My honest question then is if an entire Marine Force (3 Admirals, Zodiacs, hundreds of ships) cant invade Elbaf, then what could that arc possibly even be about lol? Shanks left the island, and Blackbeards goals clearly lie elsewhere.
Thats not to say i believe Akainu "needs" to be next (I think there will be multiple endgame antagonists), but i just have no idea what Elbaf could be centralized on outside of hypothetical villains that dont yet exist.
Edit: And the main reason I doubt a hypothetical villain (Elbaf himself if he exists, Burned Scar Man, etc) is that Egghead is already serving as a taster for the endgame.
- An Admiral and Gorosei are central to the arc
- Both Blackbeard and Shanks have made big moves during said arc
- Revolutionaries are also mobilizing, as is Akainu and his Marines
It just would feel super off course to dedicate 50-100+ chapters at Elbaf if it is NOT tied to any one of these things.