One Piece: Vegapunk's message shows how every Straw Hat Pirate's dream may be fulfilled

With the latest release of author and illustrator Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece manga series, fans saw Dr. Vegapunk’s long-teased message finally begin at the issue’s end. Likewise, his opening comments confirm what had already been a long-standing fan theory in various forms for years, claiming that the series’ world will one day sink into the ocean.

Unfortunately, Vegapunk wasn’t given a chance to elaborate further in One Piece chapter 1113, with these words coming in what was quite literally the issue’s final panels. However, fans are already hard at work applying this confirmation to other facets of the series, with a particularly interesting one relating to the Straw Hats’ dreams as they recently described them.

One Piece’s latest revelation hints Imu’s defeat as mirroring Luffy’s beginnings

Zunesha's ability to walk the seas is a key implication in understanding One Piece's physical setting (Image via Toei Animation)

As mentioned, One Piece’s latest major revelation is the claim from Vegapunk that the series’ world will sink into the ocean. However, it’s confirmed via the existence of Zunesha and the creatures seen at the end of the Thriller Bark arc that there is ground at the bottom of the series’ seafloor. In other words, the land of the series’ world is solid and joined in “one piece” under the ocean all over the planet.

One interpretation of this implicit fact is that the series’ land on the ocean’s floor is the titular treasure that former Pirate King Gol D. Roger spoke of. This would also explain why he said it’s right where he left it since he couldn’t take it with him, and why he said people would have to “search the whole world” to find it.

Yet one issue that arises with this interpretation is how a piece of land can be a treasure. It’s been theorized before that Oda took inspiration for One Piece from The Mysterious Cities of Gold, known in Japan as Esteban, Child of the Sun. The series sees the titular character Esteban and his friends searching for the sunken empire of Mu, which is home to one of the titular cities of gold.

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It’s likely, then, that the sunken land which Roger called the series’ titular treasure is a sunken continent, taking inspiration from The Mysterious Cities of Gold. Likewise, Shandora could be one of the cities of gold that escaped the fate that befell the others, thanks to the Knock Up Stream.

Thus, it’s likely that the land of Mu (within Oda’s series) was actually the Ancient Kingdom that was sunk by Mu, or Imu (who likely changed his name after to avoid association). This “land of Mu” is also a real-life mythological place, with its ruler being known as “Ra Mu,” meaning the Son of the Sun, or the Son of the Sun God Ra. Thus, in victory, Imu likely renamed the Ancient Kingdom to the Land of Mu and changed his name from Mu to Imu.

Yet the question still remains of how Imu achieved this victory that set up the One Piece series as fans know it. The answer lies in the Red Line, which has previously been theorized to represent the shredded skin of a serpent. The most popular association is with Jormungandr, the World Serpent from Norse mythology. Jormungandr and Norse mythology are referenced by the Giants of Elbaf via some dialogue from Dorry and Brogy and the peoples’ culture, respectively.

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However, there is a more likely association when considering the theory that associates Imu with the Umibozu, the Sea Devil. If Imu is a Sea Devil, it’s also worth considering that Devil Fruits are said to be the “Sea Devil’s incarnations” and that eating one results in the consumer getting punished by the sea.

Thus, if the world is “sinking” because of Imu, he could be the Sea Devil who sank the world by creating the Red Line via “shedding his serpent skin,” and creating all Devil Fruits. This could mean Imu is inspired by Damballa, a spirit in Haitian Voodoo who created all waters on Earth by shedding its serpent skin. He’s also said to be the father of all spirits, furthering the connection to Imu.

This would also explain the presence of the Noah in One Piece, which is a giant ark reminiscent of Noah’s from the Bible. Assuming the original Joy Boy was Imu’s enemy, he likely tried to save the species of the world from the Great Flood via the Noah, hence his apology to the Poseidon of his era.

The enigmatic origins of Kuma's race could be explained by One Piece's latest revelation (Image via Toei Animation)

Likewise, the crime of the Buccaneers was likely building the Noah for Joy Boy, allowing humans to sail the seas for the first time. This, in turn, would allow them to become pirates or free sailors, also known as buccaneers. This would also explain why the group had to be wiped out since they desired to save as many people as they could. This is mirrored in Kuma and Saturn’s words to each other at God Valley as seen in One Piece chapter 1096.

This implies that the Ancient Kingdom was actually the Sun Kingdom, which was sunk in a great flood by the Sea Devil Imu. Those who wanted to see the Sun Kingdom rise above the sea once more could have called themselves the “Dawn clan,” which would also fit with the previous imagery in the series. This became known as the D. clan, who would bring the new Dawn of the Sun Kingdom.

In other words, Luffy and co will need to “unsink” the world to reach the One Piece and claim the treasure. Coincidentally, Japanese folklore says the only way to escape and confuse the Sea Devil is to give it a bottomless barrel. The Straw Hats have owned a bottomless barrel two times throughout the post-time-skip series, thanks to Caribou sneaking on board their ship inside a barrel on two separate occasions.

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This “bottomless barrel” that can be used to confuse Imu combined with the destruction of the Red Line could allow Luffy to achieve his enigmatic dream, as well as most of, if not all the other Straw Hats to achieve theirs. Regardless of what Luffy’s dream is, the world will be freed and connected, allowing Luffy to throw a big party in what could be his most free moment ever.

To conclude, it’s worth mentioning that One Piece has been mirroring itself as of late. Dressrosa mirrored Alabasta, Zou with Skypiea, Wano with Thriller Bark, and Egghead with Sabaody. Should the end of the story mirror the beginning, fans saw Luffy’s journey begin with him being swallowed by a sea whirlpool and needing to hide in a barrel to survive. Not so coincidentally, this is exactly what Luffy may need to do to defeat Imu and “unsink” the sea.