While it has been greatly emphasized by Eiichiro Oda multiple times that he does not like the idea of introducing love interests in One Piece, the mangaka certainly has a niche for it. In fact, many fans believe that One Piece has some of the most underrated love stories in the anime and manga world and also has a disease named after it.
This disease is called love sickness, and it is genetic but only specific to the members of the Kuja tribe. While not much is known about the love sickness disease, the one thing that was focused pretty much on it was the fact that many empresses of the past have died because of it, and there is no supposed cure.
However, according to a theory, the disease is related to one of the biggest mysterious characters of the series, Nefertari D. Lili. It also hints that she was possibly the one who founded Amazon Lily while running away from the main antagonist of the One Piece series, Imu, the Supreme Leader of the World Government.
The Love Sickness of the Kuja Tribe
The Kuja tribe is one of the most powerful warriors in One Piece, as their Empresses have unprecedented strength. However, their biggest weakness is falling in love with someone. Their love heightens their emotions to the point that they suffer unbearable pain in their hearts when they are separated from the person they love.
However, because of the culture of the Kuja tribe, they are not allowed to express this emotion, which leads to them suppressing it and hence weakening themselves. This weakness often leads to the death of the Empresses, and as of now, there has been no cure developed for it.
Almost every Empress of the Kuja tribe has been diagnosed with love sickness, and only Elder Nyon, Shakuyaku, and Boa Hancock have been able to survive from it. All of them have been able to find a cure for different things, but it generally involves leaving the Amazon Lily island.
One Piece Theory Predicts The Love Sickness Came From Nefertari D. Lili
According to a bizarre One Piece theory, just like Boa Hancock is in love with Luffy, Nefertari D. Lili was in love with Joy Boy, but just like Luffy, Joy Boy didn’t reciprocate that love. However, Imu was obsessed with Lili, but when he found out about Lili’s love for Joy Boy, he tried to capture her.
This led to Nefertari Lili running into hiding on an unknown island, which later came to be known as Amazon Lily (after Lili’s name). Also, the fact that Amazon Lily was impossible to find in the Calm Belt before Vegapunk’s inventions supports this theory. It would also give a new insight into Imu’s obsession with Vivi and her ancestor.
From Imu’s identity to Lili’s connection with Joy Boy, all of these mysteries have been piled up for a long time. But as One Piece has entered the final saga, Eiichiro Oda will slowly reveal all of it to the fans.
One Piece is available to watch on Crunchyroll.
