Warning: The following article contains spoilers from chapters 1094 and 1095 of One Piece.
One Piece has been around for a long time – 26 years to be exact. But even after that long, it seems that the growing list of mysteries just doesn’t end. Even so, there are two enigmas always on our mind: What happened during the Void Century, and who is the Sun God Nika? While they’re not necessarily correlated, we do have some information about at least one of them.
The void century is still a colossal mystery that will hopefully soon have some light shed upon – hopefully in the upcoming chapters! As for Sun God Nika, we have some insights on him, however limited they may be. A lot of the information stems from fan theories but over time Eiichiro Oda has assured us that we at least know the very basis of the Sun God Nika.
Who is Nika in ‘One Piece’?
The first mention of the Sun God Nika, as he is most commonly known among slaves, dates back to the primordial chapters in the Wano arc. He is initially brought up by Who’s Who, and described as a legend— so much so that the prison guard who shared the tale mysteriously vanished from his position, leading many to believe the guard was killed simply for uttering Nika’s name.
In the Egghead arc, Vegapunk refers to Nika as almost a prophet whose existence only crops up in ancient documents, with common folk never having heard the name. Yet, it has not been confirmed whether Nika is merely a folktale or a true historical figure, perhaps even connected to the void century. One thing is certain: The World Government is keen on keeping Nika’s existence a secret.
Ultimately, the information we have on Nika is very limited. He is the first deity ever introduced in One Piece and was a warrior. He’s known to be worshipped by slaves and often became a source of comfort for imprisoned people who believed that Nika would be the one to save them. At the end of Wano, we also come to know that Luffy’s Devil fruit is the Human Human Fruit, Model: Nika – the Sun God’s alleged fruit.
The latest One Piece chapters, however, mentioned Nika once again. In Chapter 1094, during Admiral Kizaru’s fight with Luffy, the former is referred to as “Nika” by one of the five elders, i.e., Saturn, upon catching a glimpse of the Straw Hats’ Gear 5 mode. In chapter 1095, however, we come to know that Kuma’s race – the Buccaneers – believe the Sun God Nika will one day come with the drums of liberation to free them.
Naturally, information is still limited, but the little we do know is already adrenaline-inducing enough, especially if Nika does come back in the form of Luffy to save all slaves, fulfilling the prophecy and legend that has been passed down by generations.
