One Piece finally hints at one of the secrets behind Imu's giant Straw Hat

One Piece thrives on a tapestry of intricate, interconnected mysteries that fuel fan theories about the lore and future developments of the series. Even with the story now in its endgame, numerous subplots linger without resolution. Among the biggest unanswered questions is the origin and significance of the enormous straw hat hidden in the secretive walls of Mary Geoise.

This straw hat is stored in a frozen chamber within the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, the World Government’s capital city. In chapter 906, Imu-sama – the supreme leader of the World Government and secret ruler of the Empty Throne – was shown looking at this mysterious object, an enigmatic scene that keeps fans theorizing to this day.

Considering the straw hat’s enormous size, which makes it unsuitable even for a particularly large human, it’s plausible that it was crafted for a Giant. With Elbaph, the homeland of the Giants, playing a pivotal role in One Piece’s narrative, this speculation doesn’t seem too far-fetched. In any case, the latest One Piece chapter has unveiled new clues that could potentially shed some light on this long-standing enigma.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1154.

One Piece's most mysterious straw hat may have belonged to the leader of the Galley-La Giants

Imu's secret possession in Mary Geoise

The giant straw hat as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

The story has yet to explain why Imu keeps this huge straw hat preserved in Mary Geoise, but the fact that this scene was prominent in one of the cryptic villain’s rare appearances strongly suggests that the object has a crucial connection to the unfolding secrets of One Piece’s final saga.

In One Piece, the straw hat is a recurring symbol of freedom. It is associated not only with Monkey D. Luffy’s journey to become the Pirate King – the freest man in the world, in Luffy’s own words – but also with the fascinating yet mysterious figure of Joy Boy. The first person in history to set sail as a pirate, Joy Boy, is said to be the one who left behind the legendary One Piece treasure.

Joy Boy was a man born at the beginning of the Void Century, and he wielded the same Human-Human Fruit Model: Nika as Luffy, who is considered his second coming. In fact, while Joy Boy seemingly perished while fighting for the Great Kingdom in the conflict against the alliance that would later evolve into the present-day World Government, his legacy lives on.

Imu on the Empty Throne (Image via Toei Animation)

Imu-sama is allegedly very familiar with Joy Boy and his powers, and seems to tremble at the prospect of his return, even in the metaphorical form of his legacy resurfacing through Luffy. For this reason, many fans have speculated that the enormous straw hat belonged to Joy Boy and that Imu kept it stored as a memento of their triumph over Joy Boy and his allies during the Great War.

Essentially, the idea is that Imu regards the straw hat as a symbolic trophy, a testament to their authority over a vanquished enemy. However, this theory seems to have lost traction since the reveal of Joy Boy’s physical features. Granted, Joy Boy has only been shown as a darkened silhouette so far, and he was depicted with a hat strikingly similar to a straw hat, but his body seemed to be that of a normal human.

Joy Boy wasn't a Giant, most likely (Image via Shueisha)

Compared to Emet, a huge robot around the size of a Giant, Joy Boy appeared small in size. At most, he could be a very tall human, like the Admirals, Donquixote Doflamingo, Charlotte Katakuri, and the like, perhaps he could even have a build similar to that of Kaido, Whitebeard, or Big Mom, but he surely wasn’t a Giant.

Of course, this casts strong doubt on the speculation that he was the original owner of the enormous straw hat now in Imu’s possession. On the other hand, even if the hat didn’t belong to Joy Boy, there must be a reason why Imu is so interested, if not obsessed, with it.

The frozen Giants and the frozen straw hat

The Giants frozen in Punk Hazard are the Galley-La shipbuilders (Image via Shueisha)

One Piece chapter 1154 mentioned the “Galley-La”, a group of Giant shipwrights with the same name as the Galley-La Company of shipbuilders from Water Seven. This group, comprised of both Ancient Giants and standard Giants, left Elbaph to explore the world, but disappeared after being allegedly captured.

Curiously, when Harald wondered if the Giant shipbuilders from the Galley-La group had been captured by the World Government, Jarul replied by mentioning a certain unspecified “great enemy” from the distant past. This sounded like a subtle reference to the conflict between Joy Boy’s side and Imu’s side.

The latest chapter also hinted at the fate of the Galley-La by implying that the countless huge corpses frozen in Punk Hazard are those of the missing Giant shipwrights. It should be noted that the World Government has used the island of Punk Hazard as an experimental facility, which is another subtle clue when considering that the members of Galley-La were frozen alive, just like how the oversized straw hat is stored in a frozen room in Mary Geoise.

Imu's sinister gaze (Image via Toei Animation)

Needless to say, given its immense size, the straw hat could only be designed to be worn by a Giant. Piecing the clues together, it seems reasonable to conclude that the enormous straw hat belonged to a Giant from the Galley-La group, possibly the leader of the bunch.

These shipwrights not only hailed from Elbaph – and Imu is particularly interested in gaining Elbaph’s strength for the World Government’s side, as shown in the recent One Piece chapters – but they also stood out as a potential threat due to their craftsmanship. As shipwrights capable of building formidable vessels, they could potentially create or replicate Pluton, one of the Three Ancient Weapons of mass destruction, which is stated to be a fearsome warship.

So, capturing these Giants would be like killing two birds with one stone for Imu-sama. It would also explain why the mysterious leader of the World Government would retain a keepsake of their annihilation. Going by this assumption, which the forthcoming installments of the series can confirm or disprove, the sad fate of the Galley-La and the significance of the straw hat will be revealed during One Piece’s highly anticipated final war.