In Chapter 907 of One Piece, we first meet Rocks D. Xebec, an infamous pirate. We’ve learnt since that chapter that he not only attempted to conquer the world, but he was also the captain of a crew that comprised three future Emperors.
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So, in this article, we’ll explain what we know for certain, as well as hints about his past and some astonishing hypotheses about his ultimate function in the plot. Because we don’t know much about Rocks, it’s necessary to distinguish between what is reality or near to fact and what is assumption. To accomplish this, we will divide the information about Rocks into different categories and in each category discuss what we know and what we can speculate.
Who is ROCKS D XEBEC?
In Chapter 907, Luffy’s grandfather Garp stated for the first time that the Rocks pirates dominated the seas forty years ago, almost fourteen years before Gol D. Roger became pirate king. Garp warns a squad of marines that if the Rocks pirates regroup, they will pose a threat beyond their wildest imaginations. Fifty chapters later, Sengoku, the former fleet admiral, tells a lot more about Rocks and his psychotic crew.
We learnt that the World Government saw Rocks as their greatest threat, and it took an incredible effort to prevent him from taking over the entire world, which we’ll go over further later. So let’s take a look at what was possibly the most powerful pirate group ever.
Here are the facts: On this crazy crew were three future Emperors of the Sea: Kaido, the strongest monster in the world, Big Mom, the monstrous mother, and Whitebeard, the former strongest man in the world. Aside from these three titans, we have Shiki, a former competitor of Roger’s. Furthermore, Miss Bakkin was a member of the crew before joining the MADS science group.
Then there’s Silver Axe, who remains a complete mystery. Captain John, who held a well-known treasure, died and was thereafter converted into a zombie on Thriller Park. Wang Zhi, also known as Ochoku, was the final character. While we don’t know much about Ochoku, we do know that he was the former ruler of the Rocks’ pirates.
Powers and history of Rocks D Xebec
Even though Sengoku tells us that Rocks is no longer alive, the circumstances surrounding his strange departure lead us to assume that this is not the last of what we have seen from such a powerful and influential guy; we didn’t find out anything about him for over 900 chapters. So we can speculate that he is still alive and will play a crucial role in the story, or that he is dead and we will learn more about his background in upcoming arcs. But, whether he’s dead or alive, we can safely conclude he’s evil. We know that Garp and Roger, both “good” characters, attempted to prevent him from attaining his ambitions.
Sengoku tells us that Rocks was ambitious and that his dream was to be King of the World, a title we’ve never heard anyone mention before. He seemed to desire to conquer and rule over everyone, not only become a pirate king like Luffy. And he almost succeeded, as we will see later in his final battle.
One thing we don’t know is whether Rocks had a devil fruit. Because there is no mention of such abilities, it is probable that he, like Roger, Shanks, and Garp, did not possess a devil fruit. Or he might have had one and we just didn’t know about it. Another option is that Rocks was patiently waiting for the appropriate fruit, and that Rocks would finally receive that devil fruit during the famous battle we shall explain shortly.
Along with his abilities, Rocks was fascinated by history. Sengoku claims that he broke many of the world’s taboos and was thus eliminated from history. This must imply that he was looking into poneglyphs, which are unbreakable stones that tell the story of the empty century.
LEGENDARY BATTLE OF THE GOD VALLEY
We know that the Rocks pirates invaded a secret island named God Valley 38 years ago. The World Government has kept this event hidden since no one knows about it except for people who were there or older marines. Rocks could only be stopped by an alliance between a much younger Garp and Roger before he became pirate king, and while we know very little about the actual battle or the island itself – which has vanished – we are told that Garp and Roger defended the celestial dragons and their slaves who were on the island.
Garp despises celestial dragons and has refused to become an admiral because he isn’t willing to take instructions from them. So we have to wonder why he and Roger saved the celestial dragons on God Valley. There are several alternatives, the final of which will utterly blow off your mind. The simplest explanation is that Garp just defended the slaves on God Valley. That would certainly fit Garp’s character, or perhaps Garp and Roger thought it was their duty to stop Rocks before he did something terrible.
And the final possibility was that there was something else on God Valley that Garp and Roger couldn’t let Rocks take. But what could this magical treasure be? In all seriousness, it’s entirely possible that the world government’s devil fruits were stored on God Valley, and that this is what Rocks was after all along.
Let’s talk about it briefly here. Devil fruits are the source of magical powers in the One Piece world, therefore they are clearly quite valuable. We know that the world government enjoys gathering devil fruits, such as the Opi-Opi no Mi, and that government agents can occasionally obtain powerful devil fruits, such as when CR-9 and two secret agents were given their fruits in Enies Lobby.
So what if they have a vast supply of devil fruits or even a devil fruit tree from God Valley? While this is just a theory, there is some evidence to back it up. In chapter 999, for example, Big Mom informs Kaido that she gave him his legendary devil fruit ON THE SAME DAY as the fight on God Valley, when the Rocks pirates were defeated.
What if she discovered it in the midst of the battle on God Valley? We also don’t know where Whitebeard obtained his legendary Tremor fruit, which is claimed to be capable of destroying islands. We never saw him utilise it until after the God Valley incident, so it’s possible he discovered it during the war. If all of this is true, we must assume that Rocks was looking for his own strong devil fruit in order to take over the world.
Are Rocks D Xebec and Black Beard Connected?
This could be accurate because he has the most direct relationship to Rocks of any character in the story. Here are the facts.
- Blackbeard named his ship the Saber of Xebec, a clear reference to Rocks D. Xebec.
- The two pirates also appear to have the same method of building crews based solely on strength.
Blackbeard, for example, assembled an important part of his crew by having convicts fight to the death and then taking only the strongest survivors. And Rocks’ crew was notorious for fighting. Furthermore, both crews appear to contain a sizable percentage of devil fruit addicts. Blackbeard has made certain that the majority of his crew possesses a devil fruit. Blackbeard, like Rocks, values dreams and aspires to rule the world.
With all of the ties between Blackbeard and Rocks, let’s dig a little deeper into this relationship. We’ve already addressed how Rocks might have desired Blackbeard’s devil fruit in the past. The community believes that Rocks ate the Darkness fruit and that his soul is still alive inside the fruit. This concept may appear absurd, but let us analyse it.
The Darkness fruit is considered to be different from all other devil fruits. It does not function like typical Logia fruit in that it absorbs all attacks rather than being unaffected by ordinary attacks. Also, one of Blackbeard’s key abilities is to suck everything into a Black Hole. It’s not a stretch to imagine it could contain a soul if it can suck in people and buildings. So, does Blackbeard have a piece of Rocks inside him? There is some evidence to suggest that it is conceivable.
Here are the facts.
- Blackbeard named his ship the Saber of Xebec, a clear reference to Rocks D. Xebec.
- The two pirates also appear to have the same method of building crews based solely on strength.
Blackbeard, for example, assembled an important part of his crew by having convicts fight to the death and then taking only the strongest survivors. And Rocks’ crew was notorious for fighting. Furthermore, both crews appear to contain a sizable percentage of devil fruit addicts. Blackbeard has made certain that the majority of his crew possesses a devil fruit. Blackbeard, like Rocks, values dreams and aspires to rule the world.
With all of the ties between Blackbeard and Rocks, let’s dig a little deeper into this relationship. We’ve already addressed how Rocks might have desired Blackbeard’s devil fruit in the past. The community believes that Rocks ate the Darkness fruit and that his soul is still alive inside the fruit. This concept may appear absurd, but let us analyse it.
The Darkness fruit is considered to be different from all other devil fruits. It does not function like typical Logia fruit in that it absorbs all attacks rather than being unaffected by ordinary attacks. Also, one of Blackbeard’s key abilities is to suck everything into a Black Hole. It’s not a stretch to imagine it could contain a soul if it can suck in people and buildings. So, does Blackbeard have a piece of Rocks inside him? There is some evidence to suggest that it is conceivable.
We have several references to Blackbeard being multiple people. Marco the Phoenix claims that he possesses an unusual body, which may explain why he was able to consume two devil fruits. After a battle, rookies Buggy the Clown and Shanks debate Blackbeard’s rumoured inability to sleep (while they were sitll under Roger), despite the fact that this occurred before Blackbeard received his Darkness fruit.
This could imply that he has many personas that awaken while the other(s) sleep. Whether this is accurate or not, there is clearly a link between the two. It’s possible that Blackbeard is linked to Rocks, given he was born two years before the God Valley tragedy.
The very existence of Rocks D Xebec will affect the story of One Piece.
In terms of the future, Rocks’ influence will surely have an impact on the story in the future. If he is still alive, he will undoubtedly appear to pose a challenge to the straw hats. If he is dead we can learn more about him from a variety of individuals, including upper-tier marines like Garp, Sengoku, and the Commander in Chief, Kong. Shanks and the other Roger pirates may also be aware of Rocks. The five Elders and Imu should be aware of what happened to Rocks.
It’s very possible that when we learn more about Rocks D Xebec, we’ll also learn more about the series’ most mysterious and influential character: Joy Boy.