WARNING: The following contains spoilers for One Piece Chapters #1015 & #1016 by Eiichiro Oda, Stephen Paul and Vanessa Satone, available in English now from Viz Media.
As One Piece’s “Wano” arc approaches its climax, the forces allied against Kaido and Big Mom find themselves in despair following the former’s pronouncement that he has defeated Luffy. However, Momonosuke has been able to reassure them that Luffy is still alive, thanks to his ability to hear The Voice of All Things. Later, in Chapter #1015, Luffy also utilizes this ability to reach out to the Heart Pirates as he sinks to the bottom of the sea. But just what is the Voice of All Things? Let’s examine its appearances in the series thus far and how it may be used again going foward.
The Voice of All Things is exactly what it sounds like -- a universal method of communication between all things, whether living or not. Despite this ubiquity, few can actually comprehend it or understand the "Voice" itself. The Voice of All Things was first mentioned in Chapter #507 of the One Piece manga, in which Silvers Rayleigh explained that his former captain, Gol D. Roger, used the ability to listen to the Poneglyph on Skypiea. There have been four confirmed users of the power throughout the series so far: Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Luffy, Kozuki Oden and Kozuki Momonosuke.
Luffy first displayed the ability in Chapter #647 of the manga. While attempting to destroy the “ship of promise,” the Noah, he is stopped by a mysterious voice, which is revealed to be the Sea Kings called by Shirahoshi, who held up the Noah to prevent it from dropping onto Fish-Man Island. In the following chapter, the Sea Kings discuss the fact that Luffy was able to hear them amongst themselves that, something that had only happened once before. A panel of Roger illustrates who they were talking about.
The Voice of All Things is used again during the “Zou” arc. During it, both Momonosuke and Luffy can hear the voice of Zunesha, the giant elephant that the country of Zou rests on. Luffy was unable to converse with the elephant, though, with Pedro mentioning that both Oden and Roger had the same experience. Momonosuke, on the other hand, was able to take the ability a step further -- seeing through the elephant’s eyes. Zunesha then explained he needed permission to fight against Jack and the Beast Pirates. Luffy could not give the command, but Momonosuke’s order freed the elephant, allowing it to destroy the attacking ships.
In Chapter #853, more information regarding the Voice of All Things was provided by Big Mom. Following their battle, as she had Brooks searched, she was delighted to hear that he did not have a copy of her Road Poneglyph. She explained that she did not want anyone else to get to Raftel, a mistake she had made with Roger, and that he had used his ability to hear the Voice of All Things to interpret the Poneglyph and reach Raftel. She then bragged to Brooks that she had Pudding, a member of the three-eyed tribe who would also awaken the ability. However, Pudding stated that because she is a half-breed, developing this power was not a guarantee. This revelation implied that this ability may not be as mysterious or obscure as it appears, with an entire race in the One Piece world possessing it.
The Voice of All Things is featured once again during the Oden flashback portion of the “Wano” arc, as both Roger and Oden were able to hear the Sea Kings, as well as Zunesha’s voice. The Voice of All Things also informed Roger of the Poneglyphs' great importance.
In the more recent events of the One Piece manga, the Voice of All Things has become a crucial component of the raid on Onigashima. Momonosuke has utilized it to monitor Luffy during his fight against Kaido, giving updates to those around him on the status of the rubber pirate. As previously mentioned, following Kaido’s claim of victory over the Straw Hats’ captain in Chapter #1014, Momonosuke is the only one able to proclaim that he's still ready to defeat the Emperor of the Sea. Luffy then utilizes the ability to call out to the Heart Pirates, currently in their submarine, to save him from drowning. While the ability to hear the Voice of All Things has not been completely explained in One Piece, more and more, it is becoming a critical piece of the story.
