The Void Century Ended in a Great Flood

One Piece Chapter 1115 Review/Recap

In 2002, Nintendo released their next Zelda game on the GameCube in Japan. Titled The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, this new installment takes place in a timeline where most of Hyrule is submerged under the sea. This was because the goddesses of Hyrule chose to flood it to contain the evil Ganon when Link didn’t appear. As a result, the survivors of Hyrule lived in the mountains and now stood as islands in this great sea. And in time, they started to forget about their true history. As Dr. Vegapunk reveals to the entire world in this One Piece chapter, something similar happened to their world during the Void Century. Their world wasn’t always dominated by water. It once had entire continents, all swallowed by the sea in a massive flood! The only difference is that the “gods” are mostly evil in Luffy’s world. 

Full disclosure: This is going to be an extra-long review. I have a lot to share my thoughts about. 

Recap 

As most of the world keeps listening to Vegapunk’s broadcast, the chaos continues on Egghead Island. Most of those fighting on Luffy’s side have broken off their fighting. They’re making a beeline for the Giant Pirates ship, now in danger of being surrounded by Navy ships. Meanwhile, the Five Elders are so desperate to stop the broadcast that they ignore everyone. Nusjuro even goes so far as to use his sword to slice the cloud holding Punk Records in half! Thanks to that, the captured Seraphim and CP Agents are freed. 

Vegapunk continues his story. He only has a rough idea of what happened, but the Poneglyphs he’s read collectively tell the same story. During the Void Century, the group Joyboy was part of waged a great war of ideals against an alliance of 20 kingdoms. That war and the Void Century somehow ended in Joy Boy’s defeat and the destruction of the Ancient Kingdom. However, the consequences proved far worse. 

That’s when Vegapunk drops the biggest bombshell yet. The reason their world’s predominantly ocean? Why do so few people ever leave their island homes? Nine hundred years ago, people didn’t have that problem. People once lived on massive continents in those days! Within less than a century, they were swallowed by the sea as a result of a great flood. The survivors were left clinging to the mountains that became the islands they call home today. 

Based on everything he’s learned, Vegapunk could only conclude three things:

1. That the level the sea rose during the Void was approximately 200 meters.
2. It was impossible for such a flood to be natural. It was man-made, created by the same technology that created the Ancient Weapons. The events a few days prior confirmed this for him.
3. Vegapunk reveals that the war that almost destroyed the world in the Void Century never ended.

It’s still ongoing to this day.

Review

Oda’s Taking a Page from a Lot of Myths

Oh my God, Oda is taking a page from The Wind Waker. Or the 1995 Kevin Costner film Waterworld. I’ve been watching Twitter and the Reddit Discord for One Piece, and those two are the primary comparisons people are making. However, while those two are certainly the most apt examples, there are more.

Across the world, there are many natural and fictional examples of a great flood that threatened to destroy everything. Noah’s Ark and the fall of Atlantis are among the most prominent myths, but there are plenty more. In addition, there’s the idea that the end of the Last Ice Age led to rising sea levels and made the world the way it is today. Even today, climate change has led people to fear that if sea levels continue to increase, much of our land could be lost. Here’s what the world would look like if all the ice melted.

This is Still Nothing Compared to What Vegapunk Claims

And that’s only around 60-70 meters. Yet that’s still enough to wipe out most of the coastlines and render some of our biggest cities uninhabitable. I couldn’t find any comparisons, but if sea levels rose 200 meters, as Vegapunk says, to the world of One Piece, I’m sure most of the continents would be underwater. Billions of human lives would be lost, and countless species of plants, animals, and more would go extinct. That fact is not lost on people in the story, either. One panel has an old character remark how countless people must have died in the Void Century. That alone was enough to make me shudder in horror at this flood.

As an aside, I’ve seen people complain that Oda can’t count and this should be impossible. However, keep in mind two things. Firstly, One Piece defies the laws of nature and physics daily. Secondly, Vegapunk himself points out this shouldn’t be possible. It was man-made, most likely by the people who founded the World Government and became the Celestial Dragons. 

And I think I know why they did it.

The Islands Were Meant to be a Prison

What Vegapunk said struck me as odd: the part about why it’s so hard to travel between islands. I never thought too much about why it was like this, but if Vegapunk is right (which we know he is), then the World Government made things this way on purpose. They didn’t just flood the world to wipe out the Ancient Kingdom. They did it so that they could isolate the survivors from each other. It would make it easier for them to cover up the truth and manipulate their descrndants. That way, no one could find the poneglpyhs and expose the truth. 

It’s still mind-blowing to believe. But seeing those ancient ruins lying underneath the waves means it must be true! That sight alone was one of the biggest highlights of the chapter. Right next to the scene of Nusjuro cutting Punk Records in half and all the cameos.

I Still Want S-Snake to Join the Straw Hats

Speaking of which, there’s the issue about the Seraphim. Thanks to Nusjuro, they’ve been set free along with the captive CP agents. It’s good to know that those agents that York took hostage might be safe. Even if they’re the enemy, they didn’t deserve what happened to them. However, there’s still the issue of the Seraphim. We still don’t know if Bonney’s command of the Pacifistas extends to them. If it doesn’t, they could be a huge problem.

Then again, S-Snake has already demonstrated that the Seraphim can defy orders thanks to their emotions. The Straw Hats may get lucky and one or more will decide to go rogue and help them. Mostly, though, I want to see S-Snake go with them.

I still want to see Luffy adopt S-Snake as his little sister or Jinbei adopt S-Shark as his son since he’s technically a clone of him. 

Oda’s Not Leaving Anyone Out

As impressive as all of these moments were for me, I loved the sheer amount of cameos we got. This chapter hammered home just how many people Dr. Vegapunk’s recording is reaching, as it gave us cameos of many of the people that Luffy and the Straw Hats have run into over the years. Some have been steadfast friends to the crew, while others were former enemies. But the one that I enjoyed seeing was the Fake Straw Hat crew. I was sure that Caribou killed most of them offscreen, but lo and behold, they’re alive and in Marine Custody. And they’re now impersonating the Kid Pirates. The fact that they’re doing so gives fans hope that Kid and his crew will make a comeback.

As always, Oda cooked us a feast to make up for the two-week break, and the fans ate it up. I can’t believe that the world of One Piece could’ve been so different less than a thousand years ago! If Oda ever wanted to do a prequel about his world before the Void Century, he just laid the groundwork for it. For now, though, I’m content with seeing the Five Elders panic like they are, and they’re right to be afraid. I don’t know what will result from Vegapunk’s revelations, but I’m hoping this leads to much of the world rising in revolt against the World Government. I can’t see them making it to the end of the series; no one can.

And one last thing: Vegapunk may not know what the proto-World Government and Joy Boy were fighting about, but fans should have a good idea. Given the series’ overarching themes, it’s safe to say that this war is between freedom and control. And thanks to the series of events, freedom is starting to win, which is good. I’d rather have the chaos and freedom that Luffy embodies than the oppressive control of the World Government any day.  

I Give “Continental Fragments” a 5/5

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