Does the One Piece Really Exist in the Story? (or Is It Made Up?)
The One Piece treasure is, as one would deduce, one of the major elements of the One Piece manga and anime. The titular treasure, hidden a long time ago by the famed Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, is something that most of the pirates seek out, as it is going to be the ultimate proof of them becoming the new Pirate King. But, what is the One Piece treasure? Does this famed treasure even exist? In this article, we are going to answer this question for you.
It has been confirmed on several occasions, both in- and out-of-universe, that the One Piece treasure really does exist. In-universe, it was Edward Newgate, a.k.a. Whitebeard, who confirmed the existence of the One Piece moments before his death. Out-of-universe, the fact has been confirmed by Oda himself, who said that the One Piece is an actual physical object that indeed exists.
The rest of this article is going to focus on the One Piece treasure, as we intend to tell you everything we know about it. It’s a rather complex issue because not much is known about the One Piece treasure, but we have decided to tell you everything we do know. Be careful, as there are bound to be some spoilers ahead.
Does the One Piece treasure really exist?
The One Piece is the name the world has given to a legendary treasure, said to be priceless. Its previous owner, who hid it somewhere, was the Pirate Lord, Gol D. Roger. It was hidden somewhere deep in the Grand Line, in the very last island of the New World, Laugh Tale, by Roger. Part of the treasure belonged to Joy Boy, who left it at Laugh Tale, the last island of the New World. It is said that it is on this island that the One Piece would be located
From what we know, Roger was baptized King of the Pirates, because he was the only one with his crew, the Roger Pirate Crew, to have conquered The Grand Line. According to the legend, before going to the Navy, Roger had hidden his treasure, the famous One Piece, on the last island of the Grand Line, Laugh Tale.
At the beginning of the story, only Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard, knew whether the One Piece really existed or not, because Roger had told it to him himself before he went to the Navy. Just before dying at Marineford, Whitebeard shouted loud and clear that the One Piece existed. Whoever found it would then become the Pirate King.
But at the start of the story, it’s been more than 22 years since Roger’s execution that pirates have set sail to try to find him and no one has yet arrived to Laugh Tale (Monkey D. Luffy, the main protagonist of One Piece, desperately wants to find this treasure to become the freest man in the seas). The One Piece could also not be a “treasure of money”, but above all an object that Roger loved. That the One Piece is an actual object, although not what kind, was also confirmed by Oda during a podcast, as you can read for yourselves:
Oda: “Yes, I already decided on how it’s going to end. Should I tell you now?”
Sakura: “…. Well, I want to know, but I probably shouldn’t. BUT, the One Piece, it’s not something like ‘the growth your heart went through’, right?”
Oda: “Hahaha, no no, I won’t be pulling off some kind of Wizard of Oz thing like that. After having gone through an adventure like that, it wouldn’t be fair to not actually give them a reward.”
Or it could be an object from the Void Century, which would be likely, since the Rio Poneglyph is on the same island, Laugh Tale. All the Pirates are looking for it, but no one really knows what the One Piece is, other than the surviving members of the Roger Pirates, excluding Shanks and Buggy. The Straw Hat Pirates came close to discovering the truth when they met and shared secrets with Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago.
When Usopp asked Rayleigh what One Piece was, Luffy interposed and said that it would destroy the purpose of traveling and having adventures, and that becoming the Pirate Lord would be pointless if we already know how to access One Piece and what it really is.
Where is the One Piece treasure located?
As far as it is known, the One Piece treasure is located on Laugh Tale. Laugh Tale is the last destination of the Grand Line and the place where the One Piece is located, according to legend. The island was named after Gol D. Roger, after he and his crew arrived there and found the treasure left behind by Joy Boy.
There are four Poneglyphs known as Road Poneglyphs which, when read together, will give the location of four islands leading to Laugh Tale. One of them is found in Zou, one in an unknown location, and the last two are in the possession of two of the Emperors of the Sea: Kaido and Charlotte Linlin. Little has been seen of the island, but when it was mentioned it was shown with its coastline being made up of cliffs with large amounts of desert.
Although the fog makes it very difficult to see, the island seems to have some fortress-like buildings and forested areas on top of the visible peaks. Laugh Tale is said to be the whereabouts of the River Poneglyph, a route that tells the true story of the Void Century, Nico Robin’s goal in life. Log posers are unable to detect or register the island, even when on the island prior to Laugh Tale, Lodestar Island.
Because of this, apparently the only way to set a course to it is through the Road Poneglyphs, which are a set of four special red Poneglyphs; each reveals a point on the world map once read. When the four points are deciphered, it becomes possible to discern the place in the center of these points where the true path to Laugh Tale will be revealed.
During the Void Century, Joy Boy left an incredible treasure on this island. Roger surmised the existence of a final island after reaching a dead end on Lodestar Island, with the log pose of him acting strangely while they were there and believing that the World Government was hiding something about it.
Having temporarily recruited Kozuki Oden from the Whitebeard Pirates for his ability to read the poneglyphs, Roger resumed his journey through the Grand Line with the intention of reaching his true end. Eventually, the Roger Pirates were able to unravel the mystery surrounding the Road Poneglyphs, having found them all. Upon finally arriving and finding the treasure left behind by Joy Boy, the Roger Pirates burst into laughter.
Roger considered both the nature of the treasure and all that they had managed to learn from the story and Joy Boy to be a “funny story”, inspiring him to name the island “Laugh Tale”.
“That day we learned everything. We learned about what happened in the Void Century, the meaning of the D., the ancient weapons, and, for my part, why Wano Country was isolated from the rest of the world. But do you want to know what the King of the Pirates did when he had the treasure he sought so long in front of his eyes? He laughed.”
This is what Oden said, describing the discovery of the Laugh Tale treasure. During his stay on the island, an unknown member of the Roger Pirates created an eternal pose that marked his location in case he or any of the crew ever wanted to return for some reason. Roger offered Edward Newgate the information on how to get to Laugh Tale, but Newgate denied wanting to go.
