This article contains spoilers from the One Piece Manga.
Although the One Piece manga has ensured quite a few stops due to breaks over the last few months, the story is finally moving forward strongly with every new chapter. Over the last few chapters, Oda has been fleshing out the God Valley Incident, with it now reaching its conclusion in One Piece Chapter 1166.
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One Piece chapter 1166 showed Rocks’s final moments, and Oda shocked many fans by revealing who his true killer was. In the previous chapter, it was Garp and Roger who teamed up to fight against Roger, but now, Oda has officially revealed that neither of the two actually killed Rocks D. Xebec. Instead, it was the Holy Knight, Figarland Garling who dealt the killing blow. Garling didn’t do anything for the whole fight, but in the end, he was the one to land the final blow. This explains why Garling was the Champion of God Valley, and hell will only get stronger from there. Undoubtedly, he will become one of the most dangerous men in the final saga of One Piece.
Oda Confirms Rocks D. Xebec Killed By Garling Figarland In God Valley
Rocks D. Xebec was an incredible character from his debut, right up to the finish. Xebec was first hyped up by Sengoku during the Wano arc, and fans finally got to meet the man himself during the Elbaf flashback.
As fans expected, he was truly a one-of-a-kind character, and his performance throughout the flashback was impressive, as was his willingness to carry out the promise of Davy Jones. Xebec was powerful, but he definitely wasn’t ready to face Imu on God Valley. When the two fought, Imu used Domi Reversi to turn him into a demon and sent him on a hunt for his own family.
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This essentially marked the end of Rocks. With no way to reverse Imu’s power, Garp and Roger had to take him on and kill him. The surprising part, however, is that it was neither Garp nor Roger who actually killed Rocks D. Xebec. Instead, it was Garling Figarland who landed the final blow after they put him in a near-death situation. This shocked many, but it also makes sense. Garling being the one to kill Rocks explains why he was called the Champion of God Valley, despite not having achieved anything until now.
Roger And Garp Were Still The Ones Who Damaged Him The Most
Figarland Garling was indeed the man to land the final blow and kill Rocks D. Xebec, but it doesn’t mean he was the one to inflict the most damage on the demon. In fact, he wasn’t even impressive in the battle. Garling was already defeated by Rocks before. After, Roger and Garp landed some heavy blows on Rocks D. Xebec with their powerful Conqueror’s Haki.
Garling was only able to finish Rocks D. Xebec thanks to the damage they dealt first. Garling, at least at his power level back on God Valley, definitely couldn’t have fought or defeated Rocks D. Xebec singlehandedly. At the very least, fans now know that Figarland Garling can likely use Conqueror’s Haki, as it’s needed to bypass Rocks’s demon form, but this doesn’t come as a surprise, as all Elders use Conqueror’s Haki.
Figarland Garling Will Be A Major Antagonist In The Final Saga of One Piece
In just a few chapters of God Valley, Oda did well to highlight a few important characters. Roger, Garp, Rocks, and Imu, among others, all got their moment, and so did Garling Figarland now. Garling seemed weak at first, being easily defeated by Xebec, but it must be remembered that this was far from his true peak.
After God Valley, Garling has only grown stronger. Garling went from a normal Holy Knight, to the Supreme Leader of the Holy Knights, to now being one of the Five Elders following the death of Saint Saturn.
Oda definitely has major plans ahead for the father of Shanks and Shamrock. Garling will be a major antagonist, and whatever battle he is involved in in the future will be a huge highlight of the Final Saga.
Eiichiro Oda’s One Piece will be featured in this week’s Weekly Shonen Jump Issue. The official release date of One Piece Chapter 1166 is November 23, 2025. In Japan, One Piece drops at 12AM JST on Monday, which is 11:00 AM EST, or 8:00 AM PT. Fans can read the chapter for free on Manga Plus and the Shonen Jump apps.
