One of the many qualities that keep One Piece intriguing to this day is how the story keeps circling back to the past events that were never resolved. The story is built upon layers of mysteries that only keep increasing as time goes by. Oftentimes, Oda answers those questions in the most unexpected way. This is exactly what’s been happening in the ongoing Elbaf Arc of the manga. After the chaotic fight in Egghead, Luffy and his crew arrive in the fabled land of the Giants. However, little did they know that things would soon turn downhill after their arrival, and they would find themselves entangled in another chaos.
Sneaking onto the island and targeting the children is only the beginning for the Holy Knights, as their real goal is to make every Giant surrender to the World Government. As the final war is approaching, the World Government wants to strengthen its army even further. No other race is as powerful as the Giants, which makes them an easy target. Before Luffy and the others could confront the Holy Knights, the story kicks off Harald’s backstory. We follow his journey from his younger and rebellious days to how he became Elbaf’s greatest king ever. Surprisingly enough, the backstory unveils what really happened to the Giants frozen in Punk Hazard.
One Piece’s Elbaf Arc Reveals the Truth About the Frozen Giants From the Punk Hazard Arc
In Chapter 1154, Jarul, the hero of the Giants, and Harald talk about the Reverie Incident, where the king of Elbaf joins the Reverie by posing as someone’s guard. Harald didn’t get the information he needed because of a certain murder that took place there. Jarul mentions a certain group of Giant shipwrights who armed themselves with warhammers. Harald believes they were a myth, but the truth is far darker than he realizes. Despite traveling all across the world, the shipwrights would send letters to Elbaf. Unfortunately, their final letter says that they have been captured, and the group of Giants was never heard from again. The group included over a hundred Giants, including some containing the blood of the Ancient Giants, and they were all captured together.
The truth was so unbelievable that with the passage of time, they turned into myths. Jarul also says that he only heard rumors that those Giants are still frozen somewhere in the world. The tragedy of what happened to them is a constant reminder of how their race is perceived as an enemy of the world, especially the World Government. There’s no doubt that Jarul is talking about those frozen Giants we saw in Chapter 660 of the Punk Hazard Arc. Chopper and the others who witnessed the scene were horrified, but the series never really delved deeper into the truth until now.
