What’s This About Ancient Weapons in ‘One Piece’?

Buckle up, losers. It’s lore time.

Yes, that’s right. There’s MORE One Piece lore for your overstuffed brain to digest. You thought that Joy Boy and the Founders of the World were mysterious enough? THINK AGAIN. Obviously you haven’t even plunged the deepest depths of the metaphorical ocean of lore that explains the history of One Piece‘s literal oceans. But I’m here to shed an eerie, bioluminescent light upon its mysterious abyssal zone. For at the bottom of said abyss lie the ancient weapons.

So what are these Ancient Weapons?

What are the Ancient Weapons? Are they living dinosaurs? Are they lost technology from an ancient alien civilization? Or maybe it’s just a really old Glock-19? Well, all of those answers are actually somewhat correct! The ancient weapons are three ancient relics of unimaginable power that are currently lost to the world. And the tyrannical World Government wants to keep it that way (at least on paper). The Ancient Weapons are the reason why the World Government has forbid research on the Void Century, a period of lost history from nearly a thousand years in the past. The World Government fears that if these weapons fell into the wrong hands (i.e., any hands that aren’t theirs) then the effect on the world could be catastrophic (for them, at least).

By using the fabulous power of the Ancient Weapons, any run of the mill pirate king wannabe could essentially become the god of a new era. The Celestial Dragons of the World Government would rather see themselves ascend to that apotheosis rather than any common pirate, so they are currently seeking out the weapons for themselves. In short, the Ancient Weapons are the world’s best kept secret. In fact, they’re so secret that not even the manga readers know about all of them! It is said that an ancient civilization of the past created three Ancient Weapons, and while all three are named, only two of them have been discovered.

The first Ancient Weapon: Pluton

Pluton has not officially appeared in the story yet, but there are some who know about its existence. Pluton existed in the form of blueprints. Blueprints for what? The world’s most powerful battleship. This thing is so powerful that using it against any regular old pirate ship would be the equivalent of bringing a nuclear bomb to a gunfight. Pluton was built on the island of Water 7 sometime during the Void Century, and the shipwrights kept a copy of the blueprints so another could be created in case it became necessary to destroy the first.

Fortunately, the original Pluton was lost centuries ago, and the shipwrights of Water 7 have guarded its secrets ever since. The blueprints were located in a secret cave at the foot of the submerged Mt. Fuji in the Wano Country, but were later destroyed after current keeper Franky learned that Nico Robin (the only person who can read the ancient blueprints) had no intention of reviving the Pluton. The blueprints were burned. Booooo! I wanted to see a giant battleship!

The second Ancient Weapon: Poseidon

Unlike Pluton, Poseidon has actually been seen during the events of the story! So is it an ancient gun? An ancient sword? An ancient spaceship? Nope. Poseidon is a mermaid—yes, a mermaid. What a letdown, right? What good is Ariel gonna do against the awesome power of the World Government? A lot, actually. See, this mermaid isn’t just some regular mermaid, she’s a mermaid princess. I mean, so was Ariel, but this girl Shirahoshi is way cooler.

Shirahoshi is the descendant of the royal family of the Ryugu Kingdom, and the inheritor of the Poseidon power. So what does the Poseidon power do? It allows the user to communicate with and control Sea Kings! And what are Sea Kings? Sea Kings are massive, ancient sea monsters capable of sinking ENTIRE ISLANDS. While regular merpeople are able to talk to most marine animals, only the keeper of the Poseidon power is able to command the Sea Kings. Thankfully, Shirahoshi is a kind-hearted and pacifistic young lady, and is not interested in using the Poseidon’s power for world domination. However, that hasn’t stopped power hungry wannabe despots from attempting to kidnap her and use her powers to rule the seas.

The third Ancient Weapon: Uranus

The third and final weapon, Uranus (lol) has yet to be seen anywhere across the vast blue ocean. Indeed, Uranus is a mystery to all, and none have gazed upon it. It was first mentioned in a conversation between Nico Robin and King Neptune, where Robin told the king about three Ancient Weapons that bear the names of “gods.” As an Ancient Weapon, Uranus is capable of untold destruction. Uranus could be used to rule the world! Nobody knows exactly what Uranus is, but we do know that it existed alongside Pluton and Poseidon at some point in the Void Century.

So far, no one has been able to find Uranus yet. How sad. While we don’t know exactly what Uranus is, there are theories as to what it could be! Some believe that Uranus is the fabled One Piece itself, a fabulous treasure! Others think that Uranus is somehow related to the sky. After all, Uranus takes its name from the ancient Greek god of the heavens. It would make sense, considering that Poseidon (god of the sea) is a mermaid and Pluton (related to Pluto, god of the underworld) was said to be buried beneath the ground. Maybe it’s a giant bird monster? Or a satellite with a laser beam? Or an airship? All three? This is likely, as the weapon may have already been used in the story. In chapter 1060 of the manga, fans saw Im, the de facto ruler of the world, use a mysterious power to obliterate the Lulusia Kingdom. After marking an X on the kingdom’s location on a map, readers saw a giant shadow floating above the island. Minutes later, death rays shot down from out of the sky and reduced the kingdom to ashes. Definitely sounds like something Uranus could do.

(featured image: Toei)