This article contains spoilers from One Piece's Elbaf Arc.
One Piece is currently in the Elbaf arc, and given that it's part of the Final Saga, fans will inevitably get a ton of exciting reveals regarding the ancient history in this part of the story. Oda has already revealed the Ancient Mural of Elbaf that was carved into the Adam Tree earlier in the arc, and the Loki flashback has already given the fans some absolutely massive reveals concerning Imu, and even the legends such as Joy Boy and Davy Jones. While a lot of focus is being thrown on Davy Jones in this arc, fans should also keep in mind that Joy Boy remains more central to the story than ever.
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While it may not seem like it, Joy Boy and Davy Jones are both central to the God Valley Incident of the Elbaf Flashback. Recently, Oda has revealed some crucial information about the Will of Davy, but the Will of Joy Boy, which was introduced long ago in the story, lives with it, as does his blood. Fans know Luffy to be the next Joy Boy chosen by the Inherited Will. Luffy has the power of Nika and he has also attained the title of Joy Boy from the likes of Zunesha and even Momonosuke. But while Luffy is Joy Boy in a more literal sense, the blood of Joy Boy likely lives in a completely different individual, Shanks.
Luffy Has Inherited The Power Of Joy Boy
Luffy Is The Joy Boy Of The New Era
- Joy Boy had the power of Nika
- Luffy is the current Nika
The idea of Joy Boy can be used by Oda in different ways. When it comes to the person who inherited the Will of Joy Boy and will go on to fulfil it, one doesn't need to look behind Luffy. Luffy has the same power as Joy Boy, as was confirmed in the Egghead arc of One Piece, and he was also confirmed to be Joy Boy by Imu themself. In just about every way, Luffy is the next Joy Boy of the current era.
I can hear it, the Drums of Liberation! After 800 years, Joy Boy has returned! — Zunesha in One Piece Chapter 1044
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He is Nika, the Warrior of Liberation, and he continues to liberate every place he goes. In the end, Luffy will fight a war against the World Government and play a significant role in dethroning Imu. As mentioned earlier, in terms of Inherited Will and being the one to carry out the ancient promise, Luffy will likely play the role of Joy Boy. But, there is another character whom Oda could've built up to be akin to Joy Boy as well, and that's Shanks.
Shanks Could Be Descendant Of Joy Boy
He Might Carry The Blood Of Joy Boy
While Luffy has inherited the Will of Joy Boy, Shanks could hold a blood connection to him. This isn't apparent on the surface level, but Shanks was born on God Valley, where Imu themself stated that the likes of Davy and Joy Boy won't ever come again.
The likes of Davy and Joy Boy shall never come again, and Mu shall make sure of them by killing thee. — Imu to Rocks
Conveniently, the two new bloodlines that were saved here were that of Rocks and a certain secret red-haired woman who fans know nothing about. God Valley itself is connected to the D, as the Davy Clan lived here, and it was called the Island of Fate. Shanks himself is the Child of Destiny.
As Imu wanted Davy and Joy Boy erased, Shanks and Blackbeard were rescued from God Valley. These two have always had parallels, and are both most likely descendants of legendary figures from the Void Century. To solidify the idea, one only needs to look at Joy Boy from Fishman Island, and it is clear to see that he looks exactly like Shanks, and the final cherry on top is that the fact that Oda directly compared Joy Boy's Haki to that of Shanks. Shanks wasn't the savior of the world or the next Joy Boy, but he may well still carry his blood and play a major role in bringing down the World Government.
One Piece Chapter 1165 will be out this week. As usual, One Piece is going to drop on Sunday. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday. However, the vast majority of international readers will see the chapter available on November 9. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1165 is November 9, 2025. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus.
- Release Date
- October 20, 1999
- Network
- Fuji TV
- Directors
- Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
Cast
-
Mayumi TanakaMonkey D. Luffy (voice) -
Kazuya NakaiRoronoa Zoro (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
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.
- Studio
- Toei Animation
- Creator
- Eiichiro Oda
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, Pluto TV
