A Second Sun God Nika is Coming? One Piece Chapter 1169 Full Spoilers!

In the previous One Piece chapter, we learn of how Harald was promoted to Holy Knight and immediately regretted it, leading to the events of his death 14 years ago.

One Piece Chapter 1169 is titled, “I Have to Die Now!!”

This chapter has 19 pages, including the cover spread.

Editor’s note: “Just before the fateful massacre…”

This week’s Weekly Shonen Jump cover is quite creative as it resembles a stained-glass window featuring all the Shonen Jump characters, with Luffy at the center.

The last Color Page and cover spread for One Piece: “Rock Pirates wearing black suits”. 

With the Rocks Jolly Roger plastered, we see 14 members of Rock Pirates appear in the cover: Rocks (who is shown stroking a tiger), Newgate, Linlin(who is eating a cake with strawberries), Kaido, Shiki (who is floating), Stussy (who is sitting on Newgate’s left forearm stroking his gigantic chin), Gloriosa, Streusen, John (who is beside Rocks counting money and one of the few times he is not seen drinking), Marlon, Ochoku, Ganzui (who is eating gigantic grapes), Barbel, and Kyo.

Suspiciously Gill Bastar is absent as there are a total of 15 members.

Is it because he is a ghost or did Oda forget?

The Strong World ties are growing stronger here as if you recall, the Straw Hats wore black suits during the climax of the movie to save Nami from the main villain, Shiki, who happens to be a former Rocks Pirate member.

This is the second tribute piece, a reminder of the popularity of the Rocks Pirates, such that Rocks himself was the most searched One Piece character.

Shanks Is Luffy’s Hidden Brother

The chapter begins where we left off with Shanks and Gaban in Chapter 1152: “A Horrible Day”

Here, Shanks learns about the existence of Roger’s son from Gaban, who learned it from Garp and that the boy (his name is not revealed here) is doing well and not caught by the Marines.

Shanks remarks that this essentially means he has his own little brother.

Gaban remarks that Shanks and Buggy were always treated as the crew’s sons.

Shanks thinks that by inheriting Roger’s blood, Ace could become the next King of the Pirates but Gaban does not see things that way, saying that those burdened with heavy expectations will often fail to reach the top and that the world is more interesting if other people take up their mantle.

What if Ace Became Joy Boy?

Shanks’ words here raise another question: who was Shanks giving the Nika fruit to?

Obviously, he never planned to give the fruit to Luffy.

This chapter seems to confirm that Shanks originally wanted to hand the fruit over to Ace.

By this point, Ace was 10 years old and still hanging around Luffy and Sabo.

Since Garp was the one who informed Gaban and Rayleigh about Ace’s lineage and that Gaban told Shanks about it, it seems like this was the impetus for Shanks to go to Dawn Island to have the Fruit be eaten by someone, rather than kept around or sold.

Shanks might have planned to introduce himself to Ace when the opportunity presented itself and this chapter established Shanks’ mentality for why.

It also parallels Harald’s final orders to Loki, so it all adds up.

And like Loki initially refusing to give up the ability to swim, Ace might also refuse something he viewed as “Roger’s inheritance”, having developed a hatred for his deceased, infamous father due to his stained lineage.

Gaban’s words ring true here.

“Most burdened with high expectations fail to reach the top”

Anyone with high expectations can never reach the top if those expectations are not what they want or are part of their dream.

People should not inherit their parents’ unfinished business but make that decision in their own terms.

Ace does not want to become like Roger and forcing destiny upon a child who was left confused and unsure of his place in the world would only bring him despair.

In the end, it was best for the title of King of the Pirates or the Nika Fruit to be left to someone who came upon it on the wayside rather than receive it as an inheritance or final reward.

That is why it made sense for Luffy to be the protagonist, not Ace.

But indeed, in the event Ace did accept both of Roger’s legacies, what would happen?

It is possible he may not awaken the Devil Fruit’s will the same way Luffy did, if he lived with the burden of being Roger’s son.

Perhaps One Piece would never be found at all as Ace lacked that sort of ambition.

Or perhaps the story would have written itself in a way that Ace would eventually develop more of his father’s freedom-seeking.

Either way, it was for the better that the story allowed itself to come naturally, that Luffy accidentally ate a Devil Fruit of destiny and he would make a story out of it in his own terms, rather than what the past has written.

Harald Becomes a Holy Knight

Meanwhile, Aurust Castle went through an uproar as one of the Giant guards was killed by his King Harald without Harald even being aware of what he just did.

The guard was just following the King’s orders to tie him to the pillar.

Harald realizes that his body is no longer within his control, that Imu’s orders are impossible to disobey now and wonders if this change is influencing his own thoughts now.

Harald worries if these changes will last forever as he quickly understands that this will destroy the Kingdom of Elbaph.

Now he sees that by submitting his body to Imu, he had wasted the 144 years of work he spent trying to build peace between Elbaph and the world as all his sacrifices and betrayals led to this miserable end.

Harald quickly orders his soldiers to kill him immediately, refusing to let Elbaph be enslaved.

We now cut to the part where Loki and Jarul enter the throne room to find the King stabbed by his own orders.

However, this does nothing and it is too late as his body is regenerating and Harald suddenly attacks all the men surrounding him with his sword,

Harald’s inner voice rejects his body’s actions the same way Rocks called via the Voice of All Things at the end of Chapter 1164: “Davy Blood”

Unlike Rocks, no one is able to hear his cries for help.

Loki and Jarul arrive to the scene.

How Imu’s Covenants Work

Back to Gaban’s house, Shanks explains the details behind Imu’s Covenants more and shows his mark.

The Shallows Covenant ties Devoted Blades of God to the “Great One” (Imu) that allows the latter to control the bearers if they are within distance.

Essentially, this meant that Shanks could only reveal his true thoughts and feelings outside of Mary Geoise and that was on sea when Shanks revealed himself to Harald as a pirate and Harald recognized him as Red-Haired Shanks.

By this point, the Red Hair Pirates have been quite infamous, as far as back 5 years before this point, Shanks would have found Uta and he already had most of his mainstays like Yasopp and Benn Beckmann.

From here, Harald and Shanks became friends, so Shanks became worried about Harald’s promotion and went to Elbaph to try and stop him.

This leads to Shanks’ explanation about the second Covenant, the Depths Covenant that makes a Devoted Blade of God into a full Knight of God.

The Knights of God gain superhuman strength and immortal bodies.

They can also generate the Abyss portals to travel great distances instantly.

The Abyssal Covenant grants the recipient a higher form than the Demons of Domi Reversi, the yokai forms of the Five Elders, akin to Devil Fruits possessing the dreams of those who seek to be those creatures or those who are said creatures.

However, in return, the “Great One’s” voice will follow them to the ends of the Earth, meaning Imu’s influence now has no limits and therefore Harald cannot refuse Imu under any circumstances.

Shanks knows that the World Government will never keep its promises.

Suddenly, Shanks and Gaban sensed a terrifying Haki coming from Aurust Castle.

Harald Names Loki His Heir

With his large hammer, Loki clashes with Harald and is confused by what is going on as he sees Harald still alive through all the stab wounds on him, his immense strength and, most of all, why he is trying to kill them.

While the guards head for the throne room and worry about what’s happening, thinking it’s Loki fault, Jarul and Loki pin down the mad king and here Harald confesses to everyone before feeling his sanity slip that he had done something unforgivable, that he had been working for the World Government but he realized too late that they never intended to honor their end of the bargain to include Elbaph but rather to turn the Kingdom into a colony for the World Government, making him feel like the worst King in the history of Elbaph.

Harald tells Jarul that Loki is the one to eat the Legendary Devil Fruit as on his own, Loki cannot defeat Harald with his divine powers.

Harald tells Loki to reveal the whole truth to the guards and the entire kingdom and to be the one to sit on the throne.

Harald’s wish at this point was to make Loki the hero, disregarding how he is remembered because what ultimately matters is the future of Elbaph.

As his last words as himself, Harald counts on Loki to set things right.

A New Type of Possession

Suddenly, Harald takes down the guards inside the castle, ordering the guards outside, who are unaware of everything, to seal the throne room as there is a criminal around the castle.

In reality, Harald has become fully warped by Imu and unlike the Demons under Domi Reversi or even Gunko and Saturn in their demonic forms, this possession has altered his way of thinking and being.

Harald is essentially a dark image of himself.

It follows the same principle that binds the four Covenants: Domi Reversi, where one is “reversed” and turned to 

While Demons like Dorry and Brogy in Chapter 1150: “Domi Reversi” became power hungry, they were fully transformed but here is a perfected Holy Knight.

As hinted in Chapter 1149: “One Second”, this is the same brainwashing as Gunko, who used to be a totally different person before serving Imu, having formed a relationship with Brook, possibly even being an adopted daughter.

The Holy Knight could be treated as a whole species since it is an evolution of an existing one like the Demon, the final form of a Holy Knight.

An immortal being whose will conforms to the desires of Imu.

A guard stabs Harald by the neck, saying he is no longer the same name he served.

Dark Harald, as we will call him here, declares that the old Harald is gone and that he is now a vassal for the “Great One”.

Now Harald intends to erase any evidence of the truth of what happened in the throne room.

Loki runs for it, still puzzled by everything that has happened, his father having a sudden personality change, and bothered that he would lose the ability to swim.

Harald declares he, not Loki, will eat the legendary Devil Fruit, which puzzles Loki even more.

A New Supreme Grade Sword?

Jarul stabs Harald on the stab, declaring that if Harald eats the fruit in his current state as Imu’s vassal, it will spell the end of the world.

Perhaps the fruit is indeed another Mythical Zoan akin to Luffy’s Sun God Nika fruit but not the Nika fruit itself.

Or maybe it is.

Anyway, Harald regenerates easily from the wound and stabs his own sword on Jarul’s head, saying he is returning the “Famous Blade” the latter gave him.

This chapter confirms that the sword stuck on Jarul is Harald’s own sword and that it is actually a “meiken” (famed sword).

In One Piece, there is a term for such swords, “meito” and it refers to swords that are classified by grade and known worldwide for their high quality.

At the top are the 12 Supreme Grade Swords like Roger’s Ace, Whitebeard’s naginata, Murakumogiri, Mihawk’s Yoru, and Nusjuro’s Shodai Kitetsu, the first and highest ranked of the Kitetsu Swords.

There are also 21 Great Grade Swords that include Oden’s Enma, the Wano national sword Shusui and Zoro’s Wado Ichimonji,

There are 50 Skillful Grade Blades and an even larger number of Grade Blades.

Harald’s sword is one of these.

Jarul surviving for 14 years despite having a sword driven cleanly through his head might have been inspired by the real-life case of Phineas Gage, an American railroad construction foreman remembered for his improbable survival of an accident in which a large iron rod was driven completely through his head, destroying much of his brain’s left frontal lobe, and yet still lived for 12 years.

Harald prepares to go after Loki but he is taken down by Shanks and Gaban, who appear on the scene.

Again, Harald recovers.

Is this the battle where Gaban and Shanks learn Advanced Conqueror’s Haki, the Haki that stalls Holy Knight demonic regeneration?

Harald delights in his immortal body, feeling like a superior being because of the “Great One”.

Words just like Demon Dorry and Brogy.

This is why the Holy Knights and Five Elders have such a symbiotic link to Imu.

Loki arrived the treasure room at the end of the chapter. He unlocked the chains and opened the door. Inside Loki saw a treasure box containing the fruit and “Ragnir” hammer behinds it. 

But there’s something strange, because it looks like “Ragnir” was moving a little…

The chapter ends with “Ragnir” moving on its own and attacking Loki, who barely dodges the attack. 

Did Ragnir eat the Legendary Devil Fruit or is there something else going on?

It is also possible that Ragnir has Haki like Enma but while Enma remains inanimate and just eats the Haki of those who wield it, Ragnir literally comes to life.

Will Haki also explain how weapons “eat” Devil Fruits?

Maybe both scenarios are possible?

There will be a BREAK NEXT WEEK.

Chapter 1169 is the last chapter of One Piece for the year 2025, bringing the total to 34 chapters since Chapter 1135: “Friends’ Cups”.

This is a holiday break for the whole magazine, meaning Jujutsu Kaisen Modulo will have its first-ever break and there will be no releases for Kagurabachi, Ichi the Witch and Sakamoto Days on that week.

One Piece Chapter 1170 will be released on January 5, 2026.

In time for multiple volume releases.

This will be the first ever chapter of 2026.

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