Who Is Rocks D. Xebec? The King of the World Nobody’s Talking About (Yet)

Last updated on November 18th, 2025 at 10:54 am

I mean, I’ve followed One Piece for years, and Rocks D. Xebec might be the most criminally underutilized villain in the series to date. Thing is he made at least a temporary appearance, and then Oda left us hanging with just enough trail to let the community go absolutely off the chain.

So who is this legendary pirate, exactly, what powers does he possess and why Blackbeard’s association with him changes everything?

The Legend Nobody Saw Coming

I knew way back in Chapter 957 when Sengoku told us of Rocks. At the time, it seemed like just another bit of One Piece folklore some old pirate from days gone by. But then came Chapter 1154, and suddenly we were really getting our first look at him. Spiked two-tone hair, a diagonal scar right across one eye, and the kind of vibe that quite frankly screams “final villain energy.” He’s quite literally the King of the World, and that’s no exaggeration within the One Piece universe.

What makes Rocks genuinely terrifying? He gathered a crew with the likes of his would-be Yonko rivals Whitebeard, Big Mom and Kaido all beneath his flag. These are characters we’ve seen hundreds of episodes training with who are inferior to this guy. Not to mention he was the first pirate in history to kill a Marine Admiral. He’d be a different tier of dangerous on that alone.

The wild part? He arranged a meeting with Imu in secret inside the Flower Room of Mary Geoise. That’s not just an impressive feat of knowledge that’s positing he might’ve known about the World Government’s deepest secrets hundreds of years before the current era.

The Devil Fruit mystery that’s driving fans Crazy(deg)

Here’s where it gets spicy. No one knows what Devil Fruit Rocks really possesses. Oda hasn’t confirmed or denied anything, and that’s created this perfect storm of fan speculation that runs the gamut from brilliant to completely insane (I’m here for it).

The Dark-Dark Theory: This theory posits that Rocks has the Yami Yami fruit the same one Blackbeard has now. There’s good logic behind the thinking after all, if Blackbeard really is Rocks’ son (more on that in a sec), it would be thematically fitting for him to inherit the same fruit power. Not to mention, envision a Dark-Dark fruit in the hands of someone more terrifying than current Blackbeard. That’s nightmare fuel.

The Star Fruit Hypothesis: Let’s take it a step further image if you had the power to create and control gravity, or physically change how an entire battlefield looked like? That would explain how he ruled it. Some even theorize this is related to the Will of D. symbol that’s drawn star-esque in some fan art.

The Chop-Chop Theory: Some fans theorize that he had the Bara Bara fruit (Chop-Chop), but I feel like this is a weak one. Although, let’s face it, right now Oda could tell us anything and we would have to believe it since Rocks’ powers are so vague.

The real answer? We don’t know yet, and that mystery is precisely what makes Rocks so alluring. Oda’s been dropping hints slowly through the Elbaf arc so I think we can expect a Devil Fruit reveal in the very near future which may or may not reset the power dynamics of this fan community.

Blackbeard and Rocks: A Father-Son Relationship That Alters Everything

This is the inane theory I lose sleep over. It’s not completely and entirely confirmed whether Blackbeard is the son of Rocks, but his parentage does follow through very nicely in this theory.

First, look at their personalities. Both are ruthless, both are ambitious and each appears to have a willingness to offer up anything for power. The whole idea of Blackbeard taking pain and just pushing forward is the kind of thing you’d expect someone brought up in Rocks’s afterglow to think. They both know that strength is always unconventional.

The second is the visual design parallel. Blackbeard and Rocks have that same imposing silhouette and raw presence. The first time you see Rocks, your brain gives the simple realization “oh, this guy IS the threat level” and Blackbeard’s character arc seemingly actually makes fucking sense if he’s been harboring bitterness over most of his life trying to prove himself worthy of his father’s legacy.

But the juiciest connection might be this: both characters have the mysterious initial in their names that ties them to Gol D. Roger and Luffy (as well as some other characters) the Will of D. What if Blackbeard inherited not just ambition from Rocks, but an entire ideological legacy? Some fans speculate that Rocks was investigating the secrets of the Void Century and truth about the World Government knowledge Blackbeard is now hunting down.

The timing also matters. Rocks’s reign came to an end more than 50 years before the time of the current storyline, and there has been speculation about whether Blackbeard may have adopted any his father’s approaches or philosophies or even knowledge regarding Devil Fruits. What if Blackbeard eats the Yami Yami no mi because he knew his father had similar powers).

Other theories that are worth your attention

The Ancient Weapons Angle: Some theorists surmise that Rocks did something like find reference to the ancient weapons or understand parts of the Void Century which got him targeted by the World Government. His encounter with Imu indicates he was aware of something hazardous.

The Inherited Will: What if Rocks didn’t die? What if he’s been in hiding, biding his time or working behind the scenes? Going off the rails, yes, but One Piece has come back crazier.

The Yonko Chain of Command: Some fans are even arguing that Rocks might have been stronger than the current generation of Yonkos. One way power-scaling gets real out of control is if both Whitebeard, Big Mom AND Kaido are all enemies under him.

The Bottom Line

Rocks D. Xebec is everything we adore about One Piece mystery, ambition and a hint at lore just waiting to be unearthed. Oda has been orchestrating this through the Elbaf flashbacks, and chapter by chapter something new clicks in this seemingly impossible narrative puzzle.

Whether he’s in cahoots with Blackbeard, has the abilities of a mystery Devil Fruit, or simply is hiding something about the World Government itself, one way or another, his complete history will be revealedand reshape our understanding of everything we’ve seen throughout One Piece so far.

FAQs

Q: When was Rocks D. Xebec mentioned for the first time and when did we see him?

A: Rocks was first mentioned all the way back in Chapter 957 when Sengoku brought him up at that point, though, it could have kind of slipped past ya. We didn’t actually get to see what he looks like until Chapter 1154 when Oda first depicted his appearance. So yeah, it’s literal entire chapters we’ve been waiting to see what dude looks like!

Q: Is Blackbeard really the son of Rocks or is it a theory?

A: It’s not officially confirmed yet, but the evidence is pretty strong and most hard-core fans believe it has to happen. The visual echoes, the personality correspondences and how their stories interlock it adds up to that.

Oda is obsessed with long games when it comes to reveals like this, so you can count on not getting a straight answer one way or the other until we’re too far gone down the road but when we do get that answer, it’ll likely turn everything we thought about Blackbeard as a character on its head.

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