As One Piece dives headfirst into the Final Saga, it’s becoming increasingly clear who the key players will be in this final stretch of the story. This includes obvious antagonists like Imu, the Five Elders, and the Holy Knights, but also the rest of the Emperors of the Sea, particularly Blackbeard. Although Blackbeard has mostly been moving in the shadows so far and padding out his crew of powerful devil fruit users, the debate about whether Blackbeard or Imu will end up being the ultimate antagonist of One Piece never really died down. That said, the latest chapter of One Piece just teased that Blackbeard is far more important than fans gave him credit.
Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead for One Piece Chapter 1154!
Chapter 1154 of One Piece just dropped a bombshell of a revelation about Blackbeard, finally confirming the long-suspected connection between him and the legendary Rocks D. Xebec. That said, no one could have anticipated how deep this connection really ran, as the latest chapter reveals that Rocks was Blackbeard’s father, also finally explaining how the latter came to inherit the mysterious D initial. This revelation not only adds context to Blackbeard’s ambitions of conquering the whole world but also cements him as Luffy’s ultimate fated rival.
One Piece Reveals Blackbeard Is Rocks D. Xebec’s Son
While the revelation might still come as a shock to many, One Piece has gradually been establishing a connection between Rocks and Blackbeard for quite some time. The biggest clue is, of course, the unmissable fact that Blackbeard’s ship is named the Saber of Xebec. Secondly, during the Egghead Arc, Catarina Devon and Van Augur revealed that Blackbeard’s goal was “the world,” which drew immediate parallels to Rocks’ ambitions of becoming the king of the world. All that said, until the recent revelation, the general assumption was that Blackbeard simply idolized Rocks much like Luffy does Gol D. Roger.
However, it seems like this revelation has been a long time in the making, and fans simply overlooked some of the bigger hints, such as in Chapter 1107 when St. Saturn alluded to Blackbeard’s special lineage. At the time, with all the discussion surrounding Kuma and the Buccaneer Clan, a popular theory was that Blackbeard could also be a Buccaneer or a member of another rare race. In retrospect, however, it’s clear that Saturn was aware that Blackbeard was Xebec’s son, and judging from Catarina’s nonchalant response, it seems like this is common knowledge among the crew, and Blackbeard himself is also well aware of his infamous family lineage.
Overall, considering the famous rivalry between Roger and Rocks, the newly confirmed father-son connection between Rocks and Blackbeard only strengthens his position as Luffy’s fated rival. Though Luffy may not be biologically related to Roger, he still very much carries the same ideals and ambitions. Furthermore, the sharp contrast between Blackbeard and Luffy has already been well-established since the Jaya Arc, and despite Imu and the World Government posing quite a formidable threat, the latest chapter proves it’s too soon to count Blackbeard out of the running. While the motivation behind many of Blackbeard’s actions so far still remains a mystery and is up for speculation, at least fans now know his reasons for following in Rocks’ footsteps, and that alone goes a long way to demystifying him.
One Piece is available to read on Manga Plus and Viz Media.
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