One Piece has more cities of gold besides Wano that are integral to series' lore

The extent of world-building in the One Piece series ensures that there are always new theories circulating in the fandom, especially since the manga has several mysteries that still need to be resolved. Some of the most prominent ones include the real identity of Imu, the ruler of the World Government, the background of the Sun God Nika, and the events that led to the Void Century.

There is a lot to unpack in the One Piece story right now, but there is a new theory, inspired by mythology from all over the world, that could shed some light on the truth regarding Imu and Nika.

Furthermore, it could also give people a certain clue of where the story is heading and the background of the conflict between Nika and Imu, starting with the fact that Wano might not be the only site among the cities of gold in this series.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and not Sportskeeda as a whole.

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Explaining how Wano might not be the only city of gold in the One Piece series and how that connects with Imu

The theory suggests that the old Sun Kingdom was sunk by Imu, who is a Sea Devil, and some of the survivors formed the Dawn Clan to revive said kingdom, which leads to the abbreviation of the D. Clan.

It explains that the Sun Kingdom could be inspired by the myths of the land of Mu, which also happened to have a ship that looked a lot like the Noah of the Fishman Island, thus sparking speculation that author Eiichiro Oda was inspired by those myths.

This connects with the factor of Joyboy sharing a promise with the people of Fishman Island, which means said promise could be his desire to revive the Sun Kingdom. It is also common knowledge that Noah's Ark was the boat in the Bible that saved people and animals from a worldwide flood, which connects the theory that Imu could have potentially sunken the Sun Kingdom.

Imu also resembles the Umibozu, which is a demonic being, a yokai, from Japanese culture, who was presumed to sink ships across the seas. Interestingly, it also happens to have a lot of physical similarities with the leader of the World Government.

This also connects with the concepts of the Weapons of the Sun, shown in the 1982 anime Cities of Gold that inspired Oda, which destroyed Atlantis and the Land of Mu, thus establishing a parallel with the Ancient Weapons in this manga.

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More details of this theory

The Straw Hat crew (Image via Toei Animation).

Real-life myths mention that there are seven cities of gold, which happen to be Cibola, El Dorado, Patiti, City of the Caesars, Lake Parime at Manoa, Antilla, and Quivira, and they were present in the aforementioned 1982 anime. El Dorado looks extremely similar to Shandora in One Piece's Skypiea, thus establishing another connection between the two series.

It's in this context that Wano is mentioned, which has been called the country of gold in One Piece, which has sparked the theory that said gold was stolen, suggesting that it was one of the elders of the Gorosei, Ethan Baron V. Nusjuro. This could explain the fall of Wano even further, and even connect the awakening of Nika in that place when Luffy fought Kaido.

That way the concept of the seven cities of gold could be established in the series, thus connection with the other name that it has, Seven Cities of Cibola, with the last word referring to the people known as Zuni, possibly connecting with the elephant Zunisha in the series.

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Final thoughts

This One Piece series suggests that Imu is a sea devil that sunk the Sun Kingdom, and the Noah boat was used to try to save people's lives. It also points out that there could be seven cities of gold, with the likes of Shandora and Wano being two of the prime examples.

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