“After you have taken your time to see the world, the conclusion you will reach might be different then what we found”
That’s what Rayleigh told Robin when she asked him about the Void Century. I have always wondered what he might have meant. How can the history be different to two different parties when they find out about it by the same words. The content can’t possibly be different, but the interpretation of that content might. But how could the Straw Hats interpret the history differently from the Roger Pirates?
After we have seen (parts of) Roger’s journey through the Oden Flashbacks I finally understood what Rayleigh was talking about. The ambiguity originates from the journey itself, not from the content.
When Roger finally arrived at Laugh Tale and learned about the History and Joyboy’s story, he laughed. Some time soon Luffy will find Laugh Tale and learn about the same history that Roger was laughing about and there will actually be a difference as Reighleigh indicated: Luffy won’t be laughing.
Given by the fact that by the end of Joy Boy’s story an autocratic, opressing and racist World Government that dominates the planet was founded, it wouldn’t be a false assumption that Joy Boy’s story is one that ends in a tragic way (at least for Joy Boy). So what was it that Roger found so funny? Probably because the outcome of the story was caused by a silly mistake or the story was so tragic and sad that it’s funny again. Or maybe Joy Boy was so intelligent that, even though he lost and died made sure his enemy would go down on the long run, and that’s what Roger laughed about. We don’t know for sure, but what we know is, whatever the story might be, a group of autocrats and tyranns were the winners and they are still in power, opressing people and nations.
Even though Luffy has inherited Roger’s will, their journeys are still different. Roger was roaming the seas, fighting strong pirates of his era, his rivals and surpassed them all. We have no knowledge about him freeing kingdoms. He was a mere adventurer who liked to make friends all over the world, while Luffy shows a pattern of freeing people and kingdoms.
Don’t get me wrong, I know Luffy is not a Revolutionary and he doesn’t even want to be a hero. He is, just like Roger, an adventurer, but he always ends up meeting new friends at the islands he arrives at. Friends, who are living under horrible conditions, opressed by tyranns. Luffy always helps them and takes those tyranns down for them, not because he thinks that’s his job, but because he wittnesses and feels, through his huge empathic capabilities, their pain and suffering. As much as he himself wants to be free, he hates to see his friends to not be free. He wants them to have the same freedom he has. He hates people who are putting themselves above others, he hates dictatorships and opression.
One could say he hates opression as much as he loves meat. But because his journey made him get in contact with all kinds of suffering and opression, he has devepoled an understanding of how dark and miserable the world can be. Everytime he fights a tyrann, he gets more angry. I think him telling Doflamingo:“ You always try to strangle everything within your hands, and try to manipulate everyone, it makes me feel like i am suffocating“ – describes best, how luffy feels about tyranny and opression. He doesn’t think about how unfair the world is and is actively trying to change it, but wittnessing opression makes him suffocate, so he does something about it. I think Roger just never went trough that, he fought deadly battles against rivals, but usually went to islands that were peaceful (all the islands Luffy freed, were still peacefull when Roger arrived), he had a good time, while Luffy wittnessed unbelievable pain hardships, he knows what real opression is and means.
Another thing. Whitebeard said, that somebody will appear carrying centuries of history on his back and challenge the world to a fight. I always thought how could Luffy be somebody who carries centuries of history on his back? He doesn’t care about history. That’s too political. Luffy doesn’t care about politics, nor has he ever, unlike other Ds ever cared about the Void Century or his D. initial.
So how is he going to learn about the history and be like: “ Oh geez, let’s go and fight the organisation that has built a political power-structure that enslaved and opressed people for hundreds of years and create a new political system“. And I don’t think he will. After learning the history, the tragic story of Joy Boy, he will think about all those islands that he has been to, that were opressed, and he will actually fully understand the outstanding tragedy and suffering of that story, by the experiences he made throughout his journey. Experience. A kind of experience that Roger maybe didn’t have. A kind of experience that new Joy Boy actually needs to have in order to do what he needs to do.
So knowing pain, Luffy won’t be laughing to the story, he will be outraged. He will be like: “ I‘m mad, let’s kick some ass“. Otherwise he wouldn’t be interested in taking down the World Government, since he is not idealistic. That outrage and urge to free his friends will drive him to do what he needs to do, just like it drove him in all those other arcs.
So that’s why I think Luffy won’t be laughing at Laughtale. And I think that’s the difference that Rayleigh was talking about, a difference that is actually going to make a difference.
*Theory by mfj__
