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The record-breaking series One Piece features the amazing adventures of Monkey D. Luffy and his crew in search of a homonymous treasure. The first and only one to find it was Gol D. Roger, who, due to this unique accomplishment, was proclaimed the King of Pirates.
Roger and his crew traveled the entire Grand Line, inspiring the Great Era of Piracy. Before his death, Roger declared that he left the treasure in a certain place. This claim led to innumerable pirates setting sail with the aim of obtaining it.
Since the beginning of the series, fans have formulated countless theories to speculate on what One Piece looks like. To the present day, readers are yet to know what it consists of, meaning that the nature of the treasure remains a mystery. Follow this story to learn more.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to Chapter 1067 and reflects the opinions of the writer
The true nature of One Piece continues to be the greatest mystery in the series
The only crew to ever find the treasure
The entire series is based on the search for the One Piece treasure. However, many years before the current story, someone had already accomplished such an incredible achievement. It was Gol D. Roger, together with his right-hand man, Silvers Rayleigh, and the other members of his crew.
Roger set sail, intrigued by the many legends about a certain treasure left on an island near the end of the Grand Line. At the end of their incredible journey, he and his comrades managed to conquer the entire Grand Line, finally reaching the fated final island. So far, Roger Pirates are the only crew to ever obtain such accomplishments.
To reach the final island, they needed to find a special type of Poneglyphs, with large steles of historical knowledge inscribed on them. Now, these Poneglyphs are scattered across the world and only very few people are able to read them. Among the three types of Poneglyphs, only the "Road" ones create a special guide to the location of the treasure.
There are four Road Poneglyphs, each of them identifying a location. By combining all four locations, the location of the final island appears. Roger persuaded his rival, Whitebeard, to lend him one of his crewmembers, Oden Kozuki, who could read the Poneglyphs, in order to decipher the Poneglyphs.
With Oden's aid, the Roger Pirates finally reached the fated island they were seeking. There, they discovered the truth about some of the world's greatest mysteries, including the Void Century, the Will of D., and the Ancient Weapons.
Roger and his crew also found an amazing treasure, consisting of the sum of the items that Joy Boy had left centuries ago. The occurrence prompted them to burst into laughter, causing Roger to name the island Laugh Tale. As news of their achievements spread throughout the world, he was awarded the title of "Pirate King".
Having reached all of his goals, and knowing that he had contracted a fatal illness, Roger surrendered himself to the Marines. Prior to his execution, he announced to the world that the legendary treasure he found could be claimed by anyone who could reach it.
The main contenders for the treasure
Roger's words inspired countless pirates in setting sail to seek the One Piece and become the next Pirate King. Among them is Monkey D. Luffy, who formed his crew, the Strawhat Pirates, to pursue the legendary treasure. Possessing three Road Poneglyphs, Strawhats are well ahead in the rush.
Among Luffy's greatest contenders for One Piece are the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation. The group consists of the most powerful pirate rookies, including two members of the Strawhats: Luffy himself, as well as Roronoa Zoro, his right-hand man.
The Worst Generation Supernovas are ambitious youngsters. They typically challenge established top dogs, such as the Four Emperors and their strongest subordinates, the Commanders, to surpass and overthrow them.
The Emperors are four of the most notorious pirate captains in the world. Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom and Shanks were the the original four, but Blackbeard took Whitebeard's position. After their defeat, Big Mom and Kaido lost their status and were replaced by Luffy and Buggy. This officially makes the Strawhat Pirate a Yonko crew now.
According to Don Chinjao, an old and experienced pirate of Roger's generation, to find One Piece and become the Pirate King, one has to overcome all the most powerful Conqueror's Haki users. The man who wants to reach Laugh Tale and find the treasure also has to subdue the Marine, the main operative force of the World Government.
During the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, the Strawhats have been very close to finding out the true nature of the treasure. They had the chance to directly ask Silvers Rayleigh, the right-hand man of the Pirate King, about it. However, Luffy stopped Usopp from questioning Rayleigh.
Believing that the Pirate King is the freest man in the world, Luffy idealized that becoming such a figure would have little merit if one already knew anything beforehand. Deeply believing that learning everything from someone else would defeat the purpose of their adventures, Luffy preferred to just follow the events as they come.
What does One Piece consist of?
Traveling around the entire One Piece world in search of the homonymous treasure is undoubtedly an incredible experience. Meeting people of all kinds and exploring the most amazing locations, it could be said that the true treasure lies in the journey.
However, the series author Eiichiro Oda confirmed in an interview that the treasure is not something metaphorical, but is a physical entity that exists in concrete as a sum of items. Within the series, "One Piece" is, in fact, the name the world gave to all the treasures the Pirate King managed to gain.
At least a portion of One Piece once belonged to Joy Boy. During the Void Century, he left some items on the deepest island of the Grand Line, under unknown circumstances. Apart from Roger Pirates, who named that island "Laugh Tale", and Joy Boy himself, nobody knows what One Piece is.
In the original manga, the term "One Piece" is often accompanied by an additional string of text translating roughly to "the great hito-tsunagi treasure". The exact meaning of "hito-tsunagi" has yet to be clarified, and the translations have never been able to relay this text consistently.
There are three possible readings for "hito-tsunagi". It could be intended as a more or less literal translation of "(in) one piece", or roughly translate to "the rope linking all men". Another option is that it should read as "hitotsu-nagi", meaning "one sea at peace".
The many theories regarding the One Piece
The fabled treasure is not only the greatest enigma in Eiichiro Oda's series but one of the most fascinating mysteries in the entire world of fiction. It goes without saying that fans have always tried to guess what the treasure truly consists of.
A popular theory assumes that One Piece is related to the three Ancient Weapons. Believers of this theory claim that the treasure is the result of a coalition of all three of them, Poseidon, Uranus and Pluton, creating a whole new physical entity.
Another theory speculates that the the treasure is a special Poneglyph which holds the true history of the Void Century, or Joy Boy's last words. Both occurrences would justify the World Government's paranoia about someone finding One Piece.
Given that Roger, Rayleigh, and others laughed at the sight of the treasure, it could be that they were amused at the absurdity of something that could wreak havoc in the world. As such, some readers theorized that the treasure is the legendary Old Kingdom.
During the Void Century, this rich and technologically superior monarchy battled independently against all the kingdoms that would eventually combine to become the World Government. As such, it's possible that One Piece is the last vestige of the Old Kingdom's culture. They may directly divulge every secret in the series, including the original proprietors of the Will of D.
The concept of Rio Poneglyph, which, according to Robin, is formed by combining all of the information contained in the various Poneglyphs scattered across the Grand Line, could become entangled with this theory if proven accurate by facts. The resulting message, it is claimed, will reveal the true history of the world.
Another intriguing theory links One Piece to the Red Line, an enormous ring-like continent that wraps around the entire fictional world of the series, separating the seas. The Red Line generically stops any boat from crossing between the seas of travel between certain sections of the Grand Line.
In fact, the Red Line is said to go 10.000 meters deep from the surface of the sea to Fish-Man Island on the ocean floor. Its peak is so high above sea level that it is inaccessible.
The Lunarian race once lived atop the Red Line. They possessed distinct somatic characteristics, as well as a natural-born ability to generate powerful flames and incredible resistance to damage. Because of these special traits, Lunarians were hailed as gods who could survive anything. As such, the Red Line was called "Land of Gods".
However, the Lunarian race appears to be extinct now. The only known survivor was King, who eventually became the strongest and most loyal subordinate of Kaido. Mary Geoise, the "Holy Land" where the World Government is headquartered, is located on the same section of the Red Line that the Lunarians once called home.
Many fans believe that the Lunarian race had ties to the Old Kingdom and the Void Century, making them targets for the World Government, which exterminated and seized their land.
With the Red Line separating the seas and one of the various meanings of "One Piece" hinting at a united and peaceful world, readers have theorized that the treasure consists of some items that would be crucial to destroying the Red Line once and for all. As such, the entire terraqueous globe would truly become a "one piece".
Final Thoughts
Until its final reveal, One Piece will continue intriguing fans of the series. What's certain is that the treasure is not a fairy tale, but a concrete reality. Moreover, the World Government absolutely doesn't want it to be found.
As evidence of this, the Five Elders issued an order to eradicate the people of Ohara for their knowledge of the Poneglyphs, which could lead to the location of the treasure and its mysteries.
The concrete existence of the treasure was confirmed by none other than Whitebeard, the main rival of the Pirate King himself. Whitebeard mentioned that as soon it is found again, the event will shake the world to its core, resulting in a grand battle that will engulf everything.
Those words greatly enraged Sengoku, who at the time was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines. Hence, it's likely that the treasure hides some secrets which reveal could be detrimental to the World Government.
In any case, fans can rest assured. The wait may have been long, but in the coming years, Eiichiro Oda will definitely disclose everything tied to the true nature of One Piece.
