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One Piece has entered its final saga, but plenty of mysteries concerning the addictive lore of the series are yet to be disclosed. Long-standing secrets and legendary characters are only beginning to reveal themselves, which implies that the journey of the protagonists is far from over.
What is certain is that the varied storylines and subplots featured in the series are all intertwined with each other, as nothing happens by chance in the entangled world of One Piece. Within this enthralling story, flashbacks are undoubtedly among the moments where Eiichiro Oda’s compelling and detailed narration reaches its absolute peak.
Other than making fans cry with its emotional scenes, the ongoing flashback of Bartholomew Kuma also provides some information about major issues of the series. In this regard, a seemingly minor detail featured in the last chapter could be of sizable importance, and that’s what this thread will try to explore.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1099.
Pending to One Piece chapter 1099, Kuma's book might be the key to solve the truth about the world
Bonney, Kuma, and the "Sun God"
When Jewelry Bonney was a kid, ailed by the Sapphire Scales syndrome, Kuma asked what would be her preferred destination to go on a trip after getting better. Bonney answered that she would like to go to the sky islands, as they are so close to the sun, and thus, they might meet Nika, the legendary “Sun God.”
This dialog highlights the connection between Bonney and Luffy, who, with his newfound Gear 5 transformation, can allegedly track Nika’s fabled exploits. Unknowingly, Bonney has already met with Nika.
Granted, this is hardly a surprise, as it was already heavily implied in the previous chapters. Kuma’s father, Clapp, and Kuma himself mentioned Nika as the mythical figure who, according to the legends passed down by the Buccaneer Race, would fight to free the oppressed.
In the present time, Bonney, alongside Sanji, Franky, and Vegapunk, has been overpowered by Saint Saturn. She is currently helpless, trapped in the clutches of the nefarious Celestial Dragon.
There would be no better time for Luffy to step in and protect Bonney from Saturn. By doing this, she could recognize him as the “Sun God” she has always dreamed of meeting. However, Luffy is now lying on the ground, significantly fatigued by his fight against Kizaru, which makes future developments rather uncertain.
Returning to Kuma’s flashback, it’s absolutely essential to note that Bonney mentioned the sky islands because she learned about them by reading a certain book. As all One Piece fans noticed, that book is exactly like the one that Kuma was frequently shown to carry.
With Kuma's book, Oda might be hinting at something major
On the back cover, the same symbol is shown on the clothes that Kuma donned throughout most of his pre-time skip appearances, while the book's front cover read “Bible.” Still, although they share the same title, Kuma's book’s content seems quite different from that of the Christian Bible.
Two years before the present narration, Kuma arrived in Thriller Bark, and the first person he met was Perona. As all fans will remember, Kuma used his Paw-Paw Fruit ability to send her flying to Kuraigana Island’s Muggy Kingdom.
Right before doing that, Kuma took his Bible-like book and flipped through it, seemingly reading something. Unless One Piece author Eiichiro Oda inserted such a scene without any precise reason, which seems hardly believable, it must have some significance.
Considering that Bonney learned about the sky islands from the same book, it’s not too farfetched to think that the tone enumerates and illustrates major locations of the One Piece world.
Another small but intriguing detail is that after citing the sky islands, Bonney mentioned Fish-Man Island, both locations deeply connected with the past of the One Piece world and its secrets.
Fish-Man Island hosts the Poneglyph, where Joy Boy left a message to Poseidon and formerly held one of the four Road Poneglyphs. With regard to the sky islands, the most prominent of them, Skypiea, hosts a Poneglyph that the Shandia protected for centuries.
Fish-Man Island’s Noah and Skypiea’s Shandora are also definitely tied to the story’s main lore. It must be noted that the kirk where Kuma and Bonney lived shows the same stylized sun symbol typically featured in all the cultures linked to Joy Boy and Nika.
That stylized sun is, in fact, clearly shown in Fish-Man Island, Skypiea, and Arabasta, as well as in the symbol of the creators of the Poneglyphs, the Kozuki Family. The fact that it is also present in the kirk is compelling and opens up fascinating scenarios.
The kirk was run by Kuma’s family, known to be on his father’s side, a lineage of Buccaneers. Given that the book was kept in such a place, it might be a collection of the information the Buccaneers gathered and passed down.
According to Saint Saturn, the Buccaneer Race once committed a certain crime against the World Government. Whatever they did, it’s clear that the Buccaneers were, and continue to be, loathed by the tyrannical institution.
The eerie woman on the book's cover
On the book's cover is a picture of a woman with a sun behind her. Although, at the moment, it is nothing but a speculation, there is a significant chance that the woman depicted is Nefertari D. Lili.
An ancestor of the Nefertari Family, whose members have been recently revealed to be carriers of the mysterious initial D., Lili was the queen of Arabasta about 800 years ago, during the Void Century.
She was among the twenty monarchs who allied themselves to fight the Ancient Kingdom, eventually overcoming it and leading to its erasure from history. The alliance became what is known today as the World Government, and its leaders left their countries to live in Mary Geoise, becoming Celestial Dragons.
Queen Lili was the only one who refused to do that among the twenty monarchs. She wanted to return to Arabasta but suddenly went missing, and any trace of her life was erased from history.
Imu-sama stated that Lili played a decisive role in the spreading of the Poneglyphs all over the world. It’s absolutely possible she did that by using the Paw-Paw Fruit, whose abilities are perfect to travel the world while carrying the giant stones.
The theory is further corroborated by the fact that the Paw-Paw Fruit was lumped with cats. When Kuma described his Devil Fruit to the Straw Hats, Nico Robin thought that such an ability would be more suited for a cat than a bear, the animal to which Kuma is manifestly linked.
Arabasta, the country of which Lili was queen, is based precisely on Ancient Egypt’s history and culture, in which cats and feline imagery are extremely emphasized.
Assuming that 800 years ago, Lili owned the Paw-Paw Fruit and used it to spread the Poneglyphs all over the world, it’s clear that she had decided to side with Joy Boy.
All this would explain why the World Government, who wants to hide every detail about the events of the Void Century, erased any mention of her from history. It would also account for the fact that Lili seemingly appears on the cover of the book passed down by a family of Buccaneers.
Having traveled the world through the Paw-Paw Fruit’s ability, she presumably visited many places. At the very least, the ones where she left the Poneglyphs. These locations include both Fish-Man Island and Skypiea, the same places whose existence Bonney learned by reading the book found in Kuma's kirk.
Although highly intriguing and mostly evidence-based, all these theories remain mere speculation until the manga reveals how things truly stand.
Still, it’s common knowledge that the major secrets of One Piece’s lore are all linked. As the connection hereby hypothesized would explain and tie several storylines while maintaining overall consistency with the main plot, it might truly be much more than a simple suggestion.
Keep up with One Piece manga, anime, and live-action as 2023 progresses.
