One Piece Finally Gives Garp the Family Reunion Fans Have Been Waiting for (& It Doesn’t Involve Luffy)

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Fans have eagerly awaited the Straw Hat Pirates’ journey to Elbaph, the island of the giants, more than almost any other destination in the series. Ever since meeting Dorry and Brogy during the Little Garden arc, Luffy and his crew have dreamed of visiting. But even they couldn’t have imagined how important this part of their adventure would become.

Chapter 1161 of *One Piece*, titled “A Song of Love Bound Under a Hail of Arrows,” continues the flashback to the battle involving Rocks D. Xebec and God Valley, revealing more about what is shaping up to be a hugely important event in the history of the Grand Line. While the entire flashback has been full of surprises, the biggest shock in this chapter is seeing Monkey D. Garp reunite with his son, Dragon, who isn’t a pirate himself.

One Piece Chapter 1161 Finally Brings Garp and Dragon Together — But Only For a Moment

The story of *One Piece* centers around Luffy’s quest to become the Pirate King, but he’s still relatively new to the Grand Line and hasn’t made a huge mark yet. This is different from his grandfather and father, who are famous figures-known as the Hero of the Marines and the Founder, respectively-throughout the *One Piece* world. Despite their well-known reputations and frequent involvement in Luffy’s adventures, Monkey D. Garp and Monkey D. Dragon hadn’t shared a scene together until the intense events of Chapter 1161.

Eiichiro Oda made a smart choice by delaying the meeting between Garp and Dragon until now. He could have brought them together at any point in the story’s first 1000+ chapters, but the way he finally does it is even more impressive. Instead of having Garp save Dragon from St. Moffey, he uses Edward Newgate to intervene, cleverly highlighting a key theme from the God Valley Incident: that the difference between ‘good’ and ‘evil’ isn’t always clear.

It’s striking that Garp seems to enjoy fighting so soon after Whitebeard rescues Dragon. This makes him appear more villainous than the pirates at God Valley. Garp doesn’t seem to care about the innocent people harmed during the Celestial Dragon’s contest, and now that he’s also shown indifference towards his own son, it’s fair to wonder if he cares about anyone beyond simply punishing evil – much like Akainu. In contrast, his son sacrificed his Marine career to save a baby, which powerfully reinforces the ideals behind founding the Revolutionary Army.

Ever since Garp was introduced, fans have been eager to see him interact with Dragon. It makes sense that their first on-screen moment would happen during a major event like the God Valley Incident. While everyone will be watching Garp and Dragon during this conflict, many other important characters are also expected to play a significant role in the latest *One Piece* flashback.

The Rocks and Roger Pirates Are Everything They Were Promised to Be

With the focus often on Monkey D. Garp and Monkey D. Dragon due to their connection to the main character of *One Piece*, it’s easy to overlook other powerful figures. However, most of the strongest fighters currently shown come from the Rocks Pirates and Roger Pirates, and chapter 1161 demonstrates the full extent of their destructive power.

It’s incredibly exciting to watch Charlotte Linlin and Edward Newgate dominate countless pirates and Marines – a scene that will be amazing when the *One Piece* anime finally shows it. It’s also fun to see the crew’s best fighters running scared from Garp, which gives a fresh, younger perspective on powerful characters like Linlin and Kaido, making them seem surprisingly different from their initial appearances.

In Chapter 1161 of *One Piece*, the Roger Pirates have a more focused role than the Rocks Pirates. While the Rocks Pirates appear primarily interested in the overall chaos of the God Valley Incident, the Roger Pirates are completely dedicated to freeing Shakky from captivity. The chapter builds to Silvers Rayleigh successfully rescuing her, and most of their scenes emphasize the emotional impact of this event. Although the sequence feels a little rushed, Shakky’s rescue ends up being the most memorable part of the chapter.

Even though the Roger Pirates managed to save Shakky, the story of the God Valley Incident isn’t finished. Knowing that Rocks D. Xebec fought against Garp and that Roger was also involved suggests that Chapter 1161 of *One Piece* is setting the stage for a bigger conflict, not just wrapping things up.

The God Valley Incident Has More Twists Hidden Up Its Sleeve

The God Valley Incident is shaping up to be a massive event, bringing together key figures from the history of *One Piece*. Characters like Garp, Dragon, Blackbeard, Shanks, and the crews of the Rocks and Roger Pirates are all fighting, with many other known characters caught up in the battle or trying to survive the Celestial Dragons’ cruel contest. The stakes are incredibly high, and each chapter-including Chapter 1161-is packed with legendary characters.

While simply *showing* which characters were at God Valley isn’t a strong point of Chapter 1161 – since we already knew most of them would be there – the chapter does a good job of bringing all the important characters into the fight. This is especially impressive considering how little we knew about what actually happened during the flashback about Rocks D. Xebec.

It’s still unknown exactly where the *One Piece* manga is headed, but recent events strongly suggest that author Eiichiro Oda has a detailed plan for finishing the God Valley Incident arc. Important questions remain about the escape of Bartholomew Kuma’s group, Shanks’ rescue, and the death of Rocks, so fans should prepare for a long and in-depth exploration of this crucial event in the Grand Line’s history. Luckily, if the latest chapter (1161) is anything to go by, the story promises to be even more thrilling than anticipated.

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2025-09-29 13:57