I don't think that the One Piece is an anchor, but this did remind me of something else.
For a long time, the greatest theory was that the One Piece was going to be one sea in which everyone would be free to travel all over the world, or that it would be a weapon that would destroy the Red Line.
Is it sake? I suppose so, but I've had my doubts. It can't be just that. I had a theory in the back of my head for a long, long time, but I had no proof... not until Wano came and a certain panel was shown. That panel changed everything.
The One Piece is, in fact, Joy Boy's treasure, we learn it in Oden's flashback. Every character defines their own treasure differently. For Luffy, his hat is his treasure; for Sanji, his knives and hands; Zoro, his swords; Nami, her tangerines, etc.
So what is Joy Boy's treasure, what is the One Piece? It has to be something he valued more than anything.
According to this, Joy Boy's treasure is a funny story. So the One Piece is Joy Boy's story, the story of the Void Century?
Many fans actually speculated this due to this sentence, but no. If the One Piece is his story, then what would be the point of the Rio Poneglyph (9 poneglyphs that tell the story of the Void Century)?
Maybe the One Piece is the final missing poneglyph of the Rio Poneglyph? No, it would be... meh if that was the case.
So what is it?
First, the One Piece in Japanese is written as ひとつなぎの大秘宝, - Hito-tsunagi no Dai-hihō - and it has 3 meanings:
- Great hidden treasure in One Piece
- Sea at Peace
- Something that connects people/Rope that connects people
The One Piece is something that connects people. So is it sake, which many theorists believe to be the One Piece? Not exactly.
There is something even greater. It is a rope. But what is the rope in the One Piece?
Let me explain the meaning of the One Piece logo, which was designed by Oda himself. It represents the Grand Line surrounded by Calm Belts. The "O," with a skull in it, with crossed "X" represents Reverse Mountain, "NEP" is Paradise, the red "I" is Luffy, obviously the Red Line, "ECE" is the New World. And above and below everything are 2 blue lines, which are 2 Calm Belts. Notice how the last "E" is in the shape of an anchor? That is because that's where the adventure ends, where they'll put their anchor. And notice how the skull at the beginning is biting on the rope that is tied to the anchor... it's as if the Straw Hats were destined to reach the end. They were tied to it.
The rope represents the whole story of the One Piece; it is an adventure. Adventure and the story are what connect people. Millions of fans are reading One Piece weekly, and people from all over the world, from different religions, and different beliefs...
we're all connected through the One Piece.
It's as Roger said, Joy Boy left such an unbelievable treasure, such a funny story...
So what I'm saying is that the One Piece is the adventure and the story we've been told throughout the series? That the whole One Piece manga is... the One Piece treasure...? No.
But similar to how Oda connected people from the real world, the same thing was done by Joy Boy through the One Piece treasure... he connected people from different races, different religions, and different kingdoms into what would later become the Ancient Kingdom. And sake that Binks brewed was used as a symbol of their brotherhood.
So what kind of story did Joy Boy tell?
Well, to explain that, first let's take a look at Chapter 1069.
Devil fruits are basically desires of their creators. Someone wished to become Jacket-Jacket, someone wanted to be slime, someone wanted to be a giraffe... And someone wanted to be Nika... to be free.
So WHO IS NIKA?
Obviously, we know that Joy Boy was a real character from ancient times. But Nika is described by Vegapunk as a character from ancient scriptures... and what's even more interesting, Luffy's devil fruit isn't "Human-human ANCIENT zoan," but it's MYTHOLOGICAL. Nika is a myth. A legend... He never really existed... He was just a story. A story told in ancient times. Told by the slaves who didn't have their freedom. They desired the freedom that Nika brought.
"Who knows if he really existed though"... he didn't. He was just a myth.
So what is the One Piece? Have you guessed it by now? As I've said, it is a story, more specifically, it is a story about Nika. A Laugh Tale.
The One Piece is
DRUM ROLLS.............. a comic book. And Nika is a character from that said comic book. He was a "God" only in a comic book.
In the dark times that Joy Boy lived in, in the times of slavery, this comic book was his escape from reality, one light in these dark times... It brought him a sense of freedom, it brought him laughter. Joy Boy wanted to be free more than anything else... He wanted to become Nika, a character from his favorite comic book... His treasure. He wanted to free people, to bring smiles to people's faces. This comic book was what drove him to rebel against the 20 kingdoms that would later become the World Government, this comic book and the story, the laughter it brought him, one light in the dark times... he had to share it with others.
It is through this comic book that everyone was connected, similar to how we, the real fans, are connected through the One Piece manga, and Joy Boy alongside many others who desired freedom more than anything else banded together and used sake to symbolize their brotherhood and family.
And through advanced technology, Joy Boy was finally able to become the embodiment of freedom, he became Nika, he was able to bring laughter and freedom to other people with his powers that were so ridiculous...
the powers that came straight out of a comic book.
There is a reason why Gear 5 is so funny, there is a reason why it looks so cartoonish... there is a reason why it looks like it's straight out of a comic book (Black and white)... It is because it is.
In the 2019 and 2020 Jump Festa, Oda has said that he hopes he will not reveal too much in Oden's flashback, and he said that Wano will be heavily related to the One Piece treasure. (And we got Oden's flashback, and we got Nika, which according to my theory is heavily related to the One Piece itself.)
But has he revealed the One Piece, as in, have we seen it?
As a matter of fact. WE HAVE SEEN IT!
Take a look at this small part from a huge panel:
Nothing unusual?
Well, what is this?
Roger is holding something... a book? A comic book? He's holding a comic book and he says it's a tale full of laughs. That, my friends, is the one remaining piece of Nika's comic book. Joy Boy's treasure.
(I've looked up this scene in the anime, and they actually deleted him holding anything, even though he's obviously holding something here.)
In the Void Century, 20 kingdoms (World Government) destroyed all of the comic books as they posed a threat of future rebellions, similar to how Nika's name was deleted and everything else about the Ancient Kingdom, but this single comic book survived. So, to not make the same mistake again, the Ancient Kingdom created poneglyphs and told their story, and they hid their one remaining treasure on the final island of "Laugh Tale" where someone in the future will find it.
There is a certain character that doesn't have a huge role in the story currently... but he will have a HUGE part in the final arc... And that character is none other than Big News Morgans.
So far in the story, he only dealt with bounty posters and news about the world through his newspapers... but, what if he gets a hold of this comic book? I mean, he's already rooting for Luffy to become Pirate King and he's certainly against the World Government... What IF he learns the truth about the world, and he is the one who copies this comic book a million times and spreads it all over the world in a day, alongside the truth about the world and the Void Century? - The World Government would go insane, they would have to kill everyone who has read his newspapers....
And the world would turn upside down. And the final war begins. (This would separate World Government soldiers into those who would obey every order and kill civilians without any question for the greater good and those who would protect civilians, this would cause the WG to divide into 2, and you'd have a WG civil war).
What if... what if Morgans actually already knows the truth? If you didn't know, Morgans ate a Zoan devil fruit and he is constantly in his hybrid form... It's as if he is hiding his true identity... What if Morgans was part of Roger's crew - it would explain why he's against the World Government and why he knows Luffy will become Pirate King and why he's rooting for him... And just like every other member of Roger's crew had a role to guide Luffy, so does Morgans... His role will be to inform the world about everything.
I hope you enjoyed this theory, please share your thoughts. :)
