It is very well-known to One Piece fans that among the many dangerous foes the Straw Hat Pirates face, no enemy is as deadly as the World Government. Armed with endless soldiers and high-ranking officers with frightening powers, they are currently a major antagonist in the story.
But as with the vast world of One Piece itself, this organization is shrouded in mysteries that will no doubt be uncovered in the Final Saga. This is us discussing all the unresolved mysteries of World Government in One Piece.
The World Government is the largest organization of the series, and has more than 170 countries under its influence. The organization started 800 years ago, and ever since then, they are practically ruling the whole world, and acts as the institute of justice.
But over time, it soon becomes apparent that they are not the law-abiding group as they portray themselves to be.
Before we start, there is a spoiler alert in effect!
Table of Contents
All Unresolved Mysteries of World Government in One Piece
1) The First Twenty Rulers of the World Government
800 years ago, something happened which caused twenty rulers from twenty different countries to join their forces to defeat the enemy. They did so, and after this, founded the World Government where they promised to never turn on one another. However, one of them went back on their words, but we’ll come to that later.
The nineteen rulers and their families left their respective countries to live in Mary Geoise, and everything about them was erased from history on purpose. Their descendants later came to be known as the Celestial Dragons.
The identity of the first twenty rulers is still a major mystery. From the surnames of the Celestial Dragons, we get an idea of what families they belonged to, but the actual rulers are still unknown.
Only two of the first twenty rulers are revealed: Nefertari D. Lili and Imu. But we can hope that the rest will also be revealed as we progress in the Final Saga.
2) The Relationship between the First Kings and the D. Family
The D. family was introduced to the readers ever since the very first chapter of the manga, even though its importance was revealed later only. Many important characters in the series contain the “D.” in their names, including the protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger and a major antagonist, Marshall D. Teach.
The World Government is hellbent on suppressing the people carrying the D. name, and will even conceal the name from the public to hide its importance. They did so for Roger, who conquered the sea and became the King of the Pirates.
Fearing Roger’s infamy and how the D. in his name would influence the public, they publicized his name as “Gold” Roger, instead of Gol D. Roger.
It’s only recently revealed that the D. family are the natural enemies of the World Government, and the only people who stood against the first twenty rulers. Their might has been heavily implied, and so, the organization still fears their descendants and what they would do.
However, as of yet, we only know some characters having “D.” in their names, and not much for the original family itself.
3) Who Is Imu and Why Do They Sit on the Empty Throne
For the eyes of the public, the World Government is run by Gorosei. But unknown to everyone, even the people of Mary Geoise, the true ruler of the World Government is a mysterious person known as Imu.
They sit on the Empty Throne on Mary Geoise, and commands the Gorosei, and in turn, practically rules the world.
In the recent chapters of One Piece, it is revealed that there was someone from the first twenty rulers with the name Imu, and they came from the Nerona family. This gives readers an idea about the true identity of Imu.
However, there is still a lot left to know about them. Not only is almost everything about Imu covered in mystery, from their gender to their appearance, the most baffling thing about Imu is why and how he sits on the Empty Throne.
When the first twenty rulers founded the World Government, they each promised that not only would they not turn on each other, but also that there would not be any single person claiming the throne.
So, they each placed a weapon in front of the throne and left it empty, vowing that no person would ever sit on it.
Now that we know Imu is probably one of the first twenty kings, it raises the question of why they are allowed to sit on the Empty Throne, and if the Gorosei obey their command, why does nobody else know of their existence?
4) Nefertari D. Lili
Currently one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of World Government revolves around Queen Nefertari D. Lili of Alabasta.
As revealed by King Nefertari Cobra, she was one of the first twenty rulers who established the World Government. But for some reason, she declined the chance to live on Mary Geoise with the other rulers, and supposedly voyaged back towards Alabasta.
However, she never returned, and everything regarding her disappeared from history. Now the question is: what happened to Lili and why did she not live on Mary Geoise?
If these weren’t mysterious enough, it’s then revealed that after her disappearance, Lili sent a letter to her younger brother who assumed the position of the king of Alabasta in her absence.
She signed the letter as “Nefertari D. Lili”, indicating that the Nefertari family also belongs to the D family.
This raises even more questions, like if she was from the D family, then why did she betray her people and join the other kings?
5) The Connection between Shanks and the World Government
Even though he was introduced in the very first chapter, Shanks remains as one of the most mysterious characters in the story. Not only is he a Yonko, but his connection with Luffy, Roger and most shockingly the World Government makes him an enigma.
Readers were completely shocked when Shanks appears in Mary Geoise during the Reverie to have a meeting with the Gorosei. The way the Five Elders talk to him speaks of familiarity and makes us wonder how they are really connected.
Shanks comes to talk about a “certain pirate”, again making readers wonder who this certain pirate is. There are two likeliest options: Luffy or Blackbeard. Either way, his familiarity with the World Government is suspicious.
6) The Void Century
One of the biggest mysteries of World Government and even the whole One Piece world is the Void Century. It comes up more frequently as the story progresses, and according to Robin, the truth of the world is within that century.
The Void Century spanned from 900 to 800 years ago, as read by Robin in the Poneglyph she finds on Skypiea.
Many mysterious things happened during that period, including the clash between the D family and the first twenty rulers as well as the appearance of the mysterious figure Joyboy.
The World Government will go to any length to hide the truth of the Void Century, and kill anybody who tries to find it. They destroyed the whole island of Ohara because the archaeologists of the scholar island came close to finding about that time period.
The World Government is even willing to kill one of their biggest assets: the genius scientist Vegapunk because he’s looking into the Void Century. This leads readers to wonder: what really happened in that century-long time.
7) Poneglyphs
The journey to Laugh Tale can only be possible with the Poneglyphs since they contain the location of the mysterious land island of Grand Line.
There are three types of Poneglyphs: Historical, Instructional and Road Poneglyphs. Each type contains a special information. It’s the four Road Poneglyphs, each of which indicate a location that converges to reveal Laugh Tale.
There’s also another kind: the Rio Poneglyph which is said to contain the history of the Void Century.
Poneglyphs are believed to be created during the Void Century, and are currently scattered throughout the world. In recent chapters, Imu reveals that the Poneglyphs were never meant to be scattered.
In fact, it only happened by accident, in the hands of Queen Lili. However, it raises suspicion in both Imu and the readers whether Lili scattered them by accident or if it was her plan all along.
8) The Weapons Possessed by the World Government
Being the biggest organization in the world, the World Government expectedly possesses some of the deadliest weapons. This is thanks to Vegapunk, the genius scientist and inventor who invented many dangerous weapons for them.
Initially, the most horrible weapon under the World Government was thought to be the Buster Call, in which numerous ships surround a place to fire insistently until nothing is left.
But now, things are far more dangerous and deadly. Thanks to Vegapunk’s research, the World Government now possesses a large number of Pacifista cyborgs, even the deadlier Seraphim.
There is another mysterious weapon in the World Government’s hands, invented by Vegapunk, which they use under Imu’s command to destroy the Lulusia kingdom in one strike.
9) Holy Knights
Mary Geoise has always been a legendary place in One Piece. This is where the Celestial Dragons and the Gorosei live. In Sabo’s flashback of their invasion of Mary Geoise to rescue Kuma reveals what actually goes on in that place. This is when the existence of the Holy Knights is revealed.
The Holy Knights are the law enforcement and justice system of Mary Geoise who makes sure everything is in order and nothing untowardly happens in the “sacred” place. They are believed to be very powerful, their power and authority higher than that of admirals.
There are nine members in the Holy Knights, including their commander and chief justice: Figarland Garling. Garling used to be the ruler of God Valley, though the entirety of it is unknown. The Figarland family is also the family Uta belongs to.
Out of the nine Holy Knights, only Garling’s identity is revealed. But the rest will surely appear in the story soon.
10) The Giant Straw Hat
Another one of the burning mysteries of the World Government is the huge straw hat at Pangea Castle in Mary Geoise. The hat seems to be a secret from everyone, and the only person seen with it is Imu who is holding a bounty poster of Luffy as they look at the giant straw hat.
Now the question is: who does the giant straw hat belong to and why is it at Mary Geoise? And what is Imu’s connection with the hat?
A lot of fans believe the hat belonged to Joyboy and he had a special connection with Imu. But this fan theory is yet to be confirmed.
11) Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits
Devil Fruit in and of itself is one of the biggest wonders of One Piece, and even among the wide variety, the Mythical Zoan fruits are the most astonishing. These fruits give the user the ability to transform into a mythical being.
During the Wano Arc, some more Mythical Zoan fruits and their users are revealed, with the most prominent being Luffy and his Hito Hito no Mi; Model: Nika.
Luffy’s devil fruit which has long been known as the Paramecia type Gomu Gomu no Mi turned out to be the incredibly powerful Mythical Zoan, which the World Government was trying to keep in their possession.
This leads to readers question whether Shanks stole the fruit knowing its nature, and if he did, was it left in Luffy’s vicinity on purpose? Why did he lie about its nature to Luffy?
Everything surrounding this reeks of a conspiracy, by both the World Government and by Shanks. However, no conspiracy regarding this has been revealed yet, making us wonder what the truth of the event really is.
But Hito Hito no Mi; Model: Nika isn’t the only Mythical Zoan fruit that is connected to the World Government. When the Gorosei and Imu try to kill Cobra, they all transform into huge beasts, though only their silhouettes have been revealed.
But the ability to transform into another creature clearly indicates Zoan powers, and given that the silhouettes all look extraordinary, they are no doubt Mythical Zoans.
Imu’s Zoan power is the clearest one among them. The mysterious Imu takes the form of a huge lizard-like creature that crawls on its belly.
Given the size and shape, the creature can be a western dragon or even something like a salamander. But the sheer size of it can only come from a Mythical Zoan.
12) How Many People Know the Truth
Imu’s existence is unknown to almost everyone, even Celestial Dragons. Only the Gorosei seem to know about them. Aside from them, some other people come to know about the mysterious figure that sits on the Empty Throne.
During Reverie, Cobra has a private meeting with the Gorosei where he asks them about the first twenty rulers of the World Government and about Nefertari Lili. It is then that Imu appears before them, making Cobra one of the very few people to know about Imu, though he doesn’t live to tell the tale.
Sabo also comes to know about Imu since he has been hiding during the meeting. Wapol also ends up eavesdropping and learning the truth. He later flees with Vivi and Morgan, which means they can also know about Imu. Sabo, too, tells about Imu to Dragon and Ivankov.
So, currently, there are only 11 known living people who know the truth of Imu.
That was all the unresolved mysteries of World Government in One Piece. Since the manga is currently in its Final Saga, we’ll definitely get to the bottom of every one of these mysteries.
That’s why fans are eagerly waiting for One Piece to return from its month-long hiatus. The next chapter will be released on July 17. So, until then, keep reading Otakus’ Notes to fill your One Piece cravings.
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Anamika loves words and stories and putting them to pages. She also loves anime, manga, books, movies and everything fantasy. She has been a fan of anime since childhood and her admiration for it only grew with years. Her passion for writing is even more elevated by writing about the things she loves.
