Chapter 1115 lacks solid action or drama, but it does unveil a mystery about the Void Century and the world that once was.

The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapter 1115, “Pieces of a Continent,” by Eiichiro Oda, available in English from Viz Media.

As of Chapter 1115, “Pieces of a Continent,” the One Piece manga is still putting the main plot on hold so Dr. Vegapunk can deliver his shocking message to the entire world via video transponder snails. It’s likely that this phase of the story will continue for another chapter or two, so fans can expect more of the same going forward. It’s frustrating at times to have the action, main characters, and main plot put on hold for so lonbg, though.

Given the sheer scale of One Piece‘s worldbuilding and the many remaining mysteries of the Void Century, it’s understandable that the series keeps pausing the action to deliver info dumps like Dr. Vegapunk’s. In the long term, such things will certainly do the One Piece manga a lot of good and give readers proper context for future conflicts and revelations. Week by week, though, it’s underwhelming to listen to Dr. Vegapunk’s lecture while generic action rages in the background and the Straw Hats spend so many chapters running toward their rescue ships but not arriving at them.

One Piece Chapter 1115 Confirms Fan Theories About Lost Continents

Over the course of many years, One Piece has prompted readers and anime viewers to think up all kinds of fan theories, ranging from the One Piece treasure’s identity to how Captain Blackbeard can have more than one Devil Fruit. The series is slow to confirm or disprove such theories even decades in, but Chapter 1115 throws fans a bone where worldbuilding and the past are concerned. For some time now, fans have looked at the map’s many small islands and theorized that the world used to have continents, with the islands being all that remains of those lost landmasses. Chapter 1115 confirms this with Dr. Vegapunk’s video message, and it ties into the rising sea level catastrophe currently unfolding.

This is just part of Dr. Vegapunk’s overall message, so he doesn’t go too in-depth on this stunning revelation, nor does he have the full picture anyhow. Still, this is one of the two major highlights in Chapter 1115, and it’s gratifying to see One Piece finally filling in major gaps of its sprawling narrative as the Final Saga unfolds. The story is entering “big picture” territory and upping the stakes to astonishing levels, laying the groundwork for the final war and the full truth of this deceptively deep and complicated shonen world. Vegapunk also ties this “lost continents” narrative into the current problem of rising sea levels, stating that the proto-World Government used the Ancient Weapons to raise the world’s sea levels by 200 meters over the course of the Void Century.

The early World Government clearly did that to maintain control of the world and used those Ancient Weapons as a last-ditch effort to defeat Joy Boy, the world’s first pirate, and his army. This also means that the past and present mirror one another, with the proto-World Government of 800 years ago using drastic measures to reshape the world and defeat its freedom-loving enemies. The current World Government is evidently doing the same to take down the Revolutionary Army and possibly the Straw Hat Pirates crew. If the proto-World Government went that far to stop Joy Boy, they may go even farther to stop Luffy, who is the reincarnation of Joy Boy/Nika.

The Lost Continents Strengthen One Piece’s Legendary Worldbuilding

One Piece Chapter 1115 is a compelling reminder that worldbuilding is not just about what the world is right now, but what it used to be. One Piece ups the ante with its own worldbuildng history, hinting at a lost world on a scale nothing Naruto nor Bleach ever imagined. This helps One Piece play into certain tropes that action/adventure shonen series usually lack, such as the “lost civilization” and “elder race” tropes, with the latter being a notable science fiction trope found in the likes of Star Wars, Halo, and StarCraft, among others.

Any shonen manga can establish an empire or nation to create a setting, like Naruto‘s Land of Fire or Attack on Titan‘s Paradis Island and the Marley Empire, but it’s One Piece that makes continents and islands more than just a venue for action and adventure. The nature and history of these locations play a central role in the world’s ongoing conflicts past and present, with the brutal World Government using apocalyptic weapons to rid the world of its former continents to defeat Joy Boy and cement the World Government’s position as the dominant player in the world. And it’s about to happen again now.

Continents and islands in One Piece aren’t just a place for the action — they are the action, and Chapter 1115 proves it with stunning visuals and Dr. Vegapunk’s words. Such things were hinted at before, like with the lost civilization of the Shandorans and the submerged former city of Wano, but this is something on a grander scale. Manga readers can see a highly detailed vista of a submerged civilization with advanced tech, now a natural playground for fish and other marine life. This is a “lost city of Atlantis” trope on a magnificient scale, and it’s even more tantalizing because it ties into dire secrets that fans have longed to discover for so long, such as the nature of the One Piece treasure and its role in all this.

Chapter 1115 Doesn’t Deliver With the Action or Main Plot

Just like the last few chapters before it, Chapter 1115 does not deliver with its action or the story’s current events. Fans might expect as much by now, given how much information the series must juggle and the fact that Dr. Vegapunk’s message is the central focus of One Piece‘s narrative at the moment. In the long run, that’s not a problem and fans can forgive it. But chapter by chapter, it can still make for an underwhelming read one fans digest the shocking revelations of Dr. Vegapunk’s words. In Chapter 1115 and the chapter before it, the action is reduced to a few snippets merely to keep the momentum going at a bare minimum and not completely neglect the current battle. Even then, there is not much to see, and no interesting blows are exchanged between the combatants. Not even the Five Elders, the World Government’s living weapons, do much aside from slicing the Labophase with brutal results.

Monkey D. Luffy, in particular, has practically no page time in Chapter 1115, one of many sidelined characters who had to step aside and make room for Vegapunk’s astonishing video message. It’s funny, too, since Luffy is the reincarnation of Joy Boy, which makes him a part of Vegapunk’s message. The proto-World Government sank the world’s continents to defeat Joy Boy in a great war, and strictly speaking, that war is ongoing. There’s little doubt that Luffy will play a central role in the final battle of this centuries-long conflict as Joy Boy’s reincarnation, but Luffy himself has nothing to say or do in Chapter 1115.

So far, Luffy’s main role on Egghead Island has been to hold back the Five Elders with his incredible shonen transformation of Gear 5, merely fighting as the new Joy Boy without doing much else as the symbol of freedom that the world needs. There is still plenty of time for that later on, of course, but fans’ patience might be wearing thin as the hero himself gets sidelined for Vegapunk’s info dump.

Also, Chapter 1115 continues what the last few One Piece chapters did, merely showing the Straw Hats and their various allies running to various ships to escape but not reaching them. This is yet another “get to the chopper!” chapter on that front, and there’s not much to see there. Chapter 1115 doesn’t have much to say with its other characters amidst the info dump, either, though it’s mildly fascinating to see Stussy struggling to find her purpose and willpower with Dr. Vegapunk. Fans can take it for granted that Luffy and his crewmates are always fully motivated and have something worthwhile to fight for, but for side characters like Stussy, it’s totally different, and it’s a refreshing reminder that not everyone is riding incredible momentum like Luffy is. Some people are vulnerable and confused, just like Stussy, and that gives Chapter 1115 a little heart.