What Are Poneglyphs in One Piece (Explained)

The One Piece universe is overflowing with unanswered mysteries. That’s the special thing I love about this series, and don’t you think it’s the same for you? Among those mysteries, the poneglyphs are the final piece of the puzzle to attain the greatest treasure — One Piece. The series is now in its final saga, and we will uncover all the mysteries about the poneglyphs very soon. But, you don’t have to wait any longer as we have created this detailed guide about poneglyphs in One Piece.

What Is a Poneglyph in One Piece?

• Japanese Name: 歴史の本文ポーネグリフ
• Official English Name: Poneglyph, Ponegliff
• English Meaning: Text of History
• First Appearance: Anime Episode 123, Manga Chapter 202

A poneglyph is a giant block of rock that bears ancient letterings in an unknown ancient language. So what do the poneglyphs contain you ask? These ancient scripts when deciphered, contain undiscovered historical information about different aspects of the One Piece universe. The poneglyphs are inspired by the Egyptian hieroglyphs that exist in real life. That is why these are referred to as stela or stele as it’s inspired by real-life monuments.

Some notable information inscribed in these poneglyphs includes the Void century, the last island Raftel, ancient weapons, the One Piece treasure, and more. That is why researching this script is forbidden by the World Government and can result in deadly punishments.

These Poneglyphs can be found strewn around the islands of perilous seas of this diverse One Piece world. However, the official number of poneglyphs is not confirmed yet. Baron Tamago claims that the planet is home to around 30 poneglyphs. Furthermore, he added that each of these poneglyph narrates a lost piece of history.

In the One Piece world, once the poneglyphs were made, they were handed over to respectable civilizations. In return, they’ve safeguarded them as treasures generation after generation.

Who Built the Poneglyphs?

As we are already aware, the Kozuki family is known for their exceptional craftsmanship when it comes to swords. That statement stays the same as the ancient Kozuki stonemasons are the people who crafted the poneglyphs. As a result, these gigantic stones are deemed to be indestructible even by a large-scale explosion.

Who Can Read Poneglyphs in One Piece?

As we have mentioned earlier, the texts inscribed on the poneglyphs belong to an ancient language. As a result, at the beginning, there was no one except the makers who could understand it. But years later, the scholars of Ohara were able to learn about them and decipher them. This is also where Straw Hats member Nico Robin was able to learn the skill of reading the poneglyphs at a young age.

As stated above, since these people researched a forbidden subject, the whole of Ohara was destroyed through a Buster Call. Nico Robin is the only survivor of this incident.

So yeah, Nico Robin is the only person in the world who is capable of reading and deciphering the poneglyphs, at least we thought so until the Wano Country Arc. In a recent anime episode, it was revealed that Kozui Sukiyaki (father of Oden) was alive all along, and he can also read these scriptures as he is a member of the renowned Kozuki family.

Since the entire world thinks that he is dead, Nico Robin is the most-wanted person if one wants to understand the poneglyphs. But on the flip side, we know that two people can read poneglyphs in One Piece.

Types of Poneglyphs in One Piece

Now that have a clear understanding of what poneglyphs are and how they were built, it’s time to learn about the three types of poneglyphs that exist in the One Piece world. These cubic blocks can be differentiated based on their color, information inscribed, etc.

So, the three different types of poneglyphs in One Piece are:

• Instructional Poneglyphs
• Historical Poneglyphs
• Road Poneglyphs

1. Instructional Poneglyphs

This is the first type of poneglyph and is confirmed to have a dark blue/ metallic blue color. To our surprise, we haven’t come across any one of this type so far in the manga or the anime. But at least we know the true purpose of this poneglyph.

It is stated that instructional poneglyphs contain information that necessarily provides instructions/ hints on the location of another type of poneglyph known as Historical Poneglyphs. You can learn more about them below.

2. Historical Poneglyphs

Up next, we have the Historical poneglyphs, which serve a great purpose. As the name implies, these poneglyphs carry fragments of the true history of One Piece with them. This means that these are the poneglyphs that can help us shed light on mysteries such as the Void Century, Joy Boy‘s Apology, and more.

Additionally, these poneglyphs also have messages written by ancient people. Much like the Instructional poneglyphs, these usually come in a dark blue/ metallic blue color as well.

3. Road Poneglyphs

Finally, we have the Road Poneglyphs, which are the ultimate key to reaching the final island, Raftel (aka Laugh Tale), in One Piece. Unlike the other types, we know the exact number of Road poneglyphs that exist in the world.

There are a total of four Road poneglyphs, and they are deep-red in color. Each of these four poneglyphs consists of a location. When all four are uncovered and put together they form a cross-section, revealing the location of the treasure.

How Many Poneglyphs Does Luffy Have?

Thus, to obtain the legendary treasure, our aspiring Pirate king Luffy will have to get his hands on all four Road Poneglyphs. But, how many poneglyphs does he have right now? Is he close to getting the legendary One Piece treasure?

The answer to this question is that Luffy has successfully got the prints of three Road Poneglyphs. He is only a single Road Poneglyph away from reaching the final island, Laugh Tale.

Wait, before we end our discussion about poneglyphs, there is one more important topic we have to discuss. As you can see from the image above, among the total 30 poneglyphs, a specific set of nine poneglyphs is collectively known as the Rio Poneglyph. This information was confirmed by Tamago. The literal meaning of Rio Poneglyph is True Text of History.

As a result, one can learn about the Void Century and many more by collecting the Rio Poneglyphs. Thus, as far as Robin is concerned, the message sent by every Poneglyph along the Grand Line is Rio Poneglyph.

The only person in this entire world to learn about the true history, get the One Piece treasure, and more by collecting poneglyphs was Gol D. Roger and his crew. This was because Roger could hear the “Voice of all things” and had Oden in his crew.

In the Saboady Archipelago arc, Roger’s right-hand man, Silvers Rayleigh, confirmed the above fact and gave us a more important tip. He said that they were too early to get their hands on these uncovered truths. In addition to that, he mentioned that Luffy and his crew may come to a different conclusion than what they did as it boils down to one’s perspective.

And that’s everything you need to know about poneglyphs in One Piece. As we are heading towards the final moments of One Piece, we all must learn of these massive cubic blocks as they will play a vital role. That said, what do you think about the concept of poneglyphs? Let us know in the comments below.