This article contains spoilers from the Elbaf arc of One Piece.
One Piece continues to get more exciting with each passing chapter, and this week’s chapter 1168 has officially pushed the ongoing flashback close to its end. This flashback has lasted for quite a long time, which is something that most fans did not foresee.
One Piece: Oda Has Chosen The Final Straw Hat At Last
The final Straw Hat has already been decided. One Piece’s latest chapter strongly implies that.
However, its end is edging closer, which means the death of the strongest character in the world of One Piece 14 years ago is officially on the way. Most fans will already have realized that, at this point in the story, King Harald is quite easily the strongest character, not counting Imu. Imu has been alive for a millennium, but among the mortals, Harald is clearly the strongest, even more powerful than the likes of the Five Elders. Now, his death is officially going to be revealed by Oda in the upcoming chapters.
King Harald Is About To Die In One Piece
King Harald officially died 14 years ago in One Piece. This was revealed to the fans at the beginning of the Elbaf Arc. However, back then, fans knew very little about the kind of person that Harald was, and exactly how he died. The ongoing Elbaf flashback gave a lot of exciting information on Harald, revealing his whole philosophy to the fans, as well as the deal that he made with the devil. Unfortunately, Harald’s naivety led to his downfall after he made the Deep Sea Pact with Imu.
This is my son, Shanks. He’s Shamrock’s younger brother. Once he acquires the power of the Deep Sea Pact, he should become a great asset to us, on the same level as Shamrock himself. — Garling Figarland introducing Shanks to Harald in the Elbaf Arc
This pact allowed Imu to essentially grant him tremendous strength as well as immortality. However, most of all, it put him under Imu’s control. In One Piece chapter 1168, it was clear to see that Imu wanted Harald to use the Giants to create a powerful army to serve him. When Harald rejected the request, Imu essentially took over and tried to force his way through.
This is precisely why Harald is eventually going to die in the flashback. Fans already know that Jarul and Loki were called to the Aurust Castle of Elbaf moments before the death of King Harald. It is during this moment that Harald eventually ended up losing his life. The killer of King Harald was revealed to be none other than Loki, but there is most certainly a deep secret that is lurking behind his death.
Harald Was Made Stronger By Imu Using The Deep Sea Pact
Killing Harald is most certainly not going to be easy for anyone, even Loki. This is because Harald was already as strong as Rocks around 40 years ago in the One Piece world. Since then, he has only grown stronger. After he made a pact with Imu, he actually ended up gaining even more power, as was confirmed by Harald himself. His overall strength increased, and he gained immortality on top. With these two powers, Harald actually surpassed even Rocks in terms of power.
King Harald passed after a vicious battle with Loki. What you are seeing are the scars of that fight. Loki is strong for sure but King Harald was also known to be a Great Warrior in his own right. All this destruction was inevitable. The only surviving members in the castle were Chief Jarul and Loki that day. — Rodo on the Battle in Aurust Castle, 14 Years Ago
One Piece: Oda Confirms Luffy Will Gain A New Haki, But 1 Character Is Far Stronger
Luffy will get a new power-up soon, but this one character remains superior in One Piece.
For someone like him, losing to a Loki that had not even reached his prime at this point in the story is impossible. This is where Elder Jarul potentially comes in. While Loki is most certainly going to be involved deeply in the death of King Harald, fans should keep in mind that more characters are going to be involved here.
Loki Will Kill The Strongest Character In The World 14 Years Ago
Officially, Loki is the one who will be credited with killing Harald. However, Jarul is going to be present there as well, which most certainly means that he is going to fight alongside Loki.
Most importantly, Shanks and Scopper Gaban were revealed by Oda to rush to Aurust Castle on the day of the death of King Harald. They both sensed a very powerful Haki coming from the castle and immediately rushed there.
They were unaware of what exactly happened to Harald or even that he was being controlled by Imu. Regardless, it is highly likely that they joined in and helped Loki kill his father. Of course, Loki likely took the blame and suffered for it deeply, which also goes to show his heroic nature.
It is also important to note that this is where Loki ended up eating his legendary Devil Fruit. It is only a matter of time before fans find out what power Loki truly holds at his disposal, and things are only going to get more exciting as One Piece officially ends its Elbaf flashback and jumps back into the present, where an exciting battle against Imu and the Holy Knights is about to unfold.
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece focuses on the journey of Monkey D. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates as they sail the seas to lay claim to the grand treasure known as the One Piece. The manga is currently in its Final Saga. One Piece will be featured in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1168 is December 7, 2025. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps. Doing so will ensure that fans always support the author.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Network
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Fuji TV
- Directors
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Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
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Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
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Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
