The God Valley flashback is over, and with it, One Piece fans finally know how things played out years after the event was first mentioned. These recent flashback chapters have been a great change of pace, giving the current events on Elbaf time to sink in for fans while providing a much-needed look at some of the series' most iconic characters during what could be the most important event of One Piece history.
A lot happened before and during the God Valley Incident, some things more notable than others. Oda definitely hasn't cooked, and with what's currently happening at Elbaf set to resume, here's a look at some of the biggest things he revealed about the God Valley.
Shakky's abduction starts the chaos
We knew that God Valley saw Garp and Roger team up to take on the legendary Rocks D. Xebec, but the details weren't clarified until the flashback. As we learn more about the Rocks and Roger pirates, the flashback also gives a look at the old Kuja pirates, shedding particular light on Shakky's popularity. Shakky is so popular that she is abducted by Ochoku and offered as the grand prize in the World Government's Native Hunting Competition.
This is what draws the Roger Pirates to the island, as well as the Rocks Pirates, at least on the surface. Although Saint Sommers eventually tried to kill her when the pirates began raiding the island, she was saved by Rayleigh, who made it through the island with the help of the rest of the Roger Pirates.
Monkey D. Role of the Dragon
If there is a character One Piece fan sentiment has been underutilized throughout the series' long run, that is Dragon. Son of Garp and father of Luffy, Dragon is a character that fans want to see more of, even though he does a lot behind the scenes. The God Valley flashback showed us that Dragon was present during the incident and was also part of the Marines while the horrors of the Native Hunting Competition took place.
As you might expect, Dragon was horrified by the actions of the World Nobles and the World Government, leading him to disobey orders and go rogue. We saw Dragon save Kuma from being shot. He also came over and tried to save Shanks and his twin brother, Shamrock, although he lost both in the commotion. Thankfully, Dragon managed to save some of the survivors from the incident, although he was later imprisoned for his actions. Although his father freed him, it seems that the events of God Valley and Garp's post-event “hero” status caused a major schism in their relationship.
Davy Clan & Rocks' family
While most pirates crashed the Native Hunting Competition to either rescue Shakky or plunder the island of its treasure, Rocks was secretly concerned for the safety of his wife Eris and his son Teach. During the event, the World Government announced that they had captured members of the legendary clan for the first time in 800 years, including Rock's wife, son, father and grandmother. Thankfully, Eris and Teach are able to escape when Kuma intervenes.
Thanks to Imu and the world government, the clan is mostly wiped out. But we learn some interesting things about Davy D. Jones during Rock and Imu's clash. Rocks claims that his ancestor was the former king of the world and that Imu fears the promise that Joy Boy and Davy Jones made all those years ago. Rock's story may be over, but the new revelations about him and his family will definitely come into play during the final saga. In a classic Oda move, he gave us some answers while also opening up some new questions.
The End of the Rocks Pirates
The legendary pirate crew consisting of Rocks, Whitebeard, Big Mom, Buckingham Stussy, Kaido and other notable pirates of their time was known as one of the strongest crews of all time. With so many members playing major roles in the current events of the series, fans knew the Rocks Pirates wouldn't last. Now we know exactly what happened to the most notable members of the crew.
We see Kaido get his Devil Fruit by stealing it from Big Mom, who furiously declares that he owes her for the betrayal. Kaido then left to start his own crew while Big Mom made off with some of the treasure. John also decides to take off with the treasure found on the island, but is blindsided by Ganzui, who is himself attacked by Shiki, who proceeds to take some of the treasure as well. Gloriosa escapes by booking a trip with the Roger Pirates, and Whitebeard is approached by another captain, Polo Graham, and asked to form a new crew with him.
Imu's commitment
As Imu gradually became more involved in the main story, one had to assume that he was involved in what happened in the God Valley. As the native hunting competition falls apart and the pirates run onto the island, Imu possesses Saturn similar to how he currently possesses Gunko on Elbaf. He uses his Domi Reversi on the members of Rock's family before using the technique on Rocks himself, forcing Roger and Garp to tackle him.
At the end of it, Imu orders all records of the God Valley incident to be destroyed. This includes all known information about the inhabitants, the location of the island and the number of victims, making it yet another tragic event hidden by the Imu and the World Government.
Rocks D. Xebec's fate
We all knew it would end like this, but that didn't make it any easier. The end of the God Valley flashback shows us Xebec's ultimate fate, and while he wasn't a saint by any means, it was still a tragic ending to his story. Domi Reversi'd and forced to go after his family, the Rocks are confronted by Garp and Roger.
Rocks asks the duo to kill him before he can harm his family, and though it takes all their strength, they finally manage to take him down. However, neither Roger nor Garp landed the finishing blow. Although Garp's and Roger's combined Haki appears to have freed Rocks from his possession, he is too wounded to continue and is killed while defenseless by Figarland Garling. It's a sad end for a character who won over many fans in a short time.
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 Ma Shihi Endo, Toshihiro Ma Shihi Endo, Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
- Author
-
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
-
Mayumi Tanaka
Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
-
Kazuya Nakai
Roronoa Zoro (voice)
