One Piece fans may already know who killed Joy Boy, and it explains an enigmatic apology

Modified May 24, 2024 00:10 GMT

One Piece fans may already know who killed Joy Boy, and it explains an enigmatic apology (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece chapter 1115 is set to be released on May 27, 2024. The chapter revealed new information about the Void Century and made the ground-breaking reveal of the death of JoyBoy.

The chapter was focused on Vegapunk's speech, which has been a recurring trend for the past few chapters. The chapter saw Vegapunk reveal how many meters the sea level has risen since the original world was drowned underwater.

But the finishing detail of the chapter didn't make much sense as Vegapunk revealed that Joy's death marked the end of the Void Century but didn't reveal who killed the first pirate of the Grand Line. This giant Straw Hat, in possession of Imu, would link to JoyBoy's death. But the person responsible for the death of JoyBoy could be one of his crewmates - just not the way fans expect it to be.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers from the One Piece manga series and also contains the author's opinions.

One Piece: Exploring the person who killed JoyBoy

Monkey D Luffy (Gear 5) as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

JoyBoy is a legend of the Grand Line whose name was revealed in One Piece 628 during the Fisherman Island. Ironically, the first time fans got to hear his name was through his apology letter. This letter was dedicated to the Fisherman species and in the letter he talked about how he couldn't help them reach the Sun.

He also promised that he would return to fulfill his promise one day. To learn about who killed JoyBoy, let's first see what we know about him, compiling information from the early days to the latest chapter.

As mentioned, JoyBoy had a link to Fisherman Island, meaning he wanted this race to thrive and free them from oppression. After Fisherman Island, JoyBoy's name was teased by Zunesha, the giant elephant that carries Zou. Moreover, Luffy was termed as the next coming of JoyBoy by Zunesha, hinting that they also had a link.

Monkey D Luffy as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

During the Egghead arc, JoyBoy's link with the Iron Giant was also teased as he had something to apologize to JoyBoy. It was also revealed that JoyBoy was the first pirate during the message of Vegapunk. Vegapunk added that JoyBoy had the powers to stretch his body, indicating that he had the same devil fruit as Monkey D Luffy (the Human-Human fruit, Model: Nika).

Lastly, in chapter 1115, Vegapunk revealed that JoyBoy fought the alliance of the 20 Kingdoms, now known as the World Government, and died. His death marked the end of the Void Century. Now, back to the question, who killed JoyBoy?

The Giant Straw Hat as seen in the anime (Image via Toei Animation)

In One Piece episode 885, a Giant Straw Hat was revealed inside a cold room in the Holy Land of Mariejois. Only Imu had access to it, indicating that only Imu had access to it. Fans had speculated that this hat belonged to JoyBoy, but why would Imu keep a hat hidden from the world?

When the Straw Hats visited Egghead Island, Vegapunk revealed that he wanted to create an infinite source of energy that could power every system of the world. One of the purposes of creating such a power source was to power the Iron Giant. Vegapunk created Mother Flame during this research but this weapon wasn't enough to empower the Iron Giant.

The Iron Giant waking up due to the drums of liberation (Image via Shueisha)

During the raid of the Five Elders on Egghead Island, fans saw the Iron Giant walking which was due to the drums of liberation that were emitted by Luffy's Gear 5. So, Luffy's Gear 5 was a more potent source of energy as compared to Mother Flame.

As JoyBoy also had the same devil fruit, he could also have the same powers, to make the Iron Giant function. This could be why Imu defeated JoyBoy, alongside the 20 Kingdoms' help, and kept him inside the cold room of Mariejois. His energy could be enough to empower the Ancient Weapons which Vegapunk talked about in chapter 1115. So who killed JoyBoy?

The Iron Giant apologizing to JoyBoy (Image via Shueisha)

The Iron Giant raided the Holy Land of Mariejois once, as revealed by Vegapunk. So, the Iron Giant could have visited the Holy Land of Mariejois to kill JoyBoy, thus relieving him of his misery to help Imu kill others.

This also fits the description where the Iron Giant's first words, when he started moving were an apology to JoyBoy. So, the Iron Giant killed JoyBoy for his own benefit, and the world's, and even apologized for killing the man who empowered him.

Related Links

Edited by Meghna