Chapter 1171 Summary
Short Summary:
After reluctantly killing Harald, Loki takes the surviving guards with him out to sea, asking Jarul, Gaban, and Shanks to keep the truth a secret. Returning to the present, Hajrudin forgives Loki for the circumstances of Harald's death and releases him. As everyone else moves up from the Underworld, Loki demonstrates to Luffy his power by attacking a Draugr MMA.
Detailed Summary
After Harald is killed, Gaban says he feared what would have happened if Harald actually made it past the castle with the power of the Depths Covenant, but even with the way his wounds healed after he took damage, he could not believe something like the power of Elbaph's legendary Devil Fruit could stop him permanently. Gaban asks Jarul if he knew the fruit had that kind of power, and the elder giant confesses he did not, but he does fear what would have happened if Loki not been there. Shanks thinks to when Harald told him how excited he was at becoming a Knight of God if it meant having Elbaph join the World Government, and then he remembers Garling telling him to forget the "lower world" and not consider them people, which enrages him to the point he tightly grips his left arm. Gaban stops him and tells him not to regret his birth like he has done before, but Shanks explains that if he had warned Harald about the covenant soon enough, he wouldn't have had to die. Gaban tells Shanks that none of this is his fault and he believes that every life has value, but he needs to stay calm in order to find it. As for Loki, he continued to mourn over his father's corpse while calling what happened a cruel joke.
In Mary Geoise, Imu appears to have suffered a backlash from Harald's death and is in disbelief that an Ancient Giant empowered by them was actually killed. Meeting with the Five Elders, Mars suggested they investigate the Abyss Harald created, but Imu refused, saying it will only result in the deaths of more knights, while also revealing that bestowing covenants comes at a cost for them. Imu considered Harald an aberration among the Giants of Elbaph as he chose to serve them to help his people, even though said people have a history of being savage warriors. As such, Imu declares that Elbaph will never join the World Government as doing so will only lead to its own destruction, and that Harald was a king Elbaph should never have had for the fact that he willingly agreed to their covenant. Imu says that in the end, history has already dictated that both sides are incompatible, because Elbaph is of the "D."
Back in the throne room, Loki meets with Gaban, Shanks, Jarul, and whoever else survived as Jarul tells Loki that news of Harald's death will cause unrest. Loki tells him he will go out to sea with the surviving guards to avenge Harald, but Jarul reminds Loki of Harald's last wishes. Loki tells Jarul that he cannot tell the people the truth, and demands that everyone else remain silent on the matter as well. Jarul warns Loki that the people will naturally blame him for this because of his reputation, but Loki says he is used to it, and that he does not see himself as the type of person who can carry on Harald's ideals, but that does not mean he cannot help in his own way. As Loki and the guards start leaving, Jarul advises Loki against attacking the World Government head on because of how huge it is, and ultimately, they had to stop him while painting him as the killer.
In the present, Loki tells Hajrudin that by the time he returned home, all of Elbaph was blaming Loki for killing Harald, but he personally would never brag about it; he just wanted to preserve everything Harald fought for, then asks Hajrudin if he still thinks Loki should have told everyone the truth. His story finished and backed up by Gaban, Hajrudin says he finally understands why Jarul kept trying to protect him despite the country's wishes for his execution, and he believes that Harald would have accepted death over being manipulated by the World Government, though he still does not know how they did it. Gaban adds that the new knights played a role in Harald's story, but Loki still does not know the full details, unlike Gaban. Gaban offers to fill Hajrudin in, but he declines for now, as he needs no reason to protect his homeland. Hajrudin personally undos Loki's cuffs and acknowledges that they both loved Harald, apologizing for not realizing that sooner and asking Loki to help him fight for their homeland.
Suddenly, one of Killingham's MMAs resembling a Draugr falls from the Sun World down to the Underworld. Loki considers it the perfect warm up and tells his half-brother to go on ahead because he can fly up later. Hajrudin gets on board with his crew and all five of them apologize to Loki for thinking he killed Harald in cold-blood, though Hajrudin states that he has not forgiven him for all of the other crimes he has committed, but Loki just tells him to get going. Gaban tells Chopper that he is grateful for helping him, but he is worried about Colon, and Chopper agrees to accompany him back up with help from Sanji. Luffy, meanwhile, decides to hitch a ride on Loki's shoulder so he can see how he fights, which Loki accepts. Jumping high into the air, Loki calls to Ragnir and with a swing of it, he completely freezes the MMA, which leaves Luffy speechless.
