Joy Boy is a character that fans have seen the story of One Piece be centered around as of late.
His strength is absolutely immaculate, but more than that, the role that he has played in One Piece has been significant. The vast majority of Joy Boy’s role in the story hasn’t even been shown by Oda, yet, his importance is paramount. Joy Boy fought against the 20 Kings long ago, and he set into motion events that are still bearing consequences. Joy Boy’s legend will be at the center of One Piece for a long, long time.
Everything about him is going to be revealed at some point later down the line, but there’s one particular question about this individual that fans would want answered as soon as possible. This question centers around his eventual death. It is said that Joy Boy died at the end of the Void Century, but, how exactly did he die?
Joy Boy’s Death And The End Of The Great War In One Piece
Joy Boy Died 800 Years Ago
The Egghead Island Arc of One Piece gave fans quite a lot of insight into Joy Boy’s life. Of course, there are still many details that are under the wraps in regards to his story. In fact, it is safe to say that most things about Joy Boy are still under the wraps and fans have only found out the bare minimum. That said, this bare minimum has been more than enough to spark many discussions among the fans, especially when it comes to his life and death. As mentioned by Vegapunk, Joy Boy was born in a very prosperous Kingdom long ago, around 900 years in the past. This prosperous Kingdom is the same one that Clover spoke of long ago, and the kingdom that has somehow been erased from the face of the earth entirely. Joy Boy was born there, and it is said that he, at some point, attained the powers of the Nika fruit. This is the same fruit that Luffy ate at the beginning of his story. Joy Boy ate this fruit at an unknown time, under unknown circumstances. That said, what fans know is that he attained the powers to stretch and shrink, just like Luffy.
At the end of the Void Century, Joy Boy died! – Vegapunk
Eventually, he awakened this devil fruit as well, which is something that fans know through his silhouettes. Joy Boy ended up becoming just like the Sun God Nika, and the warrior of liberation. He fought against the 20 Kings, who had different ideologies and wanted the opposite of what Joy Boy wanted. Eventually, there was a major war, which led to the destruction of many places. This war was fought by Joy Boy and his allies against 20 Kings who had banded together, because the Ancient Kingdom was way too powerful for them to take on individually. The alliance eventually succeeded, and the Ancient Kingdom was somehow completely destroyed. During this 100-year war, the water levels rose by 200 m, which is why the Ancient Kingdom was likely submerged completely.
At the same time, fans know that at the very end of this war, Joy Boy ended up dying. This was confirmed by Vegapunk in his message, and his death marked the immediate end of the war, which meant that Joy Boy was the most important character in this war. With his death, the war came to an end, and the alliance of the 20 Kings then became what is known as the World Government. They took their place atop Marijoa, and then, the world order shifted greatly in the years to come.
How Did Joy Boy Die?
Joy Boy Likely Died On His Own Terms Even Even If He Lost
It has been made clear that Joy Boy ended up dying at the end of the Void Century War. However, the question remains as to how he died in the first place. Fans need to look at many things before jumping to conclusions about Joy Boy’s death. The very first thing that fans need to know is that Great Kingdom most definitely knew that it was losing the war. This is because they started crafting their stories on Poneglyphs, in the hopes that it would pass on from one generation to another. Secondly, there was likely a traitor within their ranks, which eventually led to Joy Boy’s defeat.
This is because the ancient weapons were crafted by the people of the Ancient Kingdom, but somehow, they found their way into the possession of the alliance. This has again been backed up and the story on various occasions by many facts. For one, fans know that the ancient weapons are supposed to be used in a specific way where they don’t cause large-scale destruction at all.
Oh Joy Boy, I wish I could’ve lived in your era! – Roger
Secondly, fans know for a fact that Uranus is currently in possession of the World Government. These facts prove that these weapons somehow found their way into the grasp of the alliance, who then used it to destroy the world or, specifically the Great Kingdom. Joy Boy’s death in One Piece was likely multifaceted. A Great Kingdom could not have collapsed due to a simple alliance. While it is true that many battles were fought during the Void Century and many places were destroyed, despite being resilient, such as Shandora, which was one of the last cities to fall, it must also be remembered that Joy Boy was likely betrayed by many.
At the same time, what fans also know is that the Ancient weapons fell into the wrong hands. Strong as Joy Boy might be, he would likely not stand a chance against an ancient weapon. Even if he had two ancient weapons on his own, deterrence alone wouldn’t put off the World Government, who, by their nature, are genocidal. It is likely because of this trade of powers that Joy Boy’s allies were wiped out systematically and that he was left powerless. At this point in time, Joy Boy likely decided that It would be better to leave this task to the future generations.
Surprisingly enough, Joy Boy knew specifically when he would return and when the Great War would erupt again. He also knew when the ancient weapons would be reborn into the world, which suggests that Joy Boy could have potentially done all this on purpose. Joy Boy’s death might not have been the accident that fans thought it was.
Clearly, the Idea of death and then having Luffy accomplish the task that he could not seems somewhat planned. This might be confusing to some fans, but they simply need to consider the fact that Joy Boy clearly knew when the next Nika would descend upon the world, he also knew when the mermaid princess would be born again, and he knew when the Great War would erupt. This is confirmed in the story through many characters, such as Toki, and also through Oden and Roger, both of whom found Joy Boy’s last message on the final island and came to the same conclusion. This is also how they knew that they were not the ones to change the world and they still had to wait a bit more.
Furthermore, the idea that Joy Boy left behind everything that he had on the final island and most likely the entire tale of his journey there as well seems to imply that he died on his own terms, freest of all, and potentially even on the Final Island, which means that his death might have had nothing to do with the war against the World Government. It must have been after finalizing his story that he waited patiently for the next Joy Boy to come find him, and discover his tale. Given that he is a heroic character, and the people of the D always die smiling, fans know that Joy Boy’s death could not have been humiliating or something like a death on the battlefield. Instead, he pursued freedom, and died on his own terms, and planned everything, waiting for the next Joy Boy to finish what he started.
