Summary
Each of the members of the Straw Hat crew has a vital role in the overall story ofOne Piece. These characters are essentially who the setting is based around, so their actions have huge ramifications for the world they’re in, making them the perfect ones to find the fabled treasure of Joyboy and Gol D. Roger. Though mysterious, the clues to this treasure may have been right in front of everyone’s face the entire time.
This is because Brook,the beloved musician of the Straw Hat crew, may have secretly held the true nature of the fabled treasure all along. Though this is something that he himself is unaware of, his backstory and lifelong goal are things that fans theorize mirror the journey of Joyboy, all those centuries ago. So, let’s go over how Brook may have a connection toOne Piece’smost coveted treasure.
Story Arc
Thriller Bark
Brook was introduced in the Thriller Bark arc, where he came upon the Straw Hats within the Florian Triangle and was a crucial ally to them inthe battle against Gecko Moria. In his backstory, it was revealed that Brook was originally a part of the Rumbar Pirates who sailed the seas many decades ago, bringing laughter and joy to the lands they traveled to. One day, they found a baby Island Whale following them, who turned out to be Laboon.
From here, the crew formed a tight bond with the animal and traveled with it for quite a while but later had to abandon it due to the dangers they faced. Here, Brook promised Laboon that they would meet again. Unfortunately, they never got the chance due to the Rumbar Pirates all dying off before they could reunite, although Brook would eventually return to life due to eating the resurrection Devil Fruit. However, his ship and body got lost in the Florian Triangle, so he could never get back to his old friend.
How This Connects To The One Piece
Brook’s Tale May Hint At Something More
Many fans believe that Brook’s backstory is a modern-day telling of what happened to Joyboyat the close of the Void Century. This theory originally starts with establishing a connection between the two, since the very few details that fans know about Joyboy are fairly similar to what happened with Brook. Firstly, Joyboy was the first pirate in history and the Rumbar Pirates were active around 50 years ago, already putting both parties as pirates of a bygone age.
Moreover, Joyboy ate the Devil Fruit which allowed him to take on the form of Sun God Nika and spread happiness and freedom everywhere he went, putting a smile on everyone’s faces. Due to this, he became known as the ‘Warrior of Liberation’, which is also what the original Sun God Nika was called thousands of years ago. As a parallel, the Rumbar Pirates were a unique pirate crew who spread smiles and warmth to all the islands and people they visited, establishing a correlation between the two.
Yo Ho Ho Ho! The Rumbar Pirates will bring a smile to any face! Let’s show the little fella how we roll!
The next part of the theory has to do with Laboon. The theory states that, similarly to Laboon, there was a ‘member’ of Joyboy’s crew who was a massive whale just like he was, but far greater in size; similar to Zunesha. A hint to this whale may even befound on the island of Zou, located on Zunesha’s back, which has a massive tree carved into a whale at the center of the city square, underneath which a Road Poneglyph is located.
This whale is theorized to be under Long Ring Long Land, and its massive breaths are what causes Aqua Laguna every year. The reason it is there is that it’s hiding the actual One Piece treasure somewhere on the island, which can only be visited under certain conditions and at specific times, making it the perfect and most unassuming place to keep such a treasure. The One Piece being here makes sense because of how everyone on the island is stretched out, which is because everyone there feels free, according to Tonjit, the only named resident.
So, where does Brook play into all of this? Basically, by establishing a connection to Joyboy, Brook is someone who turns out to be far more important than what fans may think at first glance, since the theory states that theOne Piece treasure is actually an afro, which would also make sense to see why the Roger Pirates all laughed upon seeing it. Just like how much Brook seems to care for his afro to stay intact so Laboon would recognize him, even as a skeleton, could also have been Joyboy’s line of thinking.
By hiding the afro as the main treasure of One Piece, the whale under Long Ring Long Land would recognize the person who fully claimed it as the reincarnation of Joyboy, the same as how Laboon would only recognize Brook because of his hairstyle. When Luffy, in his Gear 5 form, wears this afro, the giant whale would recognize this as the appointed time for it to carry out its ancient job, which is to break the Red Line and make the entire world ‘one piece’ again, which makes sense because Island Whales are known to hit the Red Line constantly and scar themselves in the process, perhaps because they’ve known all along that it is unnatural.
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One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
