One Piece Chapter 1055 demonstrates that Wano is the Old Kingdom.

One Piece Chapter 1055: Chapter 1016 gave it more substance, Chapter 1040 gave it more support, Chapter 1051 put a final stop to it, and Chapter 1055 put the last nail in the coffin for me. This is something that has probably been on my mind since Zou. This theory has come up a few times, partly because it feels more believable because it has been “Oh, another one,” “oh, another one,” etc. every week since 1051. I won’t talk about it again to avoid spam and partly because there would be no further point. This would be the version that is the most thorough. I appreciate your patience with me.

Chapter 1016 gave it more substance, Chapter 1040 gave it more support, Chapter 1051 put a final stop to it, and Chapter 1055 put the last nail in the coffin for me. This is something that has probably been on my mind since Zou. This theory has come up a few times, partly because it feels more believable because it has been “Oh, another one,” “oh, another one,” etc. every week since 1051. I won’t talk about it again to avoid spam and partly because there would be no further point. This would be the version that is the most thorough. I appreciate your patience with me.

Well, the first clue is: We aren’t told the name of the Ancient Kingdom.

What makes this a hint? It would be a clue in the sense that its absence is significant, much like the Sherlockian dog who didn’t bark at night. No response here would really imply anything to the reader if its name was “Freedom,” “Japan,” “Spain,” or “United States of the Emirate African Republic.” Similarly, if it was Dawn, Dis, or any other name that could be summed up as “D,” it would emphasize how important the “D” name is to the plot and to many other groups, including the Marines. In other words, it is more probable that the reader will identify this name if we are told that it is crucial to the plot.

But how does this relate to Wano, exactly? Enies Lobby was a teenager when this happened. The solution is, of course… Bark, a thriller What happens following Enies Lobby? Bark, a thriller The contents of Thriller Bark Ryuma. Ryuma: who is he? Unknown number of centuries ago, a samurai guarded Wano. Just off the top of my head, a pattern becomes apparent if we follow the meta-story of the series that begins in the Grand Line.

In Alabasta, we meet Pluton and the Poneglyphs, Laugh Tale, and the Will of D.

In Sky Island, we are introduced to the idea that Roger read and followed those Poneglyphs.

In Enies Lobby we learn about the origin of those Poneglyphs.

In Sabaody Archipelago, we learn about what’s on the Final Island.

In the Marineford Arc, we get “The One Piece is real”.

In Fishman Island, we learn about “Joy Boy” and Poseidon.

In Punk Hazard, we learn about devil fruits and lineage factors

In Dressrosa, we learn about the 20 families and the Celestial Dragons.

In Zou, we learn about the Road Poneglyphs.

In Whole Cake Island, we learn about the Real/Rio Poneglyph and how many they are.

In Wano, we learn…a lot.

In other words, Thriller Bark sticks out as the ONLY arc that does not immediately contribute something to the meta-story. However, adopting Wano as the Ancient Kingdom nigh immediately resolves this. We are introduced to the idea of an Immense Kingdom, and then the next arc, we are introduced to the Land of Wano.

We already know that Wano is a nation that was formerly known as something else in the dim past. Wano is frequently referred to as “The Land of Wano,” thus it may be a proper name or it could be a nickname. Of course, I’m assuming that Land of Gold is literal and not figurative. Currently, we are also aware that the World Government may simply change a nation’s name to completely erase it from history. We therefore have two pieces in Wano: “A country that was once known as something else” AND “a World Government that can change names to erase things from history.”

But wait, remember the story Ryuma slaying a dragon over the Flower Capital? What if the hint there is cleverly buried between the literal and apocryphal? Let’s assume for a moment that this is 100% right, and the Ancient Kingdom was the Land of Gold that closed its borders to outsiders. A legend of the Land of Gold is that its most powerful defender slew a dragon in the skies. So what could the enemies of this country name themselves? Perhaps something that references this event…maybe even…Sky Flying God. Not quite right. Heavenly Lizards? Not quite evocative. How would dubbing yourselves as “Celestial Dragon” sound as a name intended to mock this Ancient Kingdom and its failures? ]

Moving on from this, let’s loop back to Professor Clover. Clover and Cat tell us that Wano is the Ancient Kingdom explicitly. Wait, what?

Clover tells us that the Ancient Kingdom passed down the Poneglyphs. But we are told that the Kozuki Family is the one who created them. It seems a simple case Modus Ponens here. If the Ancient Kingdom created the Poneglyphs in the Void Century, and the Poneglyphs originate exclusively from the Land of Wano….it would seem convoluted for these two to be separated. Reading straight forward, the “Kozuki” ARE the “people of the past.”

But wait, it gets interesting. Let’s look at the description of what they found at Laugh Tale by Oden.

Read it, and read it again. Let’s go back to the dog that didn’t bark in the nighttime. Why did Oden not mention the Ancient Kingdom that was destroyed? You’d think it’s so significant that he’d mention it right? Then read it again. If Wano is the Ancient Kingdom, then he did learn about it, and he did mention it. “Wano was open to the world”, now it is not.

There’s also the problem of borders. It makes sense for the people of Wano to not want their borders open (even though this appears to be Kaido propaganda as taught by Sarahebi), but there is a logic to it. Why would the World Government not want the country of Wano open?

An open country lets in ideas that are harmful to the nation,” – to paraphrase the now-defeated Sarahebi. Now again, looping in Clover: “The idea of the Ancient Kingdom is harmful to the World Government.” If the ideas of this Ancient Kingdom are dangerous in general, then there

The best way to tell a huge lie and hide a secret? In plain sight, with sprinkles of truth. The Big Lie – The Ancient Kingdom was not destroyed, but it WAS defeated, and it WAS forced into isolation. A deal was struck to preserve the people of Wano as long as they agreed never to leave the country and spread their ideals, as well as changed their name. It became a crime on both sides of the arrangement. One crime was to delve into the history of the said Kingdom, another crime was to leave said Kingdom. Cut off from the world, Wano lost its resources and influence and became insular, leaving it ripe to be overtaken by Kaido.

Then, why the Poneglyphs? Perhaps they were created before this defeat when it became clear that it was impending. Thus: “Hold the truth in your heart, and keep your mouth silent.”

Recent chapters add several more wrinkles to this tale.

We have learned that there is the Ancient Weapon Pluton hidden in the land of Wano. It was last used 800 years ago. If Wano was the Ancient Kingdom, then it would make sense for the country.

We have also learned that there is a massive, large, ancient Kingdom hidden under Wano. Perhaps a user of the Stone Stone Fruit in the past created these barriers to encase Wano from either side as well as create the foundation for the new Wano (whether Ancient Wano-ese/World Government). As a consequence, the Ancient Kingdom would also lose its greatest weapon. Another humiliation on a pile of humiliations.

“This is what it means to lose a war.” A message that Oda has hammered into our heads not once, not thrice, but three times in the past few chapters. First Kaido, then Vodka Kingdom, and then Aramaki.

So, how would this tie into what’s going on now? Well, the World Government has said it themselves. “The Balance Cannot Be Maintained Forever.”

So, is Wano the Ancient Kingdom? I’m about 80% certain it is at this point. Like every theory, there is a +50% chance it’s wrong, and some of the finer points of this theory are certainly wrong.

To close this up. She’ll never know how close she was. Literally.