The Great Pirate Age could have been Roger’s ploy to find out the next Joy Boy.

One Piece: Gol D. Roger’s Last Command Was to Find the Joyboy to BEAT Imu and Eiichiro Oda Has Already Proved That Years Ago

SUMMARY

The Roger pirates could have known how to defeat Imu and the solution lay with the Nika fruit and Joy Boy.

Thus, Roger stationed his men at advantageous positions to make sure they catch the Nika fruit user.
Only finding Joy Boy would give them a chance at defeating the World Government at its core.

The saga of One Piece begins with Gol D Roger’s famous words: “My treasures? Find them. Everything in this world is there.”

This single call to action began a new age as everyone scrambled to find Roger’s treasure. But what if Roger initiated The Great Age of the Pirates for an ulterior motive? What if the hunt for his treasure really just a ruse to find someone in particular?

The Roger Pirates Knew Only Joy Boy Could Defeat Imu in One Piece

Roger laughing after finding Joy Boy’s treasure | One Piece Toei
A theory suggests that the Roger Pirates knew about Imu, and the only way to defeat him was via Joy Boy. They might know that the only way to defeat Imu is by using the powers of the Nika Devil Fruit.

When Roger said at Laughtale: “I wish I could have lived in your era.”

The pirate could be talking about the next Joy Boy, the second coming, who is supposed to defeat Imu. That’s how they know that they are too early on the island. Roger might have regretted that he never got to see the next Joy Boy.

Thus, Roger decided to initiate a mass migration towards becoming a pirate. This would ensure that if anyone had consumed the Nika fruit, they would eventually become powerful and hard to ignore. Then, the pirates could easily scout the Nikka fruit users among everyone.

Gol D. Roger’s Last Command to His Crew Was to Find the Next Joy Boy

Dark King Silvers Rayleigh | One Piece by Toei
Gol D. Roger’s last message to his crew could have been to spread out all over the world to find Joy Boy. Since they knew Imu’s real powers and that Nika was their only chance at survival, they wanted to examine every potential pirate to see if they were the rubber man.

The Roger crew would act as a sieve whose path every newbie pirate would have to cross. The fact that Rayleigh and Crocus occupy two prime spots is proof that they are waiting for someone.

Rayleigh became a coating mechanic at the Sabaody Archipelago, a place where every pirate was bound to pass through. Crocus, Roger’s doctor and the caretaker of Laboon, was a lighthouse keeper at the Twin Cape Lighthouse, the area where the Red Line and Grand Line met.
Crocus – One Piece | Toei
Other crew members are probably also stationed in areas where they can keep an eye on pirates who could be using the Nika Devil Fruit’s capabilities.

Activating Nika’s powers would mean the pirates have a chance against Imu. Thus, the search for him was intense. Monkey D. Dragon, Luffy’s dad, could have also known about the existence of the Nika fruit. He could be bidding him time till Joy Boy arrives.