest intruders" back then (chapter 1130). Compare that to what Jarul said to Luffy: "not many humans make it here and mistake Underworld for actual Elbaf". Still think he didn't downplay that comment on purpose? Let me spell it out again so it sinks in: they arrest intruders who make it all the way up to Elbaf. They're not welcoming strangers in their land in general, period. Jarul sold Luffy the "nice version" instead of the truth. 2. Someone put those guards to keep an eye on the abandoned castle. That someone was most likely Jarul as well, because he's the only one besides Loki who knows what actually happened on that fateful day. Who are those guards protecting the castle from? Possible intruders from the summoning circle? Definitely not, the guards were clearly dumbfounded by their appearance. They guard this castle so that no unauthorized folk comes inside. Just like Rodo said it - no commoners, himself included, are allowed inside. Jarul doesn't want most people to know what's exactly in the castle.

Few thoughts here. First of all, Rodo is a great exposition device AND an excellent nerd guide. He shares all those trivias and bits of history, god bless him that he's accompanying the Strawhats. Too bad other Giants do not appreciate him much.

Second thought: when he says that Hajrudin holds the grudge against Loki, he adds "sadly" (in Japanese the way he says it emphasized the "sad" part even more, suggesting Hajrudin was "the most sad out of all people" about Loki's betrayal). That sentiment there suggests Hajrudin and Loki weren't on bad terms in the past, but King Harold's death sadly changed that. That could explain why Loki was never seemingly interested in becoming a ruler himself, he probably knew Hajrudin wanted to become one (it was his dream since he was a child, as we learn thanks to the tiny flashback of Rodo) and he was gentle and kind himself so he supported his own brother in his dream. Even after whatever shit happened in the castle, Loki never changed his mind about it... if that's the case, that's some true brotherly love right there. Hajrudin on the other hand probably wants to defeat Loki now, but thinks he can't (perhaps because of that devil fruit). We met Hajrudin in Dressrosa, he was trying to win the flame flame fruit back then, probably hoping it would make him stronger to take down Loki.

Luffy realizes he's butting into a conflict between brothers, oh boy.

Third thought: I absolutely adore how Rodo points out humans also kill each other and they're not any better from Giants having infights. Though just afterwards his pride takes over and he declares other races of Giants are inferior, but seeing his answer to Nami's comment he's not ignorant, he's really self-aware of his shortcomings here. Perhaps he wished he could change himself. Not surprising, considering he is serious when he declares he wants Hajrudin to become king of the giants and unite all the giant races. He's struggling, but he does strive to become better!

Rodo in the flashback is absolutely adorable and kinda a crybaby. Didn't I speculate in one of my chapter commentaries that Rodo seemed to me like a bullied nerd since he was a child? well, bingo. He indeed was. But it wasn't Gerd who saved him but Hajrudin instead. Which is why he considers him his friend and supports his dream, despite having tainted thoughts about pure bloodlines and other prejudice. I can't really blame him, seems he was always bullied and still is, to some extent. No one really cared when Rodo was carried all tied up to the tavern, for example. And I don't think Giants are so dedicated to humans in general, like Gerd or Dorry and Brogy.

There might be a reason why Rodo is roleplaying a sun god in his lego dioramas, he's fantasizing about a world in which he won't be bullied and has some agency instead. Power fantasies yep. But like we can see, he also has a submissive side to him. All in all, I think he would just want to live in a place where he isn't bullied and everyone are accepted, even if he has hard time believing it could be possible. No wonder, if you're bullied your whole life it's hard to imagine a better world. But Hajrudin could and Hajrudin wanted to be friends with him, and that was enough for Rodo to have restored just a tiny bit of faith back in "humanity", or rather, "giantity".

Rodo also has a good heart and is shy, he doesn't want to admit to the Strawhats that Hajrudin was his saviour. Instead he focuses on how awesome Hajrudin is: "straightforward, earnest, endured a lot but doesn't give up". He has a lot of gratitude and compassion for his friend, and would rather speak about him than his own struggles. We know how good of an intuition Zoro has, he probably sensed Rodo is hiding something (just like he did before with Robin or Okiku), he just doesn't know what or why, which is why he's prying Rodo with so many questions here. It's actually a huge step forward from his judging attitude with Robin, he would rather inquire now than show full distrust. But after hearing Rodo's answer about Hajrudin Zoro recognized they're similar to each other, him and Rodo, both were saved by their respective captains and want to repay them with loyalty and support, but are too shy to admit the real reason for it. This is the moment Zoro decided Rodo is alright, actually. He got Zoro's seal of approval and perhaps a bit of disappointment (seems Zoro won't be cutting him today lol).

I find the way Zoro phrased it very funny and dishonest though: "You're an understanding guy, how boring". Yeah, he for sure doesn't think it's boring, he's just too shy to admit he's not that much different himself, pfff. Always trying to act so cool. It's even more underlined by the "nanda wataseba" comment at the beginning, suggesting Rodo's dream is a hand-over (he's trying to make someone else's dream come true and it became his own dream). Nami saw right through him there though which is why she laughed btw.

Speaking of Rodo, I dunno why so many people still can't find him likable and instead would show sympathy towards Gunko of all people. Her personality sucks! And she is a God Knight, what happened to the idea of "you're a bad person if you're truly supporting the Government"? She's the embodiment of exactly that! Doesn't apply anymore because she is pretty and flashed her panties and has a cool devil fruit? Geez. I'm just saying, it's less embarrassing to like Rodo than Gunko, he's a better person than she is. Gunko is so high and mighty, fully embracing superiority complex of a celestial dragon. I somehow get a sentiment that she was one of those recruits who always wanted "a better life" and considered becoming a God Knight as a chance to change her fate. Or perhaps she is trying to rationalize her own choice, heh.

Seems to me like Loki's threats are a bit hollow though. But I like his unyielding spirit! Though if he gave in now he would have let down his beasts friends that sacrificed themselves for him, so it's not like he had a choice, he had to act tough. I wonder if he's really so strong or is he just benefitting from the lies told about him...

And here we have him, the face and name reveal. Figarland Shamrock, son of Garling and captain of God's Knights, as well as a Celestial Dragon. Now, who is Shanks? Is he his twin? They sure are hauntingly look alike. Or perhaps is Shanks the clone? I guess we still don't have a definitive answer, but we know one thing for sure now: Shanks and Shamrock are two seperate people. I guess he's kinda handsome. I prefer more Shanks bratty attitude though. I wonder if the two ever met before... I would assume they did. Elbaf is Shanks territory and he said "he stayed a bit too long" and met Loki who called him a coward (perhaps for not releasing him or standing up to Shamrock?). Suspiciously enough we never saw the beginning of the conversation between God Knights and Loki, perhaps because Loki was already expecting them. I know people are already burying the "Shanks is the rat" theory, but I think it's a bit too soon to do that, lol. There's always a possibility the brothers are somewhat working together. Would I like it personally though? Meh, depends if there's a good reason for it.

For now I don't have any particular sympathy or antipathy towards Shamrock. I'm not opposed to the "twins" or "clones" idea here either. It all depends how it will be exected and I will keep my eye on this development. Still, I'm kinda glad it wasn't Shanks who had that secret meeting with Gorosei, just because it never truly fit Shanks to be there.

New piece of lore at the end of the chapter! In the past, Elbaf Giants dominated the whole sea of the New World, which is an interesting trivia to remember. It kinda makes sense, now after we know how strong they used to be!

A note about God Knights. They're called kishidan in Japanese which means something akin to "knights' order," suggesting a warrior group that hold values of honor and valor in high regard. Reminds me of those statues of warriors at the entry to the Red Line above, you know which one:

I wonder if there's some connection. Maybe a new incarnation of the old tradition. After all, who is the God the God Knights are named after? Imu? If so, what title does he hold? Another Sun God perhaps?

Yes, I'm insane like that, heh. But honestly, why not. Luffy is a Sun God, Bonney is a Sun God, Loki is a Sun God, Imu can be one too, lol.

More links on analysis of the last chapters:

Luffy says again he's not the hero and Nika has got nothing to do with him (standalone post of mine)

A video from Japanese translator dedicated to the Shamrock reveal, talking a lot about linguistics. We learn from it that Shamrock is probably not holding the same title his father did (Supreme Commander) but instead a lower rank captain, which checks out in my analysis of his behaviour too. There's some interesting trivia included about the ranks Dragon and Drake hold, suggesting that Drake is just a captain and there are probably higher ranked people in Sword above him :) interesting. I'm pretty certain this will turn out to be true.

Analysis of Gunko's Arrow-Arrow Fruit done by Tekking. Pretty good one. Everything besides his point about it perhaps being a logia I agree with. I probably won't pay too much attention to Gunko, because so far I'm not fond of her at all, but other people got you covered. She has a lot of fans already 😅

Elbaf's lore and investigation on King Harold and Loki done by Joyboy. He has actually two videos about that. His interpretations are kinda different from mine, so if you want to collect opinions and speculations to form your own theories, this is definitely something you shouldn't miss :)

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