Oda Drops Drops A Hint About Blackbeard’s Connection To Rocks D. Xebec

This article contains spoilers from One Piece’s Elbaf Arc.

Key Takeaways

• Blackbeard once served under Whitebeard and killed Thatch, starting his path to power.
• Oda hints at a connection between Blackbeard and Rocks D. Xebec through their ambitions and ship names.
• While it’s unclear if Blackbeard is related to Rocks, there’s excitement about the potential deep connection between them.

Blackbeard is one of the driving forces in the Final Saga of One Piece. Being one of the Four Emperors of the Sea, Blackbeard is in the quest for the One Piece and quite easily one of the Pirates closest to it. Even more than that, fans know that Blackbeard is an overarching antagonist of One Piece that Oda has built up since long ago.

As such, it is natural for Teach to gain attention from Oda as the Final Saga kickstarts. Now, One Piece is well and truly into its Final Saga, with Elbaf having begun already. Blackbeard is going to have a much bigger role from here onwards, and many secrets surrounding his character will finally be unveiled. Curiously enough, there is one secret that Oda has recently alluded to, and this one links him to the legendary pirate, Rocks D. Xebec.

Blackbeard’s Rise To Power In One Piece

• Blackbeard Served Under Whitebeard Once
• Abandoned The Crew After Thatch’s Murder

Blackbeard was once a member of the Whitebeard Pirates. Despite having phenomenal strength, Blackbeard chose to lay low and remain in Whitebeard’s shadow. In fact, he stayed so low that he did not even have a bounty on his head until recently, despite having served under Whitebeard for many many years. Eventually, Blackbeard killed Thatch to steal the Yami Yami no Mi, and then jumped ship. This is where his grand plan kickstarted, and things only got better for him once he defeated Ace, handed him over to the Marines, and then became a Warlord.

This ability chose me, Ace! – Blackbeard

In the Summit War Saga, Blackbeard invaded Impel Down, freed some of the most dangerous inmates to ever grace the prison, and then raided the Marine HQ, where he killed Whitebeard and stole his devil fruit. A year or so later, Blackbeard continued to grow in power and influence, and he ended up becoming one of the Four Emperors of the Sea after Rocky Port. Right now, Blackbeard has established himself as one of the strongest Emperors, with a bounty of 3.996 billion berries on his head. Even now, Blackbeard is far from his full power. This was indicated by him traveling to Amazon Lily to steal the Mero Mero no Mi recently. Blackbeard has ambition for retaining great power still, and he might even turn his eyes to the Ancient Weapons soon enough. His goal is world domination, which means that his real target is something much bigger than the One Piece itself.

As was implied recently, Blackbeard intends to be the King of the World, a title that Imu currently holds in a way. Curiously enough, Blackbeard is not the only pirate to have ever wanted this position. There was one pirate long before him who wanted to be the King of the World, and, much to the surprise of the fans, this pirate has more than just one connection to Teach. The name of this pirate is Rocks D. Xebec.

Blackbeard’s Ship And Rocks Connection

Blackbeard Sails On The Saber Of Xebec

Blackbeard and Rocks certainly do share some similarities. For one, fans were recently told that Blackbeard wants to be the King of the World, and Sengoku mentioned clearly in One Piece chapter 957 that Rocks wanted to be the King of the World as well. Their ambitions are somewhat similar and this implies that Blackbeard could potentially have idolized Rocks in many ways. There might even be a deeper connection here, when one takes into consideration the ship that Blackbeard sails on.

As was mentioned long ago in the story, Blackbeard’s ship is called the Saber of Xebec. Clearly, this is a reference to Rocks D. Xebec, who few people know about in the world of One Piece. But, given that Blackbeard holds quite a lot of incredible information, he could have been aware of this legendary figure and named his ship after him. Oda was recently asked about this in the latest Q&A corner, and he certainly did throw more fuel on the fire, leading fans to believe that there might truly be something there.

Question: Blackbeard’s ship is known as the “Saber of Xebec”, but surely that has some connection to Rocks D. Xebec?

A4: Xebec is the name of a type of ship, so while the name could just be a coincidence, maybe it really isn’t a coincidence.

As is hinted in Oda’s answer, this similarity in name might not be a coincidence after all. Oda could easily have squashed the whole idea by saying it has nothing to do with it, but, he has clearly left enough for the fans to keep wondering whether there truly is a connection or not. It is highly likely that this similarity isn’t a coincidence and that there is truly a deep connection between these two individuals.

Blackbeard Could Have Idolized Rocks

Whether Blackbeard is related to his Rocks or not is something that fans do not know at this point. However, it isn’t even necessary for Blackbeard to be related to Rocks in order for this whole idea to make sense. Blackbeard could simply have been an admirer. Similar to how Shanks was the apprentice of Roger and an admirer, Blackbeard could have something similar to do with Rocks. Or, there truly could be a blood connection between the two, and Rocks could somehow be related to him, although being a direct ancestor is clearly not possible due to them having different family names.

Regardless of which way Oda goes about it, the connection between Blackbeard and Rocks is certainly incredibly exciting. Right now, the focus is being turned toward many important characters in the Final Saga of One Piece, aside from the Straw Hat Pirates. Oda has previously stated that the Final Saga will turn attention to multiple characters, and not just keep it fixated on the Straw Hats. This is what makes the Final Saga the most exciting one so far, and fans are eagerly waiting to see what Blackbeard will do when Oda throws some light on him. Hopefully, Blackbeard can live up to the fan’s expectations and, more importantly, have deep and dark secrets that readers will be blown away by once they are revealed.

For now, fans will have to wait to see Blackbeard in the story again, as currently, Luffy is the focus of the plot as he explores Elbaf. But, Blackbeard will most definitely have a big role to play in Elbaf too, given that he’s a major player in the battle for the One Piece and is already making massive moves. All fans need to do is sit back patiently and wait for Blackbeard to make waves across the seas with his majestic planning, as he has before the timeskip.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus apps. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1131, is set to be November 11, 2024.