One Piece: Oda is stealing Robin's biggest moment yet

Recent weeks of mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series have been particularly eventful thanks to the Holy Knights’ latest efforts. The group finally made their demands of Elbaph’s Giants, threatening to harm the kidnapped children if the nation didn’t comply. While Jarul chose to comply for the children’s sake, Nico Robin and Scopper Gaban chose to confront them.

More specifically, both Robin and Gaban confronted Saint Shepherd Sommers in the manga’s latest release, chapter 1148. Although she was the first to confront Sommers, Robin was unable to do any significant damage due to the Holy Knights’ apparent regeneration abilities. However, Gaban’s arrival on the scene saw him immediately deal lasting and significant damage.

Yet what has upset One Piece fans, and rightfully so, is the apparent implication that Gaban is using some sort of Haki to attack Sommers. Although there are slight black lightning bolts around him, which could indicate Conqueror’s Haki, his axe is also fully colored black. Given this, fans are, for now, assuming that Gaban is using Armament Haki to attack Sommers.

While it’s certainly possible that upcoming issues will confirm Gaban as a Conqueror’s Haki user, this is currently pure speculation. Conversely, Gaban is confirmed to use Armament Haki, with his previous usage in the Elbaph Arc seeing black lightning bolts appear. Given this, current information suggests Oda is robbing Robin of her biggest moment yet for no good reason.

One Piece’s latest Elbaph Arc fight gets off to a confusing and frustrating start

If Scopper Gaban is injuring Saint Shepherd Sommers with Armament Haki, it confirms that no “special” powers are needed to harm One Piece’s Holy Knights. This is due to Armament Haki being wieldable by any character in the series if they train themselves to use it. In other words, Robin could harm Sommers just as easily as Gaban can if she had Armament Haki.

Yet for some reason, Oda has seemingly chosen to instead have Gaban appear to fight Sommers rather than confirm her ability to use it. This would make no sense since Robin, outside of a lack of training, is just as equipped to fight Sommers as Gaban is. Instead, it would be more impactful to reveal that she has been training and can finally use her Armament Haki.

Robin, being the one to defeat Sommers in One Piece’s Elbaph Arc, would also further develop her character. Should he get his way and see Elbaph’s school and library burnt down, what remains of Ohara’s legacy will burn with it. This will also ruin the work that Jaguar D. Saul, her first friend and a key figure in her character arc, has done in Elbaph over so many years.

By being the one to defeat him, she is effectively protecting what remains of her origins and standing up for a key figure in her life. While Gaban also has a personal stake in the fight as his son Colon has been kidnapped, he’s also not a main character of the series. Gaban is also an aged pirate from an all-but-bygone era, making his potential victory less meaningful than hers.

Given these reasons, it doesn’t quite make sense for Gaban to be the one to defeat Sommers when Robin easily could based on currently available information. Obviously, if Gaban is using Conqueror’s Haki and not Armament Haki, this would change things. Yet based on what fans know and have seen of him so far, this does not seem to be the case.

Final thoughts

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While there is a potential exit, it would seem Oda has somewhat written himself into a corner with Robin and Gaban versus Sommers. At the very least, Robin has clearly been robbed of a chance to further her own character development by defeating Sommers. Although her contribution is still significant, it seemingly won’t be taken to the extent it should be.

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