Summary
- The Gods Knights are powerful Celestial Dragons in One Piece’s Elbaf arc with formidable abilities.
- They are the strongest test for the Straw Hats, setting up tough battles for Zoro, Sanji, and Jimbei.
- Besides the Gods Knights, fans speculate that the Blackbeard Pirates or Cross Guild may emerge as final villains.
The World Government is the greatest enemy in the eyes of the heroes in One Piece. Formed from a coalition of 20 powerful ancient kingdoms, this organization has kept the world under its heel for the past 800 years, promoting xenophobic ideologies and keeping everyone else subservient to the rule of the racist and supremacist Celestial Dragons. Their influence is great, and they can do whatever they want in the world.
As such, it comes as no surprise that one of their most powerful military forces, the Gods Knights, is currently the greatest threat that the heroes face in One Piece’s Elbaf arc. In this article, let’s go over who these terrifying Celestial Dragons are and why they’re so powerful, as well as look at how they may not even be the final villains of this arc, despite everything very clearly pointing towards this outcome.
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The Terrifying Power Of The Gods Knights
How Strong Are They?
|
First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 1134, “The Owl Library” |
|---|---|
|
Story Arc |
Elbaf |
The Gods Knights were only mentioned briefly in the story before they eventually showed up during the Elbaf arc. Once they did, however, they seemed to change the landscape of the One Piece world, since the abilities of Shamrock and Gunko were incredibly powerful, despite there being very little shown of them. Since they arrived, fans have been convinced that these characters will be the final villains of this arc.
Although Shamrock left to go back to the Holy Land, Gunko was then joined by Sommers and Qillingham; two other members of this group who have abilities that are just as formidable to go up against. It’s currently unclear what Shamrock’s inherent powers are, though it’s highly likely that he, just like his twin brother Shanks, doesn’t have a Devil Fruit power and only relies on his incredible Haki. However, it’s almost been confirmed that his sword has gained the powers of the Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit; the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus.
Gunko, on the other hand, has the powers of the Aro Aro no Mi, which allows her to form arrows from her body or even seemingly her shadows. These arrows create an arc that has to be followed no matter what, and it looks as if her attacks follow this path, then the damage she deals is far greater. On top of this, she can manipulate these arrows to do whatever she wants them to. This is paired really well with Sommer’s Devil Fruit power, which allows him to create invisible thorns on whatever he chooses that can pierce even the toughest of armors.
However, no Devil Fruit ability that has been shown so far in Elbaf comes close to the strength of Qillingham’s Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Qilin. This is an Awakened Mythical Zoan Fruit that allows Qillingham to manifest the dreams or nightmares of his target, which is instrumental to the Gods Knight’s plan of kidnapping the children on Elbaf. This is the first Devil Fruit that allows the user to warp reality in a sense, which is something fans have been anticipating to see for years.
That’s the ability you used to pull those dream demons out of the brat’s heads, right?
All these formidable powers make these villains the strongest tests that the Straw Hats will have to face so far in the series. Although Luffy’s Nika fruit abilities would still far outscale these powers, each of these characters is a perfect match-up for Zoro, Sanji, and Jimbei. By the end of the arc, the likely match-ups will be Zoro vs. Sommers, Sanji vs. Qillingham, and possibly Jimbei vs. Gunko, though Oda can subvert expectations.
In the meantime, the other Straw Hats will be helping the Giants against the nightmares created by Qillingham. As for Luffy, his final test in this arc could likely be his face-off against Loki, since both are users of Sun God Devil Fruits, which are far stronger than any of the others here. It only makes sense for these two to fight, perhaps ending in Loki joining the side of the heroes.
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Other Possible Final Villains For The Elbaf Arc
Who Else Could Be The Final Villains?
Conversely, some fans believe that Elbaf will be the arc where the Blackbeard Pirates will finally make their move, considering that it is the most likely location of the final Road Poneglyph. Prevailing fan theories place Scopper as the Man Marked by Flames, so it’s possible that they will eventually come to this island to get the rubbings, putting them directly against the Straw Hats.
For the same reason, some believe that Cross Guild may also make their move here, so it’s possible that after the Gods Knights are defeated, the true final battle of the arc will be of all the Yonko crews against one another. This is purely speculation at this point, but if something like this does come to pass, fans of One Piece will absolutely love to see it.
One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.
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