one piece The Elbaf Arc has finally reached its climax as the battle between Immu, Luffy, and Loki duo approaches. one piece Chapter 1178 will see this conflict finally begin, and it will be a chaotic battle with truly high stakes. majority one piece Fans expect Luffy to win this battle, and that's only fair, considering he's the main character. But this battle could have resulted in a worse fate for Luffy than some fans expected. For the first time, Luffy could suffer huge losses, or worse, he could become a weapon under Immu's control in the Holy Land, making this the Straw Hat Pirates' deadliest battle yet.
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Why Elbaf's Final Battle Causes Trouble for Captain Straw Hat
In the final battle of the Elbaf arc, most fans expect Luffy and Loki to team up with Imu and defeat them in a simple fight. However, it became clear that Imu did not fight on his own. Instead, Imu prefers to use those around her to do her dirty work. Therefore, there is no reason for Immu to clash with Luffy and Loki on his own.
The main strategy here is to turn one of the two into a puppet and use it against the other. As the story suggests, Nika and Nidhogg have clashed with each other in the past, so it's very likely that one of them will become Imu's puppet. While the majority of fans expect this to be Loki, another possibility that few have thought of is that Luffy will be overpowered by Imu and completely sidelined, which will benefit the plot in many ways.
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How Luffy gets overwhelmed by Immu
Loki can become Imu's Domi Reversed like Rocks. Impaled by the thread-like appendage, Imu is able to turn him into a puppet and force the arrival of Nika, the God of Liberation, on Elbaf. However, what is important to consider is that Elbaf has long rejected Loki as a destroyer and a bringer of chaos. If Imu makes Loki one of their puppets, he certainly won't get a chance to save his country. Instead, it will be Nika who defeats Loki and saves the country in the process. Loki's own character arc would be unrewarding because people wouldn't be saved by him at all.
For Loki's character arc to be properly rewarded, he must become a defender of his country, especially against forces like the Imu. The expected outcome is that the Domi Reversi are completely abandoned by Elbaf and the Imu overwhelms them in battle. Because this will show that they are not yet ready to face this threat. So far in the story, Luffy has completely destroyed every threat he faced in the Final Saga. Having Imu beat him and give him a reality check would certainly help raise the stakes even further.
Assessing Loki's true role in protecting his country
Loki's true role in the Elbaf arc is to emerge as the nation's protector and change the perception the people of Elbaf had of him. Long ago, Loki was blamed for all the disasters that befell Elbaf. Now, it is Loki who will save them in their hour of greatest need.
I am the sun god who will destroy the whole world! — Rocky
All concerns about Loki will be proven correct if Imu uses Loki as a pawn to destroy Elbaf. This is why you should not go down that path. Loki must become Elbaf's protector and savior, earning the love and respect of those around him.
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Analysis of the role of the sun god Nika in the climax of The Arc.
In the case of the sun god Nika, it is inevitable that she will overwhelm Imu at the end of the story, but it is not surprising that Nika is defeated in the early clash at Elbaf. If Imu defeats Luffy here, it will be a golden opportunity for not only Loki but also the Straw Hat Pirates to shine in battle, and a golden opportunity for Luffy to help Elbaf when he cannot.
This would dramatically raise the stakes of the arc and completely flip the script, pushing Luffy to the side and making Loki, the Giants, and the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates more important than ever. This will also give Luffy a reality check and make him grow stronger. Because he will once again clash with Imu when the Great War actually begins. In some ways, Luffy's fate in Elbaf seems dark, but it only makes him stronger and improves the quality of the overall story.
One Piece Chapter 1178 will be available to read on Manga Plus on March 29, 2026.
one piece
- release date
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October 20, 1999
- network
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Fuji TV
- move
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Ito, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudo, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yuji Endo, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Sato
- author
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Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shoji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda.
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
