One Piece Reveals That Luffy May Not Be Joyboy’s True Successor After All

Warning: Contains spoilers for chapter #1122 of One Piece.

Amongst the many recent revelations on Egghead, One Piece has just subtly teased that Luffy may not be Joyboy’s true successor after all, and everything about Luffy’s character seems to support it. The latest chapter of One Piece reveals an interesting detail about Joyboy that seemingly confirms the differences between him and Luffy.

In chapter #1122, Emet apologizes to Joyboy for not being able to make him king. Emet does not specify what kind of king Joyboy wanted to be, but his words immediately draw Luffy’s attention, who once again proclaims his dream of becoming the King of the Pirates.

However, seeing that Joyboy was the first pirate, it is unlikely that his dream was also to become the pirate king like Luffy. Regardless of what kind of king Joyboy wished to be, his dream proves that Luffy is not his true successor, as Luffy has stated time and time again that he does not wish to be a hero or a king and thus will not be able to fulfill Joyboy’s dream.

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One Piece Teases Joyboy’s Dream is Completely Different From Luffy’s

Created by Eiichiro Oda Chapter #1122, “Time is Right”

The fact that Joyboy also dreamed of becoming a king of some sort seems like another thing that he and Luffy have in common at first, especially given Luffy’s immediate reaction to it. However, it is important to note that becoming the pirate king is not Luffy’s real dream but only a stepping stone towards his actual one that was teased at the end of Wano.

It also does not make sense that Joyboy would also want to become the King of the Pirates, as such a title would not have held much meaning back during the Void Century when Joyboy was considered the first-ever pirate to set sail, meaning piracy was still uncommon. If so, Joyboy’s dream was certainly something else entirely, and based on the many little hints provided about Joyboy so far, this dream may have been quite an ambitious one, such as maybe wanting to become the king of the world like Rocks D. Xebec.

An ambitious dream such as wanting to be the king of the world would certainly explain why the twenty kingdoms allied against Joyboy and the Ancient Kingdom as well as why Imu’s existence is kept such a tight secret. Joyboy’s cryptic apology to Fishman Island and the fact that he emulated Nika, the Warrior of Liberation, suggests he likely had good motives for wanting to be a king, such as wanting equality and freedom for everyone. However, this very much makes Joyboy a hero who fights for the masses, which Luffy most certainly does not want to be.

Luffy Will Not Be the One to Fulfill Joyboy’s Dream

While he values ambition and freedom just as much, Luffy has made it abundantly clear he does not want to share his meat with others or become a hero. Throughout One Piece, Luffy has only helped those who have helped him, those who are brave enough to ask for his help, or those who are willing to fight for themselves, as seen with Momonosuke. Even though Luffy has awakened the Nika Fruit, he is also still blissfully oblivious to Sun God Nika’s existence and purpose as seen countless times during the Egghead Arc.

Most importantly, Luffy, who did not want to be a Marine but a pirate simply because of the freedom it offers, would also not want to become a king in any sense of the word. Thus, even if Luffy ends up fighting the World Government in the Final Saga of One Piece, he likely will not become the heroic king Joyboy wanted to be at the end of it all, even if he inadvertently ends up bringing freedom to everyone doing so. In fact, if Joyboy’s dream truly involved becoming the king of the world, the Final Saga may see Luffy’s biggest rival, Blackbeard, pursuing Joyboy’s dream instead, albeit with darker, twisted motives.

Nonetheless, this is only speculation at this point, as there is still much that One Piece is yet to reveal about Joyboy, the Void Century, and Luffy’s real dream, all of which are sure to be connected by fate. Though the pieces of the puzzle are finally falling into place, only time will tell whether Luffy is truly meant to be Joyboy’s successor and what exactly that role will entail.

One Piece is available from Manga Plus and Viz Media.

One Piece

Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.

Created by

Eiichiro Oda

First Film

One Piece: The Movie