Ever since Eiichiro Oda steered the Thousand Sunny into the towering, mist-shrouded shores of the giant kingdom, Elbaf has transformed into the absolute epicenter of the Final Saga. While Egghead Island shook the foundations of the world through Dr. Vegapunk’s global broadcast, Elbaf is peeling back centuries of bloody, deliberate suppression. With the earth-shattering events leading into Chapter 1198, one mystery towers above all others: the terrifying truth behind Prince Loki, his father King Harald, and the catastrophic sovereign power locked away within the Royal Family’s heirloom Devil Fruit.
For hundreds of chapters, Loki was introduced merely as the arrogant, disgraced “Cursed Prince” who murdered his own father to claim a fabled Devil Fruit passed down through Elbaf’s royal dynasty. He was bound in colossal Seastone chains, guarded by monstrous beasts, and despised by his own countrymen. However, as Oda systematically peels back the layers of the Great Void Century and the mysterious bloodlines of Elbaf, a far more chilling reality emerges. What if Loki didn’t murder King Harald out of sheer villainous greed, but as an agonizing sacrifice to prevent Elbaf from falling directly into the hands of the World Government and the sovereign authority of Imu?
The Fall of King Harald: Corruption from the Holy Land of Mary Geoise
To truly understand Loki’s true motives, readers must dissect the tragedy of King Harald. Long revered as a towering, noble monarch who sought peace and diplomatic legitimacy for the giant race, Harald spent decades traveling the four seas on diplomatic missions. His ultimate ambition was to bring the secluded warrior kingdom of Elbaf into the global political theater, even fostering connections with the World Government.
However, recent narrative revelations hint at something far more insidious. Historical encounters in Elbaf illustrate that Harald’s personality underwent a sudden, catastrophic shift. When Elder Jarul—one of the oldest surviving warriors of Elbaf and a living witness to the ancient giant customs—confronted Harald, the beloved king had descended into uncontrollable madness. Brandishing his royal blade, Harald lashed out against his own royal guards and struck down Jarul in cold blood.
This shocking rampaging state mirrors the sinister mental subjugation techniques seen in Mary Geoise and the Gorosei’s demonic pacts. Was King Harald secretly compromised by an ancient curse or political puppet-string wielded by the World Nobles? If Harald was coerced into handing over Elbaf’s sacred arsenal to the World Government, Loki’s violent intervention transforms from unprovoked patricide into a desperate coup d’état to save the entire giant realm.
The Ancient Heirloom: What is Loki’s Legendary Devil Fruit?
The core of this explosive Chapter 1198 theory lies in the true identity of Elbaf’s sacred Devil Fruit. In the lore of giants, this fruit was guarded in the deepest vaults of Warland for generations, deemed so devastating that eating it was strictly forbidden until a prophesied cataclysm arrived. When Harald lost his sanity, he demanded that Loki ingest the fruit immediately, warning that without its divine might, the destruction of Elbaf was inevitable.
Manga analysts and lore theorists have drawn striking parallels between Loki’s awakened aura and ancient Norse deities. Unlike standard Mythical Zoans, Loki’s fruit appears connected to the cosmological balance of the world—potentially the Mythical Zoan: Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Jörmungandr (The World Serpent) or an elemental sovereign manifestation tied directly to Fenrir, the beast destined to shatter divine thrones. When Loki unleashed his powers, the sheer gravitational weight of his Conqueror’s Haki caused the surrounding weather to violently destabilize, forcing the strongest warriors of Elbaf to mobilize just to chain him down.
This explains why Loki’s chains were forged of pure Kairoseki and anchored directly into the Adam Wood roots of Yggdrasil. The giant elders did not merely imprison a murderous prince; they quarantined an awakened force capable of upending world continents. Just as Monkey D. Luffy unknowingly carried the divine Sun God Nika fruit (the Warrior of Liberation), Prince Loki holds the cosmic counterbalance—the bringer of Ragnarok, the twilight of false gods.
The Red-Haired Shanks and Scopper Gaban Connection
Another crucial puzzle piece in Chapter 1198 is the historical presence of the Roger Pirates in Elbaf. Flashback panels have firmly established that Red-Haired Shanks and Scopper Gaban arrived on the island during Harald’s descent into darkness. Shanks, who regards Elbaf as his primary territorial haven and personal sanctuary, has always operated with surgical precision regarding the Void Century and the awakening of Joyboy.
Why did Shanks permit Loki to remain chained beneath the colossal branches of the giant tree? Because Shanks understood that the gears of fate could not turn until the drums of liberation sounded. Shanks knew that releasing Loki prematurely would bring down the full wrath of the Holy Knights and Admiral forces before the Sun God was ready to stand beside him. Shanks’ role was never to conquer Elbaf, but to shepherd its guardians until Luffy’s arrival.
Readers exploring Oda’s interconnected masterwork will recall how cosmic battles across anime history depend on such grand thematic staging, much like how the climactic battles unfold in our breakdown of One Piece Chapter 1200 Theory: The Void Century War Relics Beneath Elbaf. Similarly, shonen storytelling reaches its peak when generational legacies collide, as seen in Kaiju No. 8 Season 2’s shattering narrative stakes and the hyper-kinetic duels explored in One-Punch Man Season 3’s anticipated showdown.
Manga Evidence: The Ancient Giant Mural and the Sun God Prophecy
To substantiate this theory, one only needs to examine the historical tapestries and archaeological stone reliefs discovered throughout Elbaf’s subterranean caverns:
- The Dual Eclipse Relief: In Elbaf’s ancient ruins, giant stone murals depict two distinct figures standing atop the Red Line: a dancing warrior surrounded by radiant solar flames (Nika), and an antlered, crowned colossus wreathed in storm clouds and abyssal chains (Loki). They do not fight each other; rather, they direct their divine fury toward an empty, silhouetted throne.
- Harald’s Missing Royal Log: The royal archives maintained by Estrid and Elbaf’s scribes reveal that Harald’s final diplomatic voyages were scrubbed from official records right around the time St. Jaygarcia Saturn and the World Government began experimenting with Mother Flame energy.
- Loki’s Candid Words to Luffy: When Luffy encountered the bound prince, Loki didn’t sneer like a typical tyrant. Despite his barbed words, he explicitly challenged Luffy to prove if he was truly the warrior worthy of breaking his shackles. Loki is not looking to conquer; he is waiting for an equal who can survive the cataclysm of his unbound wrath.
Future Predictions: The Unshackling of Elbaf and the Final War
As Chapter 1198 and upcoming chapters hurtle toward the climax of the Elbaf Arc, the inevitable collision between the Straw Hat Pirates, the Holy Knights, and the World Government will force Luffy’s hand. With Roronoa Zoro mastering his advanced Conqueror’s Haki against invading Holy Knight commanders, the frontline will fracture wide open.
Luffy’s Gear 5 heartbeat—the Drums of Liberation—will ultimately resonate with the dormant pulse inside Loki’s Devil Fruit. When those massive Seastone chains shatter, Loki will not emerge as Elbaf’s executioner, but as the supreme vanguard of the ancient alliance. Together, the Sun God and the Cursed Prince will march down the branches of Yggdrasil to confront Mary Geoise, avenging King Harald and shattering the 800-year illusion of world peace once and for all.
What Do You Think? Share in Comments!
Is Prince Loki truly a misunderstood martyr who slew King Harald to protect Elbaf’s legendary power from the World Government, or is he an untamable force of pure mythological chaos? How do you think Luffy and Shanks will handle his awakened Devil Fruit when the shackles come off? Drop your wildest theories and predictions in the comments below!
