One Piece creator teases return of major villain in Elbaf arc

Today, as One Piece begins its Final Saga, the stakes have never been higher. This new Elbaf Arc is chock-full of daunting antagonists, unfathomable abilities, and a world teetering on the brink of destruction. Now, fans are buzzing about the development, but even more so about the twist. Eiichiro Oda might be teasing the return of Big Mom, one of the series’ most notorious and deadly villains, previously thought deceased during battle.One Piece is a cultural phenomenon — a Japanese manga/anime co-created by Eiichiro Oda that has been serialized since the late 90s. It centers around Monkey D. Luffy and his pirate crew as they sail across a fantastical world of islands and seas, searching for the ultimate treasure known as the One Piece. Over its 25+ year run, it has become one of the largest and most impactful series in pop culture.Yet Oda has gained a notorious reputation for steering clear from the anime trope of resurrecting dead characters. In previous interviews, he explained that bringing characters back to life lacks a natural cause and purpose and usually undermines the narrative. His most famous rule of all is no unforgettable characters – if a character is so popular that it would be a tragedy to lose them, they shouldn’t have been killed off in the first act.“I’ve always hated revivals since I was a kid. It makes me question the story,” Oda once said.“I write One Piece for the 15-year-old version of myself.”As much as he avoids revivals, Oda is equally as cautious with character deaths. He leaves characters’ fates ambiguous—an undetected storytelling trick that preserves the possibility of fan faves returning, without ever bending the rules of his own world.One of the largest teases in the current Elbaf arc is the potential return of Charlotte Linlin, more commonly known as Big Mom. As she lost in Wano to Law and Kid, she never died on screen. Now, here in Elbaf, her name and likeness are surfacing in nefarious ways.Killingham’s Kirin ability conjures up children’s nightmares, include a horrible mother figure—one that fans say resembles Big Mom exactly. Additionally, the titans of Elbaf have referenced her several times, suggesting that her tale is just beginning—even if it was recently concluded.Almost as unbelievable, one of those Blackbeard pirates was just quoted as saying the following on the talk show of your choice:“We’re facing the pirates who killed your mom.”— A possible reference to Pudding and Big Mom.Our shadowy global overlord Imu has already demonstrated that he or she possesses the devil fruit skills to raise people from the dead as mindless abominations. If Oda does decide to break his own rule, perhaps Elbaf would be the ideal arc to bring Big Mom back — either as a resuscitated villain or living dead horror under Imu’s control.Considering that Elbaf is currently looking like the darkest, most serious arc of the entire series, Big Mom returning would have to be a huge turning point within the Final Saga.One Piece Chapter 1151 will most likely be officially released on June 8, 2025, for the majority of the international readership. In Japan, the chapter release is at 12 AM JST on Monday, but readers in the US and UK will be able to read it as early as Sunday, June 8 on official platforms such as Manga Plus.Oda has always played the long game, planting seeds that take years to grow. With the end of One Piece in sight, no twist is too wild, and no villain too dead to return.Whether Big Mom comes back as a revived queen of terror or a cursed tool of Imu, one thing is certain—the Final Saga is only getting more intense from here.