It’s Time To Welcome One Piece’s New War God Confirmed By Oda

by

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Final Saga.

Over the years, the world of One Piece has introduced a huge number of incredibly strong characters. Many fans consider Im to be the most powerful being in the entire series. Besides Im, legendary figures like Roger and Whitebeard stand out, and in the current storyline, characters like the Yonko and the Admirals are also shown to be immensely powerful.

Beyond the powerful figures we already know, there are even more influential people operating from the shadows. Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, refers to these hidden powers as the ‘War Gods’ – and they are the Five Elders. Recently, during the conclusion of the Egghead arc in the anime, Oda revealed a new War God: Saint Garling Figarland.

The Five Elders Are Labelled War Gods By Oda

  • The War Gods of One Piece are Imu’s loyal servants
  • They wield the Abyssal Covenant of Imu

The Five Elders are the most powerful leaders of the World Government, answering only to Imu. While fans understood they held significant political power, it was a surprise to discover they are also incredibly strong fighters. The Egghead arc of One Piece was when creator Eiichiro Oda finally revealed their names and abilities, and it’s clear they are overwhelmingly powerful.

The Five Elders are part of the 20 powerful Royal Families known as the Celestial Dragons. Initially, many fans believed these families lacked any real fighting ability within Marijoa. However, the recent Final Saga of One Piece revealed they have a dedicated fighting force called the Holy Knights, and that the Five Elders themselves are skilled combatants. We first saw this in action with St. Jaygarcia Saturn, who traveled to Egghead to confront the threat posed by Vegapunk.

The Five Elders Hold The Abyssal Covenant Of Imu

The Five Elders possess extraordinary abilities. Each has a special bond with the world’s ruler, Imu, giving them immense power. This bond, known as the Abyssal Covenant, grants them regeneration, effectively stops them from aging, and even provides immortality. It also allows them to use the Magic Circle of Abyss, enabling instant travel to any location on Earth.

The Abyssal Covenant has granted the Five Elders powerful Yokai transformations, making each of them incredibly dangerous. For example, Saint Saturn controls the Gyuki Yokai. The other Elders also wield unique Yokai: Nusjuro has the Bakotsu, Mars commands Itsumade, Warcury possesses the Houki boar, and Ju Peter controls the Sandworm Yokai. These Elders are all exceptionally strong, and even Luffy’s Gear 5 form wasn’t enough to defeat them.

The Five Elders’ immense power is understandable. They possess the strongest Covenant granted by Imu, and Oda has clearly established their significance by referring to them as ‘War Gods.’ This suggests they represent the leaders who fought in the battles of the Void Century against the Ancient Kingdom – warriors who became legendary figures, known as the War Gods.

Garling Figarland Is The Latest War God In One Piece

  • Garling was once a Holy Knight
  • Imu made Garling the War God of Science and Defense

During the climax of the Egghead Island arc in One Piece, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn was killed as punishment for letting Nika escape. He failed to achieve his objective on the island, and Imu, the ruler of the world, responded by stripping him of his powerful Covenant abilities. This left Saturn physically weakened and ultimately led to his death.

Saturn, why did you let Nika escape? This shall not go unpunished. — Imu to Saturn, Egghead

After a member of the Elders passed away, Garling Figarland – Shanks’ father – took their place. He became the War God of Science and Defense, replacing Saturn, and fans are anticipating a significant role for him in the future of One Piece. Garling is already established as a very powerful character, and the author, Oda, has confirmed he’ll be crucial to the story later on.

Currently, fans know that Garling has received the Abyssal Covenant from Imu, significantly increasing his power. He’s also likely gained a powerful Yokai beast, making him stronger than ever. While Garling was strong during the God Valley incident, he wasn’t strong enough to defeat Rocks, and he clearly lost the fight. Despite this, Garling landed the final hit on Rocks and was declared the Champion of God Valley, taking all the credit.

As the story progressed, Garling grew in power, along with the other characters. Currently, he’s risen to become the Supreme Commander of the Holy Knights. Now, as one of the Five Elders and with the power of the Abyssal Covenant, he’s likely more powerful than ever before.

Oda Will Reveal Garling’s True Worth In The Next Arcs

Many fans don’t realize just how powerful Garling has become, especially after his fight in God Valley. Although his loss to Rocks wasn’t impressive, Garling was still developing at that time and hadn’t reached his full potential. He’s improved a lot since then, and with his new Covenant, he’s a significantly more dangerous opponent now.

Now then, let’s try to get along, fellow Elders! — Garling Figarland to the remaining Elders

During a key moment in the Egghead arc, Oda, the creator of One Piece, specifically highlighted Garling alongside other important characters for the story’s final saga, suggesting he’ll play a significant role. Garling’s connections to characters like Shamrock and Shanks already establish his importance, and Oda seems to be building towards exploring his relationship with Shanks, potentially even creating a major rivalry between them. Fans are now anticipating how the Figarland Family storyline and Garling, known as the War God, will impact the ending of One Piece.

Eiichiro Oda’s popular manga, One Piece, follows Monkey D. Luffy and his crew, the Straw Hat Pirates, on their adventure to find the legendary treasure, the One Piece. The story is currently in its final arc. A new chapter, 1172, will be released in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump. It will be available on February 1, 2026, at 12 AM Japan Standard Time (11 AM Eastern Time and 8 AM Pacific Time). Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump app, which helps support the creator.

Read More

2026-01-23 14:36