Could Rocks Have Been A Good Guy?

One Piece is a series that’s famous for its well-written villains. Over the course of over 1100 chapters, there has been no shortage of antagonists that have served as major obstacles in the journey of the Straw Hats and other heroes, providing some of the best moments and confrontations in the entire anime industry. As such, many villains in the story are purposefully left vague, chief among them being the notorious Rocks D. Xebec.

Rocks has gone down in history as being one of the greatest threats to the World Government since its inception over 800 years ago after the Void Century concluded. However, from the very little that fans have seen of him in One Piece, some think that there’s a possibility that Rocks may not have been as villainous as he has been portrayed, so let’s take a look at the theory that states that Rocks D. Xebec may have been a good guy.

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What Is Currently Known About Rocks?

Why Is He Believed To Be So Evil?

The only information that fans currently have about Rocks is the fact that he was once considered to be the most dangerous man on the planet and was Roger’s greatest enemy. Not only that, but he may have also had the strongest pirate crew in history, consisting of legends such as Whitebeard, Kaido, Big Mom, Golden Shiki, and many more, which goes to show how big of a threat he truly was to the World Government. In fact, the combined forces of the Roger Pirates, the Navy, and perhaps even the Gods’ Knights were needed to bring down the Rocks Pirates on God Valley.

While this is conjecture, what is certain is that Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat Rocks, which just goes to show how strong he truly was. However, all knowledge of Rocks and the Rocks Pirates has been expunged from history, with only those who were present at the time knowing the truth about the strength they possessed. As for his ambitions, it was only stated that Rocks desired to become the King of the World.

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Why There May Be More To Rocks

How The World Government May Be Hiding The Truth

While the truth about Rocks is out to the fans, there is a theory that states that there is more to him than what the World Government would have everyone believe. The chief criticism here is that the only time Rocks has ever been mentioned was when Sengoku was telling the Marines about him and the God Valley Incident for the first time ever, so it already sets the precedent for this knowledge to not be 100% correct.

This is because the World Government is known to censor information or to manipulate it to fit their own goals, an example of which can be seen with Ohara; which has been framed as the eradication of an evil island. In truth, Ohara was wiped out merely for researching the Void Century. This goes to show that the World Government controls what it wants everyone else to know.

The main thing regarding the God Valley Incident has to do with the Native Hunting Competition, where the Celestial Dragons hunt and kill people for sport in order to claim powerful prizes, which include some of the greatest Devil Fruits in the series. This is where the theory of Rocks being a good guy comes in, stating that he may have been present at God Valley to free the slaves of the Celestial Dragons. It was revealed that Rocks came to the island to retrieve something that was stolen from Hachinosu, so it’s possible that this could have been someone dear to him or even a powerful Devil Fruit of his own.

The Celestial Dragons are known far and wide as being deplorable people who view anyone not belonging to their ranks as a sub-human liable to be sold into slavery. So, if news about a secretive contest being held to hunt slaves got out, there would be a huge outcry and rebellion from everywhere else on the planet. To avoid this, the World Government expunged the events of God Valley and knowledge of the Rocks Pirates from history.

Of course, the only thing currently known about Rocks was that he was sadistic and cruel and that no one in his crew got along. While the last part is still likely true due to the flashbacks of Kaido, the things before it could very likely be pure propaganda made to deter anyone from following the exploits of the Rocks Pirates. After all, the only way this is known to fans is through Sengoku’s exposition, who himself wasn’t present for the God Valley Incident, so very possibly could have been fed lies about who Rocks truly was.

But if he truly was a good guy, why would he fight against Roger and Garp? The truth is that there is a ton of nuance in the One Piece world, and that well-intentioned people can have flawed perspectives on how to fix things. It’s stated that Rocks was Roger’s first and greatest enemy, so it implies that there is some history between the two, perhaps even being friends before they became rival pirates.

This works into the second part of the theory, which states that Rocks sought to bring about the end of the World Government by destroying it and ending the rule of the Celestial Dragons. This would be something that Roger may have been against and something he would have known from being friends with Rocks, which forced him to join his strength with Garp to defeat him once and for all. The theory states that the treasure of Hachinosu which prompted Rocks to go to God Valley was a Devil Fruit that would help him achieve his goal.

All in all, this theory is a fun one to speculate on, considering there is very little currently known about Rocks or the God Valley Incident as a whole. However, once more is eventually revealed, it is unlikely that Rocks would end up being a straight-up good guy, but the option to be an anti-hero is far more likely, though the prospect of being a villain is still the most probable out of them all.

One Piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates’ ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of Episodes

1122