The revelation that Luffy’s Paramecia-type Gomu Gomu no Mi is actually the Mythical Zoan-type Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika, changes everything. Not just for Luffy, but for the story itself.
With Luffy’s connection to Sun God Nika, people are wondering whether there might be a Moon God in the One Piece world, and who they might be affiliated to.
Oda has shaped Blackbeard as Luffy’s antithesis since the start, so the obvious choice for this is Blackbeard. There have also been multiple moon motifs associated with him.
But when we talk about the Moon, we have to think of Enel, former fake God of Skypiea, who has now set up his own kingdom on the Moon.
Many fans are speculating that Enel might be the missing link between Blackbeard and the Moon – could Blackbeard be on his way to the Moon to meet Enel and form a partnership?
It is unlikely that Blackbeard will physically journey to the Moon and meet Enel. Enel might currently be the self-proclaimed God on the Moon, but Blackbeard’s connection to the Moon will be through his Devil Fruit, just like Luffy’s to the Sun.
1. Why Blackbeard Won’t Going to the Moon:
Blackbeard is searching for 3 things at the moment: 1) The most powerful Devil Fruits in the World; 2) The Ancient Weapons; 3) Laugh Tale.
We thought Blackbeard would come after Kaido’s Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit since it is presumably the strongest Zoan. But with Luffy turning out to have the a the Nika fruit, I think Blackbeard might be on a quest for something else that will make him more powerful.
Blackbeard isn’t going to the Moon because he is either going to Whole Cake Island for Big Mom’s Poneglyph, or to Alabasta or Elbaf for the Ancient Weapon, Pluton.
If there’s anyone in One Piece that knows how to identify and seize opportunities, its Marshall D. Teach.
We know the man is a shrewd, amoral opportunist who will do anything to get what he wants.
He is manipulative and a brilliant tactician and schemer, so it’s extremely likely that while everyone is busy fighting at Wano, he has taken off with his crew to make himself stronger.
This has happened before: when everyone was fighting in Marineford, Blackbeard used his Warlord of the Sea status to go to Impel Down and recruit the deadliest prisoners into his crew.
I. Whole Cake Island and the Road Poneglyph:
Big Mom is currently in Wano with a large portion of her fleet. Her main territory, Whole Cake Island, is defended only by Katakuri, Cracker, Oven, Brulee, and Pudding.
While the Sweet Commanders have proven to be extremely strong, they’re no match to Blackbeard.
It’s so in Blackbeard’s character to take advantage of the Yonko Big Mom being away from her territory. If he chooses to invade Whole Cake now, the Blackbeard Pirates will easily be able to take down the remnants of the Big Mom Pirates and claim their territory.
We already know Blackbeard is after the Road Poneglyphs because he wants to get to Laugh Tale. If I were Blackbeard, I’d be making my way to Whole Cake and stealing Big Mom’s Road Poneglyph.
Another clue is that Oda gave Whole Cake Island a reappearance in the form of a manga cover story recently.
The cover spread for chapter 1043 has Germa 66 in Whole Cake and what seem to be like invaders in the background.
There has to be a reason Oda is bringing back Whole Cake Island via the cover story. It’s also a suspicious coincidence that it was only recently that Big Mom herself was defeated at the hands of Kid and Law.
II. Ancient Weapon Pluton:
Are people forgetting all about the Ancient Weapons? I feel like with all this hype about Joy Boy and Luffy’s new Devil Fruit abilities, Oda is cooking something else up while we’re all distracted.
During the Reverie in Mary Geoise, something happened in Alabasta. We don’t yet know what exactly went down, but we know that someone died and that Sabo was involved.
Fans had speculated that it was Cobra, the King of Alabasta, who was shot, and that the death was placed on Sabo by the World Government.
In chapter 956, the same chapter where the Reverie news breaks out, Blackbeard tells his crew to pack their bags because they are setting sail to “claim the prize” before the Navy takes it.
It is possible that Blackbeard is on his way to secure this “prize”, i.e., Pluton – the Ancient Weapon of mass destruction, before the World Government can.
While we don’t know the location of Pluton, fans have speculated that it might be in Alabasta itself, where the Poneglyph was, or in Elbaf.
You can read all about Blackbeard heading to acquire Pluton in my article here.
The only way Blackbeard is heading to the Moon is if he knows Pluton is up there. If Enel’s Ark Maxim – the airship that took him to the Moon – is somehow Pluton, it would blow my mind. Again, unlikely, but anything is possible in One Piece.
2. Is the Moon part of One Piece lore?
Oda places a lot of importance on the Moon through the series, and it is very much part of the One Piece lore.
We first see it in chapter 5, when Zoro fights Kuina. In chapter 28, Kuro gets bloodthirsty under the crescent moon.
Members of the Mink Tribe can transform into their Sulong forms when the full moon is visible, and the ancestors of the Skypieans, Shandorians, and the Birkans hailed from the Moon.
Through the ninth cover story mini-arc, Enel’s Great Space Operations, we see Enel journeying through space in his literal space ship and reaches the Moon, where he meets extraterrestrial automata and the Space Pirates.
The Moon, while also being physically present in the series, is as symbolic and figurative as the Sun.
3. Blackbeard and the Moon: What’s the connection?
Blackbeard has been tied to the Moon since Oda, in an SBS, drew a young Teach crying under the crescent moon. But apart from the actual Moon, I think Blackbeard’s Moon connection is more thematic that literal.
First of all, Luffy and Blackbeard have been written as opposites, which is what makes them such perfect enemies.
After the events of chapter 1044, we know that Luffy is the Dawn the world has been awaiting, the light, hope, and joy that will liberate the people from suffering.
His Devil Fruit is the Human-Human Zoan Nika, where his awakening is the Gear 5: Nika that embodies the powers of the Sun God Nika.
Blackbeard on the other hand, relates to everything black, dark, and evil. From his name itself, to his personality and actions, to his Devil Fruit, everything makes Blackbeard the emissary of darkness and destruction.
If you go back to Blackbeard vs. Ace, Blackbeard says it himself:
The sun or the darkness – there can be only one winner!
Here, of course he is talking about Ace’s Logia-type Mera Mera no Mi, or the Flame Flame fruit, and his own Logia-type Yami Yami no Mi, or the Dark-Dark fruit.
Darkness triumphs and Blackbeard wins. But Ace’s will passes down to Sabo when he eats his Devil Fruit. They are both Luffy’s brothers, so of course, there will be a rematch, and this time, the Sun will prevail.
Apart from the Yami Yami being the literal embodiment of darkness, there’s a line in the Bink’s Sake song that could be related to Blackbeard.
I mean, we got the Sun/Dawn/Day and Luffy connection from Bink’s Sake, so why not the Moon and Blackbeard?
But if you hold on
The morning sun will rise
[…]
Today, and tomorrow, our dreams through the night!
[..]
For tomorrow night the moon will also rise!
So, with the Sun, also comes the Moon. This fated opposition gets me thinking about how Luffy and Blackbeard are two sides of the same coin – similar in their goals of becoming Pirate King but having two very different paths to achieve it.
4. Blackbeard’s Zoan Devil Fruit
This brings me to the discussion that Blackbeard is either going to acquire a Zoan-type Devil Fruit, or that he already has it.
Luffy’s Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika looks almost identical to Blackbeard’s Yami Yami no Mi. It’s actually like a mixture of Luffy and Ace’s Devil Fruits, which drives home the Sun and Moon connections.
Many people think that the Yami Yami no Mi’s original typing is Mythical Zoan and not Logia. If this is true, Blackbeard could be the personification of a deity similar to Nika, the Sun God.
If we go by the names of the gods mentioned in Skypiea, there are 3 possibilities: God of the Rain, the Forest, or the Earth.
Speculating on which God Blackbeard might awaken is baseless at this point. But the theory that Blackbeard and Luffy’s Devil Fruits, like their characters, are so similar and different at the same time, has a lot of ground.
It is almost like how Harry and Voldemort’s wand cores share feathers from the same phoenix. Perhaps Luffy and Blackbeard’s Devil Fruits came from the same tree.
It’s also possible that Blackbeard is hunting for a third Zoan-type Devil Fruit to complete his triumvirate. He already has the most powerful Logia and Paramecia-type fruits. Getting a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit is a logical next step.
The 3 skulls on the Blackbeard Pirates flag also might suggest that Blackbeard is indeed looking for the 3 most powerful Devil Fruits from all 3 types.
5. Conclusion
Oda hasn’t foreshadowed the return of Enel to the main story, but like I said, anything can happen. We shouldn’t dismiss any theories yet.
Either way, it doesn’t look like the connection between Blackbeard and the Moon is literal, much like Luffy’s affiliation to the Sun.
The most likely scenario here is that Blackbeard either acquires Pluton, or awakens his Yami Yami no Mi (which may or may not be Zoan) to embody the antithesis of Nika – whoever that might be.
6. About One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.
The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!
Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.
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