On August 30, 2010, 16 years ago, one piece Chapter 597 was released, titled “3D2Y”, which set the first major time skip in the series. This time skip lasted for two years, and the Straw Hat Pirates underwent tremendous training to reunite, and then traveled to the New World, the most dangerous sea in the world. one piece.
Now, 16 years later, the Straw Hat Pirates are facing another situation that could lead to a timeskip in the series. This time the time skip is not set up due to the training arc, but simply due to the way time works in Elbaf. As has been teased several times in the story, the way time is perceived on Elbaf appears to be completely different compared to the outside world, paving the way for a major time skip once the crew leaves the land of giants.
One Piece's distorted Elbaf timeline has officially established a mini timeskip to the outside world.
one piece Episode 1132, which was officially released in the first issue of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump on December 2, 2024, provided the first important hint about time being perceived differently in Elbaf. This hint comes directly from a note written by explorer Louis Arnote warning visitors to Elbaf that although Elbaf is a wonderful land, they should not be overly welcome in the country. At the time, this may have been dismissed as some sort of warning not necessarily related to time being perceived differently in the country.
“Plants, trees, vines, flowers, insects, fish, birds… everything is breathtakingly large. Adventurers, don't regret the time you spend here. But if you take one message away from my tales of the vast and mysterious land of Elbaf, let it be this word of warning: 'Don't stay here too long.'” — Louis Arnot, explorer
but, one piece In episode 1152, which was officially released on June 23, 2025, it was confirmed that Elbaf perceives time differently. This happened in a flashback between Shanks and Scopper Gaban, where Scopper Gaban said he felt it had only been three years since Roger passed away. Shanks corrected himself by saying that Roger had been dead for almost ten years. This means that Elbaf perceives time up to 3.5 times slower than the outside world. This is meaningful considering the age of the giants, who live 3.5 times longer than the giants living in the One Piece world.
Gavan: It’s been a while since we took a bath together. How long has it been, 3-4 years?
Shanks: Get real, Gaban-san! It's been 10 years since the Captain died.
Gavan: That long? It must have felt like an eternity to you!
— Scopper Gaban cannot perceive time in Elbaf.
Another interesting chapter to note is One Piece 1149, released on May 26, 2025, in which Nerona Imu made her official debut in Elbaf through Gunko's body. When Imu arrived through Gunko's body, he asked the paladins why it was taking so long. Because the Holy Land was a sea of fire. But it didn't take long. Less than two hours have passed since the Paladins began moving to Elbaf. Obviously, a lot of time had passed for Imu, but only two hours remained for the paladins.
Moreover, when Nero or Imu decided to descend on Elbaf in One Piece Chapter 1178, released on March 30, 2026, it was seen that almost no time had passed in Elbaf itself, even though the fire that Imu spoke of in Shueisha WSJ Issue #18 had already gone out. Apparently there is some sort of time dilation going on in Elbaf, which causes people within the country to perceive time much slower than those outside. In other words, when Luffy and the Straw Hats left Elbaf, time may have passed much faster outside than inside.
“Elders, the Holy Land will be without radish for a while!” — Nero or Imu leaves Mariejois. One Piece Episode 1178
Why the One Piece world is weeks ahead of Elbaf
In his current situation, Elbaf appears to perceive time very differently from the outside world. one piece. To be clear, the people in Elbaf and the rest are the same age. A year in Elbaf is technically still a year in the outside world. However, those within Elbaf feel as if much less time has passed, as officially confirmed by Scopper Gaban and Nerona Imu in the Elbaf arc.
In other words, it may feel like the Straw Hat Pirates spent a month in Elbaf, but in reality, the time they spent in Elbaf was much longer. This means that the outside world will change significantly during this period. A lot would have changed if I had been outside for a few months. for example:
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The war against the World Government would have progressed rapidly.
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The siege of Marijoa may have taken place.
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A battle would have taken place between the Holy Knights and the revolutionary army.
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The Yonko would have moved.
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Some major battles would have unfolded.
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Princess Bibi's situation would have changed drastically.
Apparently, Eiichiro Oda is preparing a massive information dump, keeping in mind that a major timeskip will take place outside of the Giants' home country.
One Piece's mini timeskip will bring the final war closer
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind regarding the Elbaf Arc is that the country's new time dilation could potentially bring the final war much closer. One Piece's Final War Arc has long been hyped by Eiichiro Oda, and he even believes it to be much larger in scale than Marineford. We don't doubt Oda's claims, but the wait for this long arc always felt long.
“One of the motivations for continuing to draw One Piece is that I want to draw the final saga. The final saga will be so amazing that the Marineford arc will seem like nothing. The Marineford arc was just a short trip for me. I had no idea it would be so popular.” — Eiichiro Oda, 2012
Now, if there was a possibility to skip time, the war between the Revolutionary Army and the Holy Knights could have progressed significantly, and the Yonko might have already intervened. This means that the Straw Hats may enter the final war immediately after leaving Elbaf, which is also a competition for One Piece itself. This is also consistent with Eiichiro Oda's remarks at Jump Festa 2026 held on December 21, 2025. There he said that the next installment would take Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates straight to an island where only the Pirate King has ever set foot. We'd like to see how things play out after the end of the Elbaf Arc, and the mini timeskip set up to let everything unfold. I hope Eiichiro Oda achieves great things.
All new chapters of Eiichiro Oda's One Piece manga can be read through Manga Plus and Biz Media.
