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· Chapter 1177 is titled 'Rage'.
· In the early part of the story, Roronoa Zoro's group attacks the Giant Warrior Army, who are under the influence of 'Dommy Reversi'.
· Tony Tony Chopper also delivers a powerful blow to the giants in Monster Point, causing a giant to revert to its original form, surprising everyone.
· Meanwhile, Sanji's team successfully subdues Saint Killingham.
· Sanji entrusts Killingham's head to Jinbe and, with Franky, ties up his legs to separate his body.
· With his body separated and unable to regenerate, Saint Killingham screams in pain, revealing a physical method to break his 'immortality'.
· Later, Usopp and Brook regroup but are knocked down by Imu's attack.
· However, an enraged Usopp rises again, facing a decisive moment.
· He shouts to Imu, 'Elbaf is the land of warriors!', condemning Imu's cowardly methods against the Elbaf warriors and demanding a direct fight.
· Usopp fires an explosive star at Imu, but Imu appears instantly before Usopp with super-high-speed movement.
· A massive explosion sweeps the surroundings, and Usopp and Brook lose consciousness.
· At the end of this chapter, Monkey D. Luffy becomes extremely enraged and consumed by fury upon seeing his comrades fall.
· At this moment, Imu declares, 'Nika and Nidhogg. Will you surrender, or choose death? This battle will divide the world!'
· The editor's note states, 'Finally, they confront each other directly.'

· Based on the clues gathered so far, there is a strong speculation that Rocks D. Xebec is the 'Man Marked by Flames'.
· Author Eiichiro Oda has left several hints about this on multiple occasions.
· First, Rocks D. Xebec did not die in the God Valley Incident.
· After being defeated by the highest-level Haki of Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp, Rocks D. Xebec released the 'Dommy Reversi' state.
· Even with Saint Figarland Garling's fatal blow, Rocks D. Xebec showed no fear, which is because he possessed two hearts, like Blackbeard.
· Saint Figarland Garling only destroyed one of those hearts, and Oda set Rocks D. Xebec's fate as 'missing'.
· He faked his death to deceive the public and successfully escaped amidst the Buster Call bombardment.
· However, having lost one heart and suffering severe injuries, he could not exert his full power from his prime, and his habit of fighting bare-handed for years backfired, eventually leaving him with extensive burn scars all over his body.
· Second, Gecko Moria's zombie army also serves as evidence.
· After his defeat against Kaido, Gecko Moria realized the truth that 'what is lost is because one is alive' and traveled the world, searching for the corpses of top-tier deceased warriors to create a zombie army.
· Among them were figures who participated in the God Valley Incident, such as Captain John and Silver Axe.
· The fact that Gecko Moria found Oars' corpse but not any trace of Rocks D. Xebec leads to the only logical explanation: Rocks D. Xebec was not dead in the first place.
· Third, the Final Saga's list of 12 individuals also provides strong clues.
· If we examine this list closely, the bottom 8 individuals are important, excluding the top 4 'Yonko'.
· These 8 individuals are divided into four factions: Revolutionary Army (Monkey D. Dragon, Sabo), World Government (Imu, Saint Figarland Garling), Marines (Akainu, Koby), and Pirates (Aokiji, mysterious black silhouette).
· The reason this black silhouette can be concluded to be Rocks D. Xebec is that the World Government and Yonko factions already have their representatives.
· The weapon Rocks D. Xebec used when he was alive was a Western sword, and the black silhouette in the illustration also holds a Western sword.
· Oda recently revealed in an SBS that the name of this sword is 'Eclipse', which is intended to hint to readers that Rocks D. Xebec is alive and that the black silhouette on the list is Rocks himself.
· Fourth, the confrontation dynamic of the listed individuals holds deep meaning.
· Oda made it clear that the black silhouette facing Saint Figarland Garling is his arch-nemesis.
· During the God Valley Incident, Rocks D. Xebec's power was enough to instantly kill Saint Figarland Garling, but after losing a heart, his power significantly weakened, and he is now presumed to have combat power equal to Saint Figarland Garling.
· This further supports that the black silhouette is Rocks D. Xebec, and the confrontation dynamic between the two perfectly reflects the fate forged at God Valley.
· Fifth, clues about the black ship.
· When the Blackbeard Pirates conversed with Aokiji, it was mentioned that the 'Man Marked by Flames' travels on a black ship, and a giant, extremely dangerous whirlpool occurs for those who approach it.
· Rocks D. Xebec, after obtaining one Road Poneglyph, would have hidden his identity and wandered the seas, and when a ship approached, he would have unleashed massive slashes, like a giant hammer or bombardment, with his Western sword, creating powerful whirlpools to prevent anyone from approaching.
· Combining these clues, the inference that Rocks D. Xebec is the 'Man Marked by Flames' is very clear.

· In One Piece Chapter 1176, Franky, having achieved 'Super Evolution', showcased a form that could be called a 'superpower perpetual motion machine'.
· Neither Devil Fruits nor the three types of Haki can match the power he currently wields, which is the advanced scientific technology of the Ancient Kingdom, feared even by Imu 800 years ago.
· Compared to Franky's past self, who was desperately searching for cola in Enies Lobby, it's clear that the cyborg's biggest weakness, energy depletion, has been resolved.
· While there wasn't time to apply Vegapunk's technology during the 'Egghead' arc, this weakness was compensated for in the Elbaf arc.
· What was revealed this time is the 'Universal Absorption Converter'.

Category	Details
Item	Universal Absorption Converter
Mounting Location	Franky's Arm
Effect 1	Absorbs all types of energy, like the 'Black Hole' of the 'Dark-Dark Fruit'
Effect 2	Perfectly converts absorbed energy into his own power without waste
Effect 3	Sustained combat ability surpasses Ryokugyu's 'Forest-Forest Fruit'

· Now, Franky no longer needs to worry about energy depletion during combat.
· The core of the 'Egghead' arc was Vegapunk's research into ancient scientific technology and his attempts to restore ancient energy.
· Energy is the foundation of all civilization, and 900 years ago, ancient energy was the core of all technology.
· This energy powered advanced weapons that even Vegapunk couldn't replicate 800 years later.
· The bond between Vegapunk and the MADS team members carried over to the next generation, and Lilith began collaborating with Franky.
· They can absorb island-scale fires at once and convert that energy into power, which can be seen as an early-stage application of 'Mother Flame' technology.
· Lilith and Vegapunk mentioned that Elbaf is overflowing with energy, and Vegapunk's dream was to create infinite energy to end resource wars.
· He researched the power source of the ancient robot Emmet and succeeded in replicating a small artificial sun, the 'Mother Flame'.
· Imu activated a destructive weapon using only a tiny fraction of the 'Mother Flame' energy, obliterating the Lulusia Kingdom without a trace.
· The Giant Warrior Tribe's murals depict a demon holding a sun-like object and transforming into a giant, evil entity.
· Ancient energy is likely the key to awakening all of Imu's power and the core that drives various advanced technologies of the Ancient Kingdom.
· Among them, there's a high possibility that the giant battleship 'Pluton', slumbering beneath Wano Country, is included.
· Since 'Pluton' possesses the power to annihilate an entire island with a single blow, it would require an immense amount of energy to sustain it.
· The Thousand Sunny's 'Gaon Cannon' has enough power to sweep a battlefield but consumes 5 bottles of cola.
· Franky designed the Thousand Sunny after directly seeing Pluton's blueprints, so it's highly probable that he secretly incorporated some of Pluton's technology.
· However, at the time, the blueprints contained many technologies that even Franky couldn't understand, especially Pluton's energy system.
· Therefore, the Thousand Sunny adopted cola, which is compatible with his body, as an alternative energy source.
· Now, with Vegapunk's technical support, Franky can draw energy from his surroundings, even from disasters.
· He can absorb and recycle anything that exists in energy form, such as flames, shockwaves, and lasers.
· If this is one of the operating mechanisms of ancient energy, then 'Pluton' also likely has the ability to absorb and utilize ambient energy.
· The three Ancient Weapons correspond to the powers of the sea, land, and sky, respectively, and the battleship 'Pluton', representing the power of the land, may possess powerful abilities to alter terrain.
· For example, by re-absorbing magma erupted from Wano Country's underwater volcano to form the massive walls surrounding Wano Country.
· However, according to the law of conservation of energy, regions from which energy is extracted are bound to decline.
· If there was an ambitious ruler in the past who sought to gather immense energy to power destructive forces, he would have targeted the scientific technology of the Ancient Kingdom.
· Looking at the composition of this mural again, energy symbols are present throughout, traversing this long history.
· This power can drive powerful weapons or give birth to terrifying demon kings, and the outcome depends entirely on whose hands it falls into.
· Interestingly, the fact that Franky is positioned in the center of the picture in this mural's composition might be Oda hinting at something else.
· Franky, as a cyborg, symbolizes the fusion of machine and human, and the secrets surrounding the 'Void Century' might be far more advanced than we imagine.