A couple of days ago, One Piece celebrated a massive milestone — the manga selling over 600 million copies — with a wild publicity stunt. Series creator Eiichiro Oda wrote down the biggest secret in his 29-year-and-counting epic, the nature of the One Piece treasure, for the first time. Then he put that piece of paper in a sealed container that was dropped to the floor of the Japanese sea, 651 meters deep. “The truth will rest far beyond anyone’s reach,” the video of the stunt states. But it’s possible that the statement will have to be retracted.
In two days, people worldwide have dissected the short, two-minute video and found enough clues to narrow down the location of the treasure to a small area in Sagami Bay, south of Kanagawa Prefecture in central Japan. Fans are coming together and starting to collect funds. In just 48 hours, what seemed like an absurd proposition is edging closer to reality. Streamer IShowSpeed, who is a massive fan of the series, has declared he will try to find the treasure chest (and of course, it will all be live-streamed). He surely doesn’t lack the resources, and more motivated millionaires could get on board soon.
Eiichiro Oda has essentially started the Great Pirate Era in the real world. Just like Gol D. Roger in Loguetown, he boldly declared: “My treasure? If you want it, you can have it!” I didn’t think that people would actually take this seriously, but I clearly underestimated the devotion of One Piece fanatics worldwide. There’s a reason why the series has become one of the best-selling literary works of all time, and an entertainment phenomenon so ingrained in the cultural zeitgeist. But was this a good idea?
Let’s imagine that a collective of fans or a resourceful individual like Speed or Mr. Beast finds the treasure chest. What happens then? I’m sure that prominent public figures would keep it to themselves as they have no reason to share it, but can they guarantee the secret doesn’t leak? Will they not share it with their friends? Information often spreads beyond our predictions. It’s already near-impossible to stay away from spoilers for the next chapter of One Piece; if the actual secret ever got out, it would spread like wildfire, ruining the series’ finale. Those, like myself, who have been following One Piece for close to 30 years would be devastated.
In the worst case scenario, some unscrupulous individuals could get their hands on the secret first. The contents of that little treasure chest are worth a lot of money. They could ask for a king’s ransom, or merely hold the entire One Piece world hostage. And could they be blamed? After all, this is a series about pirates, and as Luffy once said, “There’s no such thing as fighting dirty in a battle between pirates.” However, there are other concerns. This account on X already has over 5,000 followers, and it’s linked to a new crypto token that will allegedly be used to fund the expedition.
It will be interesting to see if this will go down in history as a publicity stunt gone terribly wrong or if the secret of the One Piece will rest safely at the bottom of the ocean. What’s sure is that the series and its creator have managed to turn fantasy into reality. It’s a testament to One Piece’s enduring power to inspire people to follow their dreams, no matter how crazy they sound.