Chapters · Final Saga › Elbaf

Chapter 1178: Waking from a Nightmare

Arc: Elbaf · Saga: Final Saga · Released:

Summary

Gear-5 Luffy flies past Sanji’s group, dropping off the battered Usopp and Brook (“Take care of them!!”) and refusing giant backup — “Loki’s gonna get pretty reckless!!” (“Coming from YOU?!” — Sanji) (p.2). Over Elbaf, the colossal black dragon (Loki as Niddhoggr, per ch.1177) blasts at a tiny bat-winged flyer carrying a trident — “Damn, she escaped… Too tiny!!” — while a hooded, goggled, archaic-voiced speaker narrates: some years ago a ship of giants, its captain “especially gigantic,” shrouded itself in deep mist and attacked only government assets; at the same time rumors spread of “a massive flying creature” — “and so the dots connect…” (pp.3–4). Then “something popped out!!!”: a black, slit-eyed amorphous entity — Imu’s essence leaving its host (the Imu-ridden Gunko, per chs.1174/1177; a long-haired body lies collapsed nearby) — hisses “If only thou wouldst vanish… off the face of the earth… as ROCKS did!!!” and spears black tendrils into both the dragon and Luffy: “Ye shalt hate one another!! …I will give ye greater strength… in exchange for a portion of thy lifespan… Diabolical covenant. DOMI… REVERSI!!” (pp.4–5). It fails — Luffy: “This doesn’t even hurt!! And what did you just say about Rocks?!”; the entity: “As I suspected… ye are both…” (p.6). Too colossal to fight so small a target, Loki de-transforms (“I was just too big before”); Luffy pounds the entity with “DAWN GATLING!!!”; Ratatoskr swoops in with Ragnir (“Look out, Luffy!!!”), and Loki’s hammer-blow “NIBELHEIM!!!” crystallizes/seals the black mass — which protests, “Wait, I haven’t gotten in enough…” — before Loki poofs back to full giant size, unsure “who that is in there” (pp.6–8). Across Elbaf the nightmare ends: Fishermen/Huntsmen villages (p.9) and Brewers/Craftsmen villages (p.12) report no enemies left but fires everywhere; Nami drives Zeus to rain; the ODC system strains; a demon-beast is shoulder-thrown into the ocean current; giants grumble that Loki saved them yet wrecked their villages “just like always,” and marvel “so it turns out Loki DIDN’T kill King Harald?” (p.9). Recovered giants apologize for being “taken over by some wicked urge” — Dorry and Brogy, restored, admit “we failed to resist it too” — and Chopper discovers his blows simply cure the demonic power (“flip back to white”) (pp.10–11). At the Owl Library, Robin and Saul find the shelves empty but not one charred book — Biblo the owl is missing too (pp.12–13). The three Holy Knights are beaten (“it’s only three of ‘em”), left trussed and rolling (“Curse you…”), one shark-toothed knight demanding “What happened to Great Imu?!” — while a black-spotted remnant slithers quietly away (pp.13–14). At ruined Sacred Marijoa, in the Chamber of Flowers of Pangaea Castle, the Five Elders answer “Yes, Great Imu?” — and the cloaked, glow-eyed silhouette declares: “I will be leaving… the Holy Land for a time.” (p.15) To be continued.

New reveals

• Imu manifests and fights on-page. A black, slit-eyed amorphous entity “pops out” of its host in Elbaf, speaks in Imu’s archaic register, and acts directly (pp.4–8). It is splattered by Dawn Gatling and sealed by Nibelheim — yet its last words are “Wait, I haven’t gotten in enough…” and a black-spotted remnant later slithers away (p.14).
• ”…As Rocks did.” Imu-entity: “If only thou wouldst vanish… off the face of the earth… as ROCKS did!!!” (p.5) — Imu itself frames Rocks’ fate as an erasure it desires to repeat.
• The Diabolical Covenant / Domi Reversi, cast by Imu directly — terms verbalized on-page: “greater strength… in exchange for a portion of thy lifespan,” plus “ye shalt hate one another” (p.5). It fails on both Luffy and Loki — “This doesn’t even hurt!!” / “As I suspected… ye are both…” (p.6).
• Chopper’s blows cure demonization. “…and it cures their demonic power!! I dunno why… but all I have to do is hit them…” — the dark coating peels off and victims “flip back to white” (pp.10–11). Supersedes/contradicts ch.1176’s “only fatal damage frees them” rule. Dorry and Brogy stand restored (pp.10–11).
• Loki publicly cleared of regicide. Huntsmen Village giants: “So it turns out Loki didn’t kill King Harald?” — though they still blame him for wrecking their villages “just like always” (p.9).
• The Owl Library’s books were removed, not burned. “The fire was definitely ragin’ on the inside here… The shelves are all empty… but I don’t see a single charred book.” — and Biblo the owl is gone (pp.12–13).
• A covert giant raider fleet once hit only WG assets. Narrated rumor: a mist-shrouded ship of giants with an “especially gigantic” captain attacked only government assets while unseen; simultaneous rumors of “a massive flying creature” — “and so the dots connect” (pp.3–4) — implicitly tying Niddhoggr to years of covert anti-Government raids.
• Imu announces it will leave the Holy Land “for a time” — the Five Elders are visibly shocked (”?!!”) (p.15).
• Named techniques: Luffy — “Dawn Gatling” (no prior vault occurrence; likely first print, p.7); Loki — “Ragnir” (hammer, delivered by Ratatoskr, p.7) and “Nibelheim” (hammer seal/crush, p.8; prior use @1171).

Foreshadowing seeds planted

Payoffs (seeds from earlier chapters that resolve here)

Mentions / appearances

• Characters: Luffy (Gear 5; “Dawn Gatling”), Imu (black entity in Elbaf, pp.4–8; cloaked silhouette at Pangaea Castle, p.15), Prince Loki (Niddhoggr dragon → de-transformed hammer-fighter → giant; “Ragnir,” “Nibelheim”), Gunko (the tiny bat-winged trident flyer / vacated host body — inference from chs.1174/1177; face never captioned this chapter), Sanji, Usopp & Brook (dropped off, battered), Zoro (VIZ “Zolo,” goggled, Western Village), Tony Tony Chopper (cure discovery), Nami + Zeus (rain), Nico Robin & Saul (Owl Library), Dorry & Brogy (restored “captains”), Ratatoskr (delivers Ragnir; post-battle food-begging, oddly cube-shaped), Biblo (missing — named, not shown), Lilith (likely — “There’s only so much the ODC system can do!!,” p.9 — inference via Omni-Drain Converter), Jinbei (likely — “Shoulder throw!!!” into the “ocean current,” p.9 — technique-style inference), Sommers (likely — shark-toothed captive demanding “What happened to Great Imu?!,” p.13 — inference), Killingham (his sleeptid nightmare context; likely among the trussed, p.14 — inference), King Harald (mentioned), Rocks (mentioned by Imu!), Eustass Kid (cover only), a horned blonde giantess with Sanji’s group (possibly Gerd — uncertain), Five Elders (“Yes, Great Imu?”).
• Groups / lore: Holy Knights (“it’s only three of ‘em”), Straw Hat Pirates, Giant Warrior Pirates, Giants, Sun God Nika (implicit — Nika/Niddhoggr pairing), Omni-Drain Converter (“ODC system”).
• Devil Fruits / powers: Gomu Gomu no Mi (Dawn Gatling; covenant-immune), Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model Niddhoggr (de-transformation; “too big” drawback), Arrow-Arrow Fruit (Domi Reversi — here cast by Imu directly; whose power is it?).
• Locations: Elbaf (VIZ caption spelling “Elbaph,” p.9), Western Village, Fishermen Village, Huntsmen Village, Brewers Village, Craftsmen Village, Owl Library, Mariejois (“Sacred Marijoa,” shown heavily damaged), Pangaea Castle (Chamber of Flowers).

Notable panels

• p.1 — Title page. Reader request: “Kid being chased by a bull charging at his cape” by Annaakoinat (Eustass Kid). Monochrome gag illustration — not a cover-story serial, not a color spread.
• pp.3–4 — The colossal black dragon blasting at the tiny bat-winged trident flyer, overlaid with the hooded narrator’s mist-ship story. Inset speaker: hood, raised goggles, wide grin — identity uncaptioned.
• p.5 — Splash-tier: the black slit-eyed Imu-entity looms; “as ROCKS did!!!”; tendrils stab dragon and Luffy; “Diabolical covenant.” / “DOMI… REVERSI!!” (mirror candidate: Imu’s dark form vs Sabo @1085; the Mu entity seizing Rocks @1164.)
• p.6 — Facing close-ups, Imu-entity vs Gear-5 Luffy, twin “BA-BUMP!!” panels. “As I suspected… ye are both…”
• p.7 — Two round glaring eyes fill the page-top; “DAWN GATLING!!!” barrage splatters the black mass. Ratatoskr pops out of Ragnir (“POP!!”) mid-rescue. (mirror candidate: Imu’s paired-eyes darkness vs 0908/1085 throne-room compositions.)
• p.8 — “NIBELHEIM!!!” — the crystallizing seal (“PAKIINN!!”); the trapped blob: “Wait, I haven’t gotten in enough…”; Luffy: “Whoa!! You can do that as a finisher?!!”; “POOF!!” — Loki back to giant size (adjacent bubble fragment ”…HIDS.” — [unclear]).
• p.9 — Elbaf mop-up montage: Fishermen Village (“Elbaph” spelling), Huntsmen Village; Nami/Zeus rain; “There’s only so much the ODC system can do!!”; ”…Shoulder throw!!!” into the ocean current (“blub blub”).
• pp.10–11 — Restored giants’ apology (“some wicked urge”); Chopper’s cure (“flip back to white”; peeling coats); Brogy’s “gaba ba ba” / Dorry’s “ge gya gya gya.”
• pp.12–13 — Owl Library: Saul dwarfed by the root-cavern shelves, all bare, zero charred books; “where is Biblo now?”
• p.14 — Three trussed ball-figures rolling and groaning (“Yeow!” / “Urf…” / “Curse you…” — likely the beaten Holy Knights; one spiky/beetle-like, consistent with the thorn-man Sommers — inference). “Team Luffy”: cube-shaped Ratatoskr begs Loki for “foog (food)”; a black-spotted remnant slithers away (“zrrrd… fft”).
• p.15 — Final page: ruined Sacred Marijoa; Chamber of Flowers with black butterfly-like shapes; the Five Elders’ “Yes, Great Imu?”; Imu’s cloaked glow-eyed silhouette: “I will be leaving… the Holy Land for a time.” (mirror candidate: restages the 0908/1085 Imu-silhouette grammar.)

Open questions raised

• Was the Elbaf black entity Imu itself, a detached fragment, or a projection — and how is Imu simultaneously (or immediately after) present at Pangaea Castle (p.15)? What did “Wait, I haven’t gotten in enough…” mean — not enough covenant delivered, or not enough of itself inserted into a body?
• What is the end of “As I suspected… ye are both…”? (Both mythical-god vessels? Both covenant-immune? Both D.-adjacent?)
• Why do Chopper’s strikes — and apparently only his — cure the demonic power?
• Who emptied the Owl Library before the fire, and where are Biblo and the books?
• Whose was the mist-shrouded giant ship that attacked only government assets “some years ago” — Loki’s? And who is the hooded narrator recounting it?
• Where is Imu going after leaving the Holy Land — Elbaf? (fringe speculation — do not promote without on-page confirmation.)
• What happened to Gunko’s body after Imu vacated it, and is Domi Reversi her fruit’s power or Imu’s own (Imu cast it entity-handed here)?
• What does the ”…HIDS.” bubble fragment on p.8 say in full? [unclear lettering]