第187回：The Fault in Our Elder Stars

Former Queen of Alabasta, Nefertari Lily, a character name that left ONE PIECE around the world in shock! 800 years ago, in refusing to become a Celestial Dragon, the Queen was believed to have returned to Alabasta in order to continue her reign. However, according to King Cobra, ever since the Void Century not a single trace of her existence could be found in the country. Given her absence, her younger brother ascended to the throne and ruled in her stead.

Interestingly enough, with the above line, the Five Elders *confirmed* that Lily did not, in truth, remain in Mary Geoise!

First, before considering the role or actions of the Elder Stars, Odacchi, as an author, is not likely to mislead his readers with this information. If it turns out that Lily actually *did* remain in Mary Geoise alive, readers wouldn’t be surprised so much as they might feel betrayed by the author. So whether we believe the Elders or not, it’s very likely that, that specific nugget of information is true.

That said, the lines immediately following that information seem to have been set up as deliberate misinformation. If Imu is indeed an ancient being, the Elders have an *extremely* reliable source of first-hand info on ancient history.

What’s a misdirect and what’s the truth, how do I know? Well…

Just a guess! But seriously, there is a difference between the kind of lies that characters can and can’t tell due to the narrative. Unfortunately, it’s a sensitive topic so we can’t delve too far into it here, but it certainly leaves us with plenty to think about!

Did Lily ever permanently ‘live’ in Mary Geoise? I for one believe she did not. But just because she didn’t live there, doesn’t mean she didn’t…remain…there.

Lily’s story and her actions are such to be one of the greatest final mysteries of the series and, I dare say, one of its greatest tragedies and triumphs!

BOY HOWDY! It’s the tale of ‘The Elder Stars were Ability Users All Along’! But what are their abilities?! Let’s take a look!

First of all, here they are left to right!
Saturn, Blondie, Grampa Katana, Pointbeard, and Twirlbeard

Here they appear to be in the same order.

A. Probably Saturn. As he’s heading to Egghead, there’s a chance he’ll be the first we see to be revealed. He definitely looks like a Zoan. Arrow D might be an Elder or it might be a hagoromo-like sign of being Awakened, it’s hard to tell for certain. Just going from the shadow he might be a water buffalo or a wildebeest.

B. In the previous panel, n Imu-like figure can be seen devouring Sabo’s flames. So whether this is a form-changed Imu or Blondie who leapt up to the stairs to shield Imu, is unclear. I even tried asking an editor for clarification and they said, “It’s deliberately unclear so you can enjoy guessing!” Game on, Oda. Game on.

C. Looks to be Grampa Katana! The hagoromo-like feature suggests that he’s an awakened Zoan. Possibly a mythological-type?

D. While pretty hard to see, this tiny blip could be a hagoromo-like feature, or it could be Blondie himself. Pretty hard to say for sure but the panel where they’re all leaping seems to suggest this might actually be Blondie!

E. Pointybeard looks like a chicken but don’t count him out being a basilisk or some other mythological bird. He also seems to have an Awakened hagoromo but it could just as easily be a body-part.

F. And last but not least, Twirlybeard! Is he a…hippo? I sure hope so! For the first time in the series it would mean a REAL LIVE Gentleman Hippo! Wapol only made a doll and Perona’s subordinate was a mash-up zombie. A hippo with a giant mustache! I’d love it!