‘One Piece’: Why Did Zunesha Come to Wano Country?

Oda’s One Piece series has introduced us to a variety of different characters, and we here on Fiction Horizon have written about many of them. We’ve introduced some, but in most cases, we’ve discussed the actions and roles of these characters in the series. In this article, we are going to – once again – talk about Zunesha, the giant elephant who made a return in the most recent One Piece episode. Zunesha is back, and he is there to help the Alliance in Wano. But how and why did Zunesha even come to Wano? Why did he decide to help? This article is going to reveal all of this to you, so keep reading to find out.

Zunesha is, as it is known, a traveling elephant. While traveling around the waters of Wano Country, he noticed a gigantic Marine fleet heading towards Wano Country, which he deemed as a sign of danger. He then communicated with Momonosuke using the Voice of All Things and told him that he would fight by his side and that he should open the waters of Wano, which is exactly what happened. While there, he would confirm that Luffy is Joy Boy. After Kaido’s defeat, he respected Momonosuke’s decision not to open the waters of Wano Country and left the country.

The rest of this article will focus solely on the character of Zunesha, as we will explain his latest actions in Wano Country, which will be an important moment in the evolution of the story. We will tell you some information about the character, as well as his actions and motives in Wano Country. We are also going to answer a series of relevant questions about Zunesha but be careful, as the article is going to have a lot of spoilers.

Zunesha offered his help to the Alliance in Wano

Approximately a thousand years ago, the giant elephant Zunesha was born. He eventually became Joy Boy’s partner during the Void Century, and Kozuki Momonosuke claims that during that period, he committed a severe crime, although the series has not (yet) revealed what crime is exactly. Zunesha committed a “crime” eight hundred years ago and was sentenced to an eternity of wandering the sea and obeying only orders.

Since then, Zunesha has been traveling around the New World and coexisted with the Mink tribe and other lifeforms on Zou Island for generations. Jack and his Beasts Pirates returned to Zou with the intention of killing Zunesha after attempting to save Donquixote Doflamingo from the Marines but ultimately failed.

But, aside from his personal history, Zunesha’s story is also tied to that of Joy Boy, a legendary warrior of liberation. Namely, as we’ve said above, Joy Boy was Zunesha’s ally during the Void Century. The two of them seemed to be quite close, and the legend says that Zunesha is actually the only one who can immediately recognize Joy Boy when he sees him and hears the Drums of Liberation. This is why Zunesha’s arrival in Wano was so important and why we decided to discuss it here.

But let us first see what happened. So, as we’ve said, Zunesha is a traveling elephant, and due to his crime from the past, he keeps roaming the waters of the New World, part of which is also Wano Country. While on his way to the waters of Wano, Zunesha noticed a large fleet of World Government ships; the fighters in Wano did not know, but the World Government had decided to send a Marine fleet led by Admiral Ryokugyu to Wano, and Zunesha saw them.

Noticing them, Zunesha used the Voice of All Things, a special means of communication between inanimate objects and animals, to inform Momonosuke of the situation and offer him his services.

Zunesha was not a particularly skilled fighter, but his size and his raw strength always made him a valuable ally. He told Momonosuke that he would be fighting under his command, but that meant that Momonosuke would have to open the waters of Wano, which ultimately happened, allowing Zunesha to enter Wano Country and help the alliance. His contribution was not pivotal, but it helped the Alliance.

But, Zunesha’s contribution to the Wano Country Arc was far bigger than just the fighting. Namely, while he was fighting in Wano, the giant Elephant would hear the “Drums of Liberation”.

The “Drums of Liberation” were not actual drums one could hear, but it was rather a change in Zunesha’s heartbeat, which was called that, and it would start whenever Zunesha was close to Joy Boy. Several centuries had passed since he had last heard this beat, and when he finally arrived in Wano, he heard them. When? Well, this happened when Luffy finally activated the true form of his Gomu Gomu no Mi, which turned out to be the legendary Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika.

This was truly an important moment for the story, and with Zunesha being there to witness this, we’ve finally received confirmation of who Joy Boy is. It had been implied earlier that Kaido himself was Joy Boy, but since Zunesha did not hear the “Drums of Liberation” until Luffy activated the true nature of his Devil Fruit, we knew that it was not Kaido. Luffy’s identity as Joy Boy had also been a point of debate, and the Wano Country Arc finally provided us with a confirmation, as Zunesha is undoubtedly a character who is able to identify Joy Boy based on his knowledge and his history with the former Joy Boy.

Zunesha remained in Wano until Kaido was finally defeated, which wasn’t that long, but he was there as an ally. Still, after Kaido’s downfall, Momonosuke said that he was not ready to keep the waters of Wano open, so Zunesha, respecting his decision, left.