World Government Non-Member Nations
In the world of One Piece, there are World Government member nations and “non”-member nations.
However, membership is essentially forced.
So the basic choice comes down to two options: comply, or be enslaved for refusing.
Vodka Kingdom, where Kaido was born, was a country that couldn’t stop war because it needed to pay the “Heavenly Tribute.”
However, someone with overwhelming power like Kaido thinks: “Why submit to the Celestial Dragons? Just fight them!”
But adults who lack power yet have wisdom understand the troublesome nature of organizations.
Non-Member Nations
Among the non-member nations, there are some that haven’t become lawless territories.
The methods vary: protection through Warlord amnesty, citizens too powerful to challenge, a strong pirate providing defense, or being a base of the Revolutionary Army that opposes the World Government outright.
Among the non-member nations that haven’t descended into chaos, one stands out:
The land of Wanoland, where the village of Elbaf is located.
Wanoland is one of the strongest among all non-member nations — a country so formidable that the World Government seemingly has no opening to exploit.
…And yet, I believe King Harald made the decision to join the World Government.
Here’s why…
The Easily Deceived Giants
About 50 years ago, Oimo and Kashi were deceived by the Navy.
This means the lie that “the Navy has imprisoned the two captains of the legendary Giant Warrior Pirates” actually worked.
In other words, it was revealed about 50 years ago that no one in Elbaf knew where Red Ogre Broggy and Blue Ogre Dorry actually were.
So with a simple lie, they were able to control giants for 50 years.
If you were in the Navy, wouldn’t you want to use this same lie to get more giant slaves — to control all of Elbaf?
Then the target becomes: the King of Elbaf.
King Harald’s Horns
At this point, King Harald still had his horns.
He was probably not yet deceived at this stage.
Let me work out the timeline.
Big Mom was in Elbaf 63 years ago. Current Hairudin (Heidinn) is 81 years old.
That means at that time, Hairudin was 18 years old.
And in that same year, Loki was born — so Hairudin is 18 years older than Loki, meaning current Loki is 63 years old.
Giants live roughly 3 times as long as normal humans, so their apparent age is actual age ÷ 3.
So 18-year-old Hairudin would look about 6 years old.
At the time shown, Loki was about 18 years old, and Hairudin was about 36.
About 45 years ago, roughly speaking.
Probably a few years after Oimo and Kashi blabbed to the Navy about Doriburg (Dorry and Broggy).
Using the information Oimo and Kashi gave them, the World Government side carefully laid out their plan and moved to deceive King Harald.
King Harald: Deceived, Troubled, and Decided
“He hated war and tried to connect Elbaf with the nations of the world.”
I believe this means he tried to make Elbaf a member of the World Government.
He was probably deceived by the World Government side and agonized over the decision.
For example, imagine something like this:
“The Navy already has the power to capture Dorry and Broggy.”
“We won’t invade the island — but any giant found at sea, we can capture.”
“Including Doriburg, essentially all giants’ lives are in the Navy’s hands.”
“However, if Wanoland joins the World Government, we won’t mistreat you.”
“From now on, you will plunder from non-member nations and pirates to pay the Heavenly Tribute.”
Doesn’t that sound like a convincing negotiation (or rather, threat)?
Against this, Loki — skilled in deception and cunning maneuvering — tried to stop his father.
“Becoming a member nation is a slave contract. Don’t do it.”
“There’s no way Dorry and Broggy were captured. Don’t believe it so easily.”
Something along those lines.
Loki is the only giant with a talent for deception and reading people — and it seems he recognized immediately that this was a lie.
That’s roughly my prediction.
We might get answers as soon as next week, so please look forward to seeing if I got it right!