Whenever fans debate the strongest pirate in One Piece, Gol D. Roger, the Pirate King’s name echoes across the seas. This was the norm until Oda dropped the bomb about a legendary pirate who was the greatest rival of Roger, even more than Garp and Whitebeard. It was none other than Rocks D. Xebec, the infamous pirate, who was introduced very late in the Wano Country arc. Nevertheless, Rocks D. Xebec is getting the spotlight in the ongoing events in the manga. As the author finally focuses his attention on this legend, let’s find out who was the strongest pirate between Rocks D. Xebec vs. Gol D. Roger in their prime.
Spoilers Warning:
This article contains spoilers about Rocks D. Xebec and Gol D. Roger. Proceed with caution.
Gol D. Roger: The Only Pirate King Who Conquered the Seas
Gol D. Roger was the first character we met in the One Piece who kicked off the ‘Great Pirate Era’ during his execution. After hearing so many tales about this legend, we finally got to see it ourselves in Roger’s flashback in the Wano Country arc. True to the legends, Roger was a force to be reckoned with in his time. He didn’t play by the textbook definition of a pirate; instead, Roger utilized his strength and freedom to conquer the seas and uncover the deep secrets of the One Piece realm.
Recently, Joy Boy was revealed to be the first pirate in the One Piece world. We don’t know much about the OG pirate; however, Roger was the first pirate since Joy Boy to voyage across the entire world. Then he reached Laugh Tale, the final island, and obtained the legendary One Piece treasure left by the first pirate. In doing so, he was the first pirate to learn the true history of the world. To this day, no other pirate has surpassed these unimaginable records set by Roger yet.
Apart from Roger’s achievements in his pirate career, Roger also remained the most formidable pirate of his era when iconic characters such as Whitebeard, Garp, Sengoku, Big Mom, etc existed. Crowned as the Pirate King, Roger also had the highest bounty ever recorded in history, 5.564 billion berries. Roger’s strength remains unmatched to this day, yet he was never a Devil Fruit user. He was a haki monster, having mastered all forms of haki and utilized it wonderfully to become one of the greatest swordsmen of all time.
Rocks D. Xebec: The Pirate King Who Never Was
Even before the Roger era began, Rocks D. Xebec reigned over the seas with terror and audaciously went against the World Government. While Roger was beginning his pirate journey, the narrator emphasized that this was the era of Rocks. Rocks’ backstory is currently underway in the One Piece manga, and it has finally revealed the long-awaited history of the most infamous pirate of all time.
Shortly after becoming a pirate with the ambition of becoming the King of the World, Rocks sneaked into the Holy Land, killed an admiral single-handedly, stormed into Imu’s chamber of flowers and gave them a warning, and clashed with the strongest giant on his way back. Then he destroyed one of the Gates of Justice, participated in Davy Back Fights to win crew members, and assembled the Rocks Pirates, the greatest pirate crew in history.
Let me make it clear that Rocks was the captain of names such as Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, Big Mom, Shiki, Silver Axe, and the list goes on. To lead such a legendary and star-studded crew, Rocks commanded such unmatched strength and fearsome power. After founding the iconic crew, Rocks run amok on the islands and exploded in infamy. He sank Marines’ ships, raided islands, burned ports, and earned an endless list of crimes to be regarded as the worst enemy of the World Government.
However, Rock was indeed defeated in the end at God Valley. His defeat itself is a very impressive feat on its own, as it took the unprecedented alliance of Roger and Garp to take him down. As the God Valley flashback is about to be showcased completely in the manga, we will return with more updates about Rocks’ true powers. For now, he is a world-class swordsman and has mastered haki as well. Let’s wait and find out if he possessed any Devil Fruit powers. Based on all of Rocks’ feats, we can consider him to be the Pirate King who never was in the story.
Rocks vs Roger: Who Is the Ultimate Winner in One Piece?
It’s very hard to judge who is the strongest between Gol D. Roger and Rocks D. Xebec, as their clash has never been shown in the story yet. But based on the latest details we have received in the manga, it is sufficient to say that Rocks was a level above Roger when the latter started his journey. Rocks is the classic definition of a pirate, and he can be considered to be a better pirate in that aspect.
However, we know that Roger eventually surpassed Rocks following the God Valley incident. Both had different ambitions, but Roger achieved his dream by sailing across the entire globe and claimed the fabled treasure. He then commenced the Great Pirate and is, without a doubt, an irreplaceable character in history.
Rocks’ impressive feats against his adversaries speak for themselves, and so does Roger’s. Thus, we can wait until we learn what happened between these two greats at the God Valley Incident before we reach a conclusion. In the meantime, who do you think is the strongest between Rocks and Roger? Let us know in the comments below.
