One Piece: Every major incident of the Void Century explained

The Void Century in One Piece is a term used to describe the century-long gap in recorded and archaeological history. Here’s a list of every major incident from that era.

In One Piece, almost everything is somehow connected to the Void Century that only a handful of people know about. However, since they don’t openly discuss it, it’s a mystery left for the Straw Hat Pirates to unravel. 

The World Government prohibits any kind of research on the Void Century, and the punishment is devastating. They didn’t hesitate to obliterate the entire Ohara island, ensuring no single survivor would remain. The people of Ohara were widely known for being scholar archaeologists capable of reading the ancient language of Poneglyphs.

Considering such brutal measures, it is evident that the World Government is hiding a major secret regarding their foundation – enough to shake the entire world. Delve deeper to find out about every major incident during the Void Century in One Piece. Warning: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece anime and manga.

The promise Joy Boy made to the Mermaid Princess

Joy Boy was first mentioned in the “Fish-Man Island Arc” when Robin read a Poneglyph in the Sea Forest. Apparently, it was unusual for Poneglyph, which didn’t have any historical information. Instead, it had an apology inscribed on it.

It was Joy Boy’s apology to the Mermaid Princess and the people of Fish-Man Island for being unable to keep his promise – though the promise itself wasn’t mentioned in the letter. However, the promise was important enough to be recorded in Poneglyph so it won’t be lost over time.

Joy Boy had promised the people of Fish-Man Island that he would one day bring their island to the surface, thus fulfilling Noah’s purpose. Although he couldn’t fulfil his promise, he ensured that someone from the future would do it on his behalf.

The destruction of the Golden City Shandora

Shandora is the ancient city that resided on Jaya but was later blasted up to Upper Yard by the Knock-Up Stream. It was known as the City of Gold for its incomparable wealth and prosperity. Shandora’s structures were fully covered in gold until Enel took it all to build his ark.

The city was built 1100 years ago by the Shandorians, the ancestors of the Shandia. The Shandia is a tribe of people originating from the Moon and later lived on Jaya in the city of gold they built. They currently reside within Skypiea.

The glory was Shandora was short-lived when it fell to the Twenty Kingdoms over 800 years ago. After the Void Century of One Piece, Shandora crumbled to ruins, but the Shandia continued to guard the ruins.

The Kozuki Clan’s creation of Poneglyphs

The only source of finding anything about the Void Century is through Poneglyphs that have information inscribed in the ancient script. As revealed in the “Zou Arc,” the Kozuku Clan from that era personally created the Poneglyphs to preserve important information about history.

The Kozukis were a clan of skilled craftsmen who specialised in stonemasonry. The Poneglyphs were created by the oldest known ancestors near the end of the Void Century in One Piece. The clan head would learn the ancient script from their predecessors to keep the history from being lost.

It continued till Kozuki Oden’s generation when he learned the ancient script from his father and predecessor, Kozuki Sukiyaki. However, Oden tragically died before teaching his son the same language. Now that it’s been revealed that Sukiyaki is still alive, he will carry on the tradition by teaching the ancient script to Momonosuke, the new Shogun of Wano.

The establishment of the World Government

The most notable event of the Void Century in One Piece is the establishment of the World Government. Since its establishment by an alliance of 20 separate kingdoms over 800 years ago, the World Government has been the global regime. 

Its influence has risen dramatically since then and now encompasses more than 170 of the world’s nations. Although it is an antagonistic organisation, it claims to stand on the side of justice.

The World Government’s actions and their desperation to hide everything related to the blank century indicate that they are hiding a secret that could challenge their authority. 

The Great War that destroyed the ancient kingdom

A revolution comes after a war with countless sacrifices. During the Void Century, twenty allied nations stood against an ancient kingdom to overthrow it. The alliance ultimately resulted in the establishment of the World Government.

However, everything about the great kingdom was lost in the annals of history, even its name. Professor Clover concluded that the kingdom’s past and name were of tremendous importance and held the key to understanding the Void Century. 

Clover was shot before he could announce the name of the kingdom. The Great War is the most significant event of the Void Century, which ended around 722 with the fall of Shandora.

The annihilation of the Lunarian race

Lunarians are a race of people from the Red Line who can create fire with their bodies. The race is believed to be extinct, with the Beast Pirates’ King the sole known survivor. Long before Mary Geoise existed, the Lunarians lived on the Red Line and were revered as gods. 

However, they were hunted down during the Void Century. No one knows why and when that happened, as well as the Lunarians’ role in the Void Century. Even though King is the only survivor, Vegapunk used him as his test subject. 

The information he gained helped Vegapunk create the Seraphim from the World Government that would serve as replacements for the Seven Warlords.

The major blunder made by Queen Lili

The Final Saga of One Piece mentions the name of Queen Lili. She was the ruler of Arabasta during the Void Century and a member of the alliance. For unknown reasons, she never returned home after the World Government was established.

As a result, the responsibility to rule Arabasta fell on her brother’s shoulders. In One Piece’s chapter 1085, Imu reveals that she made a “blunder” that caused the Poneglyphs to be scattered worldwide.

They have reason to believe that Lili scattered the Poneglyphs as part of an elaborate plan. Thus, considering Lili’s actions to be a major crime against the World Government. Since Lili’s full name is Nefertari D. Lili, her actions resulted in all those bearing the moniker “D” as the “sworn enemies of gods.” 

The construction of the Ancient Weapon Pluton

The Ancient Weapons are three weapons of mass devastation capable of wreaking havoc on the entire world. They are known as Pluton, an ancient battleship; Poseidon, a Mermaid Princess capable of communicating with and controlling Sea Kings; and Uranus, the properties of which are unknown.

While the first Mermaid Princess was born during the Void Century, it was a natural phenomenon that she had such powers. On the other hand, Pluton was manually created in the city of Water 7. Because of its capabilities, it’s labelled as the “World’s Worst Battleship.”

The battleship is buried deep beneath Mt. Fuji in Wano Country. It is believed to be capable of destroying entire islands in a single shot. Its blueprints were kept in Water 7 up until two years ago before Franky destroyed it, so the World Government won’t be able to recreate it.

The construction of the technologically advanced Iron Giant

In the “Egghead Arc” of One Piece, Vegapunk revealed that the technology during the Void Century far surpassed the current era. In fact, all his research was based on his information about that era. The technologically advanced civilisation was destroyed after the Great War.

Around 900 years ago, an Iron Giant that remains inactive in Egghead was created. According to Vegapunk, the robot relies on a power source that cannot be replicated today but was common in the Void Century. 

Although it is unknown what that power source is, it must be massive enough to supply enough energy to control such a giant robot. For unknown reasons, the Iron Giant attacked Marie Joise over 200 years with the little energy it had left. The full extent of its abilities is unknown, as it ran out of energy before causing damage.

One Piece can currently be streamed on Crunchyroll. In the meantime, check out our other anime coverage below:

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