One Piece: The Holy Knights' plan for Elbaph will fail

In recent weeks of mangaka Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece series, the Holy Knights have finally made their move as the Elbaph Arc’s antagonists. Their demands have also been made clear, asking Jarul to order Elbaph’s schools and libraries to be burnt down. If Jarul and the Giants refused, the Holy Knights threatened to begin killing the children they kidnapped in exchange.

Likewise, chapter 1148 saw Jarul give in to the Holy Knights’ demands, ordering Elbaph’s Walrus Academy and nearby library to be destroyed. While many Giants expressed the belief that this was the right choice, their children seemingly disagreed based on the previous issue. One of them, Ronja, was seen effectively saying she was willing to sacrifice herself instead.

On the surface, this was seemingly Oda trying to communicate that even the more peaceful generation of Elbaph's Giants has a warrior spirit. However, this is unlikely to be the only plot point Oda intended to communicate with this focus in One Piece chapter 1148. Oda is likely also attempting to tease that the Holy Knights’ plan will fail due to this courage.

Obviously, chapter 1148 also showed that several powerful individuals are moving against the Holy Knights, Scopper Gaban being the most notable. While their actions will no doubt play a key role in this eventual sabotage of the Holy Knight’s plans, it’s unlikely to be the only factor. The children of Elbaph’s courage and willingness to self-sacrifice should also play a major role.

Colon’s presence among One Piece’s kidnapped children teases their transition into true warriors

While Ronja’s words clearly signify a hidden warrior’s spirit in each of the children, Colon will likely be the one who draws it out of them. More likely than not, he’ll soon prove to have been inspired by Ronja’s words and try to convince the others to fight back. While it’s unclear how they’ll be able to do so, this will likely lead to the children all being willing to sacrifice themselves.

In turn, this may further inspire the likes of Scopper Gaban, Colon’s father, and the other adult Giants, both parents and non-parents, to not give in. While the children won’t be the ones doing the actual fighting in any scenario, it will be their selflessness that turns the tide of battle. In this way, Ronja, Colon, and the others will play a key role in defeating One Piece’s Holy Knights.

Adding some irony to this hypothetical defeat for the Holy Knights would be their desire for the Giants for their proud warrior ways. In trying to rid the Giants of peaceful ways that evolve their nation’s traditions, they’ll ultimately lose what little control over Elbaph they had. Once again, it will be the kidnapped children and their bravery that sparks this fire.

One argument against this is that, as of this article’s writing, the children have no way to free themselves from Gunko’s clutches. However, the recent arrival of Gaban and his display of how to bypass the Holy Knights’ immortality and regeneration may be the solution to this issue. As Gaban’s son, it’s fairly likely that he’ll be able to catch Gunko by surprise by using whatever power his father did.

Final thoughts

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Regardless of exactly how it unfolds, it’s almost certain that the kidnapped children’s bravery will play a major role in the Holy Knights’ defeat. The recent arrival of Gaban to the battlefield and the tease that he knows how to hurt the Holy Knights further support this idea. Likewise, Colon’s presence among the kidnapped children may be the key to their expected role.

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