What is the Red Line? The mystery of One Piece's largest landmass, explored

Eiichiro Oda’s addictive One Piece series features an entangled world with countless different locations, among which is the Red Line. The Red Line is a massive continent that surrounds the One Piece world like an enormous ring splitting the globe and separating the four seas.

This landmass is the venue of some important sites, including Reverse Mountain and the World Government's capital city, the “Holy Land” of Mary Geoise. Despite its relevance in the series, the history of the Red Line remains largely unknown.

Moreover, this place was revealed to be the former homeland of the god-like Lunarians, a mysterious race that seems to be linked to Joy Boy and hostile to the World Government. Understandably, this has caused One Piece fans to go wild with theories.

Many secrets of the One Piece lore revolve around the enigmatic Red Line

A continent that wraps around the world

The Red Line is at the center of the One Piece world (Image via Toei Animation)

The Red Line takes its name from the reddish mineral it is made up of. This landmass is high enough above sea level to be impossible to climb and tough enough to be considered indestructible. Hence, it prevents ships from crossing between the seas or the sections of the Grand Line, blocking their way.

There are only three ways to get through the Red Line and one of them is to gain permission from the World Government to pass through Mary Geoise. However, the dwellers who choose this way would have to abandon their ship and get a new one on the other side of the Red Line.

As the World Government doesn’t allow outlaws to pass through Mary Geoise, pirates have to cross the Red Line by going up the waterways of Reverse Mountain. Pirate crews can also go under the Red Line through Fish-Man Island.

This allows them to leave the first part of the Grand Line, the “Paradise,” and enter the second one, the “New World.” However, pirates need to get their ship coated to submerge down to Fish-Man Island.

Mary Geoise, the World Government’s Holy Land

The Pangaea Castle in Mary Geoise (Image via Toei Animation)

Mary Geoise is the capital city of the World Government. It is located at the halfway point where the Red Line and the Grand Line cross, on the opposite side of the world from Reverse Mountain. 800 years before the present narration, nineteen of the Twenty Kings that formed the Ancient Alliance left their respective kingdoms and moved to Mary Geoise.

This event marked the establishment of the World Government. The descendants of these individuals are the Celestial Dragons. The highest nobles in the world, the Celestial Dragons live in absolute luxury. They are free to do anything, even enslaving other people.

The security of Mary Geoise is granted by the presence of the top brass of the Navy and the CP0, while the jurisdiction is administered by the Holy Knights. Among the various buildings within the city, there is the Pangaea Castle, a gigantic structure with several towers and floors, in which reside the highest-ranked Celestial Dragons, the Five Elders.

Much more than mere politicians, the Five Elders are genuine powerhouses, with incredible abilities, including Yokai-like transformations and formidable Haki powers. They receive orders from Imu-sama, the enigmatic ruler of the Pangaea Castle’s Empty Throne. Imu’s existence is kept a secret from the public, as this individual is the true leader of the World Government.

Reverse Mountain and Twin Cape

Laboon in Reverse Mountain (Image via Toei Animation)

In the Red Line, on the opposite side of the world from Mary Geoise, lies Reverse Mountain. It’s a special place where the four seas flow up the landmass, ascending it until they reach the top, then flowing down into the Paradise portion of the Grand Line.

Most pirates go through Reverse Mountain because from here, they can use a Log Pose to enter one of the seven different routes of the Grand Line. At the bottom of the mountain, right before the exit that leads into the Grand Line’s Paradise, lies Twin Cape. This location is the site of the lighthouse maintained by Crocus.

Crocus is a former member of the notorious Roger Pirates and traveled with them to Laugh Tale. He now wishes for the Straw Hat Pirates to complete their journey and return to Reverse Mountain, where he and the whale Laboon will patiently await them.

The former homeland of the Lunarians

King is a survivor of the Lunarians, who once lived on the Red Line (Image via Shueisha)

Long before Mary Geoise was built, the Red Line was the home of the Lunarians. These individuals were hailed as gods for their exceptional powers that enabled them to survive in any situation and environment.

The Lunarians had unique bodies, with black feathery wings, dark skin, and white hair. They also had the innate ability to generate flames. At one point, the Lunarian Race became extinct for unknown reasons. Its sole survivor was Alber, who was held captive by the World Government.

Impressed by Alber’s skills, Kaido gave the former a new name, "King," and chose him as Kaido's right-hand man. Owing to his Lunarian powers, King was able to coat his body and limbs with flames, as well as unleash ravaging fire blasts. King’s Lunarian flames were akin to magma, which in the One Piece world is much stronger than normal fire.

King as seen in One Piece (Image via Toei Animation)

Keeping the flame on his back active, King could increase his resilience to the point where he could withstand insanely powerful attacks without suffering any damage. He could come out unscathed even from attacks strong enough to significantly injure Kaido’s tough body.

King also had the ability to switch off the flame to gain a huge speed boost in exchange for partially lowering his resilience. During the Onigashima Raid, King was defeated by Roronoa Zoro, who used his Advanced Conqueror’s Haki to overpower the former and his Lunarian flames.

As of now, the circumstances of the near-complete annihilation of King's fellow tribesmen remain undisclosed. Nevertheless, the World Government took King’s DNA and used it to enhance the Seraphim cyborgs, granting them the same astonishing durability as the Lunarian survivor.

The link between the World Government, Joy Boy, and the Lunarians

King and Kaido talking about Joy Boy (Image via Shueisha)

The World Government rewards anyone with relevant information about the whereabouts of a Lunarian survivor with the enormous sum of 150 million berries. Moreover, this establishment built its capital city over the Lunarian Race's former homeland. Most likely, the World Government chased Lunarians out of the Red Line, eliminating almost all of them.

Things become even more interesting as the Lunarian survivor King venerated Joy Boy, an enemy of the World Government. King was faithfully hoping and waiting for Joy Boy's return, which implies that there's an undisclosed yet quite compelling lore that ties the Lunarian Race with this individual.

Imu-sama identified the first enemies of the World Government as the people who carry the will of D., a group of individuals who were also stated to be “the natural enemies of the gods.”

The Celestial Dragons who live in Mary Geoise consider themselves the “gods who created the world as it is.” Considering this, the Lunarian Race’s evident fallen angel archetype might have a special meaning.

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Paraphrasing a tale of the Christian religion, the god-like Lunarians once sat atop as the rulers of the Red Line but were overthrown by the founders of the World Government, who believed themselves the only ones worthy of being regarded as gods.

Another interesting thing is that the term “Lunarians” recalls the Moon, and there’s a chance that the Lunarians actually came from there. As it’s well known, certain winged humanoids came from the Moon to the Earth in search of more resources.

These people, namely the Skypieans, the Shandia, and the Birkans, all have wings on their backs. However, these wings are white and small, and can’t be used to fly, unlike those of the Lunarians, which are black and big, and fully functional, as they allow high-speed flight.

It’s possible that the Lunarians came from the Moon just like these tribes, but were much more warlike and aggressive than them. Hence, they used their powers to conquer the Red Line, ruling it until the World Government overthrew them.

Is the Red Line’s destruction the key to freeing the One Piece world?

The main routes in the One Piece world (Image via Toei Animation)

Another popular theory regarding the Red Line speculates that Luffy will destroy this continent, allowing the world to become one. This would enable Sanji to achieve his lifelong dream of finding the All Blue, a legendary location where all the seas merge into a single one.

Based on the map of the One Piece world, the All Blue doesn’t seem to exist, as the Red Line separates the seas. However, without this landmass, things would be very different. In the context of the final war against the World Government, Luffy might crush Mary Geoise with a powerful blow, breaking the Red Line as a consequence.

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By doing so, Luffy would not only help Sanji fulfill his dream but also grant everyone the freedom to circumvent the globe without having to ask the World Government for permission. Admittedly, a world released from the natural boundaries of the Red Line would be in line with Luffy's ambition to be the freest man.

What’s even more interesting is that the destruction of Mary Geoise and the Red Line might have already been foreshadowed. Mary Geoise's Pangaea Castle is named after the homonymous supercontinent that existed in real-life history hundreds of millions of years ago and eventually broke apart into the current continents.

In One Piece chapter 129, Dorry and Brogy pronounced a cryptic line:

“The only thing we can’t pierce is a snake soaked in blood.”

Dorry and Brogy's quote from chapter 129 (Image via Shueisha)

Considering that the recent One Piece chapters have emphasized these two Giants as quite relevant characters for the story, it’s possible that their words were a metaphor. If so, the blood-soaked snake that even they can’t break would be the Red Line, which encompasses the entire world as an indestructible reddish serpent.

This theory is further corroborated as, like the other Giants, Dorry and Brogy are a reference to the Viking Age Scandinavia, whose mythology tells of Jormungandr, an enormous serpent that holds the world in place by wrapping itself around it while biting onto its tail.

According to this myth, the world will end when Jormungandr lets go of its tail. Likewise, the One Piece world might change forever when Luffy breaks the snake-like Red Line.