Highlights
- Hachinosu, a pirate island, is becoming increasingly important in the One Piece story, being referenced in important plot points and serving as the base of operations for the Blackbeard Pirates and the former home of the Rocks Pirates.
- The Rocky Port Incident on Hachinosu involved Trafalgar D. Law collecting a hundred pirate's hearts for the government and saw Marine Captain Koby assisting Blackbeard in defeating a pirate ruler, reshaping power dynamics in the One Piece world.
- Garp the Hero, Luffy's grandfather, returns to Hachinosu to rescue Koby and sacrifices himself to safeguard the lives of the younger generation. He is captured by Blackbeard, setting the stage for a potential blackmail situation with the world government. The mysterious treasure of Hachinosu and the God Valley incident hold further significance in the story.
Not much is known about Hachinosu, but recent One Piece developments have it at the forefront of the fandom’s mind. Having now been referenced in many important plot points, the relevance of pirate island is increasingly evident, and it will almost certainly continue to be central to future events in the story.
Hachinosu was first mentioned in One Piece chapter 306 as the likely place of origin of the Davy Back Fight and doesn’t return until much later, when chapter 925 reveals it as the Blackbeard Pirates’ base of operations. Not long after it is disclosed to have also been home to the Rocks Pirates, cementing its status as the focal point of pirate activity throughout the eras of the One Piece world.
Hachinosu Name And Geography, Explained
Hachinosu is a small-to-medium sized Island located somewhere in the New World. As is often the case with the One Piece locations, its structure is thematically appropriate and reflects its position as a lawless land of pirates. An imposing central skull-shaped formation is home to the fortress where Blackbeard resides and looms over the series of smaller buildings and huge palm trees that used to surround it, though the landscape has now been partially reshaped by the impact of Garp’s meteor fist.
In Japanese, the name Hachinosu means “beehive” or “honeycomb”. The One Piece story references how the name originates from the fact that “murderous pirates will come out like bees” in response to even the slightest provocation, but due to a translation error, the VIZ translation instead changed the name to “Fullalead”. This mistake was likely because Hachinosu is also a colloquial term used to refer to someone who has many bullet holes, and this choice was justified in the story by changing the Manga’s beehive explanation to the statement that “every surface is pockmarked from the constant shootouts”. Regardless, both translations are coherent with the themes and present the island as the lawless land of criminals it is.
What Happened At The Rocky Port Incident?
After the time skip, fans were surprised to find that Trafalgar D. Law had become a member of the Seven Warlords. Though the details are unknown, this position was obtained due to a major incident that took place on Hachinosu, known as the Rocky Port Incident. On this occasion, Law is rumored to have collected a hundred pirate’s hearts to deliver to the government, though the specifics are only known through anime filler as in the Manga these events happened off-screen.
In an unlikely collaboration, One Piece’s Rocky Port Incident also saw Marine Captain Koby safeguarding civilians and assisting Blackbeard in his defeat of the pirate ruler Ochoku. The repercussions of this incident were far-reaching and these actions both earned Koby the reputation of a hero, and established Blackbeard as the new ruler of Pirate Island. These events reshaped the power dynamics in One Piece and set the stage for the developments that have been unfolding in the Egghead arc.
The Disappearance of Garp The Hero
Recent developments on Hachinosu have seen the return of fan-favorite Garp the Hero, Vice admiral of the Marines and Luffy’s grandfather. After Koby sacrifices himself for the freedom of the Marines captured on Amazon Lily, Blackbeard imprisons him in Hachinosu with the intention of using him as a bargaining chip with the world government. Koby’s status as SWORD reduces his value as a hostage, however Garp sees the future of the marines in his young cadet and leads SWORD in a mission to infiltrate pirate island and rescue him. In doing so, he is well aware of the dangers, but he chooses to prioritize the life of the younger generation over his own regardless of his status and influence.
A large-scale confrontation between the Blackbeard Pirates and SWORD members has Garp jumping into harms way to prevent Shiryu from injuring Koby with a surprise attack. The already injured Vice admiral then stays behind on Hachinosu to fight Kuzan, granting the other SWORD members a chance to escape. Last fans have seen, Garp has lost his confrontation with Kuzan, and has been encased in ice and declared as missing. It is reasonable to assume that Blackbeard’s intention is to use him to blackmail the world government as he otherwise would have with Koby, a strategy which will most likely yield positive results due to his status as the legend who captured Gol. D. Roger. This conclusion is fitting as it is in stark contrast to a younger Garp stating that the World Government should never have infiltrated Hachinosu when Rocks D Xebec resided there. This proves not only his awareness but also his commitment to the safety of his underlings, in a move that will likely have drastic repercussions all throughout the One Piece world.
The Rocks Pirates
One Piece chapters 1095 and 1096 are delivering on the much-awaited Kuma flashback and to fans surprise, Oda has included details on the mysterious God Valley incident. In this flashback, the Rocks Pirates are seen gathering on Hachinosu to retrieve a treasure that was stolen from Pirate Island. This treasure was taken by the World Government to be used as prizes during the tournament and the community is speculating on what it could be. It is already confirmed it contained at least two devil fruits, Kaido’s Uo Uo No Mi fruit, and Kuma’s Nikyu Nikyu No Mi, however four of six chests are still unaccounted for and a mention of “treasure of Hachinosu” implies that there is likely a more important item yet to be discovered.
The flashback has now moved away from the Rock Pirates and the God Valley incident, but there are many fan theories circulating, including the popular idea that the treasure of Hachinosu is the puzzling giant egg seen on Roger’s ship during Oden’s flashback. Oda will probably reveal more information when he is ready to disclose the full details on the God Valley incident, but the One Piece narrative isn’t there yet and that moment will likely come after Egghead’s closure.
Hachinosu has evolved from a mere footnote to a focal point of the One Piece series and fans eagerly await news on Garp’s fate. Though the community may be impatient, the Blackbeard and Rocks Pirates arc is still in its setup phase and fans will likely have to wait for these narrative threads to take center stage and encompass the Strawhats for the full reveal.
One Piece is available to stream on Prime Video.
