Despite initially being presented as an antagonist, One Piece is slowly but surely proving that there is much more to Loki than meets the eye. Given his reputation as the “Accursed Prince” who supposedly killed his own father in cold blood, Luffy and Loki could not be any more different from each other, especially with Loki supposedly taking up the mantle of Nika the destroyer while Luffy personifies the more optimistic interpretations of Nika passed down through history. That said, the latest chapter of One Piece just introduced a huge parallel between Loki and Luffy, and it may be crucial to the direction their relationship takes.
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Chapter 1145 reveals that Loki wanted to join Rocks D. Xebec’s crew when he was younger. In the chapter, Loki reveals that he understands Luffy’s eagerness to meet Shanks and identifies with the feeling of idolizing a pirate one met as a child. The chapter also gives fans a brief flashback of Loki asking Rocks to take him along, much like Luffy did with Shanks at the very beginning of One Piece. However, when Rocks refuses, Loki immediately challenges Rocks to a fight, which Loki unsurprisingly loses, preventing him from joining Xebec’s crew and forcing Loki in the present to bitterly claim he was born in the wrong era.
One Piece Reveals a Surprising Link Between Loki and Rocks D. Xebec
Even a thousand chapters and episodes later, Rocks D. Xebec remains one of the most elusive characters in One Piece, whose influence on the story always presents itself in the most unexpected ways. This is precisely why the revelation that Loki had any sort of connection to the legendary pirate caught fans completely off guard. It is still unclear what Rocks’ true purpose was in visiting Elbaf. However, the fact that multiple generations of great pirates like Roger, Shanks, and now even Luffy have been drawn to the island suggests it may be hiding many more secrets than just the Harley, the ancient mural, and the 3000-year-old scientific facility.
That said, besides lending to the mystique of Elbaf, the revelation in Chapter 1145 also adds much more nuance to Loki’s character, further cementing the parallels between him and Luffy. The Elbaf Arc has been setting up these parallels for quite some time, with Loki declaring himself the Sun God, albeit one that will bring the world to an end, as Loki himself states during his introduction in Chapter 1130. On the flip side, Luffy is being set up as the alternative, benevolent version of Sun God Nika in the Harley, the one who laughs and dances and liberates people.
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Clearly, the two are so similar yet also so different at the same time. As such, the fact that Loki idolized Xebec in the exact way Luffy looked up to Shanks again likens them to each other while yet again setting up a clear ideological difference between the two. This contrast could end up being the deciding factor when it comes to whether Luffy and Loki do indeed end up on opposing sides or become allies at the end of the Elbaf Arc.
Loki May End Up Being Luffy’s Biggest Rival
The revelation that Loki idolized Rocks suggests he may share a similar dream of becoming the king of the world, one that Blackbeard is also speculated to aspire to. Rocks is already regarded as Roger’s biggest rival, and if Loki ends up taking up Rocks’ mantle, this would again put him at odds with Luffy, who is taking up Roger’s mantle. That said, it is difficult to imagine Loki swearing fealty to someone like Blackbeard.
Still, Loki and Luffy may very well end up repeating history and becoming rivals just like Rocks and Roger. Moreover, this is still a much better outcome than making an outright enemy out of Loki since, as things stand, it is difficult to see Loki joining the Straw Hats either. Perhaps Loki may be doomed to a fate similar to his idol Rocks, especially if Elbaf does go down the same path as God Valley, as fans have speculated.
One Piece is available to read from Manga Plus and Viz Media.
