General Zombie Connection: Jigoro of the Wind
Yamato’s cover story, Vol. 39: “He fought Kaido to protect the village, but died without leaving even a body behind.”
The grave’s owner wasn’t named again this week—though by now it’s obvious. Last time, the cover showed characters arriving at a grave, most likely a homage to Shanks building graves for Whitebeard and Ace after the Paramount War. Following that same post-war, emotional-graveyard pattern, this scene could well be set at the Sea Forest of Fish-Man Island.
So who lies beneath this grave? The features all point to one person:
- Born in the West Blue
- Raised in Ringo
- The weapon stuck in the grave marker is not a katana
- Fought Kaido to protect his village
- Died without leaving a body
That also explains the Shirahoshi grave-visit homage—and it’s what ties this week’s cover directly to the main story.
Yamato is led to the hero’s grave in Ringo → Jigoro of the Wind → disheveled ronin hairstyle → Vander Decken, who cut his hair after heartbreak → Rocks, who would be rejected by Shakky → the God Valley Incident, the focus of this chapter.
Jigoro of the Wind and Moria
There are further reasons why this grave almost certainly belongs to Jigoro. Most of the Rocks Pirates at the heart of the current story have been turned into General Zombies—and Jigoro of the Wind was among them.
Moria equates bounty with strength. He declared Oars’ body worthy of Luffy’s 300 million shadow and used wanted posters to assign shadows accordingly—Zoro’s bounty at the time was 120 million. For context, Crocodile’s bounty when he became a Warlord was only 81 million; a shadow valued over 100 million was extraordinarily rare. Yet Moria placed Zoro’s shadow into Jigoro’s body specifically, which means he judged Jigoro’s corpse worthy of that caliber of power.
Why did Moria rate Jigoro so highly? His profile holds the answer: “He cut down 7,000 pirates.” And the chain of events that put Jigoro in Kaido’s path goes like this: during the five years Oden was forced to dance naked, a war broke out between the Gecko Pirates and the Beast Pirates. Jigoro’s village was caught in the crossfire—he threw himself into the fight to protect his family and died doing so. That is why the records say he “fought Kaido,” and why no body was ever left to find.
The Hero Who Protected His Village (Hypothesis)
But why is Jigoro’s honor being restored right now? One possibility: imagine a “Yamato Pirates” built from the children of Kaido, Hanafuda, and Jigoro—perhaps even with a descendant named “Matasaburo of the Wind.”
- The family Jigoro protected appears, joining Yamato.
- His descendant, inheriting his swordsmanship, becomes Yamato’s right-hand.
A Real-World Model?
The international charity temple “Foot Colony” that the Rocks Pirates attacked was stockpiling enormous donations meant for underprivileged children. Its leader, the “Great High Priest,” dressed like a temple monk—fitting, since religious corporations don’t pay taxes. When we think of international charity, UNICEF comes to mind: a worldwide organization gathering funds to help children. Could Foot Colony be modeled on exactly that kind of institution?
Article 18 of “World Law”
The standout crime on the Rocks Pirates’ rap sheet was violating “World Law” Article 18. In the real world, Article 18 tends to read something like this:
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
- ICCPR Article 18: Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion.
- Japanese Constitution Article 18: Prohibition of slavery and forced labor.
- EU Charter of Fundamental Rights Article 18: Right to asylum.
All of these resonate with One Piece’s themes—but the most fitting model is probably Japan’s Constitution Article 18, with its meaning inverted. In the world of One Piece, freeing a Celestial Dragon slave is the crime. Rocks committed that violation three times, in the tradition of a liberator like Fisher Tiger. This connects the Fish-Man Island arc and explains why this week’s cover paid homage to Shirahoshi’s grave visit.
The “Treasure” of the God Valley Incident Was Shakky
“She would eventually become an irreplaceable ‘treasure’ for the pirates on this island. Without treasure, there are no pirates.” The treasure Garp spoke of during the God Valley Incident was Shakky herself—which means both the Roger Pirates and the Rocks Pirates descended on God Valley for the same woman. Because of that, Rocks died and his entire crew was destroyed. Too cool, even in the end.
Were Rocks and Roger Friends?
42 years ago, Shakky quit as captain of the Kuja Pirates and arrived at Hachinosu; 38 years ago came the God Valley Incident. Within those four years, Shakky was kidnapped by the Celestial Dragons—setting the whole incident in motion. Roger couldn’t see her for a year, but in the three years after she opened her bar at Hachinosu, he could again. So did Roger drink at her bar? Maybe Rocks even allowed him onto the island.
After all, Rocks was immediately welcoming to Harald, casually recruiting strangers through Davy Back Fights. “Hey, let’s play a game!” to a total stranger—that takes remarkable charisma. He even got along with Garp, who despised the higher-ups, and in the end a crew of impossibly eccentric personalities all stayed loyal to him. In the final panel of the God Valley chapter, Roger himself was trying to stop Rocks—not kill him, stop him.
So Rocks was: Teach’s face, Luffy’s soul—genuinely kind, overwhelmingly powerful, and charismatic enough to be history’s greatest pirate. Maybe he and Roger were drinking buddies at Shakky’s bar, the way Teach and Kuzan were. Perhaps their bond started the way Django and Fullbody’s did—falling for the same woman.
The Roger Pirates’ Unified Goal
The Roger Pirates therefore had a single, shared purpose at God Valley: rescue Shakky. When they arrived, the lines spoken by Roger, Gaban, and Rayleigh all reflected exactly that feeling.
The Rocks Pirates’ Mixed Goals
The Rocks Pirates, by contrast, were not united. While the main shared goal—rescue Shakky—was held by Newgate, Shiki, and Captain John, everyone else had their own agenda. Rocks himself despised the Celestial Dragons and may have wanted to massacre them all, especially after learning they had kidnapped Shakky.
Linlin and Kaido were both after Devil Fruits—Linlin for her children, Kaido to strengthen himself. Miss Bakkin wanted to win Newgate’s heart by competing with Shakky; Gloriosa was there to claim Roger’s. What looked like a “decisive battle between beauties” was, beneath the surface, entirely about love.
Sabaody Archipelago Homage
A woman kidnapped by Celestial Dragons, and pirates who struck back to save her—this is a direct mirror of the Sabaody Archipelago arc. In Kuma’s flashback, Ginny was kidnapped and no one could save her; she was forced to bear a child, experimented on, and killed. But this time, we may finally get the cathartic revenge her memory deserves. Let Rocks slaughter the Celestial Dragons of God Valley.