One Piece Just Revealed The Era Of Rocks, Long Before Roger Became The Pirate King

Despite technically being a flashback dedicated to Loki, the last few chapters of One Piece have primarily revolved around none other than Rocks D. Xebec, one of the most dangerous pirates in the history of the world. It’s hard to believe that this infamous pirate was first mentioned all the way back in the Reverie, but finally, after much anticipation and countless debates, fans are getting to see exactly what made this guy so special, and to say that his presence had a big impact on the world would be putting it mildly.

It’s become clear that Rocks and his crew have had a massive influence on molding the One Piece world into eventually what it would be seen in the main story, so it’s always fascinating to learn as much about him and his gang of misfits as possible. In chapter 1157, Oda provided the clearest insight yet as to why Rocks gained so much infamy when he was still around and kicking, and he even went as far as to dub this specific period of history the “Era of Rocks”.

What Is The Era Of Rocks?

Move Over Roger, A New Pirate Is Taking All The Glory

• Rocks and his crew committed numerous high-profile crimes.
• He even managed to overshadow Roger during this era.

By this point in the flashback, Rocks had already formed his immensely powerful crew of pirates, which was made up of powerhouses including Big Mom, Whitebeard and Kaido. Despite all of these pirates being strong enough to eventually become Yonko in the main story, the fact they have someone as absurdly overpowered as Rocks leading them makes it no surprise that these criminals were causing plenty of chaos across the open seas in their heydays, and the latest chapter actually provides a few statistics to back this up.

During their peak, the Rocks Pirates managed to burn down 14 ports, level 3 towns, bring one kingdom to ruin, violate article 18 of the World Treaty 3 times, and commit 25 crimes that were completely covered up. It doesn’t stop there though, as within two years of them being founded, the crew also committed 16 raids, and sunk a staggering 76 ships along their adventure.

The narrator then goes on to say that, even though Gol D. Roger himself was prowling the seas at this point in time, this was more or less considered to be the era of Rocks, considering there was nobody, pirate or Marine, who had a chance of stopping him and his deadly crew. Doing such a mindboggling number of crimes in just two years definitely isn’t easy, especially when the Marines would likely be hot on their tail, but that does call into question just how strong Rocks truly is that he was able to pull all this off.

Rocks Is One Of The Strongest Pirates Who Ever Lived

Taking Down An Admiral And Going Toe-To-Toe With A Giant Is Nothing To Scoff At

• Rocks used his overwhelming power to take down an Admiral
• The ferocious captain fought on equal footing with a giant from Elbaph

It’s understandable that Rocks would need to be strong in order to demand the loyalty of powerful individuals like Whitebeard and Big Mom, but these last few chapters have truly exposed just how much of a monster this guy truly was. Before he had even assembled his own crew, Rocks was able to kill an Admiral in cold blood after he entered the Reverie, and also kidnapped a total of five kings single-handedly. Considering Luffy and the Straw Hats still struggle when facing off against any of the three Admirals in the main story, the fact Rocks took one out so effortlessly before he had even established himself as a pirate is certainly nothing to scoff at.

However, another impressive feat is how he was able to hold his own against Harald, a giant hailing from Elbaph. Despite his foe being more than triple the size of him, Rocks managed to put up a pretty good fight, and could even be seen himself when clashing blades. His antics during the Reverie fully exposed Rocks’ overwhelming physical power, but there was also another panel which indicated that maybe he has power in a different sense.

While it was already a shocking moment when Shanks was able to organize a meeting with the Five Elders, it seems as though Rocks was able to do the exact same with none other than Imu. As fans will be well aware, Imu isn’t the type of person who enjoys being in the company of others, to the point where barely anyone in the story has even seen them, so the fact Rocks was casually chatting away to him in the same room highlights that he definitely has some kind of influence that can’t be ignored.

Should This Instead Be The Era Of Shakky?

The Kuja Pirate Has Been Stealing The Hearts Of Several Well-Known Pirates

Oda may have revealed that this period of time was known as the Era of Rocks to the wider world, but during these flashbacks, there has been another central character introduced who could easily be seen as just as important, and maybe even powerful. Shakuyaku, a member of the Kuja Pirates, has been able to fend off numerous powerful characters just with her beauty alone. In the previous chapter, she managed to stun Roger and his entire crew just by appearing in front of them and acting as glamorous as possible, turning the future Pirate King into a bumbling mess.

In chapter 1157, fans wondered whether her looks would have any effect on Rocks, considering the guy seems more obsessed with gold and treasure than anything else. Just like Roger though, Rocks fell to his knees with hearts shooting out from his eyes after Shakky entered Pirate Island, proving that anyone, no matter how strong and righteous they might be, can become trapped under her spell.

It was mentioned in the last chapter that a person can never talk about this period without mentioning the Kuja Pirates, considering how prominent they were at the time. To be honest though, while Gloriosa is clearly a key player, Shakky has been causing a lot more trouble, and as someone who has successfully manipulated both Roger and Rocks, it means that if there were anyone else who was to define this era of piracy, it would definitely have to be Shakky.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

Writers

Jin Tanaka, Akiko Inoue, Junki Takegami, Shinzo Fujita, Shouji Yonemura, Yoshiyuki Suga, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Hirohiko Uesaka, Michiru Shimada, Isao Murayama, Takuya Masumoto, Yoichi Takahashi, Momoka Toyoda

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)