One Piece: Eiichiro Oda Finally Confirms the Real Truth of The Gorosei That Fans Suspected All Along Since the Beginning
Warning: Spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1117
One of the biggest theories regarding the Five Elders has now been verified by One Piece, cementing them as the series’ ultimate intergenerational antagonists. Although many fans have long thought the Five Elders are immortal, there has never been solid evidence to back up this claim. The most recent chapters, however, brilliantly and subtly validate this suspicion.
As they are ready to attack the Iron Giant in chapter #1117, the Five Elders—aside from Saint Nusjuro—are seen assembling around it. Saint Marcus Mars then comes to identify the Iron Giant. Saint Mars appears to be recalling the Iron Giant from memory rather than describing it, based on the way he presents it gradually.
Additionally, Saint Mars appears to be quite certain that the robot is the same one that assaulted Mariejois 200 years ago, which suggests that he may have personally witnessed it two centuries prior. This would certify that the Five Elders may have existed since the Void Century and that they are, in fact, immortal.
Eiichiro Oda Confirms The Gorosei Are Immortals
Even if the Five Elders had already identified Nika, it was possible that they had done so based on a description similar to what Dr. Vegapunk had provided. With the Iron Giant, this does not appear to be the case. The Iron Giant ran out of energy before it could cause any harm, according to Vegapunk, so it’s possible that not many people were aware of it or its attack on the Holy Land.
The World Government would have been even more eager to conceal the tragedy as soon as possible and wouldn’t have risked maintaining any records of the Iron Giant’s existence, much less its appearance, given its connection to the Ancient Kingdom. For the Five Elders to have identified the Iron Giant so fast and with such certainty, they must therefore have seen it 200 years ago.
One Piece Has Hinted At The Gorosei’s Real Age Before
A younger Vegapunk is shown visiting the Five Elders in Mariejois in the cover story of One Piece chapter #1075, which provides additional significant evidence of the Elders’ longevity in addition to chapter #1117. In the cover story, Vegapunk seems to be in his forties, and the Five Elders, though only visible in silhouette, seem to look like they do right now.
Saint Saturn, Ju Peter, Warcury, and Mars all have the same gray hair, mustaches, and beards despite the cover story taking place more than twenty years in the past. This shows that they are either aging very slowly or have stopped aging altogether for a considerable amount of time. This implies that they were all probably the recipients of the immortality procedure, serving as living examples of the abilities of the Op-Op Fruit.
Taking away a few decades would be little if Saint Saturn had lived since the Void Century or even much earlier, which would also explain why Bonney was unable to age Saturn using her devil fruit abilities. Especially in light of Lily’s betrayal, it would seem sense that the World Government would not take the chance of passing down the world’s highest authority through successive generations in order to keep a firm hold on the twenty rulers.
The necessity for a stable authority figure such as the Five Elders is further underscored by the fact that life on One Piece‘s blue planet would have required far longer to relocate and settle down following the devastating flooding that took place during the Void Century. It also makes logical that Imu’s trusted council would back him since Imu has been virtually proven to be the same Imu Nerona from the first twenty rulers.
Overall, the Five Elders seem to be ordinary humans despite their terrifying actual forms and distinctive outlines, even if there are creatures like the Giants in One Piece that live for millennia on end. Although their regenerative powers were originally thought to be the source of their immortality, chapter #1117 has finally—though subtly—provided fans with a satisfactory explanation. Imu and the Five Elders are currently firmly established as One Piece’s greatest enemies, however, the Final Saga will undoubtedly go into even greater detail regarding the Five Elders and their immortality.
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