Warning: Contains spoilers for One Piece chapters #1179-#1180.<em>One Piece</em> has given the Straw Hat Pirates their fair share of losses over the years, both as individuals and as a group, but no loss was more devastating than their utter defeat at the hands of Kizaru and Kuma at Sabaody Archipelago 16 years ago. Not only did the two of them completely outclass the Straw Hats, but they were even scattered to the wind by Kuma to add insult to injury, and it completely exposed just how unprepared to continue their journey unless they made some major changes.
The Straw Hat Pirates’ loss at Sabaody Archipelago was one of the biggest events in One Piece that helped completely change the series’ trajectory, and to this day, no other incident has affected them as a group to such a degree. That’s finally set to change with the latest shocking development of One Piece’s Elbaph arc, however, and if the series fully commits to that idea, then it could truly establish Elbaph as a generational arc and a perfect showing of what the final saga has in store.
Why One Piece’s Biggest Fight Needs To End With The Straw Hats Losing
In one of the biggest developments in all of One Piece, Imu left Mary Geoise to personally deal with everything on Elbaph, and One Piece chapter #1180 illustrated just how big a deal that is. Not only did Imu free all of the Holy Knights of God and seemingly empower them even further with his magic, but he singlehandedly defeated the giants and even Zoro and Sanji without so much as breaking a sweat, and even Loki, with all of his power, is bound to suffer a major loss in the next chapter.
Realistically speaking, there’s no way for the Straw Hat Pirates to defeat Imu, and even with the implication that he can’t spend too much time outside of Mary Geoise, he’s likely to destroy the crew before he has to go back, if not at least Luffy. If that does happen, then it would make the Elbaph arc a clear parallel to the Sabaody Archipelago arc in that the Straw Hats reach a major milestone in their journey, only to suffer a cruel reminder of just how much the biggest villains outclass them.
One Piece’s Creator Is Making One Big Mistake With The Ending, and Elbaph Is Proof
Recent arcs have included stunning One Piece revelations that fans have waited decades to see, but the manga’s presentation of the story has changed.
All of that, of course, would be an incredible turn for One Piece to take; not only would the Straw Hats suffering a huge loss to Imu perfectly establish Imu’s power, but it would also do a great job of establishing just how big the stakes are in the final saga and how much work they still have to do to match them. The Sabaody Archipelago arc is loved for how much its dramatic turn changed the manga for the better, and if that effect can be replicated with Imu, it’s something everyone should want to see.
One Piece’s Elbaph Arc Has Never Felt More Exciting
For well over a year now, it’s been easy to make the case that One Piece‘s Elbaph arc is one of the best arcs in One Piece, if not the best. Not only was Harald and Rocks’ flashback arc a masterclass in writing, but the main events of the story have continually pushed the boundaries of what One Piece’s storytelling is capable of with its amazing lore drops, intense action, and emotional highs, all while boasting some of the best art pieces in all of modern One Piece.
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