Discussion The "Blank/Void Century"

[M3J]

Isn't that because the parents speak the language? The baby would pick up on it.

Besides, Dragon looks like he's the opposite of Garp. Where Garp is carefree and chill, Dragon looks serious and to-business.

 

[mattiaildivino]

I hope Dragon and the revolutionaries know a part of what happened during the void century,because that's would be a great reason to be against the WG. yet,the fact robin stayed there and hasn't told anything yet pissed me off.

 

[Schabrak]

There's no need to look for corruption and actions from the long past, when those crueltiess are still persistent or even worse than before.

I assume the Grandline kingdoms to be more moderate than those from the Blues, because it wasn't originally part of the 20 Kingdoms, which is I believe the reason for no Tenryuubito to have shown up till now aside from SA/MJ. Or Oda will suprise me with more tyrans like Wapol, once he introduces some more members in the next Reverie.

 

[mattiaildivino]

but I said that because dragon's signs reminds me of the pogne grieffs. also,the fact they looked for robin hints that they are connected to that story,otherwise I don't see any connection between them. I mean,Kuma knows the revolutionaries very well,and he sent zoro to mihawk,nami to a place where they were strengthening weather abilities,franky to vegapunk's lab ecc. so robin's aim must be connected to the revolutionaries.

 

[Kaiten]

It would also mean they're related or have some voodoo shit if they really do retain such memories.

It wouldn't be impossible though. There have been descendants who have sought to undo the evil their ancestors have done, no? The D. line can be part of the World Government or Twenty Kings and still be rebellious, like how Garp is in the military. The way he laughed and shrugged off Luffy invading Impel Down could show just how carefree the D. line was. So far, D. has shown to be serious when the situation has called for it, even Luffy.

It's not a bad theory but does not fit the plot IMO. Luffy and Roger represent freedom, individualism, and accepting others for who they are. The Tenryuubito represent conformity, suppression, and exclusion. We know that the Tenryuubito are direct descendants of the twenty kings, wouldn't it make sense if "D.", the nemesis of their World Government, were living descendents of the ancient kingdom they deposed?

I hope Dragon and the revolutionaries know a part of what happened during the void century,because that's would be a great reason to be against the WG. yet,the fact robin stayed there and hasn't told anything yet pissed me off.

It is not unreasonable to think they know something, though there is no reason to be certain of it. I doubt they know much, no one alive seems to have extensive knowledge, aside from Robin. That is why I think they were interested in her, she could probably tell them a great deal about the Void Century, and better explain what they do know. Maybe they knew something she did not, which would explain why Kuma sent her there. It is not as though the history is completely unknown: Crocodile knew that the Alabasta poneglyph records the location of Pluton. As guardian of Poseidon, Neptune knew of Joy Boy.

but I said that because dragon's signs reminds me of the pogne grieffs. also,the fact they looked for robin hints that they are connected to that story,otherwise I don't see any connection between them. I mean,Kuma knows the revolutionaries very well,and he sent zoro to mihawk,nami to a place where they were strengthening weather abilities,franky to vegapunk's lab ecc. so robin's aim must be connected to the revolutionaries.

As I said above, it would not be unreasonable for the Revolutionaries to know a piece of the true history. I doubt they know much, but they would not be the first characters to know something.

 

[M3J]

Wouldn't mind that, but we've seen a D. and heard that there were many other D.s who were bad. There could have been good D.s and bad D.s back then as well, some who were powerful. Good D.s so far have been laidback and carefree, with the exception of Dragon and to extent, Ace. Even Blackbeard was shown to be a fun guy, even if an asshole. Maybe one thing that D.s have in common is that they like to challenge everything, though even they might not have been able take on sheer number of the kings.

I wonder just how much Dragon knows about the Void Century. Something had to encourage him to create a revolution against the World Government and the way things were ran. Maybe Dragon knows quite a bit about the Void Century based on the way he's challenging the Marines and government (or the kingdom, if not both).

 

[Schabrak]

It was never mentioned that there are many bad D.s out there, only that Blackbeard isn't a true one in the sense of Roger's dream and there are a lot others out there living a normal life like everybody else, but he didn't talk about villain type D.s.

I would like to see the RA fight against the monarchies for the sake of the people instead of deeds done in the past. The past can boost and reinforce their morality and reasoning for the revolutions, but it shouldn't be the main reason IMO. Dragon grew up in Goa, saw the decay of society and took it upon himself to give the feeedom back to the people, it's not mysterious or special, but it's a variation of the drive for freedom that Luffy and Roger possess/ed.

 

[mattiaildivino]

@Kaiten, LOL,maybe Robin didn't want to share infos with the revolutionaries because of what Rayleigh had told her at sabaody ,that is she will have to discover that by herself. what a loser !

 

[Kaiten]

It was never mentioned that there are many bad D.s out there, only that Blackbeard isn't a true one in the sense of Roger's dream and there are a lot others out there living a normal life like everybody else, but he didn't talk about villain type D.s.

I would like to see the RA fight against the monarchies for the sake of the people instead of deeds done in the past. The past can boost and reinforce their morality and reasoning for the revolutions, but it shouldn't be the main reason IMO. Dragon grew up in Goa, saw the decay of society and took it upon himself to give the feeedom back to the people, it's not mysterious or special, but it's a variation of the drive for freedom that Luffy and Roger possess/ed.

I think that the atrocities of the past and oppression of the present are meant to be connected. The past represents the beginning of a long pattern of oppression that has continued, uninterrupted, into the present day. Fighting for the past is the same as fighting for the present. The Revolutionaries would understand that, the common people might not. Most citizens of the world would not be aware that there is an alternative, that things were better before the World Government. They may think the World Government is the only way, that the current oppression has no alternative. Revealing the ancient history would expose the lies that the World Government is built on, akin to exposing the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. Suddenly the present seems less tolerable when history tells you that freedom and civil rights were once possible. The true history is guaranteed to earn the Revolutionaries a great deal of sympathy, and the government considerable animosity, and both sides know it.

 

[Faust]

The "Blank/Void Century": What is it Really?
-I think it's either a World Wide Government Cruel Dictatorship or It's a Century of Great Tragedy

 

[Hannibal Psyche]

Note: The numbers in brackets correspond to the chapter it's sourced from.
⁽¹⁾ = Image from Chapter 1.

Intro
​

The Void Century as a term is self explanatory, it's a 100 year period in which the activities that took place are unknown, and kept secret. However, reading the Manga carefully, we're given details as to what exactly took place within this period in time and I'll be elaborating on the key points and then narrating what exactly happened to piece everything together. I'll be centring the Void Century around the Ancient Kingdom and Joyboy:

• Ancient Kingdom
  
• Joyboy during the Void Century

Ancient Kingdom

​

The Ancient Kingdom was a nation that prided itself on its knowledge and power, they were extremely successful⁽³⁹⁵⁾; unfortunately, this Kingdom got destroyed along with any evidence of their country of settlement⁽³⁹⁵⁾. Though they were a powerful nation, they were defeated by 20 kingdoms which merged and identify themselves as the World Government⁽³⁹⁵⁾. This Kingdom possessed an Ancient Weapon, and weapons of this nature hold within them, the capacity to destroy the world⁽⁶⁵⁰⁾; not only do they possess a weapon capable of changing the world, what ultimately led to their apparent extinction is their ideals and philosophy which the 20 kingdoms during the Void Century found to be a threat to their own ideals⁽³⁹⁵⁾.

As a result of being a threat, they got wiped out and the World Government has made it their sworn duty, to make sure that nothing about this kingdom emerges out to the public; doing so is regarded as a criminal offence⁽³⁹³⁾. Whether the 20 Kingdom were right in their decision to wage war against this Ancient Kingdom and annihilate them, we will soon know. In their demise, they left a parting gift, inscribed on indestructible stone cubes known as Poneglyph⁽³⁹⁵⁾. Only archaeologists blessed with great intellectual power can decipher them, or those gifted with the "Voice of all things" ability to naturally decipher and write in the Ancient text inscribed upon them⁽⁵⁰⁷⁾.

The Kingdom's Name?​

This is a detail that I've personally been unable to find, and due to the lack of clues, the name is currently unknown. However, it's important to note that while Dr. Clover was giving his hypothesis which made out the World Government to be this evil organization and advertently painting himself in effect as a lunatic conspiracy theorist, or heretic; notice, he only gets shot whilst in the process of naming this fictionally kingdom⁽³⁹⁵⁾. The reason they allow him to rant on is because his claim can be excused as an act of desperation, or of one losing his mind.

As I highlighted, he gets shot only whilst in the process of naming this kingdom that they've made out to be fiction. A lost city's description for example, it's ambiguous and doesn't draw interest otherwise; as soon as you give such an ambiguous thing a name such as, Atlantis, you're interested and can make reference to it which essentially makes it real and encourages intrigue, and intrigue leads to research, research leading to the truth, and this is the last thing the WG would have encouraged.

You can always ridicule and dismiss something that's ambiguous and vague, but as soon it's associated with a name, it by nature has an identity, that changes everything and makes it somewhat real in a sense; this is why the Gorosei wouldn't take chances and ordered for his instant execution.

Joyboy (During Void Century)​

Joyboy is a man from the Void Century⁽⁶⁴⁹⁾, therefore, he's in essence the linchpin pointing out what to take note of, to understand the Void Century. The Ancient Kingdom had Poneglyphs delivered across the One Piece world to various places before their defeat and destruction; coincidentally, Joyboy had a Poneglyph delivered to Fishman Island⁽⁶⁴⁹⁾, this solidifies the fact that he's indeed from the Ancient Kingdom due to this parallelism and consistency.

Besides his origins, actions speak louder than words, so what exactly was this message he needed to relay so desperately before the imminent demise of the Ancient Kingdom? We're told it's an apology making clear his inability to fulfil the promise he made to a living Ancient Weapon, Poseidon⁽⁶²⁶⁾ (and Fishman Island), who is a mermaid with the ability to control Sea Kings, born every few centuries.

The promise he made was to guide the "Poseidon" along the right path leading the world to great change⁽⁶²⁶⁾, however, he left this duty to someone else who will come in his stead to fulfil this promise as he was caught up in the war between the Ancient Kingdom and 20 Kingdoms. It's also important to note that he had a great ship, Noah, built to be pulled by the Sea Kings⁽⁶⁴⁸⁾; it seems his plan was to carry the Merfolk to the surface to live side by side with humans after successfully putting to a stop to the 20 Kingdom's agenda of advocating and enforcing slavery.

The Merfolk​

Queen Otohime of the Merfolk, strongly desired co-operation and unity with the humans⁽⁶²⁴⁾, but due to racism and oppression from humans⁽⁶²⁰⁾(the Kings from this 20 Kingdoms), the Merfolk were restricted to living below the surface out of fear of⁽⁶²⁴⁾. Up until 200 years ago, they were to a much greater degree, subjected to lives of slavery⁽⁵⁰⁰⁾.

The Tontatta Tribe​

The Tontattas, a tribe of Dwarves were at war with the Donquixote family, a member of the 20 Kingdoms who oppressed them; their war with the Donquixote started 900 years ago, the beginning of the Void Century⁽⁷¹⁸⁾. The Donquixote King made a deal, but instead, took advantage of their naive good-willed nature, and subjugated them to a life of slavery by exploiting them⁽⁷²⁶⁾.

This theme of slavery is quite prevalent during the Void Century; even after the Void Century, history is still stained and blemished with slavery and cruelty, a hellish millennia.

Poseidon & Pluton​

Joyboy was friends with Poseidon, an Ancient Weapon who possessed the power to destroy the world⁽⁶⁴⁸⁾; due to the relationship between Poseidon and Joyboy, Posiedon was inscribed on the Poneglyph.

Pluton, a War-Ship capable of destroying the world too⁽³⁴⁴⁾; it was built by Shipwrights and on testing it's power, they concluded it's power was far too great for any side to use (whether for good or evil) due to its capacity to destroy the world - they concluded whomever took control of this weapon would end up destroying the world as that is what a weapon of such capacity will inevitably do⁽³⁴⁴⁾.

As a result of this, they entrusted Pluton to the Ancient Kingdom, therefore, the reason it's inscribed upon the Poneglyph.

Uranus, all that is currently know is that it is inscribed on the Poneglyph. We however know that it most definitely is capable of destroying the world too⁽⁶⁵⁰⁾.

Still Defeated​

The biggest mystery so far is why the Ancient Kingdom lost despite owning of absolute power; we can also conclude the WG of that time bore witness to the power of Pluton because they said they don't want it revived or to make a return, as they're incapable of opposing this power⁽³⁵⁵⁾.

It should be noted that the World Government are only aware of Pluton's existence, but not the other Ancient Weapons which is why they're neither in search of Poseidon or Uranus, but only Pluton as we infer by King Neptune's statement⁽⁶⁵⁰⁾ and the fact their only objective regarding Ancient Weapons has been only Pluton?

Therein lies the conundrum... how does a Kingdom with knowledge of and in alliance with Ancient Weapon lose to a World Government who we know will meet certain defeat in the event they're to contend against an Ancient Weapon (Pluton) as Crocodile & the Gorosei inform us⁽¹⁹³⁾⁽³⁵⁵⁾?

It becomes quite apparent why the Ancient Kingdom lost. Poseidon possessing so much power is merely tasked with the role of simply moving a ship, Noah⁽⁶⁴⁸⁾ ; Pluton is being hidden from organisations like the WG and alike; it appears as though the Ancient Kingdom were pacifists and didn't want to solve problems via conflict, and as a result, met their demise. Otherwise, the World Government would most certainly have been defeated.

Poneglyph​

Finally, concerning the premise that the Ancient Kingdom possibly destroyed themselves, why didn't they use it to defeat the enemy instead? I believe Joyboy and the Kingdom were pacifists who wanted to avoid blood shed as much as possible.

We know they had Poneglyphs dispersed to Shandia, Fishman Island, Alabasta and various other places that we're yet to come across; they had secured the history they wanted to pass across. Not only that, they'd also created the Ancient Weapon to put them on equal footing with the World Government, and finally, Joyboy had left his will to a successor in future.

Fate is a big device in One Piece, so perhaps, Joyboy is a man of fate. He had faith that someone would come in his stead to fight for the freedom he sought to grant to the different races besides the Merfolk (which succinctly describes the Will of D), as slavery and subjugation is the one reoccurring theme that keeps taking centre-stage and needs to be ended.

Post Void Century

Spoiler: List

Even after the Void Century, Slavery is still an issue; the Tontatta 400 years after the Void Century were still fighting the Donquixote for the ill-treatments⁽⁷¹³⁾. Sabaody in the present day, is still hosting slave auctions on behalf of the descendants of the kings from the 20 Kingdoms⁽⁵⁰²⁾,the descendants are taking the wives of married men as their property⁽⁴⁹⁹⁾, killing people indiscriminately⁽⁴⁹⁷⁾ and mistreating all creatures who aren't Celestial Dragons as inferior to them which to themselves⁽⁵⁰⁰⁾.

The Celestial Dragons deem themselves to be gods, beings superior to even humans whom they're really no different from⁽⁷⁶⁴⁾, and to them, this delusion justifies their inhumane acts, and more so because they're the descendants of the Kings who created the WG⁽⁴⁹⁷⁾.

Conclusion

​

Ultimately, the 20 Kingdom's aim is absolute control over the world due to greed and nothing more. They use their power and propaganda, to perpetuate a moral code of justice that people would stand behind with the aid of the Marines which is, but the face of the World Government, an object of Propaganda to paint and broadcast an organization with moral codes of justice as its foundation. However, this is clearly all a farce, a lie to keep their power and maintain control...

Should the truth be unravelled, a Revolution will ensue and bring their hold to power to a halt; this is ultimately why the WG don't want One Piece found, it leads to knowledge of this hidden truth which they're trying to keep concealed in order to avoid being abdicated from power.

All of this is contained in the Poneglyph (One Piece) and those who aspire to freedom (Will of D) can't help but be provoked into ending this crocodilian government and all that it truly stands against.

 

[M3J]

My assumption is that the Kingdom was likely ruled by a D or Ds and was good, while the 20 kingdoms could have been bad or evil. But I think they were all bad, and the main reason for Blank Century if we go by the reactions of those who found out is that horrible things have happened. Chances are the government don't want anyone to know what happened because if people knew, they'd lose faith and/or rebel, causing the government and even Tenryuubito to lose influence. As Hannibal concluded, the World Government is likely using propaganda to look good even though Tenryuubito likely are the opposite.

One thing I am sure of 100% (other than the Void Century being full of horrific tragedies) is that most of the Ds somehow stood against the kingdom/s. Maybe they supported the Kingdom but due to one reason or another, lost to the 20 kingdoms but were still makin waves. If Riku and Vivi's ancestors were as kind as they were but still opposed the Kingdom or common enemy, it either indicates the enemy was bad or the other rulers manipulated things.

I think Joyboy could have been to the kingdoms or Kingdom what Luffy is to Tenryuubito, at least, or most likely, what Dragon is to the World Government. Maybe Dragon represents the will or actions of Joyboy while Luffy and/or Roger represent his personality, if not charisma. But one thing seems to be a given, Joyboy was a good person.