Summary
- Chapter 1138 reveals Shamrock’s Cerberus sword, debunking Blackbeard’s Cerberus fruit theory.
- Blackbeard’s ability to wield multiple Devil Fruits could now be linked to his mysterious powers and Rocks D. Xebec.
- The reveal of Shamrock’s sword’s ability challenges fan theories about Blackbeard’s unique powers.
As most of the fandom agrees, Chapter 1138 of One Piece was one of the greatest chapters in the history of the franchise. This chapter showcased one of the greatest lore drops in the series that not only finally shed some light on the Void Century, but also spoke about the time before that, referred to simply as ‘The First World’. This reveal was made earlier but Chapter 1138 fully put it into context.
Due to how amazing this lore drop was, many fans of One Piece didn’t pay too much attention to the concurrent plot of Shamrock and Loki. Chapter 1138 just showed the end of their conversation, but in doing so, revealed a monstrous ability that has not only made Shamrock impossibly powerful, but has also disproved one of the series’ oldest and most important theories, so let’s look at what this is.
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Blackbeard Does Not Have The Cerberus Fruit
One Of One Piece’s Oldest Theories
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Blackbeard’s First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 223, “I Promise to Never Fight in This Town” |
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Shamrock’s First Appearance |
One Piece, Chapter 1134, “The Owl Library” |
Ever since his debut, Blackbeard has always been an enigma. The true extent of his power has never been explored, but it has been shown that he is the only person in the entire setting capable of using more than one Devil Fruit power at a time, since eating 2 Devil Fruits kills anyone else who does so. However, at the closing stages of the Marineford War, Blackbeard somehow took the power of the Gura Gura no Mi from Whitebeard’s corpse.
Over a decade later, it has still never been explained how he was able to do this, only that Marco stated that his body is somewhat special. Because of this, fans began to analyze Blackbeard and everything else about him; his ship, teeth, pistols, etc, which led to the popular theory of Blackbeard having the Mythical Zoan Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus Devil Fruit, which gave him the ability to house a total of 3 Devil Fruit powers at once without dying. Not only did this check out with what he has been able to do, but it also showed him wanting more.
But, as you know, Teach isn’t normal! His body is… odd. Maybe that explains it!
This theory was first hinted at in his first appearance in the Jaya arc, where Luffy and Zoro both commented on his strange body, referring to him as ‘they’ instead of ‘him’. The Cerberus theory was perfect for several reasons, specifically owing to his connections with the number 3 and his thematic connections with the moon, and being the antithesis to Luffy as the Sun God. This theory persisted for years and became the most popular one relating to him, to the point where most fans believed it to be the case.
However, Chapter 1138 of the manga seems to have thrown this theory in the water. During the end of Loki and St. Figarland Shamrock’s conversation, the latter unveils the power of his sword, which many already believed to be incredibly strong as a Supreme Grade Weapon belonging to the leader of the Gods’ Knights. However, it was way stronger than what everyone previously thought.
It was revealed that Shamrock’s sword had mysterious Cerberus powers, allowing it to turn into a massive 3-headed dog and sprout even more swords from its many mouths, which he used to stab Loki mercilessly after flying away. As is seen back in Enies Lobby with Funkfreed, it’s possible for inanimate objects, particularly swords, to ‘eat’ Devil Fruits and gain their abilities, and can be commanded by their masters to use them.
The most likely case here is that Shamrock came across the Mythical Zoan Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Cerberus Devil Fruit and used it upon his sword to give it the power instead of doing so himself. Not only would this make his sword even stronger than previously thought, it would also make him immune to the shortcomings of Devil Fruit abilities while still likely having Conqueror’s Haki on the same level as Shanks himself.
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So What’s The Deal With Blackbeard?
The Secret Behind His Power
As far as Blackbeard is concerned, it takes fans back to square 1 in terms of explaining who this man is and why he can do the things he does. The reveal of Cerberus makes other fan theories regarding Blackbeard’s power obviously far more likely now, namely the ones that talk about his relationship with the infamous Rocks D. Xebec. Some theories state that his Yami Yami no Mi Devil Fruit contains the will or essence of Rocks, which essentially gives Blackbeard a ‘second body’ that allows him to house 2 Devil Fruits.
Conversely, there are even some that state Blackbeard is somehow the reincarnation of Rocks that has gotten a second lease on life, allowing him to carry out the goals that he couldn’t complete during his first stint in the world. Whatever the case ends up being, it’s confirmed that Blackbeard will have one of the most important roles to play in the endgame of the series.
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