Spoiler Warning:
This article includes heavy spoilers for the One Piece manga, including its story, characters, and events. We recommend you read the manga up to chapter 1121 to avoid spoilers. Proceed with caution.
The Void Century has been one of the longest-standing mysteries in One Piece, right from when we first learned about it in the Arabasta saga. We learned only a few things about them little by little in the past. Now, after 1,100+ chapters, we are finally starting to learn the truths of the blank period in history, thanks to Dr. Vegapunk’s message to the world. If you’re eager to learn the truth behind the Void Century without getting on the World Government’s hitlist, we have discussed it below.
The Unexplained Void in History
As evident from the title, the Void Century is a 100-year blank period in the course of history of the One Piece realm. The details of the events that took place during this period remain unknown to this date. Thus, the Void Century is referred to as the century-long period between 900 and 800 years before the current timeline.
We are very well aware of the fates of the people who tried to uncover the truth behind this period. In other words, the World Government has made it a taboo to research this century. Truth be told, if you noticed carefully, the understanding of the Void Century was one of the main reasons for all three Buster Calls in the series so far.
The World Government made sure that no one ever trespasses on this rule and tries to learn what happened in the past during this specific time. However, as mentioned above, major details about the Void Century have been revealed by Vegapunk in the manga recently.
The Only Key to Learning the Real Truth
The only source of information that can help decipher the truth about this 100-year void in One Piece’s history is the Poneglyphs. If you do not know about these ancient giant blocks, learn all about them via the linked guide as they are essential to the story.
When deciphered, these ancient scripts on the Poneglyphs convey previously unknown historical details concerning various aspects of the blank century in One Piece world. With the help of these poneglyphs, one can truly unlock the ‘true history‘ of this world just like how the Roger Pirates and Dr. Vegapunk did.
What Happened During the Void Century in One Piece?
It has been mentioned that during the Void Century, there existed a Great Kingdom that was said to be far more exceptionally advanced and developed than the rest of the world. It was considered the most powerful nation in the entire realm of One Piece at that time.
As a result, every other nation considered it a serious threat. Their technology was far ahead of its time, and Dr. Vegapunk was able to reverse-engineer numerous inventions that existed during this century. In a nutshell, the world of One Piece had evolved, sadly backward from that period as no such technology can’t be seen anywhere now, except Egghead Island.
Now, according to Dr. Vegapunk’s message in the latest chapters, it is confirmed that the legendary figure “Joy Boy” was born during this blank era and was highly regarded as the main character of this Void Century tale.
Furthermore, it was also announced by the old man that Joy Boy was the first pirate ever to set sail to the seas in this world. Thus, there is a long-standing theory about the Great Kingdom being the kingdom of pirates, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
We don’t even know the name of this kingdom but Clover (Ohara Scholar and recently revealed to be a D clan member) declared that its name was extremely crucial and an essential piece to comprehend the mystery of the blank period in history. After Joy Boy was born here, there was an inevitable war that followed during this period, which we have discussed in detail below.
The Great War During the Void Century
The Great War during the Void Century forever redefined the One Piece world, breaking it into multiple islands and making it look like what it is now. Dr. Vegapunk stated that the alliance of the 20 kingdoms considered Joy Boy and his faction as the primary threat, marking the start of the Great War. He further remarked that the war resulted from the clashing of different ideologies of the two groups.
When the rebellious army of the alliance realized they couldn’t fight against the powers of Joy Boy with Hito Hito no Mi Model: Nika devil fruit powers, that is when the Ancient Weapons came in handy for them.
With these mass-destructive weapons by their side, the alliance was able to defeat Joy Boy and the Great Kingdom. The Void Century period concluded right after Joy Boy and his motherland were vanquished, submerged at the bottom of the sea.
Aftermath of the Great War
Due to the extensive employment of Ancient Weapons during the Void Century, there was a heavy price to pay. During those 100 years, the usage of ancient weapons resulted in a staggering 200-meter increase in sea levels.
In comparison, after the Lulusia Incident by the World Government, the sea levels rose by 1 meter. Now imagine the levels they must have gone to make the sea level rise by 200 meters! I still cannot fathom it to this day!
As a result of the massive rise in sea levels, most of the Void Century kingdoms started to submerge deep under the sea. The current world is made up of the remnants of the lands that once existed before. It is considered that there used to be multiple continents back then and now we are left with multiple fragments i.e., the islands. The real world is still waiting to be explored beneath the seas.
After the alliance completely defeated Joy Boy and his faction, they began their reign with the birth of the World Government. One of the ancient weapons is still in their possession, hence, we see Dr. Vegapunk emphasize that the Great War that started during the blank era has yet to conclude until this day.
That’s everything we know about the Void Century so far. We will update this post as we inch closer to learning the truths of this blank period and the final saga in One Piece.
