In Most Recent One Piece Chapter, Dragon Deals Finishing Blow To Almost Dead Rocks
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the most recent One Piece chapter and the ongoing God Valley flashback.
The latest One Piece chapter has delivered one of the most shocking moments of the God Valley arc yet, as Monkey D. Dragon steps into the spotlight and delivers the finishing blow to a nearly dead Rocks D. Xebec. For years, fans assumed that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp were solely responsible for taking down the legendary pirate, but this new twist completely reshapes how the “end of Rocks” is remembered — both in the story and in the fandom.
Rocks’ Last Stand Ends in an Unexpected Way
The chapter picks up in the aftermath of the brutal clash between Rocks’ crew, the Celestial Dragons, and the unlikely alliance of Roger and Garp. God Valley has already been reduced to rubble, and Rocks himself is shown on his last legs — bloodied, exhausted, and barely able to stand after trading world-shaking blows with the future Pirate King and the “Hero of the Marines.”
Rather than going out in a single, clean clash, Rocks is shown staggering through the chaos, still spitting defiance at the world that tried to erase him. His body may be broken, but his will is not.
It’s at this moment that Dragon appears.
Instead of the mysterious revolutionary we know from the present timeline, this is still the young Marine, searching through the ruins for survivors and struggling with everything he’s seen. When he encounters the barely alive Rocks, the encounter turns into one of the most tense scenes in the entire flashback.
Rocks reportedly mocks Dragon, taunting him about the World Government, the Celestial Dragons, and the Marines’ role in protecting them. Even half-dead, Rocks is dangerous — not because he can still fight, but because his final words are full of truths Dragon can’t ignore.
Dragon Delivers the Final Blow
The chapter’s turning point comes when Dragon realizes that if he leaves Rocks alive, the Celestial Dragons and the higher-ups in the Marines will likely use the pirate’s survival as an excuse to unleash even more cruelty — to keep the incident buried, to torture him, or to escalate the conflict even further.
At the same time, he refuses to glorify Rocks as some kind of hero; he’s seen firsthand the carnage Rocks and his crew have unleashed. Rocks isn’t a martyr. He’s a monster born from the same twisted world that created the Celestial Dragons.
Faced with a man who embodies everything wrong with the age of pirates and the ruling class that enabled it, Dragon makes a choice that shocks both the characters and the readers: he finishes Rocks off himself.
The scene is written with heavy emotional weight. Dragon’s expression is a mix of fury, disgust, and bitter resolve as he strikes the final blow. Oda reportedly gives us a haunting panel of Rocks collapsing with a twisted grin, as if amused that his death comes not at the hands of legends like Roger or Garp, but from a young Marine who will one day become the world’s greatest revolutionary.
In that moment, the legend of “Rocks falling at God Valley” is completed — but not in the way history will tell it.
Erased From History: The Truth Behind Rocks’ Death
One of the most chilling aspects of the chapter is how quickly Dragon’s role in Rocks’ death is buried.
Higher-ups in the Marines and World Government step in almost immediately to shape the narrative: the world will be told that Garp and Roger defeated Rocks. The details, especially the presence of Dragon and the involvement of the Celestial Dragons, will be erased.
For the world, it becomes a simple story:
Rocks D. Xebec was defeated by the combined might of Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp.
But for Dragon, the truth is far uglier. He’s the one who ended Rocks’ life. He’s the one who carried the weight of that decision. And instead of acknowledging the reality of the incident, the system he serves rewrites everything into a heroic myth.
This adds an entirely new layer to Dragon’s character. He’s not just opposing the World Government because of what he’s seen; he’s also rejecting their control over history itself. They not only allow atrocities — they edit the past to hide their role in them.
The God Valley Arc Has Taken Over the Fandom
With this chapter, the God Valley Incident has solidified itself as one of the most captivating storylines in One Piece history, and many fans genuinely aren’t ready for it to end.
Eiichiro Oda’s exploration of this once-mysterious event has brought together titans like Rocks D. Xebec, Gol D. Roger, Monkey D. Garp, Dragon, and even the elusive Imu, turning what could have been a brief flashback into a sprawling historical saga. The arc digs deep into the power struggles that shaped the modern world — not just who won or lost, but who got to decide what the world would remember.
Dragon’s finishing blow on Rocks fits perfectly into this theme. It shows that even at the center of legendary events, the truth can be twisted, and heroes can be built on half-told stories. For many readers, these chapters feel like a rare, extended glimpse into the “true history” that the series has been hinting at since the beginning.
Fans Don’t Want to Return to the Straw Hats Yet
Unsurprisingly, the fandom’s reaction has been explosive.
Social media is full of readers saying they still don’t want to go back to the Straw Hat Pirates just yet. Between the brutality of the fight, Dragon’s moral conflict, and the reveal that he dealt the final blow to Rocks, fans feel like they’re watching the mythological foundation of One Piece’s world unfold in real time.
Many posts echo the same sentiment: the God Valley flashback feels like the most thrilling part of One Piece in years, with its darker tone, intense storytelling, and lore-packed reveals. Luffy and his crew are still the emotional center of the series, but this storyline offers something entirely different — a look at the legends and decisions that created the world they now sail in.
As one fan put it on X (formerly Twitter):
“If we return to the Straw Hats now, it’ll feel like waking up from a dream.”
It’s a rare moment where the past has become more captivating than the present adventure.
A Testament to Oda’s Storytelling and Legacy
The excitement surrounding the God Valley flashback — and this chapter in particular — is yet another testament to Eiichiro Oda’s long-term vision.
After more than two decades, he’s still pulling on threads laid down years ago and turning them into massive, emotionally charged payoffs. Dragon delivering the final blow to Rocks isn’t just a shocking twist for the sake of surprise. It deepens Dragon’s ideology, reframes Garp’s legacy, and expands the gap between the “official” version of history and what really happened.
The pacing, emotion, and scale of this arc have reminded many fans of what they consider One Piece’s golden era: a perfect blend of mystery, world-building, and character drama that few series can match. Even those worried that going back to the Straw Hats might slow the story admit that this balance between past and present is exactly what makes One Piece feel timeless.
Whether the flashback ends soon or stretches across a few more chapters, one thing is already clear: the God Valley saga — and the revelation that Dragon himself dealt the finishing blow to a dying Rocks — has cemented itself as one of the most powerful, defining sequences in the entire series.
