The Rocks Pirates were the world’s most dangerous crew, including three of the Four Emperors. Here’s what happened to them before One Piece begins.

In One Piece‘s pirate lore, the Rocks Pirates were the strongest crew to ever sail the oceans. These characters are not just core to the manga’s story, but to the world and its history, making them essential figures as Monkey D. Luffy’s journey continues.

The Rocks Pirates included three of the future Four Emperors and a captain who was so dangerous that Garp and Roger had to join forces to defeat him. Thankfully, the Rocks disbanded thirty-eight years before current events in the manga, but their influence is still felt after such a long time.

Some of the crew members are key characters in One Piece, while others were only briefly mentioned or teased and could be relevant in the future, and even more have only recently been revealed to have been members. Here’s all the information available on the Rocks Pirates, and what fans need to know as the story continues.

Rocks Pirate Captain Rocks D. Xebec

Very little is known about Rocks D. Xebec, from whom this fearsome group of pirates takes its name. He was certainly ambitious, as his dream was to topple the World Government and become the King of the World. To achieve that, he would stop at nothing: he had no issues with killing innocents or spreading destruction. Rocks was also interested in subjects that the World Government tries to hide. According to his name, Rocks was also one of the inheritors of “the will of D.”, with his middle initial making him a sworn enemy of the World Nobles and their government.

Rocks’ strength and power can only be inferred, but he was on par with the strongest people in the world. He was able to keep under his command individuals such as Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido, who would all rise to be the most powerful pirates of their generation. Xebec was considered to be the most formidable rival of the Pirate King, Gol D. Roger, and he was so strong that it took both Roger and Monkey D. Garp working together to beat him. Finally, Kaido puts Rocks in the same small group of five people that were able to wound him during his life, confirming Xebec’s fearsome power.

The Emperors: Whitebeard, Big Mom, & Kaido

The most prominent former members of the Rocks Pirates are the three former Emperors, Whitebeard, Big Mom, and Kaido. Considering how much of a heroic figure Whitebeard was painted as, it’s surprising that he was with the Rocks Pirates, but it was likely before he settled into his kinder characterization. Big Mom and Kaido, however, are exactly the kind of people who would have been Rocks Pirates, both because of their villainy and because of how terribly they work with others, and while they did form an alliance during the Wano arc, nothing came of it thanks to their defeats at the hands of Luffy, Law, and Kid.

Shiki The Golden Lion

Another notable member of the Rocks Pirates was Shiki the Golden Lion. Shiki was a former rival of Roger, and the two of them, along with Whitebeard, were the rulers of the New World before Roger’s execution and the establishment of the Four Emperors. Shiki was the main antagonist of the movie One Piece Film: Strong World, making him one of the few movie characters to be canon to the series, and while he had been mentioned a few times in the manga, his cameo in chapter #1096 was the first time he physically appeared in canon outside the Strong World-tie in Episode 0.

One of the few other movie characters who are canon to the manga is One Piece Film: RED’s Uta.

Captain John

One of the more surprising members of the Rocks Pirates is the long-deceased Captain John. Captain John first appeared as a random member of Moria’s General Zombies, the only things noteworthy about him being his penchant for drinking and that he was killed by his crew for refusing to disclose the location of his treasure, but the Wano arc revealed that he was a former member of the Rocks Pirates. Moria likely made him a zombie because of his rivalry with Kaido, who was also a Rocks Pirate, and Buggy’s knowledge of his treasure during the Impel Down arc likely stemmed from Roger’s history with the Rocks Pirates, as well.

Buckingham Stussy

One of the more recent characters to be revealed as a Rocks Pirate is Buckingham Stussy i.e. Miss Buckin. The Egghead arc confirmed that it was during her and Whitebeard’s tenure in the Rocks Pirates that Buckin fell in love with Whitebeard; Buckin also claims that her son, Edward Weevil, is Whitebeard’s son, but Vegapunk is apparently the only one who can prove that. It was also revealed that she was a member of the scientific research institute MADS, although she was just a freeloader, and it was through their research that they made a clone of her who would eventually join CP0 as a double agent for Vegapunk.

Streusen

Another recently revealed member of the Rocks Pirates is “Gourmet Knight” Streusen. After seeing a young Big Mom cannibalize her family, Streusen manipulated her into becoming the tyrant she is today and currently serves as the head chef of the Big Mom Pirates. Streusen made a small cameo alongside the rest of the Rocks Pirates in chapter #1096 to confirm his membership, and considering that Big Mom’s time in the Rocks Pirates was well before she established herself as an Emperor, it makes sense that Streusen, Big Mom’s closest confidant, would also be a member of the Rocks Pirates at the time.

Gloriosa

Another surprising member of the Rocks Pirates is the former Empress of Amazon Lily Gloriosa i.e. Elder Nyon. Despite being an ally to both Luffy and Hancock, chapter #1096 revealed that she was also once a member of the Rocks Pirates, making her and Whitebeard the only former members to become allies to Luffy. Chapter #1096 also implied that Gloriosa was in love with another member of the Rocks Pirates, possibly Whitebeard, so her tenure with the Rocks Pirates likely happened when she fell victim to the Kuja tribe’s Love Sickness and needed to leave Amazon Lily to be with her love.

Other Members Of The Rocks Pirates

Two other noteworthy members of the Rocks Pirates are Wang Zhi and Silver Axe; while nothing is known about Silver Axe, Wang Zhi was the former ruler of Pirate Island until Blackbeard took control in the aftermath of the Rocky Port Incident. Interestingly, one of Moria’s General Zombies wore silver armor and wielded an axe, and another one, Zombie #889, bears a striking resemblance to a Rocks Pirate who appeared in chapter #1096, so they could easily be Silver Axe and another member of the crew. Rayleigh’s wife Shakky was also implied to be a member in volume #90’s SBS, but that idea has yet to be explored.

The Legacy Of The Rocks Pirates

The Rocks Pirates were so powerful and dangerous that the World Government felt directly threatened by them. Thirty-eight years before current events in the manga, they attacked God Valley during the Native Hunting Competition to reclaim the treasure of Pirate Island and steal both the Fish-Fish Fruit and the Paw-Paw Fruit, and while there, they also decided to attack the Celestial Dragons and their slaves. The full details of the God Valley Incident have yet to be revealed, but Garp and Roger were forced to work together to defeat them, thus causing the crew to disband and earning Garp his hated nickname of “Hero of the Marines”.

Despite the importance of that event, the Rocks Pirates became relatively unknown to the next generation. This was because of a combination of the former members not wanting to talk about it due to their own internal squabbling and the World Government covering up their exploits because of how dangerous Rocks was. Whatever the case, the Rocks Pirates remain one of the most enigmatic and important organizations in all of One Piece, but with the series slowly heading toward its end, more information about them is bound to be revealed about them, especially Rocks D. Xebec, specifically, in the upcoming months.