This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc.
Summary
- Oda revealed the legendary Pirate Scopper Gaban, a former member of Roger Pirates, who is on par with Roger and Rayleigh.
- Scopper Gaban, known as the Mountain Eater, faced hundreds of enemies alone, showing his immense strength and feared reputation.
- Gaban challenges Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, proving his top-tier status by confidently testing them to retrieve Loki’s key, showcasing his power.
One Piece chapter 1139 marked the end of a 4-week run, and while this chapter wasn’t groundbreaking in terms of lore, it was exciting in other ways. Fans were absolutely delighted to see the story introduce a living legend, and this entire chapter was basically there to hype him into oblivion. For the fans following our theories, making a guess as to who this character is should’ve been quite easy.
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It is a character who fans had been waiting decades for to see in the story, and definitely an individual with tremendous strength up his sleeve. This man served on the ship of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, as his very left-hand man, carrying immense might in his two axes, and his name is Scopper Gaban. Finally, after decades of waiting, Scopper Gaban has made his introduction in the story, and while the chapter was rather short, it was one that focused entirely on Gaban, making it special in more ways than one.
Luffy, Zoro, and Nami Meet Scopper Gaban
- Scopper Gaban Is The Mystery Man Of Elbaf
- Oda Reveals A Legendary Pirate
Last week, Oda specifically chose to focus on the mystery man of Elbaf right around the time when Shanks was being spoken of. Luffy was seen talking to the Giants about Shanks and his family, and naturally, he brought up the Roger Pirates. Immediately after that, Oda cut away to the mysterious man, telling the fans that this individual was most certainly a former member of the Roger Pirates. As such, fans already knew that Roger and Rayleigh were out of the way for the identity of this man, as expected.
Do you know what kind of a man Loki is? What will you do when things go south? — Scopper Gaban
Roger is dead, and Rayleigh is on Amazon Lily. This leaves behind only one other major relevant character and that’s none other than Scopper Gaban. In One Piece chapter 1139, Oda finally introduced fans to Scopper Gaban, and this happened as the Straw Hat Pirates continued exploring the Giant Aurust Castle. At some point, they had to reach the Throne Room, which is where the Holy Knights were summoned, and that is precisely where fans saw Oda take them this week.
Curiously enough, the summoning circle was also seen on the ground still, meaning this is the place where the fans will see another member of the Holy Knights pop out from. Given that Shamrock is on the move already, it is bound to happen very soon. Regardless of that, fans also got to see a mysterious person sitting on the throne, and this person was first revealed as a resident of Elbaf and a former Pirate who goes by the name of Ya-san. It wasn’t long until fans put two and two together and figured out that he was actually Scopper Gaban. The glasses and the use of an axe was a dead giveaway, and Oda then proceeded to hype up this legendary individual to no end, finally telling the fans that he was none other than Scopper Gaban.
The Legend Of The Mountain Eater
Scopper Gaban Is Known Far And Wide
In One Piece chapter 1139, fans also saw the story cut away to the giant banquet being held outside the Aurust Castle in the Western Elbaf Village. This time around, Oimo and Kashi were seen talking about the mystery man of Elbaf and it is here that they confirmed him to be Gaban. Specifically, they also went on to say that apart from Roger, there were two other monsters on the Roger Pirates, meaning Roger definitely wasn’t the only top tier on the Roger Pirates crew. Along with him were Rayleigh, who fans know as this Dark King, and the Mountain Eater, Scopper Gaban. As for the Mountain Eater epithet, the story about how he earned it is rather incredible.
As I told you, he’s been living here for over 20 years! The man who stood as an equal to Roger and Rayleigh, Scopper Gaban! — Oimo and Kashi
One day, Roger was battling his illness and had to go in for his treatment. To help him out, Scopper Gaban took him to the mountains where a hospital lay deep within. Somehow, Roger’s enemies found out that he was at the hospital and decided to surround the mountains in an attempt to kill him and Gaban.
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However, Scopper Gaban decided to protect his captain and faced them all by himself. On that day, he took on hundreds upon hundreds of pirates with just his two axes and slaughtered them all. Once he was done with the pirates, the destruction done to the terrain was absolutely massive. It is said that the entire mountain was stripped bare, leaving behind not even a single tree in sight. It was as if Gaban ate the entire mountain, and this is precisely what gave him the title of “Mountain Eater” Scopper Gaban. According to Jinbe, this take is famous all over the world.
Scopper Gaban Challenges Luffy, Zoro, and Nami
Gaban Is Not Intimidated By A Yonko
Given Gaban’s legendary feats, it is no surprise to know that this man is quite strong. In fact, Oda chose to hype him up tremendously in the chapter. It is said that Scopper Gaban is so strong that he rivaled Vice Captain Rayleigh himself and stood proud as the Left-hand man of Gol D. Roger.
That’s certainly not all! This chapter explicitly stated that Gaban was so strong that he was considered to be a pirate on par with legends like Roger and Rayleigh. This means that, without a doubt, Scopper Gaban is an individual who is a top tier, around the same level as the Yonko of the One Piece world. Back in his prime days, Gaban must’ve been an absolute beast, and even though he’s likely weaker right now, he is a monster still. This was shown clearly in the chapter when Gaban led the crew down into a secret base inside the Aurust Castle, and presented the key to Loki’s chains, which is what the Straw Hat Pirates had been looking for all this time.
But, to take the key, the Straw Hat Pirates have to fight him, meaning that Gaban is essentially testing them here. For a man to confidently challenge a Yonko and their right hand just goes to show how immensely powerful he must be, and this clash is surely going to excite the fans to no end. Unfortunately, One Piece is on break right now, and the story will continue in two weeks. But, after four weeks of absolutely groundbreaking reveals, one after another, Oda has done more than enough to earn this break. For now, fans have enough content to theorize about, especially when considering the Elbaf Mural, and once One Piece returns, Luffy will be tested by Roger’s very own left-hand man.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1140, is set to be February 23, 2025.
One Piece
- 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)
