One Piece: Oda Has Already Confirmed A Big Defeat For Luffy

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

One Piece is currently in the Elbaf arc of One Piece, and it goes without saying that fans have come to absolutely love it so far. Elbaf has been brilliant for all fans, regardless of what they like. Those who love exciting fights have Luffy Vs Imu to look forward to. Those who love the flashbacks have the Loki flashback to enjoy, and those who love the lore of the One Piece world got the Elbaf mural, with more to come. Elbaf has something for everyone and that’s what makes it one of the very best arcs in the whole series. But, one thing that could set it apart and make it perhaps the best arc in One Piece is if Luffy faces his biggest challenge ever.

There is no denying the fact that Luffy is an absolute monster in combat, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be challenged and rivaled. If anything, fans fully expect that to happen multiple times, and rarely, there will be times when Luffy will be defeated. The protagonist losing makes things that much more exciting and sets him up for even greater victories later down the line. With Luffy, Oda could be setting up a major defeat and that’s something that not many fans are picking up. The cards are all on the table, and Oda could very well give the fans what would be Luffy’s biggest defeat in One Piece so far.

Luffy’s Vivre Card Plot Device Means He Will Lose

A Luffy Rescue Arc Could Begin Soon In One Piece

Luffy will fight Imu soon
It might be too soon for Imu to lose

The biggest reason why Luffy must face a defeat at some point in One Piece is down to a plot device that Oda used in the story long ago. One Piece fans know very well the importance of Vivre Cards in the story. In the Pre-Timeskip of One Piece, it was Ace who introduced the concept of Vivre Cards to the fans, and later on, in Amazon Lily, Gloriosa revealed to the fans the meaning behind its burning.

Listen, Luffy! This card will bring us together in the future. I’ll meet you at the top. — Ace to Luffy

The Vivre Card was essentially a plot device from Oda to bring Luffy to Ace when he was captured and his life started running out. The Vivre Card is called the Paper of Life, after all. Now, Oda is repeating this trope, only this time, it’s being done with Luffy.

In the Dressrosa arc, Sabo had Luffy’s Vivre Card made. This Vivre Card was then distributed among the members of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, and fans know very well that Sabo kept a piece as well. On top of that, Bellamy also took a piece of Luffy’s Vivre Card. Of course, the Straw Hat Pirates all have theirs too. Given that Vivre Card is the Paper of Life, and the fact that it starts burning when someone’s life is in danger, fans can rest assured that it will come into play at some point and that it’ll have to do with Luffy’s life burning out.

Sabo had your Vivre Card made. I’ll take a piece for myself. I’ve already shared it with everyone else.

Luffy’s Vivre Card Is Important

The Grand Fleet Will Begin To Move

The best and most important thing Oda can do with Luffy’s Vivre Card is to set up a rescue Luffy arc. In Elbaf, Luffy is up against Imu, and it is way too soon for Imu to lose in One Piece. Even based on powers, it is quite clear to see that Imu is far above the level of Luffy, and even if Luffy levels up greatly, he cannot match up to Imu. This is the perfect opportunity for Oda to have Luffy be beaten and then a rescue arc be set up, where the Straw Hat Pirates and the Grand Fleet, along with the likes of Kuja, and even Sabo, rush to the rescue and pave the way for a massive war to finally kickstart.

One Piece Chapter 1161 will be out this 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 September 28. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1161 is September 28, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.

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
Writers: Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda