Chapter 1167 Summary
Short Summary:
Five years after the God Valley Incident, Harald had assisted the World Government in eliminating pirates throughout the Grand Line, eventually becoming a Devoted Blade in the Knights of God. In the same year that Fisher Tiger had helped the World Nobles' slaves escape Mary Geoise, Harald meets with Shanks, who had returned to Mary Geoise and also became a Devoted Blade. In Elbaph, Ida became ill after being poisoned by the elders from Estrid's hometown, prompting Loki to attack them and set the village ablaze.
Detailed Summary
Five years after the God Valley Incident, rumors began circulating among pirates about a huge figure attacking various pirates ships under a cover of mist. The culprit was none other than Harald, as the World Government accepted his desire to atone for his people's misdeeds by having him work for them to uphold order and take down any pirates causing trouble. Meanwhile, some members of the Rocks Pirates, namely Edward Newgate, now called "Whitebeard", Charlotte Linlin, now called "Big Mom", and Kaidou, went on to become Emperors of the sea, while others, like Ochoku and Shiki, simply wanted territory. But of them all, the only one who was able to successfully conquer the Grand Line was Roger, who became known as the "Pirate King", and sometime after his execution, various pirates took to the seas to find the "One Piece", thus beginning the Great Pirate Era.
To combat this growing era, Giants were finally inducted into the Marines, while Harald was finally given an audience with the Five Elders, who made him a Devoted Blade of God, and bestowed a magic circle on his arm. They explain that the circle has three levels: what they gave him is the "Shallow Covenant", which is the lowest stage. After that is the "Depths Covenant" and the highest is the "Abyssal Covenant", the latter two being only for thirteen specified individuals chosen by Imu, who the Elders promise Harald will meet should the day come he is promoted to a Knight of God. Harald graciously accepted this honor as he believed it meant Elbaph will finally be able to join the World Government, and assures he will do whatever they request. Later, Garling gave Harald a long-distance Den Den Mushi to contact him when they need him, and though he is allowed to return home, he is not allowed to share what goes on up top with others, which Harald understood.
Twenty years prior, Harald met with King Neptune where they drank and laughed together. Neptune expressed his beliefs that Loki is not as bad as people say he is, at least not as bad as Harald was in his youth. Neptune then told Harald that a fortune teller said he would have a daughter in four years, and suggested they can betroth her to Loki. Harald rejects this, but Neptune says she may be born with incredible power, to which Harald considers it, while humorously assuming Neptune's daughter will be shaggy, which the latter refutes. That same year, Saul settled down in Elbaph and with Harald requesting he open a school, which Saul accepted.
Five years later, a young Fisher Tiger attempted to escape Mary Geoise with some other slaves, only to come across a Knight of God. Just as Tiger prepared for a fight, the knight cut off his neck collar before telling him he left the armory unlocked for him and how to get there. This led to Tiger setting the holy land ablaze, which allowed several other slaves, such as Hancock, her sisters, and Koala, to flee. Harald is informed of this incident and meets with Garling and the rest of the knights, who believe one of them was responsible for allowing Tiger to escape. Garling then introduced Shanks to Harald, who is currently at the rank of Devoted Blade of God, but he was confident he would become a knight like Shamrock soon. Harald asks Shanks if they have met before as he looked familiar, but Shanks denied this, calling Harald a peon and demanding he not talk to him like equals, at which point Harald backs off. Shanks then asks Shamrock to tell him all about the holy land so he can find the person responsible for the attack and rise up the ranks, but Shamrock offers to wait until Shanks' injury healed, but Shanks refuses, saying he wasted twenty-four years of his life and wants to make up for it all, but Harald is still suspicious about Shanks.
That year, Ida fell ill, and no doctor was able to help her, which led to Hajrudin going out to sea to find one. Some considered contacting Harald and have him send someone, but Ida refused to drag Harald away from his mission, and she was confident she would get better over time, despite the others' beliefs. Ida's friends tell her that every time Harald comes home, he begs the elders to let him make her his true wife, even though Ida is content with running her bar and meeting various sailors, which she sees as her helping him in her own way. Loki later dropped by with some food for Ida to eat, claiming he just wants her healthy again so he can go to her bar, but Ida's friends believe he is extremely worried about her, in his own unique way, to the point they consider him just as much her son as Hajrudin, which Ida was extremely touched by.
Later, Loki visits Estrid's home village and discovers, to his horror, that Ida was actually poisoned by the residents, as they did not want an outsider like her to become the queen since that would mean they would lose their status and fortune, and they confessed this to Loki because they assumed as Estrid's son he would understand their decision. Instead, Loki set fire to the village and demanded to know if they were lying when they said the poison would kill Ida. Loki reveals to the giants that he clearly remembers Estrid casting him out into the Underworld the day he was born, and as such he hates her and her people with a passion, while declaring that Ida is the only mother he has.
