For nearly three decades, One Piece fans have argued over a single question: what exactly is the legendary treasure known as the “One Piece”? The mystery has driven the story since the manga first began serialisation in 1997, and its creator Eiichiro Oda has guarded the answer more carefully than almost any secret in modern storytelling. Now, in a move that feels almost lifted from the story itself, Oda has done something unprecedented: he wrote the secret down for the first time and sealed half of it inside a container dropped deep into the ocean. The unusual gesture, revealed in an official video released in early March, has triggered a wave of speculation among fans. Within hours of the announcement, online communities began analysing the footage frame by frame, convinced they might be able to approximate where the sealed capsule now lies on the seabed.
A mystery that has defined One Piece for nearly 30 years
First published on July 22, 1997, One Piece follows Monkey D. Luffy, a rubber-bodied pirate captain, and his eccentric Straw Hat Crew as they sail across the dangerous ocean route known as the Grand Line. Their quest is to find the legendary treasure left behind by the former King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, who before his execution revealed that he had hidden the greatest treasure in the world somewhere on the final island known as Laugh Tale. The treasure is called the One Piece, but what it actually is has never been revealed. The story has since expanded into a vast epic involving rival pirate crews, corrupt naval forces, secret histories and deeply personal journeys. While the search for the treasure remains the central premise, many arcs are driven by political conflict, redemption stories and the crew’s personal ambitions. Over the years, fans have developed countless theories about the treasure’s identity. One popular prediction suggested that the story might end with a sentimental twist, that the real treasure was simply the friendships made along the way. Oda, however, has repeatedly insisted that the One Piece is a real, tangible reward, not just a metaphor.
The first time the secret has ever been written down
Despite working on the story for almost 30 years, Oda had never written the final answer down on paper. According to the official video, the secret existed only in the creator’s mind throughout the entire run of the manga. That changed on February 8, when Oda sat in his studio and carefully wrote the answer onto a sheet of parchment-like paper. After finishing, he tore the sheet into two pieces. One of those fragments was placed inside a small treasure chest, echoing the story’s pirate theme. Four days later, the chest was sealed inside a pressure-resistant glass orb, designed to survive the pressure of the deep sea. The orb was then taken aboard a boat and transported to the middle of the ocean. At an undisclosed location, it was dropped overboard. The capsule sank slowly until it reached the seabed roughly 651 metres (2,316 feet) below the surface, about an hour and a half after the vessel reached the drop point. A narrator in the video explains the reasoning behind the gesture: “Until the whole story is revealed, the truth will rest far beyond anyone’s reach, at the bottom of the ocean.” The video ends with a final message to fans: “The One Piece does exist.”
A symbolic echo of the story itself
The stunt was released alongside another milestone for the franchise. With the launch of Volume 114, titled The God Valley Incident, the manga surpassed 600 million copies in circulation worldwide, reinforcing its position as the best-selling manga series in history. The chest hidden beneath the ocean mirrors the story’s central premise, the treasure hunt sparked decades earlier by Gol D. Roger’s final declaration. In effect, Oda recreated the same sense of mystery in the real world. However, the creator also ensured that the secret could not be fully revealed even if someone somehow managed to recover the container. Only half of the written message was placed inside the chest. The remaining fragment remains undisclosed. The partial text briefly visible in the video reveals almost nothing, with only fragments readable: “As for the One Piece, it is…” “And then, Monkey D. Luffy…”
Fans quickly began searching for clues
Despite the secrecy surrounding the drop, fans quickly began analysing the footage. Within 24 hours, discussions on Reddit attempted to estimate the capsule’s location by studying small details visible in the video. One user on the r/OnePieceSpoilers subreddit, posting under the name XilLive, conducted a detailed analysis of several clues. The user suggested that the drop likely occurred off the coast of Japan, reasoning that disposing of objects in the ocean would normally require permission from the Japan Coast Guard. The boat shown in the footage also appeared to carry colours associated with the Japanese coast guard. The Reddit post outlined several observations. Among them: Clue 1: The drop likely happened within Japanese territorial waters. “From the ship, the crew, and the fact that this would be illegal to dump in the ocean, I am guessing Oda has gotten permission from the Japanese coast guard and the treasure has tracking so they can find later.” Clue 2: When the camera looks southwest, no land is visible on the horizon. This suggests the coastline was likely behind the camera to the northeast, meaning the boat was positioned in open water. Clue 3: The seabed appears to contain fine silty sediment, indicating calm currents at a depth of around 600 metres, where the seabed is rarely disturbed. Combining these clues, the user proposed a tentative location: Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture, a deep bay south-west of Tokyo that matches the depth and sediment conditions seen in the footage. The location also makes logistical sense, as it lies relatively close to Tokyo, where Oda lives. Suruga Bay is also a region used for marine research by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). Even so, the Reddit user acknowledged that the theory might be flawed, noting that the footage could potentially be staged or incomplete.
Fans joke about destroying the secret
The same Reddit post ended with a tongue-in-cheek remark referencing the One Piece film Stampede: “If we find the One Piece, I vote we destroy. Just like in Stampede.” In the film, Luffy destroys an artefact capable of revealing the treasure’s location because he believes discovering it too easily would ruin the adventure. Other fans have taken a more sceptical view of the entire stunt. One commenter suggested that the capsule might simply be symbolic. “I seriously doubt they’d pull something like this if there was any chance it’d be found.” Another user argued that even if the object really was placed on the ocean floor, the chances of anyone locating it would be extremely small.
Even streamers are joking about going to find it
The idea of searching for the capsule has also spilled beyond fan forums. During a livestream on March 4, popular internet personality Darren Watkins Jr., better known as IShowSpeed, reacted to the video while streaming on his YouTube channel. At one point he excitedly told viewers: “We gotta go. I gotta go. I gotta find the One Piece, bro. Chat, I gotta find the One Piece, bro. Chat, what area of the ocean did they drop it at? Pacific Ocean? Atlantic Ocean? Arctic Ocean?”
The moment quickly circulated across social media, with viewers joking about whether a streamer might attempt a deep-sea treasure hunt on livestream.
A story approaching its final act
After nearly three decades, One Piece is widely believed to be approaching its conclusion. The anime adaptation has already surpassed 1,100 episodes, running for more seasons than some of television’s longest-running series, while Netflix’s live-action adaptation has introduced the story to a broader global audience. Oda has suggested that the manga is now entering its final saga, meaning the mystery of the One Piece could finally be revealed within the next few years. Until that moment arrives, however, one fragment of the answer rests somewhere on the ocean floor — a fittingly dramatic reflection of the pirate treasure hunt that began the story in the first place.
