The Straw Hat Pirates are finally headed to a new destination as the Egghead Island arc of One Piece has officially concluded. This Arc spanned over 2 years in One Piece, and it is safe to say that it was very exciting and that it set up even greater things to come. Egghead was intense from start to finish, but it wasn’t on the same scale as the likes of Wano Country, Whole Cake Island, or the likes of Alabasta.

Fans know for a fact that a bigger arc is coming their way, and that is Elbaf. Now, the Straw Hat Pirates are already on the way to Elbaf, but, before the crew gets there, it seems that they have had to split one more time. This split might be confusing to many fans, but there is certainly a reason for it.

A New Arc Begins In One Piece After Egghead’s Conclusion

Egghead Ended With The Escape Of The Straw Hats

Luffy And The Crew Are Near Elbaf

Usually, the Straw Hat Pirates split up at the beginning of various arcs for different reasons. Before the timeskip, this wasn’t really much of an issue. However, after the timeskip, the Straw Hat Pirates often split up and this is simply due to the author employing a very effective strategy of creating smaller groups so that he can focus on different characters better. If all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates are traveling together, it becomes more difficult for Oda to focus on every single one of them effectively. Even on Egghead, fans saw something similar happen. For instance, Oda decided to split the Straw Hats into two groups, one of which was fighting on the Fabriophase, while the other was on the Labophase. Both of these groups fought effectively, and this allowed Oda to properly focus on each character within a smaller group, and do justice to them. Similarly, Oda has now split up the Straw Hats Pirates once again, and this only means that a new arc has now officially begun.

Let’s go to Elbaf! The land of my dreams! – Usopp

Egghead was certainly incredibly intense, and it lived up to and surpassed all expectations. Not only did fans get to see the genius scientist Vegapunk in this arc, but, at the same time, Oda also gave fans an incredibly exciting battle against the Navy. Of course, this was not an all-out battle, but, at the same time, it did have some exciting clashes here and there, which all the readers were incredibly amused by.

Credits: Toei Animation

Furthermore, the Five Elders were thrown into the mix as well, and it is safe to say that their presence made this art all the more special. One Piece finally concluded the Egghead Island arc after a powerful Haki blast from the Iron Giant, which allowed the Straw Hat Pirates to successfully escape. With their escape, the aftermath of Egghead was shown to the fans over the course of two chapters, and now, a new arc is officially underway, which is incredibly exciting to the readers.

How The Straw Hat Pirates Split In Elbaf

The East Blue Straw Hats And Chopper Are Separated

In One Piece chapter 1126, fans clearly saw the Straw Hat Pirates headed towards Elbaf. On the way to Elbaf, they were seen partying with the Giants. Sanji particularly noticed that the alcohol that they served was incredibly strong. This is because it was a special drink from Elbaf, and although the people of the country are used to it, strangers might not be. The fact is that this particular alcoholic drink might even make one hallucinate and pass out because of its strength. For the Straw Hats to be so affected, especially the likes of Jinbei, Nami, and Zoro, it must mean that the alcohol is actually very strong.

I must’ve had too much to drink. What is this place? – Nami

Towards the end of One Piece chapter 1126, fans finally saw the Straw Hats once again, and it was clear to see that the group had officially split up. The reason for the split has not been given yet. But, it appears that the Straw Hat Pirates themselves don’t know how they split. Judging by how things went, it appears that the partying was so intense that all the members of the crew essentially lost all sense of semblance. Then, the two ships essentially split up, which means the Thousand Sunny got lost.

After some time, Oda revealed the groups that he had made and it appears that Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji, and Chopper, are part of one group. The remaining Straw Hats, which include Robin, Franky, Brook, and Jinbe are with the Giants on their ship. Clearly, Oda plans to do something with the first six members of the Strawhat Pirates, while the others will likely get to go to the land of the Giants before the other half.

It has clearly been implied that the split of the Straw Hat Pirates is due to the partying and the strong alcohol. Regardless, this was used as a strategy by Oda to separate a group that he wants to focus on before Elbaf even begins, while the other group will get focused on later on. Nami was clearly seen waking up at the end of the chapter, but who ended up waking her up was not shown. Regardless, Nami was seen in an Elbaf attire, and when she did wake up, it was clear for the fans to see that she appeared in some sort of a Lego city. Clearly, this doesn’t look like Elbaf, which implies that Nami might still be hallucinating. It is clearly mentioned that the alcohol they consumed caused hallucinations, and Oda might use this opportunity to hint at what characters he wants to focus on in Elbaf specifically, and how he intends for them to grow. If all the members of the Straw Hat Pirates start hallucinating, that would certainly make for an incredibly exciting story arc moving forward. This also means that the Straw Hat Pirates are incredibly close to the land of Elbaf.

The second possibility is that the Sunny somehow drifted and was brought close to Elbaf using a different route by some Giant. The Lego city could be a place within Elbaf, and Nami and the others might actually already be there.

The Consequences Of The Split Before Elbaf

The Split Of The Straw Hats Could Be Due To An Abduction

As explained already, the reason for the split on Elbaf is so Oda can focus on the two halves better and give each character their individual shining moments. Oda has clearly set up the first six members of the Straw Hat Pirates from the others, and he intends to give them special focus here. First, Nami seems to be the one seemingly hallucinating, and it might just be that Oda will highlight something very important about her, especially given that she is a character inspired greatly by Norse concepts. Similarly, Usopp is with her as well, and he could potentially go on hallucinating some very important things too. The same logic will be applied to the remaining ones, such as the Monster Trio.

Meanwhile, the other half of the Straw Hat Pirates will likely set foot on Elbaf before Luffy, which means that their adventure will have already begun. They will likely get to explore this new island soon, and at the same time, fans might get to see the cultures, the ideologies, and much more through them in the upcoming chapters. Readers absolutely cannot wait for Elbaf’s different locations.