Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is one of the oldest Shonen Jump manga works, but what exactly is the One Piece that all pirates are looking for?
One Piece, created by author Eiichiro Oda, follows a young man named Monkey D. Luffy on his quest to become the next pirate lord. And from there, the premise only accelerates. After being inspired to take to the seas by his pirate idol, Red Shanks , Luffy decides to form a pirate crew, and make his way to the top...
By becoming the Pirate King 👑 . As captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy and his crew must face many characters who stand in their way. If achieving One Piece is synonymous with becoming the Pirate King, what is this legendary treasure, and where can it be found?
Gol D. Roger and the One Piece
The One Piece was revealed by the former Pirate King, Gold Roger (actually Gol D. Roger) just before his execution ⚔. Roger was a notorious pirate in his time, and was considered one of the greatest pirates to sail the Grand Line, the fiercest sea in the world of One Piece. However, Roger eventually discovers that he is terminally ill and decides to take one last voyage around the deadliest sea, determined to uncover the secrets of the world.
On this final voyage, Roger and his crew are the only ones to have reached the final island of the Great Line, "Laugh Tale", or, as it has been identified, "Raftel". Once his journey was over, Roger surrendered to the Marines ⚓ and was executed. Before he died, Roger announced that his greatest treasure, the One Piece, would be found "in one place", referring to the Grand Line and, presumably, Laugh Tale. This inspired an entire generation of pirates to search for this legendary treasure , but what could “One Piece” be?
Joy Boy and the One Piece
What fans do know is that the treasure does indeed exist, as confirmed by pirate Whitebeard (Roger's greatest rival) and Silvers Rayleigh (Roger's second-in-command). Secondly, during a recent manga chapter in the Wano Arc, the scene of Roger and his crew finally setting foot on Laugh Tale is shown. Meanwhile, Roger discovers the story of a mysterious entity named " Joy Boy ". The story that "Joy Boy" left behind in Laugh Tale was so funny that it made Roger laugh 🤣, and inspired him to name the final Island: "Laugh Tale" .
Although it is not yet known, it can be hinted that Joy Boy's story is indeed linked to One Piece in one form or another. Additionally, given that even the world's most fearsome pirates covet this treasure, including the Four Emperors (especially Yonko Big Mom and Kaido), this treasure must be influential or powerful enough to warrant such attention.
Although the exact nature of One Piece itself is unknown, there are a large number of more or less coherent and plausible theories. In the world of One Piece, there are several stone figures called "Poneglyphs", written in an ancient language known to few people . Each of these stones bears pieces of a distant forgotten history, with the Rio Poneglyph believed to contain the complete history of the world engraved on it.
The location of the Rio Poneglyph is unknown, but it could very well reveal valuable information about the history of One Piece . Let's see what fans imagined about the treasure left by Gol D. Roger.
Some theories about One Piece
It's a weapon like Uranus or Pluto that could destroy the red line
So, the world of One Piece is divided into 6 sections. These are the North, South, East and West Blue, as well as the Grand Line and Red Line . Each of these cardinal oceans contains numerous islands.
These regions are all isolated and each have their own characteristics. This is why fans believe that the One Piece is an ancient weapon that will destroy the Red Line and unite the entire sea into... one piece 🛡.
It is the tree from which all devil fruits originate, or the fruit itself
Today, anime/manga franchises like to play with the idea of heaven and hell. Angels and demons, the holy and the occult, and One Piece is no different. Although there aren't many religious overtones in the series, the main power system in the series is the Devil Fruit and the Will of the D might just represent the "Demon".
Maybe the One Piece is actually the Devil Fruit Tree ? Perhaps it's a devil fruit that could be used to unite the four seas?
It was a lie so that people in power would find out about Raftel/The Ancient Kingdom
There is another one that is a little more realistic. Basically, people are speculating that Roger discovered the truth about the Forgotten Century on Raftel and that it had something to do with the Old Kingdom, the Poneglyphs, and Joy Boy.
Knowing that he only had one year left to live, the Pirate King decided to inspire an entire generation of freethinkers to see the truth with their own eyes. To do this, he implemented the stratagem according to which all his "treasure" was stored on Raftel and that it was imperative to reach this place to recover it. This way, the world would turn its eyes to this buried history and the past crimes of the world government could be exposed 🤫.
It's Joy Boy himself, or a piece of his body
Who is Joy Boy? All we know is that he played a huge role or was incredibly important during the Forgotten Century era. Roger himself seems to have taken a liking to this mysterious character, and would have liked that they could live at the same time .
Joy Boy made his promise to Fishman Island 900 years ago, but poneglyphs weren't invented until 100 years later. Therefore, Joy Boy had a lifespan that exceeded 100 years . So, maybe the One Piece is Joy Boy himself? Maybe he was a machine and only part of it remains?
It is a text which sheds light on the forgotten century
Now we talked about treasures, weapons, people and civilization. But what if it wasn't so complicated? What if One Piece was just information 🔎?
Remember, the World Government practically destroyed Ohara because of their knowledge . What if, on Raftel, there is a text that tells the truth and that the world government would do everything to keep it secret.
What’s next for the future Pirate King!
To find the One Piece, you need four "Road Poneglyphs" which, when put together, will show the path to Laugh Tale. Currently, Luffy has two of these poneglyphs (although they are actually copies, technically) in his possession, and he is looking for the other two. Only then will Luffy achieve his goal of becoming the Pirate King and finally reveal the nature of One Piece 🏴☠️.
These are just a handful of theories about what the coveted treasure that is One Piece could be, but Eiichiro Oda's entire oeuvre is so great that there are thousands of theories imagined by fans, if you want theories on other subjects in the One Piece universe we have put together a Top One Piece theories just for you!
