One Piece Chapter 1154 & 1155 Review
Rocks D. Xebec, the greatest rival to Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates. We didn’t learn about him until the Wano Country Arc, but since then, Oda has been putting a lot of importance on this long-dead pirate. And some fans have taken note of a potential connection between him and Blackbeard, the man who’s likely going to be Luffy’s final and greatest opponent. And while the two latest chapters of the manga were supposed to be about continuing Loki’s backstory, now more people are paying attention to Rocks. Because those theories about Rocks’ connection to Blackbeard were right!! And they change a lot of what has already happened thus far!
Recap- Chapter 1154
The same year that Loki was born, Elbaph was beset by calamity after calamity. Half a village was destroyed by the child Charlotte Linlin, the future Big Mom, and Fallbeard Jorul was killed. But that was just the beginning. Every kind of natural disaster befell Elbaph: fires, storms, and harsh winters destroyed their crops. Giants fought each other just to survive! And until the day she died, Queen Estrid said it was due to Loki being cursed. Unfortunately, people started to believe her.
Thankfully, Harald returns before the fighting can bring harm to Ida or Hadrujin. He reached out to the kingdoms he had befriended, and they sent him enough food for all the Giants . Sadly, by that point, Loki’s poor heart had hardened. People already considered him cursed, so he had given up on love.
As the years passed, Harald continued to try and connect Elbaph with the rest of the world, only to continually meet resistance from the World Government. As for Loki, he was raised by his cruel maternal uncle. And as he grew older, he lashed out at the world that refused to love him. But no matter how much trouble he caused, he could never fill the hole in his heart. Until one faithful day, forty-eight years ago, when a certain man and his compatriots arrived in Elbaph looking for Harald, whom he had met at the Reverie eight years ago after killing a Navy Admiral before escaping. That man’s name was Rocks D. Xebec, future captain of the Rocks Pirates and father to Blackbeard!
Whaaaaaa?!?!??
Chapter 1155
Rocks had come to Elbaph looking for Harald, and he wasn’t going to leave without seeing him. So when he heard Harald was away, he told Loki to go back and message his dad saying he was badly hurt. Then, just to prove it, he hurt him!
The reason why Rocks wanted to meet Harald goes back to the Reverie of eight years ago. Rocks had attacked and killed a Navy Admiral and taken five kings hostage. Then he somehow did what no has before or since: he made it all the way to the personal flower chamber of Imu and spoke to the ruler of the world himself. After that, he left, but not before promising to be back one day.
Meanwhile, Harald had also snuck into the Reverie, only to run for it when the Celestial Dragons tried to capture him, and run into Rocks. The two’s resulting sword-clash was so powerful, everyone in the vicinity vanished! The two managed to escape, but Rocks was just getting started.
Rocks spent the next eight years going on a rampage. He stole a ship filled with tributes to the Celestial Dragons and escaped again, and destroyed one of the Gates of Justice in the process. And then, he used Davy Back fights to assemble a powerful group of followers, like Whitebeard, Shiki, Stussy, and more!
Sure enough, Harald did come home for Loki, much to his surprise. And he threw a feast for Rocks and his band. Rocks then pitched him this big plan of his to Harald: he would take control of the land known as Pirate Island, rich with veins of gold, and build a pirate’s paradise. With his own kingdom, he will bring the entire world to heel under his rule, and he wants Harald to join him. While Harald refused, Loki was enthralled by what he heard!
Four years later, Rocks would carry out his plan. He captured Pirate Island, and with his band of misbegotten followers, the Rocks Pirates were born!
Review
Wow. Just…wow. I can’t even begin to describe how epic these two chapters were. First we learn about how Loki’s childhood was even sadder than we already knew, but then everything we learned about Rocks? No wonder he was considered Roger’s greatest rival, forcing him to team up with Garp to take him down. Roger might be the OG King of the Pirates, but Rocks had that black air force energy going on for just as long!
Poor Loki
Before we get into Rocks, though, we need to talk about Loki.  Now, I have seen a lot of tragic backstories in One Piece. I even rank Kuma’s as one of the saddest backstories I’ve ever seen in Shonen manga. But in all my years of reading and watching One Piece, never have I met someone who needed a hug as badly as Loki does. Even Kuma had the luxury of loving parents for the first few years of his life. But thanks to his horrible mom, he was robbed of even that. And since everyone kept Harald in the dark about the truth, he wasn’t able to give him the love he needed in his first few months. No wonder Loki grew up to be a problem child. He was lashing out at the world that had rejected him, being the monster everyone already thought he was. But deep down, he’s a lonely young man who just wants a friend! Is it any wonder why he grew to admire someone like Rocks?
Rocks is Qualified to Be THAT GUY
Ever since we learned about Rocks D. Xebec, I have seen multiple theories about him pop up in the fandom. Some have speculated that he was not actually dead, but had somehow replaced Imu. Others guessed that Blackbeard had a connection to him, as his flagship, the Saber of Xebec, is named after him. I don’t know where I first heard the theory about Blackbeard being Rocks’ son, but I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. I wish that I had, because this reframes a lot of what we’ve seen in One Piece.
There is still a lot about the life of Marshall D. Teach that we don’t know about, but he was apparently a part of Whitebeard’s crew for most of his life. Did Whitebeard even know that Rocks was Blackbeard’s father? If he did, then that explains why Whitebeard didn’t want Ace to go after Blackbeard. He knew firsthand just how dangerous Rocks was, and thus how his son was likely the same way. And when Ace did catch up with Blackbeard, it wound up being a repeat of history. The son of Rocks vs the son of Roger, except this time, Rocks’ bloodline won. Fate can be funny like that!
What Does Blackbeard Know?
More importantly, this raises a major question: does Blackbeard know that Rocks is his father? If he does, then that would explain why he chose to fly under the radar for all those years. He surely must have known how Rocks had tried to fight and conquer the World Government head-on, only to lose to Roger and Garp. So he chose to bide his time for decades, waiting for the right moment to make his move. And when he did, he ensured that he ultimately came out on top. He weakened the Marines and crippled the Whitebeard Pirates at Marineford, all while making his crew one of the strongest in the world. And with the recent news that Mariejois is under attack, fans have good reason to suspect that Blackbeard is the one attacking. Rocks might be long dead, but it looks as though his son intends to keep the promise he made to Imu.
I’ve been saying for a while now that I think either Blackbeard or Imu will be the final antagonists that Luffy has to face before making it to Laugh Tale. But with everything that is going on in Elbaph, and what we’ve learned about Rocks, Blackbeard might have just taken that top spot. Hopefully, this whole flashback will reveal more about Rocks. But if it doesn’t, we will undoubtedly learn more when we get into the life of Blackbeard. Either way, now is the time to lock into One Piece.
I Give “I Can’t Even Die” and “The Rocks Pirates” a 4/5 Each
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