Elbaf in Flames: Everything That's Happened in One Piece's Elbaf Arc (Anime, Through Episode 1179)

The arc opens right after Egghead: the Straw Hats escaped Vegapunk's island as Imu had Saint Saturn killed, and the crew boarded the Giant Warrior Pirates' ship bound for the legendary land of giants, Elbaf. Episode 1156 kicks off with the crew feasting aboard the giants' ship, then Blackbeard returning to his base furious, only to learn that Garp has been captured and that Mary Geoise is short on food. The Red Hair Pirates spare Bartolomeo's Barto Club after Bartolomeo takes responsibility for a loyalty test, but destroy their ship as punishment. By morning, the Thousand Sunny has vanished with six Straw Hats aboard — Luffy, Zoro, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper and Nami, split off from the rest of the crew. [animexcite](https://animexcite.com/anime/news/one-piece-episode-1156-review-the-elbaf-arc-begins-and-everything-is-already-hea)

Episode 1157 focuses almost entirely on Nami and Usopp surviving inside Bigstein Castle in a strange toy-like world they've been dumped into, while the other half of the crew stays aboard ship with the giants. Over the following episodes the group fights their way out of this "Block Kingdom" illusion. Episode 1160 marks the turning point — it cuts between the giants' ship (where Franky, Robin, Jinbe and Brook convince the giants to head for Elbaf and trust that Luffy's group is alive) and Luffy's side finally stepping onto real Elbaf soil, snowy mountains and all. That's where Luffy meets a chained giant named Loki. [outlookindia](https://respawn.outlookindia.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-originals/one-piece-episode-1157-elbaf-block-kingdom-recap-review) [outlookindia](https://respawn.outlookindia.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-originals/one-piece-episode-1160-review-and-recap-loki-the-accursed-prince)

Loki turns out to be a major piece of the arc's mythology. He's introduced as the "Accursed Prince" — a giant who claims to be an incarnation of the Sun God Nika and who supposedly wrought havoc on Elbaf and killed his own father, King Harald, before being chained up. A long flashback (spanning several episodes) unpacks the truth: Harald was a beloved reformist king who fell in love with a commoner, Ida, but was pressured into a political marriage that produced Loki, who was abandoned as an infant and raised in Elbaf's Underworld. The flashback reveals Harald was forced into an Abyss mark that put him under Imu's control, and using his last free will, Harald had his own guards attack him and begged Loki and his other son Jarul to kill him rather than let him turn Elbaf into a military tool for Imu — meaning Loki wasn't a monster, he was following his father's dying wish. The same extended flashback also digs into how Rocks D. Xebec became infamous, tying Elbaf's past into the God Valley Incident that connects Garp, Roger, and the Gorosei. [sypnotix](https://www.sypnotix.com/reviews/one-piece) [tvtropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/OnePieceElbaphArc)

By episode 1171, Luffy and Zoro find the badly wounded Loki and free him from his remaining shackle, over Hajrudin's objection (Hajrudin is Loki's brother and the current leader of the Giant Warrior Pirates).

Around episode 1165–1167, the arc's real threat arrives: the Holy Knights of God, an elite World Government strike force sent to annex Elbaf. Episode 1166 introduces Gunko of the Knights of God, and episode 1167 brings in Shamrock, commander of the Knights. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece_season_22)

Episode 1176 is where things turn genuinely dark. Elbaf's forest is on fire and its children are sleepwalking under some mysterious influence; Jinbe manages to douse the flames, but then Gunko lands and confronts the crew. Nami sics Zeus on her, Usopp appears to blow apart her upper body, but Gunko shrugs it off using her Arrow-Arrow Fruit and ultimately overpowers Nami, Usopp, Jinbe and Brook, taking a giant child named Colon hostage. Simultaneously, the Knight Killingham seizes control of Elbaf's communications, and Shepherd Sommers brutally beats down Jaguar D. Saul, trapping Robin and Chopper. All three fronts end in defeat for the Straw Hats — the Knights don't just win a fight, they complete a coordinated operation, and it's revealed the captured giant children are being shipped to Mary Geoise. [One Piece episode 1176 recap: Gunko overwhelms the Straw Hats and Sommers brutally takes down Saul in Elbaf +3](https://m.dailyhunt.in/news/india/english/indiatimes-epaper-indtimes/one+piece+episode+1176+recap+gunko+overwhelms+the+straw+hats+and+sommers+brutally+takes+down+saul+in+elbaf-newsid-n725135151)

Episode 1177 escalates into a hostage standoff, with Sommers using Robin and Chopper's exposed position as leverage while Gunko holds Colon.

The most recent episodes bring in Scopper Gaban — Roger's old crewmate — as the fight finally turns personal. In episode 1179, Gaban finally joins the battle against the Knights of God, and Gunko discovers that the boy Colon is actually Gaban's son, using him as leverage against him. Gaban's Observation Haki shows him he can't save Colon while still fighting, and he's ready to sacrifice himself for his son. Then the episode delivers its gut-punch: Gunko seems to recognize something about Brook and starts toward him — but before any answers come, Imu suddenly seizes control of her body. As Imu, he says the Holy Land itself is now burning and the Knights of God may need to be pulled back to deal with it, and the episode ends with Imu about to unleash "the power of a god." [One Piece Episode 1179 Review: A Powerful Gaban Moment Leads to a Chilling Ending Twist +3](https://fandomwire.com/one-piece-episode-1179-review)

Episode 1179 (released September 20 on Crunchyroll / September 26 on Netflix) is the newest episode out. Episode 1180, titled "Elbaph in Despair – Diabolical Covenant, 'Domi Reversi,'" is set to close out this season on September 27 — literally tomorrow. It's expected to reveal what Imu's "Domi Reversi" power actually does, and reportedly ties into a long-teased God Valley cliffhanger. After that, Toei has confirmed the anime goes on an extended break, with the next batch of Elbaf episodes not returning until spring 2027, since Toei switched One Piece to a seasonal, 26-episodes-a-year model this year. [comicbook](https://comicbook.com/anime/news/one-piece-confirms-the-full-elbaph-schedule-for-2026/) [gamerant](https://gamerant.com/one-piece-anime-goodbye-2026/)

So as of today, the story is paused mid-invasion: the giant children have been kidnapped for Mary Geoise, Loki's tragic backstory is out in the open, Gaban and Colon's father-son bond just got weaponized against him, and Imu is one episode away from showing everyone exactly what he's capable of.

For another One Piece theory, with spoilers, see what Blackbeard could do with Poseidon’s secret.