What Does Gaban Know?
In Chapter 1190, two Gabans shield Luffy while standing against Imu. Their conversation reveals everything:
“You want to kill him, don’t you?” “Yes.” “Does he really look that much like Joy Boy?” “Who are you? You can understand Mu? What do you know?” “These are Joy Boy’s words. But don’t get the wrong idea — we have no intention of following some stranger from centuries ago… We just want to witness where our captain’s dream leads.”
From this exchange, two things become clear: Imu wants to kill Luffy because he resembles Joy Boy. Gaban wants to keep Luffy alive because he is the man Roger had been waiting for. And “Joy Boy’s words” are exactly what made Roger’s crew burst into laughter at Laugh Tale.
Joy Boy’s Words
Most readers assume the treasure at Laugh Tale is the Rio Poneglyph — the text that fills the gaps of the Void Century, the history the World Government has desperately erased. If exposed, it would shatter the government’s fabricated history and throw the world into chaos.
But if that were all, the laughing reaction feels too thin. Roger’s crew had already been piecing together the Rio Poneglyph along the way — seeing the final compilation wouldn’t make them burst out laughing. And it certainly wouldn’t make Roger wish he had been born in Joy Boy’s era.
Crucially: Roger laughed. Gaban laughed. Oden laughed — all at the same time. Since Oden was the only one who could read the ancient script, if it were written text, only Oden would have understood it first. The fact that everyone laughed together suggests it was not written text at all.
A Voice Message?
The Den Den Mushi (Transponder Snail) existed in Joy Boy’s era. Imu and Joy Boy’s first contact was made through a Den Den Mushi. This opens the possibility that what Joy Boy left at Laugh Tale was not a written message but a voice — or even a visual — recording.
The treasure Joy Boy left behind was undoubtedly his own. Given the Den Den Mushi technology of the time, an audio message is entirely plausible. That is our interpretation.
The Dream That Connects Everything
Roger’s dream destination is likely “those words of Captain Roger” that Shanks once referenced. And that same thing is also Luffy’s dream destination.
In other words: Joy Boy’s words, the outcome of Roger’s dream, and Luffy’s dream destination are all essentially the same thing.
