Joy Boy

Only a silhouette of the man has surfaced in the story so far. In that shadowed glimpse he wears a wide-brimmed hat shaped much like a straw hat, a cape draped behind him, and pants ending at the calf. His hair sits a little disheveled, with a few strands poking outward. Emet, who once stood before him, notes that the resemblance to Monkey D. Luffy is striking.

His character as a whole stays largely undisclosed, yet two qualities come through clearly. Joy Boy possessed foresight and treasured his friends, which is why, knowing death was near, he placed a measure of his Supreme King Haki inside the robot Emet to serve as future aid in a moment of danger.

Among his rare gifts was an ear for the Voice of All Things, by which he conversed with the iron giant Emet. His Devil Fruit was the Nika model of the Hito Hito no Mi, a Mythical Zoan letting him embody the lighthearted sun god and lending his frame rubbery properties, so he could fight however suited him. He seems to have reached awakening without losing himself, marked by smoky flames curling about his torso whenever he changed. The force of his Supreme King Haki ran monstrous: Dorry and Brogy judged it fiercer than Shanks' own though free of malice, and he uniquely could knot that Haki to keep it dormant for ages before unleashing a burst that flattened every nearby Marine, Vice Admirals included, and tore three Five Elders from their transformed shapes. By Xebec's account, only two beings frighten Imu, this man and Davy D. Jones.

Some nine centuries past, as the Void Century began, the Great Kingdom gave rise to a child who would grow into the first soul ever branded a pirate. So great was the danger he and his fellows posed that the First Twenty could only be persuaded to band together because of it. He named Zunesha a comrade, arranged with Emet to leave his Haki sealed away, and met Imu, who despite their initial accord turned to fear and hatred of him. A vow bound him to Fish-Man Island, where he tried to lift the ship Noah with Poseidon's aid before breaking that pledge for unknown cause.

The Twenty Kingdoms finally brought him down, a defeat that closed both the Great Kingdom and the era. He worked to keep the three Ancient Weapons safe for those who would come after, and on an island Roger later dubbed Laugh Tale he buried the hoard now famed as the One Piece. Across the world he carved Poneglyph messages, one apologizing to Poseidon and swearing that another would honor his broken word someday. After his fruit at last passed to Luffy and Luffy awakened it during the Raid on Onigashima, Zunesha cried out that the legend himself had come back at last. Generations, from Oden and Toki to Kaidou and Yamato, had toiled toward that prophesied return, and on Egghead, Emet finally loosed the preserved Haki to shield Luffy as the Five Elders closed in.