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One Piece: Are Joy Boy & Poneglyphs From The Future?

Before we start, let me tell you this, I am not satisfied with the title that I have given for this tinfoily post of mine. The idea that is going to be explored here goes like this, “What if the Poneglyphs or the people that created the Poneglyphs were actually sent back in time?“. Many of you would already brand this too outrageous and skip this article right away. But for those who have decided to stay, this is going to get pretty wild!

Most of this is me making wild assumptions. I have backed up my claims wherever I can with proper proof, and I’ll try to come up with more stuff from the series that would support this theory!

The Wano arc has a lot of information packed into it, especially when it comes to Oden’s flashback. His travels with Gol D. Roger give us a lot of insights into the treasure at Laugh Tale (Raftel) and also about Poneglyphs and Joy Boy. Some instances from these travels made me question if Joy Boy was someone who is yet to make an appearance. It won’t be a reincarnation of Joyboy that we see, but instead Joy Boy himself.

If that is the case, then how did an apology by Joy Boy end up at Fishman Island. Well, some extreme circumstances could have forced this Joy Boy to travel to the past. But before getting to that part, let me explain why I feel Joy Boy is from this era and not from the Void Century! The messages that were on Laugh Tale mostly point to this. Infact, these messages might be talking about a time 25 years after Roger and his crew landed on Laugh Tale.

Oden talks about opening Wano before the day Joy Boy appears:

This statement suggests that Joy Boy is yet to make an appearance. And that Oden wanted to open the borders before he comes. He places a lot of emphasis on the war that was supposed to happen 25 years after they landed on Laugh Tale. This war would play a huge role in liberating Wano’s borders. This is the reason why asked Toki to send Kinemon and others into the future so that they could help the major players in these war and also open the borders of Wano in the process.

Oden wants to open Wano's borders before Joy Boy arrives
Oden wants to open Wano’s borders before Joy Boy arrives

Now, this has led many to speculate that Luffy is Joy Boy. But notice how Oden wants to open Wano’s borders BEFORE Joy Boy makes an appearance. So it could also point to Luffy not being Joy Boy because he is already on Wano and the borders are not open yet.

But then, Oden made the statement about opening borders before he came to know about the actual situation in Wano. Oden might have intended to open Wano as soon as he went back and wait for Joy Boy’s appearance. However, since Kaido kind of derailed this plan, it still leaves a possibility of Luffy, or someone in Luffy’s crew, being Joy Boy.

The phrasing of “before Joy Boy makes an APPEARANCE” has also led fans to speculate that he might be a time traveller like Toki. But since Toki already had that fruit, I guess it’s safe to assume that this is not the case (unless the ancient kingdom were advanced enough to make a time machine, I mean there were Shandians who made Automatas in the moon during that era)

Rayleigh says that they were too early to find One Piece:

In chapter 967, Roger clearly wishes to be born in Joy Boy’s time. Many take this as Roger lamenting that he was not born during the Void Century (Blank Century). However, since his death was pretty imminent, it could be that the King of Pirates wished to be born in the great age of pirates and witness the war and Joy Boy himself.

Roger wishes to be born during Joy Boy's time
Roger wishes to be born during Joy Boy’s time

Later in chapter 968, Rayleigh tells Roger that they were too early for the treasure “they” called the One Piece.

They were early to reach the One Piece
They were early to reach the One Piece

This means that the treasure was not yet there. But it was bound to appear sometime in the future. The only thing that Joy Boy left behind was tales full of laughter. Since Oden placed a lot of emphasis on the events that would happen 25 years after they found Raftel, we could assume this would match with the time that One Piece would make an appearance in Laugh Tale.

If this indeed is true, then it gives Roger’s statement at his time of his execution a new meaning. It’s like he is assuring people that the One Piece is real and that it will make an appearance soon. He just urged the others to find it.

The dialogue of the Neptunians:

On their way back from Laugh Tale, both Oden and Roger are able to hear the Neptunians talk. They are excited about the fateful encounter of Poseidon with someone. This someone could be Joyboy.

The Neptunian's message
The Neptunian’s message

While the statement “birthing of the sovereign” refers to the birth of Shirahoshi. The talk about whales being delighted in some distant sea for another person is what catches my attention.

The only whales that we have seen in One Piece till now are the Island whales (think Laboon). These island Whales are majorly found in the West Blue. If the Neptunians are referring to these Whales, then could Joy Boy be someone from Ohara? This be getting interesting you know!

All of this information points to one thing, that Joy Boy could very well be a person from this era and not from the void century. And from this era, the most popular candidates till now to be Joy Boy are Luffy and Momonosuke. While this is true, I gravitate more towards Joy Boy just being an alias for Luffy’s crew. From the Ohara thing, Joy Boy could also be Nico Robin for all we know. She knows to read the Poneglyphs after all, could she be the one who commissioned them too? Was Robin reading her own messages all this time?

But if Joy Boy is indeed from the current era, what would explain the Poneglyph at Fishman Island? If my theory of Joy Boy travelling to past holds true, then it would kind of explain the Poneglyph at Fishman Island.

What do we known about Joyboy till now?

We know that Joyboy is responsible for writing the messages on Laugh Tale and also on the Poneglyph on Fishman Island. Neptune was the only person who gave some sort of an insight into Joy Boy. But he too never mentions anything that points Joy Boy being BORN in the void century or in that era. He was only present during the void era and this could be due to the time travel thingy?

Travel to the past:

Let me get this straight, while I theorise that Joy Boy would travel back to the past, I am not very sure about how this will happen. And hence, I would call this section the most tinfoil section of this whole theory. What’s funny is that the entire theory pretty much hinges on this assumption. Sheesh! Such a paradox.

Well, we do know that Oda predicted a huge war is going to take place in Wano. This will involve the four yonkos, the marines, and a host of strong devil fruit and ryou users. Meaning it would be an explosion of energy. Ahem, let me take some inspiration out of shitty science fiction movies. Lot of energy, battles, black hole and time travel.

Clash of huge powers creating a black hole? Would Oda do this?
Clash of huge powers creating a black hole? Would Oda do this?

Its possible that something in this enormous war triggered a situation that threw someone back in time. Let’s stick to the theory of Joy Boy being an alias of someone in Luffy’s crew or an alias for the crew as a whole. They, along with a bunch of other people could be thrown into the past. Or could the whole battlefield be teleported to the past? And since the battle would take place on Wano, they would all be teleported to a Wano of the old?

Maybe the Straw Hats and allies come out on the winning side of this battle and decide to jot down their exploits in a manner that will never get destroyed.

Meddling with the remaining nations:

If a huge battle were to suddenly transpire out of nowhere in peaceful times. If a bunch of pirates, with powers never seen or heard before should appear suddenly. If a huge war, enough to shake the very core of earth were break out in an instance (in Wano?). And if a pirate crew and its allies were to come out as victors of this bloody war. What would the other nations of the world think? Even in the great age of piracy, these pirates would be seen as a huge threat.

Now, what if this happened literally during a time (900 years ago) when piracy were not mainstream? A bizarre situation like this would only force the other nations of the world to form an alliance to take them down! Pluton? Ancient weapon? It could very well be the Thousand Sunny. Going the symbolism way, Uranus is represented by a Sun and a spear of mars since it represented heaven in Greek Mythology. The Thousand Sunny (with the sunny face) and its mast would look similar to that. So could Uranus be the Straw Hats’ ship?

thousand sunny by axone213 on DeviantArt

Well, let’s leave aside the ancient kingdom angle for now and focus on how Kozuki clan got involved in the Poneglyphs.

Wano and the poneglyphs:

Assuming that the Straw Hats or the whole battlefield itself did get teleported to the past, this would mean that they’d most probably still be on Wano. And if Straw Hats and allies do come up on the winning side and then they were to be taken down by an alliance of 20 nations, it is only natural that they wanted to leave behind a record of their exploits in an indestructible manner. Since Robin would be with them, this would be an easy task. However, the question of the indestructible stone tablets remains.

Wano is known to be the home of many rare minerals, what if these stones were also found on that island. Also, Robin could have passed down the knowledge of the Poneglyph script to the Kozuki clan? It’s like Robin was reading her own messages all this time. If the people of Wano felt that the pirates were good people, and that the nation’s alliance was wrong in taking them down, it would explain why they would close off their borders.

Wano was once open
Wano was once open

The Fishman Poneglyph:

Luffy made a promise to Shirahoshi that he will take the Fishmen to live on the surface. Now even if he were to be thrown 900 years into the past, Luffy is the kind of person who would still keep his promise. What if he went to Fishman Island and tried to convince them to go to the surface. He even asked Franky to build a ship that is huge enough to carry them all. But he wasn’t able to make them agree and eventually the crew realised that they would be taken down by the world alliance.

Apology was mistaken to be for the mermaid princess of that time?
Apology was mistaken to be for the mermaid princess of that time?

This would have prompted them to write an apology for not being able to keep the promise made to Shirahoshi. Using their real names would have made it very confusing, and hence they may have chosen to write the messages under the alias of Joy Boy. However, the Fishmen could have mistaken to whom the apology was addressed to. After all, explaining complex time travel stuff is not Luffy’or his crew’s forte. Also, this failure would explain why the Neptunians hoped for the situation to be better this time.

Was Jinbei apologising to Nami in the Fishman arc something of a foreshadowing to this happening?

Understanding why Roger and his crew laughed!

Let me just end this by saying a couple of lines. What if Roger was reading about his own exploits, the way the Straw Hats saw it from their POV. Would this be a tale funny enough for him to laugh? After all they did know that he would appear there…

Does this also explain why Im Sama has the straw hat in their possession?

Well, this theory is nowhere near refined (and is filled with plotholes?). I just had to put out this idea that had been there in my head for sometime now. I might add more to this in the future. Meanwhile, do let me know about all the shortcomings you find in this crazy crazy theory and I shall try to come up with a sound reason to adress them (if possible)!

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