SUMMARY

Roger said he was too early because the Ancient Weapons Poseidon and Pluton were still inaccessible and also because he already knew he was not the next Joyboy.
Roger likely knew the next Joyboy would emerge in exactly twenty years to carry out his will and laughed at the thought of Nika’s ridiculous powers being awakened again.
Roger may have been referring to the new Joyboy instead of the Joyboy from the Void Century, explaining why he laughed.

As One Piece continues to delve into the truth about the Void Century, a major question that arises is what exactly about the tragic conflict Gol D. Roger and his crew found so funny, and why Roger claimed he was too early. Vegapunk’s message has taken fans and in-world characters by storm with the revelation that the blue planet of One Piece is sinking, and if this was indeed the same truth that Roger discovered, then perhaps there may be another reason for his odd laughter and even his subsequent actions.

In chapter #1116, Vegapunk reveals to the world that Roger and his crew also discovered the truth about the Void Century and questions why they did not act on the knowledge they discovered or share it with anybody. However, as Roger himself claims, he was simply too early to do anything about the world sinking for many reasons that Vegapunk does not know.

That said, according to an interesting theory by The LibraryofOhara, when Roger spoke of wanting to be born in Joyboy’s era, he may have been referring to the Joyboy of the future, rather than the one of the past who was defeated, dead, and forgotten. If so, it is possible that Roger may have known for sure that the next generation would be the ones to tackle the problem, which is why he incited the great pirate era with his death. This would also explain why Roger was able to laugh without a care in the world even at such a hopeless situation.

One Piece Already Provided All the Clues to Why Roger Was Too Early

The Other Ancient Weapons Are Crucial to Opposing the World Government

As chapter #968 already revealed, Roger was too early because Shirahoshi, or better yet, Poseidon, hadn’t been born yet. Wano’s borders were also still closed as Momonosuke was too young to command Zunesha to destroy them, keeping Pluton out of reach. More importantly, Roger himself was slowly dying and had very little time left. Assuming that Roger knew the World Government has the Ancient Weapon Uranus in their possession, he likely also learned that he needed the other two Ancient Weapons to oppose the World Government.

Hence, even if he wanted, Roger could not do anything with the knowledge that the world was sinking, except to inspire the next generation to set out to sea and accomplish what he could not. Of course, Vegapunk does not know any of this, which is why, from his perspective, it seems as though Roger inexplicably gave up, disbanded his crew, and gave himself up to the Marines to be executed.

Roger Laughed Knowing the Future Was Hopeful

That said, this still does not explain why Roger laughed in the face of the truth at Laugh Tale. Surely, there is nothing so amusing about the fact that the tyrannical World Government plans to completely flood the world. As such, some fans have interpreted Roger’s laughter as a bitter laugh, an extreme reaction to just how hopeless the future seemed, and Rayleigh’s drinking habits may also support this hypothesis.

However, if TheLibraryof Ohara’s theory has any merit, then Roger knew someone would emerge to inherit Joyboy’s will and become the next Sun God Nika. If so, Roger may have been laughing at the description of Nika’s ridiculous transformations and abilities and hoping that he was born in the present to see Nika’s outlandish powers becoming a reality.

Roger somehow knew for sure that Nika would be reborn twenty years in the future and there are many other subtle pieces of evidence to support this. The most incriminating piece of evidence is of course Toki’s prophecy, which tells of the dawn that will come in twenty years. In his letter to Toki in chapter #972, Oden was sure that a great war would take place in twenty years, which is why Toki sent Momonosuke and the Akazaya samurai twenty years into the future.

Oden could only make such a sure statement if what he and the Roger Pirates discovered at Laugh Tale confirmed that Joyboy would be returning in exactly twenty years.

All this points to Roger’s execution being a planned stunt to hand over the torch to the next generation that the next Joyboy was sure to be a part of by sparking curiosity about the One Piece. This might also finally explain Oden’s odd reaction to Roger’s death and why he moved to laughter and tears at the same time. Roger did the best he could to save the world with his death and the bittersweet irony of the fact did not escape Oden.

Overall, there is no doubt that Luffy is the man Roger was waiting for. It is still debatable whether Shanks had a deliberate hand in Luffy getting a hold of the Nika Fruit, though fate may be the simplest answer in that regard. Fortunately, One Piece‘s Final Saga is slowly but surely tying up the many loose threads scattered across the series, and it may not be long before fans get the answers they’ve desired for so long.