Is Luffy the new Joyboy and what is his relation to the Sun God Nika (Image via Toei Animation)
The One Piece manga dropped maybe the most important panel of the entire series so far where Luffy is seen melting away. He has a grin on his face with the text Nika, which is the name of the Sun God who is likely to be the same being as Joyboy.
Is Luffy Joyboy? If not, then what is his relation with Joyboy or the Sun God Nika? Keep reading this article to know more about the possibilities at hand.
Is Luffy the new Joyboy and what is his relation to Sun God NikaWho is Joyboy?
The Legend of Joyboy (Image via Shueisha, Eiichiro Oda)
Joyboy is just a name held by a person who was an extremely popular figure in the Void Century. He played an important role in the history of Fish Man Island, based on the historical recording Joyboy left Poneglyphs which were read by Nico Roger. It is believed that he will return after every 800 years.
Joyboy is a title given to the person who awakens the Nika fruit. It means that there was a person around 800 years ago who was the user and now Luffy has become the second person who can use its powers.
Any information regarding Joyboy was erased by the World Government except for the Poneglyphs. Only Nico Robin, the archaeologist of the Straw Hat pirates was able to decipher one of them while she was at Sea Forest. It mentioned an apology from Joyboy because he was not able to keep his promise to Poseidon.
Around the same time in the Void century, Joyboy was partnered with Zunesha, a gigantic elephant who was sentenced to walk a certain part of the ocean continually for all this time. Another piece of information about him is that he was the one who left behind the treasure known as One Piece.
Who is the sun God Nika and what is his relation to Luffy?
Who’s-who had heard about the legend of Sun God Nika (Image via Shueisha, Eiichiro Oda)
In Chapter 1018, Nika was introduced as the Sun God who had been worshiped by slaves from ancient times. In Chapter 1044, Gorosei, or the five elders, said that the Sun God Nika brings a smile to everyone who is around him. Further, they also confirmed that the user of the Nika fruit will awaken similar abilities as that of the Sun God Nika.
He was first mentioned by Who’s-Who, who heard his legend from a prison guard when he was imprisoned by the World Government. He was jailed because the Nika fruit (or the devil’s fruit) got stolen from the ship where he was stationed. Who’s-Who then came to know that the Sun God Nika was a joyful person who would help the slaves gain freedom from their slavery.
Therefore, based on the available information, it can be concluded that Joyboy may be the title given to the person who was known as the Sun God Nika.
Is Luffy the new Joyboy or the sun god Nika?
Zunesha hears the “Drums of Liberation” (Image via Shueisha, Eiichiro Oda)
Now, coming to the conclusion of whether Luffy can be considered the present Joyboy. In chapter 1044 of the manga series, Gorosei considered that the Sun God Nika was the God of Liberation and Luffy’s primary dream or desire in life is to be free. He also helps those in need to achieve freedom. This same trait was also seen in Joyboy (or the Sun God Nika).
Shanks who knew about the Nika fruit and about Joyboy, had obtained the fruit from the ship that was stationed under Who’s-Who. He brought the fruit to Goa’s kingdom because he wanted his son Ace to eat the Nika fruit. But, Luffy ate the fruit first and Shanks realized that Monkey D. Luffy will be the one who will be the next Joyboy.
Later, in the fight between Luffy and Kaidou, the former was first defeated on the Skull Dome rooftop. Zunesha then claimed that it could hear the “Drums of Liberation.” Luffy began to regain consciousness and grinned, awakening his Devil Fruit and transforming into his Gear 5 form for the first time.
Luffy won the match and Kaidou recalled an earlier conversation with the king that whoever defeated him would be the next Joyboy. In his final moments, Kaidou recognized that Luffy was none other than the revered entity after all.
