This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf arc. Large parts of it are my own speculation.
Summary
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The people of the D have always been massive mysteries in theOne Pieceworld. Monkey D. Luffy was introduced to the fans right at the beginning of the story, and it was here that fans first started questioning the meaning of the D. AsOne Piececontinued, the meaning of the D got even more intriguing, as several other characters with this initial in their name started appearing, and at the same time, characters who are intrigued by the true history of the world started digging deep into the meaning of the letter as well.
Nico Robin, one of the most important characters inOne Piece, wants to know the meaning of the D as well. So far, onlythe members of the Roger Piratesknow what the D means, and they hold it close to their hearts, not revealing its meaning to anyone. But, Oda has already revealed quite a few hints to the fans, and by piecing bits together, one can infer what the true meaning of the D is. More specifically, after seeing the Harley, which was revealed to the fans inOne Piecechapter 1138, a lot more context surrounding the D has finally been revealed.
The Full-Moon People — The Sky Races From Birka
to understand the true significance of the people of the D, fans need to understand the origin and the true importance of the Full Moon people, or in other words, the Sky Races, as they are all connected. The Sky Races of the One Piece world don’t stem from Earth. In theOne Pieceworld, Earth is referred to as the Blue Star, and it is a heavenly body of vast importance, but so is the moon. In fact, the vast majority of the secrets of the One Piece world actually stem from the moon. It is this moon that the Winged Races of the One Piece world belong to. The three Winged Races of the world were the Shandorians, the Birkans, and the Skypieans. All of them resided in the city of Birka on the moon long ago, and together, they created the automata. It is possible that the Lunarians also lived there.
The Settlement On Earth: The Blue Star
Eventually, resources started running dry and they had to leave the automata behind and seek out new resources. This is when they set their eyes on the Blue Star. Upon descending down to the Blue Star, they settled on different parts of the world. The Skypieans settled on a Sky Island called Skypiea, as fans know already. The Birkans created a city called Birka ona Sky Island northwest of Skypiea. The Lunarians created the City of God atop the Red Line. Finally, the Shandorians settled on the Blue Sea in Jaya.
Birka, the most important of the cities, was eventually destroyed by Enel 8 years ago after he consumed the Goro Goro no Mi, leaving behind no traces. He then went to Skypeia and declared himself as God.
Although the three Winged Races of the world settled in different parts of the world, they likely carried with them immense technological prowess and most certainly used them to great effect on the Blue Star. This is where the people of the D come in.
The Half-moon People And The Kingdom Of The D
The D People Stem From The Halfmoon People
It must be made clear, first of all, that the truth about the people of the D isn’t known in One Piece just yet. Oda hasn’t gone into full depth about them, but fans know bits and pieces from observations and theories. To better understand the concept of the D, the Moon people are very important, and now that they’ve already been explained in a gist, one simply needs to look at the Harley and what it states about the Three Worlds:
First World
Flames engulfed the land, and humans succumbed to their desires,touching the forbidden Sun. The enslaved prayed, and the Sun God appeared. The Earth God was enraged, and together with the serpent of infernal flames, shrouded the world in death and darkness. They would never meet again.
Second World
Breath stirred within the void, and the Forest God sent forth demons. The Sun did nothing but spread the fires of war. The people of the half-moon dreamed, the people of the full-moon dreamed. Humans slew the Sun and became Gods, and the Sea God raged. They Would never meet again.
Third World
In chaos, there is void. The troubled shadow remembers the promised day, and hears the voice of the fractured moon. The Sun God dances and laughs, leading the world to its end. The sun will return once more, and a new dawn will arrive. Surely, this time, they will meet again.
Undoubtedly, Fans might be wondering what mention of the D exists in the Harley of the D people. The answer is quite simple. The D people are the people of the Half-moon. The full moon, as is obvious, is a circle. The halfmoon is a D. As such, the people of the halfmoon are the people of the D. As to why they relate to the people from the moon, it’s likely because that’s what their origins are. The people of the Half-moon are likely the people who aren’t exactly pure-blooded moon-dwellers, but half-blooded. In other words, when the people of the Fairy Vearth mated with the people of the Blue Star, something that was likely frowned upon in the world at the time, the offsprings were the Halfmoon people, or the people of the D. Given that the Shandorians were the ones who settled on the Blue Sea, all the D of theOne Pieceworld, including Luffy, likely have Shandorian blood in their veins. To phrase it in an even crazier way,Luffy is half alien to the people of the Earth, as is every other D.
The Technological Prowess Of The D
It must be remembered that the people of the Full moon, that is, the Winged races carried tremendous technological prowess. They created a very advanced city of Birka on the moon, after all. It is through this technological advancement thatthe Ancient Kingdom was created, given that it was extremely advanced compared to the rest of the world. The only issue that the Sky Races faced was that they lacked resources to stay on the moon, but the earth was so abundant with resources that they and the people of the D together ended up creating an undying power source, the Mother Flame. This is confirmed by Vegapunk’s own words, who clearly stated that there existed an undying power source akin to the sun in the past.
Everything unraveled when the other countries wanted to destroy the Ancient Kingdom for their power and advancements, and that is how the Warof the Void Centurywas fought.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and theManga Plusapps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1139, is set to be June 28, 2025.
