One Piece opening 15
By
Hannah Diffey
Published 24 minutes ago
Hannah is a senior writer and self-publisher for the anime section at ScreenRant. There, she focuses on writing news, features, and list-style articles about all things anime and manga. She works as a freelance writer in the entertainment industry, focusing on video games, anime, and literature.
Her published works can be found on ScreenRant, FinanceBuzz, She Reads, and She Writes.
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It has been fifteen years since the Straw Hat Pirates from One Piece underwent their dramatic two-year separation and returned stronger, sharper, and ready for the New World. That first timeskip reshaped One Piece’s entire trajectory, setting a new power baseline and rebooting character arcs with fresh momentum. But now, deep into the Final Saga, the story’s scale has grown so overwhelming that another major shift feels not only justified but necessary.
The ongoing Elbaf arc has made this clearer than ever. While Egghead set the stage for world-shaking revelations, Elbaf marks the first true battlefield of the final conflict. With Imu, the Holy Knights, and multiple Emperors moving simultaneously, the world is accelerating at a pace the Straw Hats can’t keep up with in real time. A second timeskp, this one far stranger than the last, may be exactly what Oda has been building toward.
Elbaf’s Distorted Sense of Time
Luffy confused with a mountain of Elbaf behind himCustom image by Rohit Jaiswar
Elbaf is more than just the land of giants and mythic warriors, it’s a narrative trap waiting to spring. Oda has always planted clues years in advance, and the arc’s early chapters made it obvious that time itself behaves unusually on the island. Time passes normally, yet it is felt differently, creating a subtle but dangerous illusion for visitors.
The explorer Louis Arnote’s warning, “Do not overstay your welcome in Elbaf”, was easy to dismiss at first. But as more hints surfaced, its meaning sharpened. Elbaf seems to dull a person’s awareness of time, erasing the emotional markers that make days and years feel distinct. For short-lived humans, that blurring becomes especially hazardous.
Scopper Gaban’s reunion with Shanks offered the clearest proof. Gaban believed only three or four years had passed since Roger’s death, while Shanks revealed it had been a full decade. This wasn’t faulty memory, it was the island’s unique time perception at work. If a Roger Pirate can lose six years without noticing, the Straw Hats aren’t immune either.
If everything in Elbaf is three to four times “bigger,” including lifespan and spatial scale, then the feeling of time stretching follows naturally.
Even Imu’s frustration with the Holy Knights hints at a temporal mismatch. They’d been in Elbaf only a short while, yet Imu insisted they were taking too long. If everything in Elbaf is three to four times “bigger,” including lifespan and spatial scale, then the feeling of time stretching follows naturally. A minute feels longer, a day feels endless, and a month could feel like a lazy afternoon. This creates ideal conditions for an unintentional timeskip.
Why Another Timeskip Benefits the Final One Piece Saga
One Piece opening PAINT
A time distortion-triggered timeskip would fundamentally reshape the world around the Straw Hats without taking readers away from the action. Unlike the post-Marineford gap, where the crew trained off-panel, this timeskip would keep the narrative aligned with the Straw Hats as time slips away outside. For once, the world advances while the heroes remain still.
This would let Oda fast-forward critical developments without sacrificing story momentum. The battles between the Revolutionary Army and the World Government, which currently move in fragmented glimpses, could escalate dramatically while the Straw Hats experience only a few weeks. Dragon’s efforts, Sabo’s mission, and the growing rebellion would evolve into something far more explosive.
At the same time, Shanks and Blackbeard, two of the most important players yet to make their final moves, would be free to reshape the sea in the crew’s absence. Both Emperors operate fastest off-screen, and a jump of several months would allow them to reposition, form alliances, or even clash without Oda having to depict every step. It’s a way to increase tension instantly.
Even the Cross Guild, still rising in influence, would benefit from this narrative adjustment. Buggy, Mihawk, and Crocodile could make major plays while the Straw Hats remain unaware. The result would be a vastly changed political map by the time Luffy’s crew reenters the global stage. The chaos would underline how close the world is to collapse, and how urgent the final war truly is.
How a New One Piece Timeskip Would Mirror and Reverse the First
The Straw Hat Pirates are shown smiling together pre-timeskip in One Piece's opening 13, "One Day" by The ROOTLESS.
The first timeskip happened during one of Luffy’s lowest points, after Marineford shattered the crew and pushed everyone toward independent growth. The reunion at Sabaody felt triumphant because it marked the beginning of a new era. A second timeskip would operate as a narrative mirror, reflecting how much the world has evolved since that turning point.
Instead of the crew choosing to train for two years, this new timeskip would happen to them. The shift wouldn’t be about gaining new powers but about confronting a world that has outpaced them in their brief absence. It reverses the emotional dynamic: instead of returning stronger than everyone else, they would return to a world stronger, angrier, and much more unstable.
The stakes would also be dramatically heightened. After 15 years of story, the first timeskip still stands as one of One Piece’s most iconic reinventions. Repeating the concept on a much more chaotic scale gives Oda the chance to echo that moment while pushing the story toward its endgame. It becomes a thematic circle of growth, loss, reunion, and the unstoppable march of time.
This also deepens the narrative weight of Elbaf. It transforms the island from simply a destination into a turning point as significant as Sabaody or Marineford. A deliberate or accidental elongation of time emphasizes the giants’ mythic presence and reinforces that the final saga operates under different narrative rules. What felt impossible ten years ago now feels inevitable.
One Piece’s world has expanded far beyond what a linear timeline can comfortably support.
One Piece’s world has expanded far beyond what a linear timeline can comfortably support. With multiple factions moving simultaneously and the Final Saga accelerating toward all-out war, a carefully constructed timeskip feels like the cleanest way to synchronize the story’s scale. Elbaf provides the perfect mechanism as a place where time stretches subtly but profoundly.
Fifteen years after the Straw Hats’ original separation, the conditions are finally right for another shift. Not a repeat of the Marineford aftermath, but a stranger, more chaotic timeskip that lets the world advance while the crew remains still. If Oda truly intends to show the storm of the final war at full force, then One Piece is long overdue for another leap forward.
One Piece
Created by
Eiichiro Oda
First Film
One Piece: The Movie
First TV Show
One Piece
Cast
Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Ikue Ôtani, Yuriko Yamaguchi
Video Game(s)
One Piece: Unlimited World Red, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4, One Piece: World Seeker, One Piece Odyssey
Character(s)
Monkey D. Luffy, Roronora Zoro, Nami (One Piece), Nico Robin, Usopp (One Piece), Vinsmoke Sanji, Tony Tony Chopper, Franky (One Piece), Jimbei (One Piece)
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One Piece
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