Summary
- The Elbaf mural in One Piece Chapter 1138 reveals key details about previous worlds and the Nika fruit.
- Luffy and Loki both possess Sun God Nika Devil Fruits, hinting at a connection to world destructions.
- The mural suggests a final battle between Nika users and a dark foe, sparking theories of the story’s ultimate villain.
Of the many reveals in One Piece’s Elbaf arc, none has been as monumental for the greater lore of the story than the ancient mural etched onto the Adam Tree. Chapter 1138 of the manga finally showed this mural to fans, prompting many to call this the best chapter in the entire franchise since the double-spread at the end showed the largest lore drop the series has ever seen, although it still raised more questions than it answered.
As such, one of the biggest aspects of this mural relates to the previous worlds of One Piece, which were briefly teased earlier on in the arc. Knowledge of these worlds is vague, but fans have been speculating about them non-stop, which has led to the popular theory which states that each of these destructions is tied to both versions of the Nika fruit, so let’s take a look at how this could be.
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The Nika Fruits And The Destruction Of The World
How Important Both Nika Fruits Truly Are
|
Elbaf Mural Debut |
One Piece, Chapter 1138, “Harley” |
|---|---|
|
Nika Fruit Users |
Luffy, Loki |
Ever since the Wano arc revealed that Luffy’s Devil Fruit was actually the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika the entire time, everything that fans thought they knew about Devil Fruits changed. With the existence of Sun God Nika and the mention of many other Gods at different points in One Piece, the concept of God Fruits entered the story, which sought to bring these power-ups to the forefront.
However, Elbaf threw yet another massive reveal to top all of this off; that Luffy isn’t the only user of a Sun God Nika Devil Fruit. Loki is generally considered to be the greatest threat in the eyes of the Giants of Elbaf due to the unparalleled power granted to him by the legendary Devil Fruit of the Elbaf Royal Line, which supposedly also grants him the ability of a Sun God Nika. Seeing as how there are two Nika fruits and Elbaf revealed there to be two previous destructions of the world, a notable connection arises.
According to the Harley Texts, the world has been destroyed twice before and the name of Sun God Nika is invoked after each instance.
When telling Luffy about this lore, Jarul mentioned that the world has been destroyed twice before and, in each instance, the name of Sun God Nika appears. This has split the population of Elbaf into two camps; those who believe that Nika was a liberator deity who saved the world, and those who believe that he was an evil God who destroyed it. With this theory, however, both options can be true.
It is known that Luffy and Loki are both wielders of Sun God Devil Fruits which give them immeasurable power to do as they please. Along with this, there’s an interesting detail regarding the concept of Inherited Will, which ties into Devil Fruits because these are recurring objects, and when a user of these fruits dies, they are eventually reformed somewhere in the world. Because of this, many believe that the version of the Nika fruit that Luffy has is the one used by the liberator and Loki’s version is the one used by the destroyer.
It is unclear how the destructions of the world came to be, but it’s well documented that Joyboy was a good person who sought to liberate and bring people up. Eventually, though, he lost his final battle against Imu and the forces of what would later become the World Government at the end of the Void Century, which is classified as the second destruction of the world. This makes sense considering Luffy is the one who eventually got this Devil Fruit and is largely doing the same thing Joyboy wanted to. In the same vein, the first destruction likely came at the hands of an evil character who was also known as Nika, whose Devil Fruit is now in the possession of Loki.
By this explanation, it becomes quite clear why both instances of the world’s destruction seem to have differing accounts of who Nika truly was. The mural also depicts the united races in their final battle against a massive, dark foe, where Nika is accompanied by a Giant who looks suspiciously like Loki. Because of this, most fans are convinced that Loki will use his destructive Nika powers for good to help Luffy in his ultimate battle.
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Both Sun Gods Versus The Final Villain
How The Final Battle Could Look
Details regarding the Elbaf mural are still incredibly vague, though many fans have come up with completely differing theories about what it could mean. Most notable about this is the entire left side, which most are convinced depicts the Third World, which is yet to come to pass. Here, it shows Nika and the united races of the world banding together to fight a final foe, whom the common consensus states to be Imu.
However, a small contingent of fans believe that there is a bit of a misnomer about this part of the mural. They say the obvious answer of the giant figure being Imu may be a purposeful Red Herring, and that Oda could greatly subvert everyone’s expectations and make Blackbeard the true final villain of the story, which would make perfect sense judging by his thematic importance and connections to Luffy.
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