u/AllyAlleycat

I’ve had these ideas kicking around in my head since we learned Rocks was a disciple of Davy Jones, and since there’s been a lot of new evidence supporting my thinking I’d like to write it down publicly somewhere. Here are my expectations on who the Gods of the 3^(rd) World are.

First, my assumptions about the God DFs. I tried to guess what separates the god fruits from the other fruits, and I decided to assume that what makes the god fruits unique is that they can tap into the human soul/lifespan as a power source to make material changes in the physical world. With the introduction of the Mother Flame and depictions of an ancient but forbidden power source in the Harley and mural, combined with the persistent theming in the story that the human spirit is a power source that can overcome anything (i.e., haki, or Luffy’s “spear of determination” from the Baratie arc), it seems to me that Oda is telling us over and over that the soul/lifespan is a material source of power in the story. With the recent reveals of Imu and Zaza, I also believe that prayer music is likely tied to each of the gods as well. With these assumptions in mind, here’s what I think:

• Sun God, Nika: Obviously Luffy. Has the Drums of Liberation for prayer music. And the best way, in my mind, to make sense of his powers in his Nika form is to assume that he is burning off pieces of his lifespan in order to free himself from the laws of the world, to transform his body however he imagines, run through the air, and to materialize objects at will. Hence why he looks drained of life after using it. He is the “sun” because he represents the warm, bright joy of freedom and just as the sun brings life to the earth, the power of Luffy’s spirit brings new life and power to all those who see him.
• Forest God: Imu. The Harley said the forest god “tamed demons,” and Imu has said that he believes the best form of life are demons. Imu’s powers are also closely associated with yokai, witchcraft, and the devil. Witches, monsters, and ghosts are commonly tied to the imagery of forests in stories in the real world, so there’s a thematic match here. Imu has spoken directly of using pieces of people’s lifespans to turn them into demons and to give them new power. And now we have seen that his appearance causes pieces of wood to turn into demons that sing some kind of song. I don’t think this is Chopper because the evidence for Chopper is very thin compared to Imu.
• Earth God: Big Mom. She has the soul-soul fruit. She uses souls and lifespans to give life to pieces of the earth. Her homies sing songs for her. My reading of the Harley and Elbaph lore as presented so far suggests to me that as the 1^(st) World was destroyed by the earth god with a serpent of hellfire, this was that earth god burning the world with a giant homie of lava that then became the Red Line. And where did we last see Big Mom? In a pool of magma in the planet’s crust.
• Sea God: Brook. The sea god was introduced immediately before we met Brook, tying them together. Brook also shares a lot in common with the real world mythology of Davy Jones, who was at times depicted as a Draugr (a living skeleton in Norse stories) and who is connected to the story of Jonah, who famously was swallowed by a giant fish/whale (hello Laboon). Brook is a musician who uses music to channel his DF powers, which post-time skip are shown to let him put other people’s souls to rest (as with Big Mom’s homies) and to have a direct connection to the coldness of the underworld, and Davy Jones’ Locker is a sort of underworld for souls lost at sea (as Brook was). I have been assuming that Davy Jones was a Sea God the same as Joyboy was a Sun God, hence the connection to Brook. Brook also, thanks to Kuma, magically appeared on an island in response to its peoples’ prayers and then wrote them music designed to give them power. I do not think this was a random gag on Oda’s part!
• Rain God, Zaza: Dragon. A popular theory although a bit of a stretch in relation to my own assumptions. He has however been repeatedly tied to weather phenomenon, and I think there must be a reason that Oda has gone out of his way to obscure Dragon’s powers. If it was a logia, there wouldn’t really be a reason to hide it, but if it’s a mythical zoan (and particularly a god) then it makes sense. We have also now heard that the Celestial Dragons fear the rain, and they clearly fear Dragon and his ideology. And thematically, the rain and the sun both play a vital role in bringing life from the sky to the earth, as Luffy and Dragon both seem needed to free the world from Imu’s control. I do think this is the thinnest one of the 5 though.

What do people think? Also, while I’m here, I am pretty sure that Gedatsu’s cover story is telling us some of the history of the 1^(st) World. An angel comes down to the blue sea from the sky, subjugates both the earth boss and the forest boss, digs into the earth as seen in the mural, and uses the resources unearthed to build an empire (bathhouse) with Alabasta. Have people talked about this? I’m not sure.