What Does Gaban Know?
Gaban shields Luffy while fighting Im — the two exchange words about Joy Boy mid-battle.
“You want to kill him, don’t you?” “Yes.” “Does he really look that much like Joy Boy?” “Who are you? Do you know about 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 man from long ago we never knew… We just want to see where our captain’s dream leads!”
From this exchange, we can gather:
- Gaban has read or heard Joy Boy’s words
- Luffy resembles Joy Boy in some way
- Gaban’s loyalty is to Roger’s dream — not Joy Boy’s legacy itself
What Are “Joy Boy’s Words”?
And I believe that “Joy Boy’s words” refers to the content of what Roger’s crew laughed at when they reached Laugh Tale.
If you read One Piece normally, you’d assume the treasure at Laugh Tale is the True History of the World (Rio Poneglyph) — the text that fills in the blank century the World Government has kept hidden.
The record that would expose the government’s false history, causing worldwide chaos and uprisings if it came to light…
That would make it valuable as leverage against the government — but it’s not a good reason for Roger’s crew to burst out laughing.
The True History (Rio Poneglyph) would reveal its contents chapter by chapter as you collect them, so even if Laugh Tale had the final compiled version, that wouldn’t cause everyone to double over laughing.
And it wouldn’t explain why Roger wished he’d been born in the same era as Joy Boy.
So what was so funny? Why was Roger too early? Why is Luffy the man Joy Boy’s era was waiting for?
Let’s think through these mysteries.
A Video… Or Voice Recording?
“Joy Boy’s words” made me think of the apology letter at Fishman Island, so I first thought it might be a Poneglyph in letter form — but the following clues suggest it’s in a different format:
The vast treasure at Laugh Tale made Roger laugh — and Gaban and Oden laughed simultaneously.
The fact that everyone laughed at the same time without Oden needing to translate suggests it’s highly likely to not be a Poneglyph (which requires reading ancient script).
The treasure was undoubtedly left by Joy Boy — and since Den Den Mushi (transponder snails) already existed in that era, a voice memo is entirely possible.
Especially since Im and Joy Boy’s first contact was also via Den Den Mushi.
A video message via visual Den Den Mushi is also possible, but since Gaban called Joy Boy “some man from long ago we never even met,” a voice-only message seems more likely.
Come to think of it, the ending of the film Strong World also used a Tone Dial — and Shiki appeared heavily in the Rocks flashback arc, so it’s entirely possible Oda revisits that same device here.
(As an aside: the image of Im and Joy Boy getting to know each other gradually through voice-only calls without ever seeing each other mirrors the relationship between Roki and Mosa-kou — see the theory on Mosa-kou’s true identity.)
What Im Doesn’t Want Known
To summarize what we know so far:
Im loses all composure when the topic turns to Joy Boy — going into an almost obsessive state. Im even killed Saturn, a longtime companion, in a moment of distraction over Joy Boy.
This suggests Joy Boy may have been a romantic interest for Im — and it raises the possibility that Im’s human form is female.
If so, maybe Im wants to kill Luffy because he looks so much like someone Im loved — and seeing him fight weakly feels like an insult to Joy Boy’s memory.
The Destination of Roger’s Dream
“I have no intention of following Joy Boy’s words — but I want to see where our captain’s dream leads.”
That’s how I interpret Gaban’s statement.
“The destination of Roger’s dream” I believe is “those words of Captain Roger” that Shanks referenced.
And that destination also happens to be Luffy’s dream.
In other words — Joy Boy’s remaining words, Roger’s dream destination, and Luffy’s dream at its end are all pointing to essentially the same thing.
They’re practically identical.
Luffy’s dream:
Crocus’s Eye for Luffy
“The man Roger’s crew was waiting for” — remarkably, this line appears as early as Chapter 105.
Crocus noticed Luffy, mentioned him to Rayleigh — and Rayleigh, who had already met Luffy, was also fond of him.
In fact, the cover story showing Crocus and Rayleigh drinking together in the bath (Chapter 591, “Is That Okay”) was the same episode where Rayleigh proposed two years of training to Luffy.
And two years later, when news broke of the Straw Hats’ full reunion, Crocus and Gaban were drinking together.
I imagine Luffy came up in that conversation too.
So one reason Gaban risked his life to protect Luffy this time may be because Luffy is the pirate Crocus personally recommended.
Eight hundred years isn’t nearly long enough to forget Joy Boy ↓