The sinister shadowy figure was lying the whole time? 
What did you think of this week's chapter?
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I'm sympathetic to Harald being lied to by the government, but you'd think he'd be a little more shocked by the reveal that there's actually a sole ruler of the entire World Government that he's about to have his country join.
Timeline-wise how close is this to Shanks stealing the gum gum fruit? This undercover mission to Mariegeois has me looking forward to the inevitable Shanks flashback (in 200 chapters or smth lol).
He steals the fruit ultimately one year after harald's demise. So elbaph's legendary devil fruit was probably not the gomu gomu no mi unless more shenanigans occur.
Harald probably gave up on trying to fight the world because fighting the world means the giants have to be stuck with their reputation of being bloodthirsty warriors. Elbaf is strong enough to be independent but its independence, in his mind, is what caused its cultural and economic stagnation.
The thing is Harald wasn't totally wrong, the country improved after he started pushing back against the backwards elements of their culture and opening to ideas from the rest of the world. There's a reading of this as a critique against Japanese isolationism, but I don't really like the implications it gives the "warrior culture" stuff.
I think the reading of it being a critique against Japanese isolationism works because it's not Oda saying that the country has to be remilitarized but that it needs to stay independently strong and sovereign.
Japan today is vassalized by the US financial and military system and that's partly ideologically explained by its "need to repent" after its imperialist plundering and sacking of Asia. I believe oda is trying to say that comprador leaders like Harald will never bring their countries to peace because that peace was predicated on their submission and dehumanization.
The violent history of the giants does need to be repaid for, but this is the exact wrong way to go about it. Instead of fighting for justice, Harald tries to make a faustian pact (quite literally) to make some sort of "born again" elbaph.
That's a way better interpretation!