This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf arc.

Summary

  • Imu can grant immortality, making the Holy Knights and Elders unstoppable.
  • The Soru Soru no Mi Devil Fruit can potentially counter immortality with soul damage.
  • Big Mom's ability to manipulate souls may play a crucial role in defeating the Holy Knights.

One Piece's Elbaf arc has revealed fans to quite a lot of exciting story elements, most importantly some terrific powers as well, such as the immortality of the Holy Knights. Clearly, this arc is only just getting started, and there is a lot that the fans still have to look forward to, especially when it comes to incredible displays of strength.

One Piece Strongest Gorosei Five Elders Garling Figarland
One Piece: Why Garling Figarland Is Not Immortal, Explained

All the Five Elders and Holy Knights are immortal, except Garling Figarland. Here's why.

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That said, there are also things that Oda has already introduced in One Piece that will gain importance here once again, and with the power of immortality at hand, one such ability will most definitely gain a lot of importance.

Imu's Powers And The Immortality Of The Elders And Holy Knights

  • Imu Can Give Immortality to Anyone
  • The Holy Knights And The Elders Are Immortal

Fans already know that the Holy Knights are the main villains of the Elbaf arc of One Piece and that their goal is total subjugation of the country. This means that the Straw Hat Pirates will not be able to escape from the island this time, as they did with Egghead. A full-on battle will be fought here, and there can only be one winner. Of course, the Straw Hats can't lose, which simply means that the Holy Knights must be countered in one way or another. This means Oda will also lay a lot of emphasis on the immortality of the Holy Knights and the Five Elders.

It's useless to fight them. They're immortal! — Luffy to the Giants

The key to beating immortality hasn't been revealed yet, at least not fully. The only one who fans saw with the capability of countering immortality is Emet, who possessed Joy Boy's Haki. There is a clear indication of the fact that Haki can counter immortality, especially if it is to a great degree. However, there is more to beating the immortality than just Haki, and the answer lies in a special Devil Fruit that fans have seen before, the Soru Soru no Mi.

Why Soru Soru no Mi Is The Perfect Counter To Imu's Immortality

Soul Damage Can Be The Key To Beating Immortality

One Piece chapter 1147 gave fans an absolutely massive hint about the weakness of the Holy Knights that doesn't comprise of Haki. Of course, high-level Conqueror's Haki should be able to beat immortality, but not all the Straw Hats have it. In fact, the ones who have it aren't even involved in the battle. As such, it is clear that another way to damage the Holy Knights exists, and that lies in soul damage. This also makes perfect sense, given that Imu is the source of the Immortality and in Egghead, his soul felt pain when Joy Boy's Haki was unleashed.

She is a woman who can manipulate souls. — King Baum

One Piece May 11 Sad Day
May 11 Is Going To Be A Sad Day For One Piece Fans

May 11 will be an unfortunate day for all fans of Oda's work, One Piece.

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Coming back to One Piece chapter 1147’s bug hint, fans also know that when Gunko hit Brook, she felt pain in her heart, which once again means she feels soul damage even if physical attacks do nothing.

Taking all things into consideration, it is clear that the biggest natural weakness of the Immortality of the Five Elders and the Holy Knights is the Soru Soru no Mi, Big Mom's Devil Fruit.

Big Mom Can Beat All Holy Knights

Big Mom can directly affect the souls of different individuals in One Piece, and that's what makes her truly dangerous. She can give or take souls and even absorb souls herself. Big Mom should also be able to deal soul damage and through that, beat enemies like the Holy Knights and Elders. This might also be another hint at Big Mom's return to the story, and fans absolutely cannot wait to see that.

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 May 11, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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Release Date
October 20, 1999
Network
Fuji TV
Directors
Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Mayumi Tanaka
    Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Kazuya Nakai
    Roronoa Zoro (voice)

WHERE TO WATCH

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Studio
Toei Animation
Creator
Eiichiro Oda
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV