Who Is King Harald in One Piece? Theory of the Holy Knights that Turned Everything Around

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 11:14 am

I mean I’ve been reading One Piece for years now and the Elbaf arc really just flipped everything I thought I knew about King Harald. When they first talked about him I thought he’d be backstory another dead king to spur on the story.

The flashbacks began falling, and really? I believe we may be staring at one of the largest conspiracies Oda has written.

The “Official” Account Just Doesn’t Hold Up

This is what Elbaf wants you to think: Loki killed his dad, Harald, and stole some legendary royal Devil Fruit. Classic patricide, right? Except that when you actually get to view the flashback panels, Harald’s being stabbed by his own palace guards. Not Loki, Guards.

I recall reading that chapter and being like, “Wait, I was not expecting this.” It was the guards who stuck a spear in his side, but somehow Loki’s spun bad after 6 years of being shackled. That’s not the way any of this works.”

Why I Believe the Holy Knights Are Behind This

And here’s my working theory, of which I am very sure: the Holy Knights paid off those guards. There’s murmuring in the flashbacks about “abnormal Haki” on site, and that ain’t your ordinary guard-level sh*t. Something or someone was controlling them.

Think about it. Harald worked overtime in defence of diplomacy with the World Government. He’s really negotiating with Mary Geoise, he’s cracking open Elbaf to the outside world. But he was also a creator of the Owl’s Libraries and training Giants in alternative thought making them less “barbaric,” yes, but also harder to control.

The World Government would rather not have Giant with an education who are, you know, diplomatic. They want warriors they can control, or monsters to designate as threats. Harald was giving Elbaf too much independence, too much information. So they lured him out and accused the “cursed prince” in his stead, wrecking the entire country.

In the flashbacks, there’s talk of a “route” into the castle and points of access that should not exist. That screams infiltration to me. Because Holy Knights have that clearance and power.

Shanks Knew Something Was Coming

Here is where it gets even more interesting. Shanks attempted to send Harald a covert warning at Mary Geoise but was too late. Later, Shanks himself has the responsibility of taking Loki into custody after Harald is killed.

Shanks wouldn’t have killed Harald. That’s too easy and out of character for him, I don’t believe either would’ve been possible. However I do believe he was aware that the Holy Knights, or someone in the Government were plotting something. Perhaps he was warning Harald of the infiltration, the untrustworthiness of even his guards. And when he failed, when Harald died anyway, Shanks took his son Loki to save him.

Yeah, you read that right. No, I believe that Shanks brought Loki on to keep him alive.No punish. If Loki was allowed to roam free and persits in denying guilt, the Government would have just killed him too. The truth set him free, but prison kept him breathing until then.

That Royal Devil Fruit Is the Brother‘s Reward for Sure

The mythical Devil Fruit associated with the royal line of Elbaf is everything. We never learn whether Harald ate it, but he was either protecting or using it as leverage. Massive leverage.

And if the Holy Knights wanted that fruit, killing Harald and setting Loki up is just the right chaos to grab it. Everyone’s so worked up about the patricide scandal, the succession crisis, the locked-up prince and then poof, the fruit disappears or winds up right where Government wants it.

The murder story continues to round back to the fruit being held as motive. It’s not like Loki is doing anything for power. It’s just outside forces interfering to steal something that they can’t take by force.

Harald Was Not Wholly Without Power as His Rival Harfagr Had Imagined

One thing the flashbacks do make abundantly clear: Harald was much more than a diplomat. The fellow fought Rocks D. Xebec and split everything for 5 kilometers. He had Conqueror’s Haki. He got off the Red Line and went to fight at the Holy Land.

You don’t assassinate someone like that in a straightforward ambush unless you have some serious backup or mind-control powers. Common palace guards should have been unable to handle him. Which again leads us to Holy Knights intervention something outside the scope of regular battle, something that could seduce or take over his own.Kinda like Mildfur is gonna do anyway… Thanks TH.

What This Means Going Forward

If I am correct that the Holy Knights are the problem, Loki’s restoration will only be the beginning. We’re going to see Elbaf come out really strongly against the World Government once that’s revealed. Harald’s reforms the library, the trade deals, the diplomatic relations they’re all going to be evaluated for performance. Was he being used? Is he a spy trying to save Elbaf from within?

And the biggest unknown of all is Shanks’ voice. He’s tied into this way more than we realize. That furtive message, his collaboration with Gaban, his reluctance to reveal the truth of what went down it’s all leading somewhere.

I personally think that once we finally get the full truth about who King Harald is in One Piece, it’s going to refracturally re-frame my whole Final Saga. This goes beyond a single dead king. It’s about the way World Government deals with threats, how Holy Knights work from within the darkness and how even the most powerful political rulers can be defeated when they cross a line system is not ready to accept.

Loki didn’t kill his father. I’m calling it now. And when that truth falls out, Elbaf’s going to war.

Read:

The 20 Highest Bounties in One Piece

Who Is Rocks D. Xebec: One Piece’s Most Notorious Pirate Captain Finally Revealed

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