What is One Piece?

[Board of Command]

The key phrase is he left everything "in One Piece." What did he own? Although I like Deblas' theory a lot, it doesn't have much to do with the actual phrase. It's more like "One Place." Remember, whoever takes One Piece becomes the pirate king. If all it takes is to reach Raftel, then we'd have lots of pirate kings because I'm sure those uber pirates like Whitebeard and Shanks are all very capable of getting there.

I support the idea that One Piece is a tangible object because one must possess it in order to be crowned the pirate king. Going on pure speculation, I think it revolves around the idea that Luffy is *possibly* Gold Roger's son. I think One Piece is actually Luffy. Again, focusing on the phrase "left everything in One Piece," I think he meant that fame, power and wealth did not mean anything in comparison to his own son, and when he passed away, the only thing left that he cared about was in "one piece," his son, while everything else has been shattered. This would lead to the pirate age and the quest to find One Piece would separate the true pirates from the greedy wannabes.

All other pirates would then interpret this as a quest for fame and wealth, but really it is merely a test of character for his own son. Throughout the series they often emphasized how most pirates in the world have written off One Piece as a myth and don't really bother to live as real pirates. Also, the entire show is based around the goals and dreams of each member of the Straw Hat Pirates and how they band together despite their different agendas. That is the true pirate spirit. He wanted his son to grow up to be a good pirate and if he makes it to Raftel (or wherever the thing is) and finds "One Piece," it will likely just be something that says CONGRATULATIONS. The story is not about becoming the pirate king; instead, it's about persevering through tough times and never giving up in order to reach your goal.