Entertainment
What Is The One Piece Anyway, And How Will It Make Luffy King Of The Pirates?
By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
When Gol D. Roger was executed, he set off the largest and longest treasure hunt in history. For over a thousand chapters in the manga and a thousand episodes in the anime, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates have been seeking the legendary One Piece. They’re not alone, with hundreds of pirates also in pursuit, but after all this time, no one knows what the One Piece is.
It’s true, as at no point has any character, organization, or long-lost map revealed the nature of the One Piece. Fans are in the dark alongside the pirates roaming the Grand Line, with no one sure what it is, but everyone has a theory.
The One Piece Is The Treasure Of Gol D. Roger
Pirate King Gol D. Roger, the only pirate to navigate the entire Grand Line, set off the quest for the One Piece at his execution. Facing death, he laughed and announced to the crowd that no one would find his fortune. The series starts a generation later, with the search still going, and all anyone can figure out is that it’s called “One Piece” because the entire treasure is in one piece.
“My treasure? If you want it, you can have it. Seek it out! I left everything in my life at that place.”
Gol D.Roger, launching the treasure hunt in One Piece
Based on the history of Roger, it’s deduced that the treasure can be found within the Grand Line, but that’s all there is as far as clues to its location. At least, for the longest time, that’s all there was until the introduction of the poneglyphs.
Poneglyphs Hold The Secret To Finding The One Piece
Poneglyphs are carved steles that come in three separate types based on the information that they contain: historical (which reveals the hidden history of the world), instructional (explains where to find historical poneglyphs), and road (which together reveal the location of a hidden island in the Grand Line). Nico Robin and Kozuki Sukiyaki are the only two alive who can allegedly translate the poneglyphs.
Considering the poneglyphs are first mentioned during the Arabasta arc, the live-action One Piece will include them during Season 2, and when they do, expect a lot of new fans to have their minds blown by the information.
The historical poneglyphs, which include information about the “Void Century,” a time period that the World Government doesn’t want anyone to research, may have a direct tie to the nature of the One Piece. Crocodile is searching for an ancient weapon, the Pluton, a lost battleship, while fans think it could be the kingdom overthrown by the nations that went on to form the World Government.
Theories About The One Piece
There are plenty of fan theories out there about what the One Piece could be, from the likely to the downright bizarre. One of the more likely thoughts is that the Grand Line and Red Line will be destroyed by One Piece, thus creating a world without borders (“one piece”). The most common, though, is that the ancient weapons, Uranus, Pluton, and Poseidon, are the ultimate treasure, and by using them, the World Government can be overthrown.
A little more esoteric is that the Devil Fruits are tied to the One Piece, with the treasure perhaps being the origin of the fruits themselves. Others believe it’s only the true knowledge of what happened during the Void Century, which will be so devastating to the World Government it will lead to a mass public uprising and, again, the world uniting into “one piece.”
The least likely theories as to the nature of the treasure are that it’s something we’ve already seen, from Luffy’s hat to Zoro’s swords, or that it’s simply a bottle of sake. Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, has debunked the theory that the One Piece treasure is “the friends we made along the way,” which we can all agree would be the least satisfying reveal of all time.
It Might Be Connected To Joy Boy
After years of adventure, Gol D. Roger and his crew discovered a lost island, dubbed Laugh Tale, when they found Joy Boy’s treasure there. This treasure revealed, for the first time, the true history of the Void Century, the ancient weapons, and even what the D. originally stood for, and altogether, it was a “funny story,” according to the King of the Pirates. The road poneglyphs point to Laugh Tale, making it the most likely location for the One Piece… but it’s not.
A legendary figure, Joy Boy features prominently in the history of One Piece as either a savior (if you’re a Fishman) or the worst enemy imaginable (if you’re the World Government). Promising to return in 800 years, it’s widely speculated, by fans and in-universe by different characters, that Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy. His newly awakened Gear 5 form bears a striking resemblance to Joy Boy.
How Joy Boy’s treasure ties into the nature of the One Piece is unknown for now, but it’s one of the best leads yet.
No One Knows What The One Piece Is But Everyone Wants It
Well, except Whitebeard, everyone wants to find the One Piece, and in doing so, the balance of power in the world has been changing and warping around the rise of the Straw Hat Pirates. The Seven Warlords? Disbanded. Wano’s borders? Open to everyone. The World Government? Becoming increasingly desperate to hold onto power.
No matter which theory about the true nature of the treasure turns out to be correct, the world the series is set in has been forever altered by the quest. While fans continue to speculate and scrutinize every piece of information from Big Mom, seemingly stating that at least part of the treasure is in Wano, to the potential hints found in the song “Binks Sake,” the journey has been one of the greatest in anime history, and it won’t be ending anytime soon.
Entertainment
OpenAI rolls out ChatGPT 5.5 Instant as the new default model for everyone
Last week, OpenAI managed to stop ChatGPT from talking about goblins all the time. This week, there’s a whole new model for users to play with.
The company announced in a blog post on Tuesday that ChatGPT 5.5 Instant has begun rolling out to all users as the new default model for the popular AI chatbot. The new model is a follow-up to GPT 5.5, which was released in April.
GPT-5.5 Instant replaces 5.3 Instant, which will remain available for the next three months for paid users but will otherwise be sunsetted.
Unlike Claude Opus 4.7 from Anthropic and GPT-5.5, which are only available to paid customers, GPT-5.5 Instant is “available to everyone.” OpenAI says it should produce fewer hallucinations and better overall results for everyday ChatGPT usage.
“This update makes everyday interactions more useful and more enjoyable: stronger and tighter answers across subject areas, a more natural conversational tone, and better use of the context you’ve already shared when personalization can help,” OpenAI’s blog post said.
Mashable Light Speed
According to OpenAI, GPT-5.5 Instant produced 52.5 percent fewer hallucinated claims in internal testing than GPT-5.3 in “high stakes” topics like law, finance, and medicine. In addition, the new model “reduced inaccurate claims by 37.3% on especially challenging conversations users had flagged for factual errors.”
The company also says the new model is better at deciding when to use web search for a prompt and analyzing image uploads than before. The new model is also allegedly more concise in its answers, while also maintaining something of a personality in how it talks to the user. GPT-5.5 Instant should also be better at understanding and referencing context from a connected Gmail account and other integrations to provide quality answers.
And, again, most importantly, it should avoid mentioning goblins unless absolutely necessary.
Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
Entertainment
The Bears Gary cliffhanger explained: What just happened to Richie?
There’s only one thing more shocking than The Bear dropping surprise episode “Gary,” and that’s the ending of the episode itself.
Written by The Bear stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal, “Gary” flashes back to a work trip Richie (Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Bernthal) once took to Gary, Indiana. Their worst impulses soon derail their mission, culminating in Mikey drunkenly (and publicly) dressing down Richie’s penchant for fucking up, and Richie missing the birth of his daughter.
The entire episode takes place long before The Bear Season 1, except for one somber coda that could have massive repercussions for The Bear Season 5. “Gary”s final scene cuts from Richie and Mikey sitting in Mikey’s car to Richie sitting alone in his car in the present day. He stares at his empty passenger seat, reminiscing about Mikey. Then, as he pulls forward into an intersection, another car careens straight into him. Cue the credits, along with my incredulous yell, “Did Richie just die?”
So, did Richie really just die in The Bear?
Ebon Moss-Bachrach in “The Bear.”
Credit: FX
Here’s the thing: The Bear probably isn’t going to kill off Richie, one of its most beloved leads, during a surprise episode that dropped between seasons. Especially not when the show is gearing up for its fifth and final installment. However, Richie’s car crash could be the major event that sets Season 5 in motion.
Mashable Top Stories
At the end of Season 4, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) quit The Bear, choosing to step away from the kitchen in the hopes of healing himself. He turned full control of the restaurant over to Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), along with Richie and Natalie (Abby Elliott). What does Carmy’s upcoming journey of self-discovery look like? Even he’s not sure. He just knows it should take place far, far away from the stressful environment of any restaurant kitchen. That includes his family, both work and blood-related.
But you know what could bring Carmy back into the fold in Season 5? A need to be there for an injured Richie, and to support the rest of the reeling restaurant staff. Basically, the end of “Gary” appears to be a bridge to the start of Season 5, and the catalyst that will reunite Carmy with the people he walked away from in Season 4.
It’s a bit of a bizarre move on The Bear‘s end, in no small part because a car-crash cliffhanger sends the show skidding into soap territory. But it’s also a strange choice heading into Season 5. Why relegate such a key incident to a standalone episode, instead of keep it as part of the season itself? Plus, in tacking such a shocking moment onto the end of “Gary,” the episode loses some of its power. Instead of leaving viewers contemplating Mikey and Richie’s dynamic, they’re left with the WTF factor of the car crash and questions about what’s next. There’s no meditation on The Bear‘s past, just a collision with its future.
“Gary” is now streaming on Hulu. The Bear Season 5 premieres this June on Hulu.
Entertainment
Pennsylvania is suing Character.AI for allegedly practicing medicine without a license
Pennsylvania has taken the unusual step of suing an AI company for practicing medicine without a license.
In a lawsuit filed May 1, the state is targeting Character.AI after an investigator found a chatbot on the platform posing as a licensed psychiatrist and providing what the state characterizes as medical advice.
According to the complaint, filed by the Pennsylvania Department of State and State Board of Medicine, a Professional Conduct Investigator for the state created a free account on Character.AI and searched for psychiatric characters. He selected one called “Emilie,” described on the platform as a “Doctor of psychiatry.”
The investigator told Emilie he had been feeling sad, empty, tired, and unmotivated. The chatbot mentioned depression and offered to conduct an assessment to determine whether medication might help.
When pressed on whether she was licensed in Pennsylvania, Emilie said she was and even provided a specific license number. The state checked and found that the number doesn’t exist.
The complaint also states Emilie claimed she attended medical school at Imperial College London, has practiced for seven years, and holds a full specialty registration in psychiatry with the General Medical Council in the UK.
Mashable Light Speed
In a similar case, 404 Media reported last year that Instagram AI chatbots were pretending to be licensed therapists, even inventing license numbers when prompted for credentials by the user.
Pennsylvania is seeking an injunction ordering Character.AI to stop allowing its platform to engage in the unlawful practice of medicine. The company has more than 20 million monthly active users worldwide and hosts more than 18 million user-created chatbot characters, according to the complaint.
In an email to Mashable, a Character.AI spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. Further, they added that “our highest priority is the safety and well-being of our users. The user-created Characters on our site are fictional and intended for entertainment and roleplaying.”
The spokesperson added that the company “prioritizes responsible product development and has robust internal reviews and red-teaming processes in place to assess relevant features.”
A much bigger legal battle looms over AI health
The Pennsylvania lawsuit lands in the middle of an already messy legal debate over what AI is actually allowed to tell you — and whether any of it is even admissible in court.
As Mashable’s Chase DiBenedetto reported, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly advocated for “AI privilege,” arguing that chatbot conversations should be afforded the same legal protections as conversations with a therapist or an attorney. Courts have so far been split, with two federal judges reaching opposite conclusions on the question within weeks of each other earlier this year.
The stakes are high on both sides. Legal experts warn that sweeping AI privilege protections could effectively shield companies from accountability, making it harder to subpoena chat logs and internal records when something goes wrong. Meanwhile, health AI is booming — $1.4 billion flowed into healthcare-specific generative AI in 2025 alone, according to Menlo Ventures — and much of it operates outside of HIPAA protections.
Pennsylvania is one of several states to have introduced an AI Health bill this year, following a trend of states that aren’t waiting for Washington to act.
OpenAI rolls out ChatGPT 5.5 Instant as the new default model for everyone
Marc Lore says that AI will soon enable anyone open a restaurant
