Intro
Hello, Alexis2282AE here. Like many, I love theorizing about One Piece and have posted some other long, in-depth theories/discussions here before. Like any crazed One Piece theorist, I have a theory about the treasure and the history of the world. If you’re into folklore, mythology and how they shape this wonderful story, you’re in for a fun (and long) read. No really, this is going to be long. I thank you for your time in advance and I hope you enjoy it. This theory surpasses the character limit of WorstGen, so it will be continued in a comment chain.
The post will touch on the following:
One Peace
The One Piece is just...one giant party (you’ve probably heard this before but bear with me). Throughout this series, there is one constant nearly everywhere we go - Luffy and the SH crew have a celebration, whether they are friend or foe or something in between:
Laugh Tale, and the location of the One Piece, will be the site of what was supposed to be the biggest party of them all. “One Peace” if you will, a place meant to unite the world’s species and celebrate as equals. Included at the location of Laugh Tale is a huge brew of the rarest drink in the world as well...Binks Sake. Which is why Roger decided to name the final island Laugh Tale, in homage to the final line of the tune known by all pirates.
I believe the one known as “Joy Boy” had a dream of uniting the world under a common cause and it involved hosting the biggest party in the world meant for everyone. Prior to this dream coming to fruition, the group currently known as the World Government stopped this from ever happening after a huge conflict and erased the shady history that led to their ascent.
Luffy’s Dream and Inherited Will
Chapter 1000 naturally renewed a lot of discussion of the infamous scene of when Luffy told his dream to Ace and Sabo as a kid.
Gol D. Roger also seemingly had this same dream as seen during the Oden flashback, with this scene that heavily parallels it.
I believe that Joy Boy, Roger, and Luffy all shared a similar dream: “I want to be the man to throw a party for the whole world!”
Why I think this dream fits:
One of our biggest hints about the dream is the reactions of the people who hear it. Ace and Sabo are initially in disbelief, Sabo then laughs and wants to know how Luffy will be in the future while Ace remains in disbelief. Similarly, when Roger tells Whitebeard and Oden his dream, they are also in disbelief. Whitebeard asks if he is a child but Oden was also drawn in by his words.
I think some form of “I will be the one to throw the biggest party for the entire world” would elicit these reactions.
It is both a little shocking and initially silly, hence the reactions of Ace and Whitebeard. However, for Oden, someone who spent their entire life in a nation with closed borders and desperately wanted to see the world, this sort of dream would seem amazing and relatable to him.
I think Garp said it best when he and Luffy were reunited the first time in Water 7:
I want to take this quote and think about it in the context of the very first chapter when Shanks said the same thing (yes, we’re going back to the beginning for this).
It's in these series' of panels where I think Luffy forms his dream. Luffy is absolutely enamored with the Red Hair crew while they are partying and they tell Luffy the following things: Pirates always have a good time, the sea is vast and there's lots of islands to explore, and most importantly (in bold) pirates have FREEDOM!!
We’re reminded of this in one of the more famous dialogues in the series, when Luffy meets Rayleigh. Luffy tells Rayleigh he will not conquer anything, as the Pirate King is simply the one who is most free on the seas. This answer gives Rayleigh a smile, as it is something very similar Roger once said to Shiki in Chapter 0.
What does being King of the Pirates mean to Luffy? Being the most free.
What does being the most free mean? Well Luffy learned it from Shanks' crew. The most free pirates would be the ones that have the best times in all the islands around the world.
Therefore, Luffy’s mission is to travel to the end of the world and find the One Piece because that would make him King of the Pirates, and the most free on the sea. To Luffy, he can’t throw the biggest party until he’s crowned Pirate King, the only one befitting to throw such a party.
Along with the Straw Hat that has been inherited from Roger -> Shanks -> Luffy this “inherited will” of spirit has been handed down as well.
From the little we have seen of Roger, his crew celebrated much like Luffy's! Rayleigh even mentions when they first meet that Roger was always extravagant both in banquets and battles. We only get a few chapters of Roger but from what we see he celebrates everywhere! Even with his rivals! Shanks then inherits this will and conducts his pirating the same way:
So when we revisit that famous scene where Luffy exclaims his dream I believe it is something to the effect of: “I’m gonna be the man that throws the biggest party for the whole world!” We see both Roger and Luffy exclaim this dream while sharing sake. The One Piece will be the sharing of drinks with members of everyone in the world with the greatest brew known to man, Binks Sake. I believe that this same dream started over 800 years ago with the one known as Joy Boy. Except it was not a party for the sake of a party, but had important implications for the world, now let's uncover the truth...
Deciphering the true history of The World
So the question becomes, why the hell was this Joy Boy dude trying to throw a party? And what does that have to do with the World Government, void century, etc. Oden’s flashback made it very clear that the lost history of the world was also located on Laugh Tale. I think there exists a “master poneglyph” of sorts that covers everything. Pieces of this info are scattered around the world, but I think it will also exist in its entirety at Laugh Tale. However, I think we can piece together the true history by exploring some of the shared motifs between cultures in One Piece. Oda is known to have taken a lot of inspiration from real cultures for the races within his story, by looking deeper into those cultures can we learn anything more? My methodology in trying to uncover the truth involves exploring the shared symbols among the folklore that Oda draws from for his story and trying to find commonality amongst them to construct the lost truth. There are two symbols in particular I want to focus on:
The Moon(s)
The first shared symbol that I want to explore is The Moon.
The very first and most important detail I want to highlight is that there were once at least 7 moons that orbited the One Piece planet and in the present there only exists one.
This assertion comes from the globe that is present in the Tree of Knowledge owned by the Ohara scholars. Since they are considered the greatest source of history, I think it is safe to assume there is some accuracy in their model. However there only exists a single moon in our world now. We are going to explore this history by peering into some cultures within the One Piece world.
There are a few cultures within One Piece that place a great cultural importance on the moon:
I believe in the past these four cultures (D, Wano, Mink, Shandian), along with the Fishmen, represented one side of a great conflict that we will explore shortly. The other side of course being the 20 kings who established the World Government, the victors.
The most glaring and direct connection to the moon in One Piece are the various races of the Sky Islands who we know are descendants of the remaining moon.
It is in Enel’s cover story where we get a short summary of their history. The people of the moon once had a prosperous civilization but ran out of resources and had to move to “The Blue Planet” in order to survive.
I believe this story of the Sky people having to leave their home moon for the Blue Planet is similar for the other 6 moons we see in Ohara’s model as well. The sky people are simply the most recent to leave their moon and make their home on the Blue Planet and the other moons no longer exist.
So where are the other six moons that are present in Ohara’s model? This is answered by exploring our second shared symbol - The Serpent. (Buckle up)
The Serpent
Throughout the story we can find many instances of cultures along the Grand Line sharing a reverence for serpents/dragons even though they are largely isolated from each other:
Oda actually draws directly from some Indonesian serpent folklore in Skypiea when Luffy mistakes the serpent Nola for a cave. This is inspired by the story of Jaka Linglung - the giant serpent who eats some young boys after they mistook the serpent for a cave.
Can we look at any other stories of serpents in Southeast Asian folklore to learn something? In trying to figure out why there is only one moon when there were once seven there is one serpent story that really stood out. Within Filipino folklore there is a story of the Bakunawa - The serpent who eats 6 of the 7 original moons, summarized here (emphasis mine):
To keep the moons from completely being swallowed by the Bakunawa, ancient Filipinos would go out of their homes with pans and pots, and would make noise in order to scare the Bakunawa into spitting out the moon back into the sky. Some of the people in the villages would play soothing sounds with their musical instruments, in hopes that the dragon would fall into a deep sleep. Thus, the brave men of the village hoped that while the dragon was hypnotized by the musical sounds they could somehow slay the dragon. Although the dragon was known as a "moon eater" it was also known as a "man eater".
Others tell how the Bakunawa fell in love with a human girl in one of the native tribes. The head of the tribe found out about their affair and had their house burned to ashes. The Bakunawa, finding out about this, became immersed in anger and tried to take revenge by eating all the 7 moons. When the Bakunawa was about to eat the last one, the supreme god took action and punished the Bakunawa by banishing it from its home away from the sea. It also tells that the reason for the eclipses is how the Bakunawa is trying to come back to its home and deceased family.
Some Filipino elders believe that Bakunawa is a moving island with communities mounted on its back, and that there are two classifications: the flying Bakunawa and the land Bakunawa.
The people of the sky island both place cultural importance on snakes, who they once revered as Gods, and the moon, a land of endless Vearth which they originally come from. However, much like how the reason they protected the poneglyph eroded, the importance of the moon and the snake lost their true meaning over time. It wasn’t until Enel traveled to the Moon did we learn that's where they once came from.
Since the Shandians already have some Filipino and Southeast Asian influence in their culture, can we derive anything from this Filipino legend of the Bakunawa to figure out just why they revered snakes as Gods in the first place?
We know they came from the moon, and we learned in Ohara there were once seemingly 7 moons. Does this story of the snake who ate the other 6 moons shed light onto the true history that's been erased, and why we only have one now? Does this carving of the serpent emerging from the water have a connection to their reverence for serpents after they relocated from the moon? Is this the reason we literally enter Shandora - a city named after the moon through the mouth of a serpent? The sky people were perhaps only the most recent to settle on The Blue Planet, and with their no entry policy in the past and now their society being isolated in the sky, pieces of truth remain in their culture.
But before we take off running with this Giant Serpent theory, let us explore it’s possibility within other cultures in One Piece, starting with The Giants of Elbaf and their Norse influence.
I bring you back to what Dorry and Brogy said on Little Garden: As they slay a being known as an “island eater” with a single attack they remark there is one being they can’t pierce “The serpent in blood”.
What is bigger than an “island eater”, a monster that even the Giant Warriors of Elbaf claim they cannot pierce? A moon eater. Many believe that the “serpent soaked in blood” is just a metaphor for The Red Line and it is...kind of.
Surely if such a beast existed, that even the mightiest of warriors couldn’t harm, we would notice it. So where the hell is this giant “Serpent soaked in blood”?
As noted earlier, the Giants of Elbaf are heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Within Norse mythology there are two interesting stories about Serpents - Jörmungandr (“huge monster”) and Níðhöggr (“curse striker”).
The Giants live for hundreds of years and are only a couple of generations away from the void century, because of this I believe remnants of the truth remain in their culture, just like the sky people.
If the “Serpent Soaked in Blood” is also inspired by Norse mythology like a lot of Elbaf’s culture then I think it is inspired by a combination of the two serpents Jörmungandr and Níðhöggr.
“The Serpent soaked in blood” of Elbaf legend is the same Serpent depicted in the entrance to Reverse Mountain, on the Moon, and under Alabasta. I believe it is currently trapped in The Red Line, the structure that snakes around the world and reconnects to itself, drawing parallels to Jörmungandr, the serpent who grew so large it bit its own tail.
(And if this concept of the reconnecting serpent sounds familiar, it's actually how the currents in One Piece are described by Franky on the way to Fishman Island, a dragon biting its own tail.)
While there is no single world tree like Yggdrasil, there is something very similar in the One Piece world - The Sunlight Tree Eve and the Treasure Tree Adam. We know the Sunlight Tree Eve is located at one end of The Red line, next to Fishmen Island. I predict that Adam is on the other side of the world, near the end of The Grand Line, the two trees being on polar opposites would mirror Yggdrasil, seen here. In sticking with the Norse inspiration, we actually do see a glimpse of a massive tree on Elbaf, which we have yet to reach. I believe this is part of the Adam tree.
This is where the Níðhöggr story comes into play. In Norse mythology Níðhöggr or “curse striker” is the serpent underground who has coiled around and bitten into the roots of Yggdrasil. I believe this may explain the source of the Devil Fruit Power.
The Serpent God is transferring its spirit into the two world trees, whose roots reach from the ocean floor to the surface above. One of each fruit of the world then acts as a vessel containing a portion of its power, with the trademark swirls representing the coil of the serpent, when the fruit is eaten the power changes vessels. Because the Serpent God is currently trapped in the sea, those who eat its fruit gain its same weakness and lose their energy to the sea water.
In Chapter 19, aptly titled Devil Fruit, we get our first explanation about them from a conversation between Shanks and Buggy. The Devil Fruit is enchanted by Sea Devils, and those who eat its fruit gain powers but the Sea turns against them. If you’re familiar with Attack on Titan think of this like the Curse of Ymir - because she lived 13 years no titan holding her power can live longer. Similar concept - You inherit the source’s weakness as well as its power.
Finally, my belief that it is “trapped” in the Red Line comes from the Apep/Apophis story I mentioned before in relation to Alabasta. Perhaps even more glaringly obvious than the Elbaf-Norse connection is Alabasta’s Egyptian influence. Everything from the climate, the architecture, and even the Nefertari name being based on real Egyptian royalty.
Here is a summary of the Apep/Apophis myth from wikipedia (emphasis mine):
Storytellers said that every day Apep must lie below the horizon and not persist in the mortal kingdom. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld. In some stories, Apep waited for Ra in a western mountain called Bakhu, where the sun set, and in others, Apep lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night. The wide range of Apep's possible locations gained him the title World-Encircler. It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Apep was trapped there, because he had been the previous chief god overthrown by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.
Earlier I likened the world serpent Jorgamundr to the Red Line, which snakes around the world and connects to itself. Apep of Egyptian folklore also has a “world encircler” title, and lies in wait in a mountain westward of Egypt just before dawn in what is called the tenth region of night.
Here is a map of the One Piece world. What mountain lies directly west of Alabasta, that has 10 arches at its entrance with serpents engraved on them, and is also part of The Red Line, the structure that encircles the entire world?
I believe that Oda has built up a Sea God within the background of his story from the very moment we entered the grand line. But just as his story takes inspiration from many different cultures, this “Sea God'' is also the amalgamation of many World Serpent stories that exist within the mythos of our own cultures that he used as inspiration for One Piece. The key to understanding the truth is to take into account the perspective of everyone, which is what I am hoping to build within this post.
Before we get to how and why the Sea God got trapped we need to take a closer look at one other perspective, the "Gods" who are in charge now - The Celestial Dragons.
The Celestial Dragons and the Rejection of the Serpent
An all powerful tree, Adam and Eve, the Snake, Devil Fruit, a ship called Noah, it's clear at this point that there’s a bit of biblical inspiration in the story as well, especially as it pertains to the Celestial Dragons, the self proclaimed “Gods” of the world.
The concept of “Devil” or “God” is simply a matter of perspective. A “Devil Fruit” could just as well be called a “God Fruit” given the powers it grants. For example, that's how it’s perceived in Skypiea where the powers are much more rare and they are outside the influence of the WG. Similarly, the snake was once revered as an all powerful God in their isolated civilization, and is still called a God today.
I think this scene from Chapter 289 titled “Full Moon” of Kalgara killing the snake to save Noland under the full moon is an interesting microcosm of this dynamic.
At face value the Shandians look like savages while Noland and his crew represent progress and truth. Ironically, the Shandians are the ones who are preserving the truth of the world (protecting the poneglyph), despite not knowing what that truth is themselves. So who is to say that the snake isn't just a snake and the belief it’s a God stems from something real. Same thing with their belief that their ancestors' souls return to trees, isn’t that suspiciously similar to a DF user’s power returning to fruit after death? Noland’s idea of truth is only what Mary Geoise dictates, he needs permission from them to even enter the Grand Line. So while he may represent scientific progress, perhaps there is also truth within the Shandians culture.
This is where Doflamingo’s speech at Marineford becomes relevant.
It is the World Government who were the victors so they wrote history, we are viewing the world through their lens. They installed themselves as the “Gods” of the world, and branded their enemies, the D, as “Devils.” The same is true of the Sea God, it became the “Sea Devil” and its powers were named “Devil Fruits.” However, unlike other cultures of the world who share a reverence, they reject it completely.
Notice how despite having access to rare Devil Fruits we haven’t seen a single Celestial Dragon eat one. In fact the only two Celestial Dragons with powers are those who got them after their titles were revoked - Doflamingo and Rosinante.
Celestial Dragons even treat Devil Fruit as lesser in a way. They fed Hancock and her sisters the snake fruits and the mero mero (a fruit inspired by snake mythology - the gorgon) as slaves for entertainment purposes. If this story of the World Government conquering the Sea God is true, the symbolism of them giving serpent based DF to slaves as entertainment has some layers.
Perhaps a coincidence, but as noted before the leader of the sole family they refer to as “traitors” is even named after a snake as well - Cobra.
The Celestial Dragons’ power is predicated on the myth that they are by nature above everyone else, “Gods” of the world.
Hello, Alexis2282AE here. Like many, I love theorizing about One Piece and have posted some other long, in-depth theories/discussions here before. Like any crazed One Piece theorist, I have a theory about the treasure and the history of the world. If you’re into folklore, mythology and how they shape this wonderful story, you’re in for a fun (and long) read. No really, this is going to be long. I thank you for your time in advance and I hope you enjoy it. This theory surpasses the character limit of WorstGen, so it will be continued in a comment chain.
The post will touch on the following:
- Luffy and Roger’s dream, the concept of inherited will and its relation to the treasure
- The true history of the world - this will be a lot including but not limited to:
- Joy Boy
- The meaning of “D”
- Devil Fruit origins
- The history the government seeks to erase
- The location of the One Piece
- The “Actual” treasure that exists
- Something there caused Roger and crew to laugh, he then gave the last island the name of Laugh Tale
- Oden’s log confirms the existence of a vast treasure as well as the history of the world
- When the SH crew meet Rayleigh for the first time he says he could tell them the answers but encourages them to go on their journey and come to their own answer which may be different than theirs. This implies there is a degree of interpretation of what to do with the information provided there.
One Peace
The One Piece is just...one giant party (you’ve probably heard this before but bear with me). Throughout this series, there is one constant nearly everywhere we go - Luffy and the SH crew have a celebration, whether they are friend or foe or something in between:
- Post-Arlong Park
- Whiskey Peak (even though this was a trap lol)
- Post-Drum Island
- Alabasta
- Jaya
- Skypiea
- Skypiea with literal wild wolves (personal favorite)
- Water 7/Enies Lobby
- Thriller Bark
- Amazon Lily
- Fishman Island
- Punk Hazard
- Dressrosa
- Would
- And interestingly enough, them mentioning the post-Wano party (which makes me very nervous).
Laugh Tale, and the location of the One Piece, will be the site of what was supposed to be the biggest party of them all. “One Peace” if you will, a place meant to unite the world’s species and celebrate as equals. Included at the location of Laugh Tale is a huge brew of the rarest drink in the world as well...Binks Sake. Which is why Roger decided to name the final island Laugh Tale, in homage to the final line of the tune known by all pirates.
I believe the one known as “Joy Boy” had a dream of uniting the world under a common cause and it involved hosting the biggest party in the world meant for everyone. Prior to this dream coming to fruition, the group currently known as the World Government stopped this from ever happening after a huge conflict and erased the shady history that led to their ascent.
Luffy’s Dream and Inherited Will
Chapter 1000 naturally renewed a lot of discussion of the infamous scene of when Luffy told his dream to Ace and Sabo as a kid.
Gol D. Roger also seemingly had this same dream as seen during the Oden flashback, with this scene that heavily parallels it.
I believe that Joy Boy, Roger, and Luffy all shared a similar dream: “I want to be the man to throw a party for the whole world!”
Why I think this dream fits:
One of our biggest hints about the dream is the reactions of the people who hear it. Ace and Sabo are initially in disbelief, Sabo then laughs and wants to know how Luffy will be in the future while Ace remains in disbelief. Similarly, when Roger tells Whitebeard and Oden his dream, they are also in disbelief. Whitebeard asks if he is a child but Oden was also drawn in by his words.
I think some form of “I will be the one to throw the biggest party for the entire world” would elicit these reactions.
It is both a little shocking and initially silly, hence the reactions of Ace and Whitebeard. However, for Oden, someone who spent their entire life in a nation with closed borders and desperately wanted to see the world, this sort of dream would seem amazing and relatable to him.
I think Garp said it best when he and Luffy were reunited the first time in Water 7:
I want to take this quote and think about it in the context of the very first chapter when Shanks said the same thing (yes, we’re going back to the beginning for this).
It's in these series' of panels where I think Luffy forms his dream. Luffy is absolutely enamored with the Red Hair crew while they are partying and they tell Luffy the following things: Pirates always have a good time, the sea is vast and there's lots of islands to explore, and most importantly (in bold) pirates have FREEDOM!!
We’re reminded of this in one of the more famous dialogues in the series, when Luffy meets Rayleigh. Luffy tells Rayleigh he will not conquer anything, as the Pirate King is simply the one who is most free on the seas. This answer gives Rayleigh a smile, as it is something very similar Roger once said to Shiki in Chapter 0.
What does being King of the Pirates mean to Luffy? Being the most free.
What does being the most free mean? Well Luffy learned it from Shanks' crew. The most free pirates would be the ones that have the best times in all the islands around the world.
Therefore, Luffy’s mission is to travel to the end of the world and find the One Piece because that would make him King of the Pirates, and the most free on the sea. To Luffy, he can’t throw the biggest party until he’s crowned Pirate King, the only one befitting to throw such a party.
Along with the Straw Hat that has been inherited from Roger -> Shanks -> Luffy this “inherited will” of spirit has been handed down as well.
From the little we have seen of Roger, his crew celebrated much like Luffy's! Rayleigh even mentions when they first meet that Roger was always extravagant both in banquets and battles. We only get a few chapters of Roger but from what we see he celebrates everywhere! Even with his rivals! Shanks then inherits this will and conducts his pirating the same way:
- As we saw in the opening chapter that inspired Luffy
- When Mihawk went to visit at the end of the East Blue Saga
- When Ace visited
- And even when Rockstar called up his crew to report on the Whitebeard meeting.
So when we revisit that famous scene where Luffy exclaims his dream I believe it is something to the effect of: “I’m gonna be the man that throws the biggest party for the whole world!” We see both Roger and Luffy exclaim this dream while sharing sake. The One Piece will be the sharing of drinks with members of everyone in the world with the greatest brew known to man, Binks Sake. I believe that this same dream started over 800 years ago with the one known as Joy Boy. Except it was not a party for the sake of a party, but had important implications for the world, now let's uncover the truth...
Deciphering the true history of The World
So the question becomes, why the hell was this Joy Boy dude trying to throw a party? And what does that have to do with the World Government, void century, etc. Oden’s flashback made it very clear that the lost history of the world was also located on Laugh Tale. I think there exists a “master poneglyph” of sorts that covers everything. Pieces of this info are scattered around the world, but I think it will also exist in its entirety at Laugh Tale. However, I think we can piece together the true history by exploring some of the shared motifs between cultures in One Piece. Oda is known to have taken a lot of inspiration from real cultures for the races within his story, by looking deeper into those cultures can we learn anything more? My methodology in trying to uncover the truth involves exploring the shared symbols among the folklore that Oda draws from for his story and trying to find commonality amongst them to construct the lost truth. There are two symbols in particular I want to focus on:
- The Moon - We are going to look at some cultures in One Piece who place an importance on the moon and what else ties them together
- Serpents/Dragons - We’ll explore the symbol of the serpent/dragon that shows up throughout One Piece, as well as real life folklore - namely the concept of the World Snake or Cosmic Snake common in cultures throughout the world.
Post automatically merged:
The Moon(s)
The first shared symbol that I want to explore is The Moon.
The very first and most important detail I want to highlight is that there were once at least 7 moons that orbited the One Piece planet and in the present there only exists one.
This assertion comes from the globe that is present in the Tree of Knowledge owned by the Ohara scholars. Since they are considered the greatest source of history, I think it is safe to assume there is some accuracy in their model. However there only exists a single moon in our world now. We are going to explore this history by peering into some cultures within the One Piece world.
There are a few cultures within One Piece that place a great cultural importance on the moon:
- The Sky people, whose ancestors come from the Moon that remains
- The Minks, who draw great latent power from the full Moon
- The Royal families of Wano (minus Kurozumi) all contain the kanji for Moon (月) in their titles. Additionally, the crescent moon in particular serves as an important symbol
- The waning crescent was the phase present on the night of Toki’s prophecy, it was also on her kimono in her introduction. It then became a symbol of hope for the Kozuki faithful for 20 years.
- The waxing crescent is the symbol worn by Kozuki Oden and his Nine Retainers, the samurai who would help usher in the new era 20 years later.
- It is worth noting the poetic nature of this. The phase between the waning and waxing crescent is the new moon, when the moon is pitch black and cannot be seen easily. Earlier I mentioned Kurozumi was the only family without moon in their name. Kurozumi means black coal, which is what the new moon looks like in the sky above.
I believe in the past these four cultures (D, Wano, Mink, Shandian), along with the Fishmen, represented one side of a great conflict that we will explore shortly. The other side of course being the 20 kings who established the World Government, the victors.
The most glaring and direct connection to the moon in One Piece are the various races of the Sky Islands who we know are descendants of the remaining moon.
It is in Enel’s cover story where we get a short summary of their history. The people of the moon once had a prosperous civilization but ran out of resources and had to move to “The Blue Planet” in order to survive.
I believe this story of the Sky people having to leave their home moon for the Blue Planet is similar for the other 6 moons we see in Ohara’s model as well. The sky people are simply the most recent to leave their moon and make their home on the Blue Planet and the other moons no longer exist.
So where are the other six moons that are present in Ohara’s model? This is answered by exploring our second shared symbol - The Serpent. (Buckle up)
The Serpent
Throughout the story we can find many instances of cultures along the Grand Line sharing a reverence for serpents/dragons even though they are largely isolated from each other:
- When entering the Grand Line via Reverse Mountain the crew goes through a series of ten arches that have a serpent/dragon engraved on them When we meet our first Giants, Dory and Broggy, they mention they are able to pierce anything except for “the serpent soaked in blood”. It is worth noting that they say this as they one-shot a sea monster that is known as an “island eater”, keep that in mind. We know that the Giants of Elbaf are heavily influenced by Norse mythology and there are two serpents within Norse mythology that could be related to their “serpent soaked in blood” worth highlighting that we will return to shortly:
- Jörmungandr, the giant serpent who grew so large it encircles the world eventually biting its own tail. It is said when its tail is released Ragnarok will begin.
- Nidhogg (literally meaning “curse striker”), the serpent that has bitten into the World Tree whose roots surround the world, Yggdrasil.
- The leader of Alabasta (Cobra) shares the name of a snake.
- Within the mausoleum under the palace they have a depiction of a large serpent on the walls (right side). This carving bears resemblance to Apophis/Apep the Egyptian serpent God of chaos - another story we will shortly return to.
- The Shandians who live in the sky long revered serpents as gods, even sacrificing their own to appease them.
- Earlier I mentioned the sky people were from the moon as seen in Enel’s cover story. Among the carvings in the ruins of the moon is a serpent emerging from water, similar to the ones we see when we enter Reverse Mountain and underneath Alabasta.
- There are also serpent carvings when entering the city of Shandora
- The people of Amazon Lily, who live isolated within the calm belt also revere snakes
- They have giant snake statues on their island and other architecture related to snakes, like the Kuja boat.
- They use snakes as weapons
- The leader of their tribe is literally named Hebihime or Snake Princess.
- Ryugu Palace (literally Dragon Imperial Palace) is adorned by a giant sea dragon
- The greatest legend in the land of Wano is Ryuma and his slaying of the dragon.
- Additionally, both a mythical serpent and mythical dragon currently preside over Wano.
- The current ruling class refers to themselves as Celestial Dragons and are led by a figure that goes by Im/Imu, and the organization seeking to overthrow them is led by a figure that simply goes by Dragon.
- The Im/Dragon conflict draws a lot of parallels to the Canaanite story of Ym - The God of the Sea associated with the serpent) and Hadad, son of Dagon, who was the god of storms/weather and fought with thunderbolts. (Sound familiar?)
- The sky people, who revered the serpents as Gods - they migrated from the remaining moon, although much of their history is lost to them.
- The Giants of Elbaf, whose lives span many centuries and are only a couple generations removed from the void century
- Alabasta, who was once aligned with the World Government, but is no longer within their graces.
- The Celestial Dragons, the current ruling class, and their rejection of the serpent. They currently sit atop the world as “gods” and label their enemies as “devils”
Oda actually draws directly from some Indonesian serpent folklore in Skypiea when Luffy mistakes the serpent Nola for a cave. This is inspired by the story of Jaka Linglung - the giant serpent who eats some young boys after they mistook the serpent for a cave.
Can we look at any other stories of serpents in Southeast Asian folklore to learn something? In trying to figure out why there is only one moon when there were once seven there is one serpent story that really stood out. Within Filipino folklore there is a story of the Bakunawa - The serpent who eats 6 of the 7 original moons, summarized here (emphasis mine):
To keep the moons from completely being swallowed by the Bakunawa, ancient Filipinos would go out of their homes with pans and pots, and would make noise in order to scare the Bakunawa into spitting out the moon back into the sky. Some of the people in the villages would play soothing sounds with their musical instruments, in hopes that the dragon would fall into a deep sleep. Thus, the brave men of the village hoped that while the dragon was hypnotized by the musical sounds they could somehow slay the dragon. Although the dragon was known as a "moon eater" it was also known as a "man eater".
Others tell how the Bakunawa fell in love with a human girl in one of the native tribes. The head of the tribe found out about their affair and had their house burned to ashes. The Bakunawa, finding out about this, became immersed in anger and tried to take revenge by eating all the 7 moons. When the Bakunawa was about to eat the last one, the supreme god took action and punished the Bakunawa by banishing it from its home away from the sea. It also tells that the reason for the eclipses is how the Bakunawa is trying to come back to its home and deceased family.
Some Filipino elders believe that Bakunawa is a moving island with communities mounted on its back, and that there are two classifications: the flying Bakunawa and the land Bakunawa.
The people of the sky island both place cultural importance on snakes, who they once revered as Gods, and the moon, a land of endless Vearth which they originally come from. However, much like how the reason they protected the poneglyph eroded, the importance of the moon and the snake lost their true meaning over time. It wasn’t until Enel traveled to the Moon did we learn that's where they once came from.
Since the Shandians already have some Filipino and Southeast Asian influence in their culture, can we derive anything from this Filipino legend of the Bakunawa to figure out just why they revered snakes as Gods in the first place?
We know they came from the moon, and we learned in Ohara there were once seemingly 7 moons. Does this story of the snake who ate the other 6 moons shed light onto the true history that's been erased, and why we only have one now? Does this carving of the serpent emerging from the water have a connection to their reverence for serpents after they relocated from the moon? Is this the reason we literally enter Shandora - a city named after the moon through the mouth of a serpent? The sky people were perhaps only the most recent to settle on The Blue Planet, and with their no entry policy in the past and now their society being isolated in the sky, pieces of truth remain in their culture.
But before we take off running with this Giant Serpent theory, let us explore it’s possibility within other cultures in One Piece, starting with The Giants of Elbaf and their Norse influence.
I bring you back to what Dorry and Brogy said on Little Garden: As they slay a being known as an “island eater” with a single attack they remark there is one being they can’t pierce “The serpent in blood”.
What is bigger than an “island eater”, a monster that even the Giant Warriors of Elbaf claim they cannot pierce? A moon eater. Many believe that the “serpent soaked in blood” is just a metaphor for The Red Line and it is...kind of.
Surely if such a beast existed, that even the mightiest of warriors couldn’t harm, we would notice it. So where the hell is this giant “Serpent soaked in blood”?
As noted earlier, the Giants of Elbaf are heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Within Norse mythology there are two interesting stories about Serpents - Jörmungandr (“huge monster”) and Níðhöggr (“curse striker”).
- Jörmungandr was a serpent who was tossed into the ocean by Odin and who grew so large that it surrounded the planet and grasped its own tail. It is said when it releases its tail Ragnarok will begin, the ending of the World where the planet will be submerged under water.
- Níðhöggr the “curse striker” was a giant serpent who dwelled under the ground that coiled around and gnawed at the roots of Yggdrasil, the mighty tree that surrounded the world.
The Giants live for hundreds of years and are only a couple of generations away from the void century, because of this I believe remnants of the truth remain in their culture, just like the sky people.
If the “Serpent Soaked in Blood” is also inspired by Norse mythology like a lot of Elbaf’s culture then I think it is inspired by a combination of the two serpents Jörmungandr and Níðhöggr.
“The Serpent soaked in blood” of Elbaf legend is the same Serpent depicted in the entrance to Reverse Mountain, on the Moon, and under Alabasta. I believe it is currently trapped in The Red Line, the structure that snakes around the world and reconnects to itself, drawing parallels to Jörmungandr, the serpent who grew so large it bit its own tail.
(And if this concept of the reconnecting serpent sounds familiar, it's actually how the currents in One Piece are described by Franky on the way to Fishman Island, a dragon biting its own tail.)
While there is no single world tree like Yggdrasil, there is something very similar in the One Piece world - The Sunlight Tree Eve and the Treasure Tree Adam. We know the Sunlight Tree Eve is located at one end of The Red line, next to Fishmen Island. I predict that Adam is on the other side of the world, near the end of The Grand Line, the two trees being on polar opposites would mirror Yggdrasil, seen here. In sticking with the Norse inspiration, we actually do see a glimpse of a massive tree on Elbaf, which we have yet to reach. I believe this is part of the Adam tree.
This is where the Níðhöggr story comes into play. In Norse mythology Níðhöggr or “curse striker” is the serpent underground who has coiled around and bitten into the roots of Yggdrasil. I believe this may explain the source of the Devil Fruit Power.
The Serpent God is transferring its spirit into the two world trees, whose roots reach from the ocean floor to the surface above. One of each fruit of the world then acts as a vessel containing a portion of its power, with the trademark swirls representing the coil of the serpent, when the fruit is eaten the power changes vessels. Because the Serpent God is currently trapped in the sea, those who eat its fruit gain its same weakness and lose their energy to the sea water.
In Chapter 19, aptly titled Devil Fruit, we get our first explanation about them from a conversation between Shanks and Buggy. The Devil Fruit is enchanted by Sea Devils, and those who eat its fruit gain powers but the Sea turns against them. If you’re familiar with Attack on Titan think of this like the Curse of Ymir - because she lived 13 years no titan holding her power can live longer. Similar concept - You inherit the source’s weakness as well as its power.
Finally, my belief that it is “trapped” in the Red Line comes from the Apep/Apophis story I mentioned before in relation to Alabasta. Perhaps even more glaringly obvious than the Elbaf-Norse connection is Alabasta’s Egyptian influence. Everything from the climate, the architecture, and even the Nefertari name being based on real Egyptian royalty.
Here is a summary of the Apep/Apophis myth from wikipedia (emphasis mine):
Storytellers said that every day Apep must lie below the horizon and not persist in the mortal kingdom. This appropriately made him a part of the underworld. In some stories, Apep waited for Ra in a western mountain called Bakhu, where the sun set, and in others, Apep lurked just before dawn, in the Tenth region of the Night. The wide range of Apep's possible locations gained him the title World-Encircler. It was thought that his terrifying roar would cause the underworld to rumble. Myths sometimes say that Apep was trapped there, because he had been the previous chief god overthrown by Ra, or because he was evil and had been imprisoned.
Earlier I likened the world serpent Jorgamundr to the Red Line, which snakes around the world and connects to itself. Apep of Egyptian folklore also has a “world encircler” title, and lies in wait in a mountain westward of Egypt just before dawn in what is called the tenth region of night.
Here is a map of the One Piece world. What mountain lies directly west of Alabasta, that has 10 arches at its entrance with serpents engraved on them, and is also part of The Red Line, the structure that encircles the entire world?
I believe that Oda has built up a Sea God within the background of his story from the very moment we entered the grand line. But just as his story takes inspiration from many different cultures, this “Sea God'' is also the amalgamation of many World Serpent stories that exist within the mythos of our own cultures that he used as inspiration for One Piece. The key to understanding the truth is to take into account the perspective of everyone, which is what I am hoping to build within this post.
Before we get to how and why the Sea God got trapped we need to take a closer look at one other perspective, the "Gods" who are in charge now - The Celestial Dragons.
The Celestial Dragons and the Rejection of the Serpent
An all powerful tree, Adam and Eve, the Snake, Devil Fruit, a ship called Noah, it's clear at this point that there’s a bit of biblical inspiration in the story as well, especially as it pertains to the Celestial Dragons, the self proclaimed “Gods” of the world.
The concept of “Devil” or “God” is simply a matter of perspective. A “Devil Fruit” could just as well be called a “God Fruit” given the powers it grants. For example, that's how it’s perceived in Skypiea where the powers are much more rare and they are outside the influence of the WG. Similarly, the snake was once revered as an all powerful God in their isolated civilization, and is still called a God today.
I think this scene from Chapter 289 titled “Full Moon” of Kalgara killing the snake to save Noland under the full moon is an interesting microcosm of this dynamic.
At face value the Shandians look like savages while Noland and his crew represent progress and truth. Ironically, the Shandians are the ones who are preserving the truth of the world (protecting the poneglyph), despite not knowing what that truth is themselves. So who is to say that the snake isn't just a snake and the belief it’s a God stems from something real. Same thing with their belief that their ancestors' souls return to trees, isn’t that suspiciously similar to a DF user’s power returning to fruit after death? Noland’s idea of truth is only what Mary Geoise dictates, he needs permission from them to even enter the Grand Line. So while he may represent scientific progress, perhaps there is also truth within the Shandians culture.
This is where Doflamingo’s speech at Marineford becomes relevant.
It is the World Government who were the victors so they wrote history, we are viewing the world through their lens. They installed themselves as the “Gods” of the world, and branded their enemies, the D, as “Devils.” The same is true of the Sea God, it became the “Sea Devil” and its powers were named “Devil Fruits.” However, unlike other cultures of the world who share a reverence, they reject it completely.
Notice how despite having access to rare Devil Fruits we haven’t seen a single Celestial Dragon eat one. In fact the only two Celestial Dragons with powers are those who got them after their titles were revoked - Doflamingo and Rosinante.
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Celestial Dragons even treat Devil Fruit as lesser in a way. They fed Hancock and her sisters the snake fruits and the mero mero (a fruit inspired by snake mythology - the gorgon) as slaves for entertainment purposes. If this story of the World Government conquering the Sea God is true, the symbolism of them giving serpent based DF to slaves as entertainment has some layers.
Perhaps a coincidence, but as noted before the leader of the sole family they refer to as “traitors” is even named after a snake as well - Cobra.
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The Celestial Dragons’ power is predicated on the myth that they are by nature above everyone else, “Gods” of the world.
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