this has been sitting in my drafts since before Kuma's backstory even came out, and we were told God Valley was a Rabbit Hunt (Sabo was recounting his story to Dragon when when this was drafted)... It just goes to say how prolific this theory was even just a couple years ago.
So, I watched this video by LunaPienArt and read these posts by @brookstolemybrand and got inspired lol. I know there are already a great many metas about this, but I wanted to try too, taking into consideration that Japanese is a VERY subjective and a lot of things can get lost in translation. I mainly want this written down so I can organize my thoughts and check later and see if I got anything right
Strap in if you're crazy like me, because this just got unnecessarily long
THE FIRST WORLD
地に炎あり
人は欲望に負け
禁断の太陽に触れた
Translation:
Within the earth there was flame
Manking succumbed to greed
And touched the forbidden sun
There is a big chance that the "flame" relates to the Mother Flame (消えない炎, literal translation is "undying flame"). The idea of "succumbing to greed" and touching the "forbidden sun" can relate back to Vegapunk's speech, where he mentions that, in studying the Mother Flame, he "got too close to the sun" (chapter 1114). Also, in his flashback in chapter 1123, he says "only fools let their greed run amok, and I went and personified mine" about the Mother Flame being used to destroy Lulusia. It's not exactly the same word used, but he says 欲, which also means greed.
On the right part of the panel, we can see people taking something from the earth up to the surface (possibly the "flame" within the earth), while there are suns underneath the city (the "forbidden sun", possibly the Mother Flame)
隷人は願い
"太陽の神"は現れた
Translation:
The enslaved prayed
And the Sun God appeared
So this Sun God is almost definitely Nika, since it's the same kanji used for him, and he is the God of Liberation. He could be a literal deity, or could also be a person that freed them and got deified with time, since this is told as a fable (related: Fisher Tiger, who also freed slaves, and his Sun Pirates)
地の神は怒
業炎の蛇と共に
世界を死と闇で包んだ
Translation:
The Earth God raged
And together with the serpent of hellflame
Enveloped the world in death and darkness
Since this is told as a fable, we can look at this part figuratively and literally. There could have been a literal deity of the earth, or a person that was later deified as an Earth God, that destroyed the world along with a fire serpent. But, "the Earth God raged" could also mean, like, earthquakes and other natural disasters. If people discovered the Mother Flame "within" the earth, it would suggest mining, and if you mine too aggressively and too greedily, it could destabilize the land you're mining under. Or even unrelated earthquakes due to tectonic shifts (assuming the One Piece world has tectonic plates) that lead to volcanic eruptions and the formation of mountain ranges, though the mention of greed earlier would suggest a man-made phenomenon. If, say, there was a disaster that resulted in a chain of volcanic eruptions, it could look like a "serpent" made of fire, right? Also, the smoke and gas from volcanoes can literally bring death and darkness to the world. It wouldn't even have to be that big, but especially if we assume that this eruption resulted in the formation of the Red Line, whose name also could be related to a serpent made of flame. LunaPien made an interesting point about the Imperial Clouds that support the Sky Islands, and how they are possibly thousands of years old and also darken the world below them, so if they were created during this First World in large enough quantities, it could also bring death and darkness to the world
In short: earthquakes shook the land (the Earth God raged), possibly due to the greed of the people using the Mother Flame, and volcanic eruptions (serpent of hellflame) brought death and darkenss to the world (and possibly created the Red Line)
彼らはもう会えないのだ
Translation:
They will never meet again
Who knows about this one, honestly. Nika and someone? Nika and Earth God? Nika and Imu? Two other people whose flashback we haven't seen yet? Too vague to guess at the moment
TLDR: People discovered the Mother Flame. The slaves they used were suffering and prayed, and the Sun God Nika appeared. Due to their greed in using the everlasting energy source, the world was shook by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, with smoke and gas that covered the world in darkness and killed many, possibly forming the Red Line in the process
.
THE SECOND WORLD
虚無に息吹あり
Translation:
Within the emptiness there was breath
The official translation uses "void", but I don't like it because it's not the same kanji used for the Void Century, and I just thought that was too confusing and people would interpret it like it was related, when it's not really. It still means emptiness or nothingness, though, in kind of a nihilistic, nonexistence way, as far as I could research. The kanji for breath here means like a breath of fresh air, in the sense of new things coming. If the First World ended in death and darkness, then in the middle of this "emptiness" of life, there came a "breath" of new beginnings, like a breath of life or, more literally, something like winds blowing away the cloud and dust covering the sky, allowing for life to grow again
森の神は魔を遣わせた
Translation:
The Forest God sent forth demons/devils
So demons/devils related to a forest probably means Devil Fruits, since the kanji 魔 used here for devils is one of the ones used for Devil Fruits (悪魔). According to Vegapunk (chapter 1069), Devil Fruits were born from people's desires and represent possible futures for humanity. In Japanese folklore, trees and forests are heavily connected to spirituality; sacred trees are considered dwelling places for spirits and kodama are tree spirits, for example. So, if the breath in the emptiness brought life back to the world, forests would return and the figurative (or literal, who knows) Forest God could bring Devil Fruits that were born from the hopes and spirits of people that died in the First World
In the center of the panel is a huge tree, which could be Yggdrasil, the tree from Norse mythology (inspiration for the giants) that is the center of the cosmos. It could also be the tree (or a symbol of the Forest God) that produced Devil Fruits
太陽は戦火を
広げるばかりだ
Translation:
The sun spreads
Nothing but the fires of war
If we take the "forbidden sun" of the First World to mean the Mother Flame, then these lines can have a double meaning: if it is still present even after the end of the First World, it would make sense that countries would wage war in order to control this infinite source of energy. But also, if this Second World takes place during the Void Century, and if we consider that Joyboy had the Nika fruit and remember Vegapunk's message saying that Joyboy and the 20 nations fought a Great War, then this "sun" that spreads the fires of war could be talking about him. The lines could also be talking about both, of course. We don't know exactly why Joyboy fought the 20 nations, it could be about control of the Mother Flame, especially if you need it to control the Ancient Weapons, which Vegapunk also implies that you do (chapter 1116). Fires of war (戦火), by the way, means like the horrors and destruction caused by war. So it's more like the sun only increasing/encouraging the destruction caused by war, with the added bonus of the kanji for fire 火 in the name, highlighting the association with the Mother Flame and/or the Sun God
On the center top of the panel is what could be a western-style dragon (Celestial Dragons?) that appears to be breathing fire (fires of war?) against the serpent of hellflame, or possibly against the Ancient Kingdom for the use of the Mother Flame (both of them used it, since they are both breathing fire? Maybe each had control of an ancient weapon?)
半月の人は夢を見た
月の人は夢を見た
Translation:
The people of the half-moon dreamed
The people of the moon dreamed
A lot of people have already come to the idea that "people of the half-moon" refers to the ones with D. in their name. There are a lot of people in One Piece that are related to the moon, though: lunarians, people from the Sky Islands, the minks (their Sulong forms), the Kozuki clan (the kanji for Kozuki is 光月, which is the inverted order of the kanji for "moonlight", 月光). LunaPien made an interesting note that in Enel's coverstory, the panel he found on the moon talking about the Skypeans, Shandians and Birkans referred to them as 月の人, "people of the moon", so the line could be about them specifically, maybe. No need to mention that "dreams" are one the core themes of the story, right? People's main motivations, inherited dreams, etc. So in the middle of the Great War the people that would carry the Will of D. and the "people of the moon" still had hopes and dreams
人は太陽を殺し神となり
海の神は荒ぶった
Translation:
People killed the Sun and became God
The Sea God rampaged
So this is probably when the 20 nations defeated Joyboy and became the World Government. King Cobra said (chapter 1084) that the rulers of those nations and their families moved to Mary Geoise and became the Celestial Dragons, who see themselves as gods. It could also be interpreted as them losing the Mother Flame when they destroyed the Ancient Kingdom where Joyboy came from. We can maybe interpret the last line literally, as in a God of the Sea (or in this case a mermaid, the one that was the ancient weapon Poseidon) rampaged, possibly due to the death of the "Sun God" (Joyboy with his Nika Fruit). Like Vegapunk said in his message (chapter 1116), using the Ancient Weapons is what made the sea levels rise in the first place, and it happened during the time Joyboy was defeated, so the rising sea levels/use of the ancient weapon could be related to his death
彼らはもう会えないのだ
Translation:
They will never meet again
TLDR: after the emptiness left by the disasters that ended the First World, new life came to the world and the Devil Fruits were formed. Wars were fought over the Mother Flame and/or Joyboy fought the 20 nations that would later form the World Government. He was killed and/or the Mother Flame was lost, and the Celestial Dragons made themselves into gods. Using at least one of the ancient weapons caused the sea levels to rise dramatically
.
THIRD WORLD
混沌に空白あり
Translation:
Within the chaos there was a void
Now the word for void, 空白, is the same one used for the Void Century. I imagine this line means something like among the chaos of the world, that just went through a Great War and rising sea levels, there is a void, a blank space in its history. This Third World begins, then, with the erasure of a whole century
不都合な残影は
約束の日を思い出し
片われ月の声を聞く
Translation:
The inconvenient remnants
Recall the promised day
And hear the voice of the half-moon
This one is tricky, or trickier, to translate. 残影 could mean traces or remnants, but it can also translate to like an afterimage, the shadow you see after you look at the sun. With this thought in mind, the "inconvenient remnants" could be the ones left behind after Joyboy was defeated, they are the "afterimage" left after the Sun is gone. It could also mean the Poneglyphs, which Imu (chapter 1085) called 忌々しき遺物, or irritating/annoying relics/mementos. To "recall the promised day" could then mean either the people who remember Joyboy and await his return - Zunesha, Emet the Iron Giant, and the sea kings that mention a promise between them and Joyboy regarding the Noah (chapter 648) - or some part of the text on the Poneglyphs, at least one of which (the one on the Sea Forest) is written as an apology from Joyboy, possibly about the broken promise of using the Noah. Now, the last line. 片われ means fragment/broken piece or even one of a pair/counterpart, so 片われ月 could still mean "half moon", but it is written noticeably different from the 半月 of the Second World. I personally would never have known, since I'm not Japanese and my Japanese skills are mid at best, but apparently there is an early medieval poem this could be referencing, which uses the image of a half-moon covered by clouds as a metaphor for longing for a loved one that is not there. LunaPien mentions that this poem has already been referred to by Oda in the title for chapter 292 (あふことは片われ月の雲隠れ), which is a direct quote of the poem, though with less kanji, and means something like "meeting you is like the half moon vanishing behind clouds". This chapter is about Noland and Kalgara not being able to meet after Jaya is launched into the sky, so I imagine the title is supposed to evoke this longing to meet a loved one that you're separated from
To sum up:
Inconvenient remnants could be either people/creatures who fought alongside Joyboy and still carry his legacy/dream/fight (sea kings, Zunesha, Emet), or poneglyphs, or just people that the World Government tried to eliminate but haven't managed to (lunarians, bucaneers, giants, Ohara scholars, etc) that have a connection to the Sun God or the Void Century
To "hear the voice of the half moon" can refer to carrying on the Will of D. (the people of the half moon) or possibly about hearing the voices of people that were separated and long to meet again (a reference to those last lines, maybe?), which could be everyone longing to meet Nika/Joyboy/Luffy and find liberation. This could also be related to what Vegapunk said, about people in general being isolated now because of the difficulty in ocean travel, so to hear the voice of the half-moon could be this longing for a connection of, like, humankind (this one is a little out there, I know)
On the left side of the panel, we can see many of these possible "inconvenient remnants" that carry along the Will of D. and are enemies/persecuted by the World Government, like the ship with the Alabasta flag (whose rulers have D. in their name), the ship with possible samurai and ninjas (not part of the World Government, hiding an Ancient Weapon), minks and dwarves (Strawhat allies), a mermaid with a crown (Shirahoshi, Strawhat ally and Ancient Weapon), giants, ancient giants, the Iron Giant, lunarians, those people on that whale (whale tree from Zou? Whitebeard pirates, because of the Moby Dick? there's rain/tears (?) falling on them specifically, I wonder). All of them are fighting against a demon (or a dragon) holding on to the sun (that is possibly not Luffy, since he is also there in his Nika form, but could also be Luffy as the sun and Bonney in her Nika future). That dragon could be Imu, or the Celestial Dragons in general, or Shamrock, or hell even Shanks if you still think he could be a villain
"太陽の神"は踊り、笑い
世界を終末へと導く
Translation:
The Sun God dances and laughs
Guiding the world to its end
This one is pretty straightforward, Luffy is "freest" when he is in his Nika form, dancing and laughing as the Sun God. The end (終末), in this case, is less in a destruction sense and more in a "conclusion, ending" way, as far as I can tell. So it sounds more like he will bring and end to this "world" (the Third World), the one where there is a Void in history and people are divided and fighting, not that he will destroy the whole world or something
太陽は回帰し
新しい朝が来る
Translation:
The sun will return
And a new morning will come
Return (回帰), in this case, has a sense of circling back, like the sun coming back with a new morning. So if the Sun God guides the world to its "ending", like a sunset, then the Sun will also come back with a new dawn. One way to say this is that Luffy/Nika will bring an end to the world as they know it, but also bring back a new morning in a "new" world. This could go any number of ways.
He could destroy Mary Geoise and bring an end to the world that was controlled by the Celestial Dragons. This brings an interesting possibility of him literally destroying that part of the Red Line, which would a. make it easier for people to travel from one side to another; b. possibly force the people from Fishman Island to use the Noah and rise to the surface, since they are like right under that part and would be destroyed too otherwise (finally fulfilling the promise made by Joyboy); and c. connect all the oceans of the world *nudge nudge All Blue wink wink* (ngl I read about this one from another post that I cannot for the life of me remember where)
"The sun will return" can mean that Luffy will seem to die at some point, but come back to bring the new morning/bring hope back to people (maybe my worst fears come true and Law brings him back and makes him immortal with his Devil Fruit power)
The Sun that will return could also be about the Mother Flame returning, either to the world as an infinite energy source used for peace and prosperity (like Vegapunk's dream), or to the "earth", as in it will no longer be used to power the ancient weapons and the world will no longer be in danger of being destroyed
If you want to be a doomer about it, the text says specifically that the Sun God guides the world to its end, but that the Sun will come back, not the Sun God. So who knows, maybe Luffy does die, but the Sun (the Nika Devil Fruit?) comes back into the world/the Sun (symbol of hope) rises again because he took the old world along with him when he died
彼らはきっと会えるだろう
Translation:
They will surely meet
Who knows, honestly
TLDR: there was a Void (Century) in the history of a chaotic world, people (or poneglyphs) which inconveniece the World Government remember a promised day and either long to meet Nika, or carry along the Will of D. Luffy will bring and end to this Third World controlled by the World Government, and he will return to bring a new dawn. The Mother Flame will either be used to bring prosperity to the world or be put back into the earth/destroyed so it can't be used to power the ancient weapons
So, I'm sure I'm not the first person to say this, but I've been thinking about the One Piece and that line from the Harley text:
片われ月の声を聞く
Which basically translates to
Hear the voice of the fragmented moon
(the official translation uses "half-moon" but it's a different word to the half-moon mentioned before in the text, 片われ means a fragment or broken piece or even one of a pair or counterpart)
I've talked about it before, but the "fragmented moon" is (probably) a reference to a medieval Japanese poem that uses the fragmented moon as a metaphor for longing. And Oda has used an exact line of that poem before as the title of chapter 292, in which Noland and Kalgara can't meet anymore after Jaya has been launched into the sky. So it's a pretty clear symbol of people separated and longing to meet
And I mentioned in my other post some possible interpretations on what this fragmented moon could be about, and one of them was the idea that, as Vegapunk mentioned in his message to the world, people are isolated from one another because of the difficulty in traveling across different seas or through the Grand Line, because of the weather, the currents and the existence of the Red Line
So what if the "treasure" at Laugh Tale is, like, knowledge on how to fix that? How to take all these separated, fragmented people, these parts of a greater whole, and unite them into... you know.
