Everything Is Connected.

Following up on recent One Piece developments, there are a lot of threads I'm seeing that seem to be coming together, particularly in relation to Imu, Elbaf, the murals, Chopper's Devil Fruit, Hajrudin's developments, Luffy's abnormal biology, and finally the route to Laugh Tale, which, when considered together, I think we are getting much closer to understanding what Oda has been leading up to for the final saga. Starting with Imu, one of the biggest revelations of his character is obviously that new transformation he took on, which can basically be seen as a "doping form", as Imu suddenly transforms into a much more monstrous and overwhelming form than ever before, sort of like a "real Superman" as compared to his earlier form, but it's what this form says about Imu's identity and abilities that really interests me. For the first time, we are able to see both of Imu's eyes together, and something is suspiciously odd about the eye design associated with his right hand, since it seems to function almost like another eye, and this immediately makes me think of the left eye's importance in One Piece, in particular, characters associated with the deepest secrets of the world. We have seen strange designs and symbolism around the left eye in relation to characters who are connected to the world's greatest secrets, and if we compare characters such as Dragon and Albert to Imu, I'd be surprised if these similarities were completely coincidental. Another important note is Imu's Observation Haki, since despite Imu having an absolutely ridiculous amount of Conqueror's Haki, it's ability to perceive or foresee anything is surprisingly limited. If Imu possessed perfect or near-perfect Observation Haki, then there is a number of major events that would have been much easier for him to perceive or foresee, including the rise of the Roger Pirates and even the unexpected arrival of individuals such as Sabo, Wapol, and others into the throne room. So I think there may be something that we need to consider in the strange collection of eyes seemingly always surrounding Imu's shadow. Instead of all of those eyes allowing Imu to witness all things perfectly, they actually serve to scatter his attention and make it more difficult for him to focus his attention on a specific thing. This could also provide an explanation as to why Imu may be relying on Gungun, one of Loki's subordinates, to compensate for his lack of skill in his ability to perceive or view things. Basically, Imu may have overwhelming destructive power but a very specific weakness when it comes to observation and perception, and this would allow his character to be much more interesting since he's an all-powerful being with nothing to lose. Then we have the much bigger connection between Imu and the "Demon King", as Imu's current appearance features three skulls and that immediately connects him to the Demon King imagery we've seen in One Piece Film Red, as well as the three-skull symbolism associated with Blackbeard's Jolly Roger. This is interesting because Oda has previously hinted at there being a "Demon King" within the world of One Piece, but that character had not actually been revealed or drawn at the time, and now Imu is starting to look the perfect candidate for that role. The three-skull design may actually not be simply a cool transformation detail; it could be Oda deliberately pointing out that Imu is connected to this Demon King concept. And if that's true, we have an even crazier possibility, where Imu could eventually gain a five-skull form by absorbing the power or even the "bones" of the Five Elders, much like what happened with Saturn. Obviously, this part is theory, but considering how Imu has already demonstrated himself to be able to manipulate and absorb the power of the Elders, I wouldn't be surprised. Now, when we transition from Imu himself to Elbaf, things become even more interesting, as Imu's new form is practically identical to the devil-like figure depicted within the Elbaf mural, which I think is actually one of the most important pieces of information we've received about the final saga. In that mural, the devil figure is depicted as holding a sphere or sun-like object interpreted as the "Forbidden Sun", and there is also a very important phrase connected to the history of that world, which is, "Man killed the sun and became God." When you consider that statement alongside everything we know about the Celestial Dragons, the Void Century, the Ancient Kingdom and the World Government, the most likely interpretation is that humanity or to put it more specifically, people who eventually became the rulers of the current world sealed away or "killed" the original sun to replace them, and established themselves as gods. In other words, the Celestial Dragons may not be simply considering themselves gods because of their social standing, but there might be a literal connection between the destruction or imprisonment of this Forbidden Sun and the creation of their so-called divine authority. This also ties into one of the most interesting theories involving Mary Geoise and the giant straw hat, in which a frozen version of this Forbidden Sun is hidden beneath the giant straw hat. If the giant straw hat is associated with the "true heart" of the world, then perhaps what is underneath is not an ancient artifact but actually something directly related to the sun. One theory is that this Forbidden Sun was frozen by a previous user of the Nidhogg power, associated with the Devil Fruit of Loki, and that this previous user could potentially be working alongside Imu's side. If that's true, then the final war could potentially see the Straw Hats literally "flipping" the heart underneath Mary Geoise and melting the ice that has been keeping this Forbidden Sun contained for centuries. This would explain the phrase "Dawn of the World" far more literally than we originally thought, as the Dawn may not simply be representing freedom or defeating of the World Government, but it could actually be the return of a literal sun that has been sealed away from the world. Then we have Chopper, and I think Chopper's role may become much more important when seeing how his power has reacted to what happened with Imu's strange dark power, called "Maki". Imu is able to use this dark substance or power to transform the giants into what effectively becomes devils or mindless puppets, stripping them of their regular consciousness and making them obey another will. But what is interesting is that Chopper was able to instantly counteract this effect, essentially stripping all of the Maki and restoring the affected giants. At first glance, this might simply be another example of Chopper being useful in battle, but I think there could be something much deeper going on. Oda has already given us that famous SBS explanation on what would happen if a human ate the Human-Human Fruit, and the answer was basically that the person would "become human", which could be interpreted to not simply mean transforming their physical body but more in terms of changing their consciousness, rationality, or ability to understand themselves. If we apply this idea to what Chopper has just done, then Chopper's Devil Fruit could symbolically represent the natural counter to Imu's power. Imu takes people away from their humanity, controls them, corrupts their minds and turns them into something close to demons or puppets, while Chopper may actually have the power to restore their humanity and bring them to their original state or consciousness. This would make Chopper much more important to the final conflict than just being the doctor of the Straw Hats, as his Devil Fruit could literally represent the power to return people to their "right mind." It could even tie into the Biblo, the owl-like creature associated with the books and knowledge of Elbaf, since Chopper may eventually be able to remove whatever is preventing Biblo from being able to directly communicate with humans, thus creating a bridge between different types of life and consciousness. Essentially, if Imu's power represents corruption, domination and destruction of individuality, Chopper's power would represent restoration, humanity and the return of free will. Then we have Hajrudin, whose development in Elbaf is another thing I think should be paid much more attention to as his development is not simply physical. During the battle, Luffy and Loki obviously displayed the visual signs for Conqueror's Haki via the lightning effects around their attack, while Hajrudin did not display the same manifestation, but I think there is a strong possibility for Hajrudin to awaken this power in the future. The reason isn't because of his royal blood or status among the giants, but his emotional development. Hajrudin has been carrying a lot of unresolved history and bad blood connected to Loki, and by finally confronting it and apologizing to him, Hajrudin has completed what I think is a crucial step to his character. In One Piece, Conqueror's Haki is not about simply being physically strong, but about a person's will, ambition and ability to stand above others without allowing themselves to be controlled. Hajrudin's emotional resolution could be what he needs to eventually awaken this power. And if he were to awaken Conqueror's Haki, I think we could possibly see him and Loki combine their power with Luffy, to create the strongest version of Elbaf's Spear, effectively turning an issue between them into a symbol of unity between the giant brothers and the Straw Hats. Now, moving on to Luffy, there's another major detail I think people are missing, one which is just how abnormal Luffy's body has become. At this point, Luffy has been doing things that go far beyond what we would normally expect of the ridiculous biology of the One Piece world. He has demonstrated an ability to consume massive amounts of food and immediately convert the energy into recovery, and the way he is able to digest and re-digest the nutrients to restore his body suggests something much closer to the concept of Life Return, or Seimei Kikan. Life Return is the technique used by individuals such as the CP9 members, where the user is able to consciously control their own organs and bodily functions through their mind. Luffy's current displays with regard to his own biology suggest that he may have achieved a similar level of conscious control, which would explain how he can quickly consume and digest food to restore his strength and even perform seemingly impossible feats of recovery. This becomes interesting to consider in his body's reaction to extreme damage, because Luffy's body in Gear 5 is essentially more and more starting to resemble not a normal human body anymore, but something whose physical rules are being directly controlled by his will. This could be one of the hidden reasons that Luffy is able to survive and continue fighting in situations where almost anyone else would simply be knocked out cold. Finally, we have Gaban, or Gabbano, and I think his involvement could be the key to the actual journey to Laugh Tale. Gaban is one of the most important surviving members of the Roger Pirates and there are several physical details about him that could be holding a hidden message, particularly the scar around his right eye and the fact that his left arm is missing. Oda rarely gives major characters distinctive physical traits without eventually giving those traits some kind of meaning, especially if the character is from Roger's crew, so I don't think we should simply dismiss those details. More importantly, Gaban's role as a member of the Roger Pirates is potentially invaluable, since the Straw Hats have reached a point where gathering Road Poneglyphs is not enough to reach the final island. We already know that the normal Log Pose system eventually ceases to function after Lodestar Island, which means that there are presumably some other method of traveling to Laugh Tale that Roger's crew discovered but that the reader has not yet received a full explanation of. This is where Gaban could become extremely important, since if the Gaban was involved in the navigation of the Roger Pirates' journey, he could know of a secret technique or method that enables the Straw Hats to complete this last part of the journey. That method could potentially involve the Voice of All Things, since Roger was able to perceive things that normal people couldn't, or it could potentially involve communicating with creatures such as whales and using their knowledge or movements to identify the hidden route. Laboon could even enter relevance once more if the Final Route is connected to the mysterious relationship between the whales, the ocean and the ancient world. So when I put everything together, I don't think there is anything that is just a theory or just an individual piece of speculation. Imu potentially being the Demon King, the Forbidden Sun connected to the ancient history of the world, the frozen sun beneath the giant straw hat, Chopper's Human-Human Fruit functioning as a counter to Imu's corruption, Hagrudin potentially awakening Conqueror's Haki from his emotional development, and Luffy acquiring greater control of his own biology through Life Return-like abilities, and Gaban's knowledge to reach Laugh Tale all seem to be interconnected. The biggest theme that binds all of this together is the concept of restoring something that has been taken away from the world - restoring the sun, restoring freedom, restoring people's consciousness, restoring ancient knowledge, restoring the true history and ultimately restoring the Dawn. Imu represents that which keeps the world under darkness for centuries, and Luffy, and those around him, increasingly represents the opposite, freedom, laughter, individuality and inherited wills and the return of the Dawn. And if Oda is really connecting all of these details, then the final saga may not simply be about Luffy defeating Imu and reaching Laugh Tale, but about the Straw Hats uncovering what was stolen from the world during the Void Century and bringing it all back. And that's why I think Elbaf is so important, because it is providing the necessary mythology to understand the final war, and characters such as Chopper, Hajrudin, Loki and Gaban may have very specific roles to complete the pieces that Luffy alone cannot. Luffy may be the person who stands in the center of the Dawn, but the journey to that Dawn is clearly something that requires the entire world, its history, its people and the inherited wills of those who came before him.

thanks for reaDing.