Dressrosa Arc Homage
Shakuyaku has been kidnapped and the story has advanced to the day of the God Valley Incident itself. This chapter is dense with homages to the Law and Corazon flashback from the Dressrosa arc. Two key lines from those chapters feel like they were planted specifically as foreshadowing for this moment: Law’s hidden name “Trafalgar D. Water Law,” and Corazon’s response upon hearing it — “D is the natural enemy of God.”
The opening scene — Marlon killed, Shakuyaku taken from Hachinosu — is a direct homage to Corazon stealing the Ope Ope no Mi from the Barrels Pirates’ hideout. Both scenes share the same core beat: a “treasure” stolen from a pirate base.
Shanks’ Mother — and Who Put Him in the Chest
On the day of the God Valley Incident, Saint Garling returns to the island for the “human hunt.” He’s pleased to learn he fathered a child — but decides Shanks’ mother is “not fit to be his wife” and moves to kill her, shown only in silhouette. The visual composition = a Corazon and Doflamingo homage. The dying woman Dragon finds at the end of the chapter is almost certainly Shanks’ mother — and like Corazon, she stayed alive just long enough to ensure her child escaped.
Below that, Teach and what appears to be his mother are shown shackled in a cage. Could the “SR Fugitives” (a.k.a. the “Davy Clan”) referred to be Teach and his mother? If so, did Rocks die protecting his family with his own hands?
Who put Shanks in the treasure chest? Most likely Dragon, acting on Shanks’ mother’s dying wish.
How Rocks Dies
Rocks’ death at God Valley is already confirmed by One Piece history. The question is how Oda will draw it. Of all the pirates who have appeared in this series, Rocks may be the most compelling. And there’s a strong possibility that watching Rocks die is exactly what made Kaido start believing that “death is the completion of a person.” A death so magnificent that young Kaido thought: I want to go out that way.
FILM RED’s Final Scene — Shanks in the Chest
The FILM RED theatrical bonus booklet (the “4 Billion Volume”) includes Shanks’ personal timeline: 39 years ago — Shanks is born. 38 years ago — God Valley Incident. Roger takes a treasure chest containing a baby (Shanks, age 1). Just as Uta was picked up by Shanks and became a pirate, Shanks was picked up by Roger — this was revealed in FILM RED’s final scene. The main story is finally about to show us the details.
That’s also why this chapter includes the Corazon self-homage: to remind readers of the line “pirates, when they see a treasure chest, will always bring it back to their ship.” That instinct is what leads to Roger taking Shanks. The confirmed sequence for God Valley’s conclusion: Garp and Roger cooperate to defeat Rocks → Rocks dies, Rocks Pirates scatter → Shakuyaku is saved → Teach escapes the island → Roger brings home a treasure chest containing Shanks.
Davy D. Jones
The scene where Rocks drinks with Harald and reveals the secret of “D”: a clear homage to Whitebeard’s final moments at Marineford — “What IS the ‘D’?” / “Oh, you want to know? All right, I’ll tell you.” Rocks reveals his hidden name: not Rocks, but Davy D. Xebec. And his bloodline: a descendant of the legendary pirate Davy D. Jones.
This is also a homage to the scene where Law revealed his hidden name to Robin: “Trafalgar D. Water Law.” By that logic, Rocks’ sons would carry the name too: Davy D. Teach, Davy D. Buggy. One problem: there’s no confirmed on-panel evidence of Buggy being Rocks’ son before the day of the incident arrives. And for the timeline to work, Buggy must have been born between Shakuyaku’s kidnapping and God Valley. Which means Rocks may have died without ever knowing his second son existed.
D is a Name That Shakes History
Speaking of the hidden “D”: when Law confided this to Robin, it was a mark of trust — Robin is the one he allies with, and the person in this story most connected to the legacy of D. Her history: saved by Hagwar D. Saul, rescued by Monkey D. Luffy, found a Poneglyph inscribed with the name of Gold D. Roger on Skypiea, was the first to say “the name D is a problem that touches history itself,” and was the one Law chose to reveal his hidden name to. No character is more intertwined with the mystery of D. That scene in Vol.32 where Robin articulates the weight of that name feels especially resonant now.
Cover Story Vol.41 — Skypiea Arc Self-Homage
Yamato cover story Vol.41: “Now then — apple in hand, returning to the Flower Capital!” The cover story’s composition closely mirrors the scene that directly followed Robin and Ganfor’s conversation about D on Skypiea (Vol.32). Oda confirms it: this week’s cover is a self-homage to the end of the Skypiea arc — “We stole the gold from the serpent’s belly, and now we return to the Blue Sea!” The parallel is seamless. What goes around comes around — and Oda planned it that way.
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