According to an intriguing One Piece rumour, Dragon’s father may not be who fans have been led to believe all along.
If you ask any One Piece fan about Monkey D. Luffy’s family situation, you’re likely to hear the same response: “It’s complicated.” Despite the fact that Luffy is the son of Monkey D. Dragon, who is the son of Monkey D. Garp, the identity of Luffy’s mother remains a mystery. Despite the fact that both senior members of the Monkey family were properly introduced back in the Post Enies Lobby storyline, this supposedly prevalent opinion has remained true since then, with no further clarification since then.
One Reddit user, on the other hand, may have discovered an explanation that completely turns the One Piece universe on its head. They speculate that Garp isn’t Luffy’s paternal grandfather but rather his maternal grandfather, and that Dragon’s father is someone entirely different — Rocks D. Xebec, the former most notorious pirate in the world, as stated in their post. So, how realistic do you think this theory is?
At first glance, it appears to be an absurd proposition. After all, isn’t it a well-known truth that Garp is Dragon’s paternal grandfather? It is never explicitly stated in the One Piece manga, but, when one looks more closely. Despite the fact that Garp is Luffy’s grandfather — the likeness between the two is a dead giveaway — and Dragon is Luffy’s father, Garp never claims that Dragon is his own son. Garp clearly states that Luffy is “the child of my child,” which seems like a clumsy way to frame it until you remember that Eiichiro Oda is purposefully avoiding using gendered terminology in order to keep the reveal a secret.
Dragon is the odd one out among the Monkeys in terms of physical appearance, missing the Cheshire Cat grins and round faces that characterise Garp and Luffy. Dragon’s features, on the other hand, are extremely angular, with a thin, gaunt face and a pointed nose. When you combine it with his long, wild hair, you have a physical description that is more in line with Rocks than Garp.
If u/theory dfd2002’s is correct, then Dragon resembles his father in more ways than just his physical characteristics. While both men are opposed to the tyranny of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons, it was Rocks who did so in the capacity of a murderous pirate seeking to amass as much power as he could. Dragon, on the other hand, appears to be acting out of a sense of justice, given his position as leader of the Revolutionary Army. Dragon has been named the most wanted criminal in history, but Xebec was the most wanted pirate during his lifetime. With the idea of a father and son living similar lives and fighting comparable fights — yet having ideologically opposing motivations for doing so — comes a struggle that has the potential to be both entertaining and educational at the same time.
However, his given name remains Monkey D. Dragon. This is all well and good, but What makes you think he has Garp’s last name? According to the information provided by u/dfd2002 in their post, it is not commonplace in Japan for a husband to take on his wife’s family name, a practise known as mukoyshi. This occurs when the wife’s family is of higher social standing than the husband’s — or when the husband comes from a disreputable family. Dragon’s wife comes from a more illustrious family than the son of the most infamous pirate, undoubtedly because she is the daughter of the Marine Corps’ finest hero. The legacy of Xebec was such that the World Government endeavoured to remove him from the history books in order to maintain peace, most likely putting a target on Rocks D. Dragon’s back in the process. It is only understandable that he would choose the moniker “Monkey” in an attempt to conceal his true identity.
The fact that Luffy is the grandson of a terrible pirate also adds a fresh layer to his character. While Luffy has never allowed his bloodlines to define him, the world’s tendency to place unrealistic expectations on people based on their genealogy is a recurring subject in One Piece. It’s possible that being a great pirate is Luffy’s destiny, as Woop Slap speculates ominously in Chapter 96. Except when you consider that Woop Slap knows a lot more about Luffy’s bloodline than he’s willing to admit. After all, why would it be Luffy’s destiny to become a pirate, when he’s the son of a Revolutionary and the grandson of a Marine?
When it comes to how this revelation will affect the rest of One Piece, the World Government’s desire to avoid having Xebec’s heir succeed him as Pirate King is certain to motivate them to use any means possible against the Straw Hats during the series’ final war. It also adds another layer to the eventual conflict between Luffy and Blackbeard — with Blackbeard inheritor of Xebec’s will and Luffy inheritor of Xebec’s blood, Rocks’ legacy is certain to play a significant role in the final outcome of the series.
For the majority of the series’ duration, the identity of Luffy’s parents has remained a secret. There’s still a lot about Dragon that readers don’t know, and there’s next to no information about Luffy’s mother, which is frustrating. If u/theory dfd2002’s is correct, however, there is a very solid reason why Oda has chosen to keep the matter under wraps. Whatever surprises await both the viewer and Luffy during One Piece’s big finale, there is little doubt that it will provide some of the most gripping drama the series has ever seen..
