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One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale Volume 3 was unofficially released in a scanlated context earlier today, continuing to bridge the gap to chapter 1054. The previous two volumes have been incredibly dense with information, and One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 looks to be no different.
This volume of One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale focuses on Joy Boy and Sun God Nika, as well as Devil Fruits in general, Wano’s key players, and the geography of the isolated nation. The volume is, overall, likely the most informative yet in the One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale companion book series.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3.
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale Volume 3 recaps Sun God Nika transformation, Joy Boy, and more
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale Volume 3: Nika and Joy Boy
Kicking off One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 is a section recapping the Sun God Nika transformation of the Mythical Zoan Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika. This fruit was revealed to be the true name of the Gum-Gum Fruit during the final stages of the Onigashima Raid, as Luffy and Kaido’s fight began approaching its end.
Large text on the screen restates a quote from a member of the Gorosei, which can be found in chapter 1045. The quote essentially summarizes the main powers of the Model: Nika Fruit, which include a rubbery body and being “limited by their imagination.” The user’s title of “Warrior of Liberation” is also reemphasized here.
The next page recaps both Joy Boy and the Model: Nika Fruit, beginning by emphasizing that this particular Fruit hasn’t been Awakened in over 800 years. The page also emphasizes that turning “imagination into reality” is a key part of the Fruit’s users powers when Awakened, confirming the literal meaning of the Gorosei’s words.
The rest of the page’s first half serves to remind viewers that Luffy feels this Awakened form, which he calls Gear Fifth, is his absolute peak. It continues to show viewers the teases of information we’ve gotten thus far for Nika, such as from Who’s Who, the Skypiea arc banquet celebration scene, and reemphasizing the bizarre powers and effects of the transformation.
Closing out the Nika section of the page is a recap of what Who’s Who and the Gorosei had to say about the legend of Nika and the Fruit. The former emphasizes that the prison guard he heard the legend from “was disappeared” days later, while the Gorosei reveal information about the World Government’s centuries-long quest for the Fruit.
The rest of the page focuses on the myth of Joy Boy, recapping the little information we certainly know about him, this being his existence during the Void Century and his apology letter/promise. The page emphasizes that his apology and promise to Fish-man Island is still respected and upheld by the Fish-men themselves, passed from generation to generation.
The page then shows Roger reading Joy Boy’s story and discovering his treasure on Laugh Tale, the island they name so after laughing uncontrollably from Joy Boy’s story there. This segues into the relationship between Joy Boy and the Mermaid Princess he knew, who could also talk to Sea Kings as the Ancient Weapon, Poseidon.
The prophecy of one like Joy Boy guiding a future Poseidon, most likely being the current one Shirahoshi, is also recapped here. The page then recaps Momonosuke and Zunesha’s revelations about Joy Boy which took place during the later stages of the Onigashima Raid.
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 interestingly seems to confirm that Zunesha is a man here, using masculine pronouns to reference them. Finally, the page ends by showing Luffy’s transformation process once more, as well as asking who will “answer the prayers of the past and be the Joy Boy of the present?!”
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale Volume 3: Devil Fruit Compendium
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3's next two pages discuss general Devil Fruits and even include a list of all known Fruits from the series along with their users. The first pages are devoted to Paramecia Fruits, which are common and plentiful in the series.
It emphasises how many Fruits fall under this umbrella term, usually being those changing the properties of one’s body or allowing them to manipulate or produce something. The page also generally emphasizes how sought-out Devil Fruits in general are, as well as the unfortunate side effect of being “cursed by the sea” and unable to swim.
The Paramecia page then ends by recapping Paramecia Awakenings, which generally allows their users to affect their surroundings with their powers. This, obviously, greatly broadens the scope of abilities for Paramecia users, as shown with Doflamingo’s String-String Fruit and Eustass Kid’s Magnet-Magnet Fruit.
The next page features both Logia and Zoan type Fruits, which are noticeably less prevalent in the series than the aforementioned Paramecia class. Beginning with Logia types, One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 reminds viewers that the Logia class allows its users to turn into an element, such as ice, fire, or lightning.
One Piece - Road to Laught Tale volume 3 also emphasizes that users are no longer limited by the natural physicality of their bodies, and are impervious to most physical attacks in their elemental forms. This means that to counter a Logia, one must use either Armament Haki or some sort of weapon or Devil Fruit, which represents the element's natural weakness.
The page then discusses Zoan types, which are split into three categories: standard, Ancient, and Mythical Zoans. The standard Zoan section emphasizes a user's ability to transform into the associated animal or insect, either fully or in a hybrid man-beast state somewhere between the two. Like the Paramecia and Logia sections, all known standard Zoan users and their fruits are also listed here.
The next section discusses Ancient Zoan types, which are said to be representative of “ancient creatures that no longer exist in more modern ecosystems.” A vast majority of the currently known Ancient Zoans are based on dinosaurs, but outliers such as spider-based, mammoth-based, and saber-toothed-tiger-based Fruits also exist. It's worth noting that every known Ancient Zoan user was formerly aligned with the Beast Pirates at one point.
Finally, Mythical Zoan types are hailed as being extremely rare, even among the Devil Fruits themselves. The associated text also emphasizes that these Fruits “seem to possess unique abilities akin to Paramecias on top of the standard Zoan transformations.” After listing all known Mythical Zoan types and their users, the page ends with detailing Zoan Awakenings.
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 emphasizes that Zoan Awakenings don’t normally affect their surroundings, instead allowing the user to develop a “striking new transformation.” The text also emphasizes that their bodies usually get much tougher, but at the cost of a “duller personality.”
The page ends by reemphasizing the Gorosei’s statement that Zoan Fruits have a mind of their own, also letting viewers know that this trait is how inanimate objects are “fed” Fruits.
One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale Volume 3: Concept art and sketches
Finally, as with previous issues, One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 ends with various concept art and sketches from the series’ author and illustrator himself, Eiichiro Oda. The first page of this issue’s concept gallery focuses on Yamato, showcasing alternate designs featuring younger, more feminine, and even more “tsundere” versions of the character.
It’s also revealed here that at one point in her design process, she was meant to have a third eye, perhaps in the same way and reasoning as Charlotte Pudding's third eye. This would have been an interesting touch, as it would show that both Kaido and Big Mom looked to pursue their goals in similar, alternative ways which didn’t include Nico Robin.
The next page continues to focus on Yamato, but more on her Devil Fruit powers, designs, and attack names rather than her general, human-form design. Interestingly enough, there are two versions of the character here who are incredibly different from the final product. One seems to not identify as male, and the other seems to believe that Oden was truly an evil and horrific shogun who deserved to be overthrown.
The page ends by highlighting her relationship with Momonosuke, as well as alternate versions of their dynamic. Oda’s notes here are particularly interesting, seeming to highlight one possibility for their dynamic as being one of “bitter and jealous feelings” on Momo’s part. This, obviously, would have greatly changed their relationship as it plays out through the Onigashima Raid.
One Piece - Road to Laught Tale volume 3 continues to focus on Yamato, which now presents alternative designs and approaches to her backstory. One interesting alternative seen here shows Yamato present at Oden’s execution, as well as her crying for his death while there.
Similarly to the last page, a version of Yamato can also be seen here who seems to not identify as male. She’s seen relenting at being called “young master,” a Japanese title traditionally assigned to younger men by their servants or parents' subordinates.
Finally, One Piece - Road to Laugh Tale volume 3 ends by showing viewers a map of Wano representative of Act 1 and Act 2 locations. The map even shows exactly where each character involved in the first two acts can be found in each region, as well as showing late arrivals off to the side of the map in the oceans surrounding Wano.
Be sure to keep up with all One Piece anime, manga, film, and live-action news as the year of the series’ 25th anniversary progresses.
