When it comes to storytelling, One Piece is one of the most diverse anime franchises you can find. Since the beginning of the series, its heroes have been discovering the history of their world and revealing many exciting details. Some of these events and details have been explored and analyzed in detail, while others remain a great mystery. In this article, we will tell you about one of the biggest mysteries in One Piece history: the Void Century. In this article, we will tell you everything that is currently known about the Void Century so that you can be prepared for what is to come.

The Void Century is the name of a period, a century, in the history of Oda's One Piece world. There are several recorded and archaeological sources about the Void Century, but the World Government has banned their examination and study. It is said that studying them is so dangerous that a person would become aware of the true history of the world.

The rest of this article will expand on the answer given above. However, the Void Century is a very intriguing period in One Piece's history, especially since not much is known about it. With Oda set to reveal more information in the future, we've decided to summarize everything we know to prepare you for a wave of new information that's sure to arrive in the upcoming chapters of One Piece.

What is the Void Century in One Piece?

The Empty Century is a period of one hundred years of which no trace remains in the world except for the inscriptions on the Poneglyphs. It is chronologically situated 900 to 800 years before the current events. Everything that happened during this period is therefore unknown and constitutes a true enigma. From this period only the mysterious Poneglyphs remain, steles scattered throughout the world, on which are engraved texts written in a mysterious language known only to a few scholars (almost all of whom are now deceased, the only one still alive being Nico Robin).

All the Poneglyphs put together reveal what happened during the Void Century and form the "Rio Poneglyph." Whoever wants to discover the Void Century, hidden by the World Government, must study all the Poneglyphs in the world and bring the results of their research to Laugh Tale, the last island of the Grand Line, where it is assumed that the history of this century will be revealed.

The analysis, study, and reading of Poneglyphs are strictly forbidden by the World Government; anyone who violates this law is subject to immediate death (this can be done in the form of a Buster Call). Twenty years ago, the only people able to read the Poneglyphs were the scientists of Ohara. Therefore, the World Government launched a Buster Call on the island, the only survivor of which was Nico Robin, thanks to Kuzan. She is therefore the last person who can read them, and her dream is to discover what happened during the Void Century.

She figured out how to understand the history of the Poneglyphs, in Skypiea thanks to an inscription written by Kôzuki Oden (the message being from Gol D. Roger) on a Poneglyph: "My path has led me here, and I will carry this text until the end of the world"; which implies that one would have to read all the Poneglyphs, and bring their knowledge to Laugh Tale, to be able to understand what happened during the Void Century (and in addition the meaning of D, and what the Ancient Weapons are).

The only people who seem to have any knowledge of the Void Century are the members of the Five Elders, the former members of the Roger Pirates (except for Shanks and Buggy), and the Kōzuki clan (Oden being part of the Roger Pirates at the time of his discovery), even though Kōzuki Momonosuke and Kōzuki Hiyori were too young (it cannot be ruled out the possibility that they were told everything, before the events of 20 years ago).

However, they don't seem willing to announce what they've discovered (except at least Silvers Rayleigh, who was planning to reveal to the Straw Hat Pirates what One Piece is). Apparently, according to Professor Clover, the 20 founding kingdoms of the World Government 800 years ago wiped out a gigantic kingdom called the Old Empire. The Poneglyphs tell the story of this kingdom. During the Fish-Man Island Arc, the name Joy Boy is mentioned for the first time, as well as his connection to the Poneglyphs and the Void Century; we are told that this man arrived on Fish-Man Island and built the Noah, a gigantic ship (believed to be Pluto).

He tried to lift and start the Noah with the help of Poseidon (the mermaid princess at the time), but he would not have kept the promise he made to the fishmen and mermaids. He wrote his apologies on the poneglyph in the sea forest. Finally, in the Kingdom of Tontatta, during the Dressrosa Arc, we learn a little more about this Century, although it is only mentioned; King Gancho explains to Robin that the history between the Kingdom of Tontatta and the Donquixote family does not date back 10 years, but in reality, it is a story of 900 years. This connection makes Robin's critical sense react, who then makes the connection between this and the Void Century: Gancho confirms his silent hypothesis by telling him that unfortunately if the Dwarves knew about the Void Century and its history, they have forgotten all this time.

The only legacy of this empty century are the Poneglyphs and the Ancient Weapons (and even the Will of D., but this has not yet been proven). The Ancient Weapons are mysterious weapons whose power seems unprecedented and whose location is given by the Poneglyphs. They are scattered throughout the world of One Piece.

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These three weapons are now known, at least in name: Pluto is described as a ship capable of limitless havoc, and the destruction of entire islands. Its plans were passed down from generation to generation by the carpenters of Water 7, awaiting the day it would be used. However, Franky, who was the current owner of the plans, used fire to destroy them so that the World Government would not obtain them; Uranus is a weapon whose use and characteristics are currently unknown; finally, Poseidon is actually the mermaid princess of the Ryūgū Kingdom (currently Shirahoshi), reincarnated every 100 years, and with the ability to command the Sea Kings.

So, was it their possession that was the crux of the Empty Century, or was it they who precipitated its disappearance from the history books? Given how tightly the World Government is hiding this secret, its discovery threatens to shock the world and call many things into question.

Much later, we learn from Oden's journal that the Roger Pirates, after following the Log Pose and reaching Lodestar Island, realized that they needed all four Road Poneglyphs to reach an additional island, where the secrets of the world would be hidden, including the truth about the Void Century. They then circle the Grand Line again and retrieve the information from the four Road Poneglyphs before reaching the island in question, which they call Laugh Tale, as the secrets of the world would apparently be hilarious.