This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc.
Summary
One Piecerecently gave fans some incredibly exciting battles in Elbaf, and fans were fully expecting them to break out asthe Holy Knights made their official moveinOne Piecechapter 1147. A clash against the Holy Knights was inevitable inOne Piecechapter 1148, and that is precisely what happened.
Oda specifically focused on the likes of the Scopper Gaban in this battle, and it is through him that Oda finally showed a way to counter the weakness of the Holy Knights. Now, it has essentially been confirmed that the immortality of the Holy Knights can be beaten, and the key lies in a special type of Haki.
Scopper Gaban Destroys Saint Sommers In Elbaf
One Piece chapter 1148 was absolutely sensational and delivered a short-lived yet absolutely sensational battle to the fans. As Nico Robin struggled to fight against Saint Sommers, Gaban rushed to her rescue. Covering miles in the span of a second, Gaban was able to fly past Sommers and chop his arm off completely. To his surprise, his arm didn’t regenerate after it was chopped off, meaning that his immortalityhad officially been bypassed by Scopper Gaban.
It’s been a while! — Scopper Gaban before attacking Sommers
More than that, fans also saw Gaban delivering a casual attack charged with incredible Haki, likely to be Supreme King Haki, to Somemrs, and delivering a deadly blow to him. Now, it is clear that Sommers is down and that Gaban has defeated him already. Naturally, the biggest question that arises here is how Gaban countered the immortality of the Holy Knights. Every fan wants to know the answer to that question, and while it’ll arrive sooner or later, Oda has already given fans some clues about it.
How Scopper Gaban Countered Imu’s Immortality
Gaban Can Use Soul Damaging Haki
The key to injuring the Holy Knightslies in being able to injure their souls. It must be remembered that the Holy Knights are impossible to beat normally. However, when their soul is damaged, they cannot regenerate. The hint was inOne Piecechapter 1147, when Gunko hit Brook and immediately felt pain despite being immortal.
To never doubt yourself, that is true strength. — Rayleigh
Clearly, it hurt her soul when she attacked Brook and she was hurt on the inside. Similarly, when Joy Boy launched his Haki, Imu felt pain despite being thousands of miles away.This is because Imu is connected to the Five Elders. Based on everything that Oda has revealed so far, the key to beating the immortality of the Holy Knights and the Five Elders is soul-damaging Haki.
Is Soul Damaging Haki Strong?
It is unclearwhat type of Haki can damage the soulsof the enemies. However, it is unlikely to be Color of Armament, as fans already know its advanced types. The Color of Arms only allows internal damage on a physical level when used in advanced form. The ability to damage souls with advanced usage likely comes from Conqueror’s Haki. This deadly type of Haki should be strong enough to beat any Elder or Holy Knight, and most importantly, even Imu. InOne Piecechapter 1149, fans will most likely officially hear from Gaban how he beat the immortality and how the others can beaten as well.
One Piece chapter 1148 will be out soon, in a week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on May 11. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1148 is Jul 10, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free onManga Plus.
