Summary
As of the Elbaf arc, the God Valley Incident remains one of the most glaring and important mysteries of theOne Piecefranchise. The reason why this mysterious event happened, as well as what exactly transpired here, are largely kept vague, with the only details revealed being the main players who were involved and the fact that the Rocks Pirates attacked the island in order to reclaim their lost treasure.
In Sengoku’s own words, Rocks D. Xebec was among the strongest pirates inOne Piecehistory and was also Roger’s first and greatest rival. As expected, this implies a lost history shared between these two powerhouses, which seems to run far deeper than them just being enemies who both wanted to be the Pirate King. So, in this article, let’s take a look at a popular fan theory that attempts to explain the relationship between the two legends.
An Attempt At Explaining Their Rivalry
Roger’s First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure”
Rocks' First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 957, “Ultimate”
For the longest time, fans were under the impression that the greatest pirates in the decades before the start of the story werethe Pirate King Roger and Whitebeard. These legends were active at the same time and were always said to be on the same level of strength, with the former being the only person to ever hold the title of Pirate King and the latter being the closest to it, only choosing not to find the One Piece of his own volition.
However, the story eventually revealed that, before Roger and Whitebeard ruled the seas, there wasa character known as Rocks D. Xebecwho was not only implied to be the strongest out of them all, but also had the most powerful pirate crew in history. Sengoku described this man as being Roger’s first and greatest rival, which is truly saying something considering Roger was active at the same time as Whitebeard, Garp, and even St. Figarland Garling.
Due to this, many fans believe that the reason why their rivalry is so legendary and pertinent to the overall story is because they shared history. This is all speculation from this point onward, but it ultimately does make sense considering both characters' ambitions and the fact that them and their crews were rivals, presumably for quite some time. This fan theorystates that Roger and Rocksmay even have been friends in the past, eventually growing estranged and turning into enemies.
There is a popular concept of ‘Saké Brothers’ inOne Piece, which seeks to create a familial connection between characters who aren’t otherwise related, showing that those who drink from the same cup of Saké are as close as brothers. The greatest examples of this are Luffy, Ace, and Sabo, which could be indicative of how Roger and Rocks may have started their journey as friends who eventually became enemies.
When we become pirates, we might not be on the same ship together, but the three of us will always be brothers!
Roger clearly shares many similarities with Luffy, and the two are built up as parallels to one another, so Luffy having Saké Brothers,one of whom was Roger’s own son, could be hinting at Roger also having his own. With Luffy, he would eventually be separated from his brothers, and all three of them would go on to be affiliated with different powerful organizations. This may have also been the case with Roger and Rocks, and many fans theorize that the third one in this group was none other than Garp, which would make sense for the overall story.
However, some fundamental differences between these three would force them all to become separated. In the flashback during the Marineford War, it is revealed that Roger entrusted Ace to Garp, implying a great deal of trust between them, which would give their team up against Rocks a tragic undertone to it. Even when Roger made his entry onto God Valley, he stated that it had been a year, which already goes to show how there’s a link between him and Rocks.
How Likely Is This Theory To Be True?
A Theory Built On Speculation
Unfortunately, as fun as this theory is to think about, there’s no way to concretely say anything about it, since the connections that it makes are incredibly loose and the speculation is too great. Of course, it’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility, especially considering thatOda has the unique abilityto connect loose threads in a way that makes perfect sense.
However, until that happens, this isn’t a theory that fans can confidently rely on. Surely, Rocks being Roger’s first and greatest rival is unlikely to have been the case if he were just another pirate, but at the current moment, there is absolutely nothing definitive for proponents of this fan theory to bank on. Fans just have to wait until Oda expands upon the God Valley Incident, which is almost definitely going to reveal the true intricacies behind the relationship between these legendary pirates.
