Gol D Roger's Disease and Devil Fruit Power

[pobeb]

The following is strictly speculation, so please, take it as just that:

Spoiler

It's common knowledge that Gol D Roger had some sort of incurable disease before his death, but nobody actually knows what that disease was. Admittedly, I didn't think this was noteworthy at first, but then I noticed something. Over the series, Oda has made it a point to draw the similarities between Roger and Luffy:

-They both smiled on the execution platform in Lougetown
-They both wore the same hat
-They share the same idea about piracy, http://www.mangareader.net/103-2613-17/one-piece/chapter-506.html (later on rayleigh also asks luffy if he can conquer the grand line, and although it doesn't show it in the manga, the anime paralleled luffy's response with a shot of roger)

So, obviously they're alike in many ways, and Oda has been making it a point to show that to his audience. I submit, that not only did they share these aforementioned things, but they also shared devil fruit powers, and that's exactly how Roger obtained his disease.

This may sound a bit far fetched, but I believe that before Shanks met Luffy, he was in East Blue searching for Roger's devil fruit (devil fruits respawn when their owner dies). And again, I'm merely speculating that the fruit exists in East Blue based on what we've been shown. Anyways, Shanks meets Luffy and realizes that not only does he share Roger's spirit, but OH SNAP he just ate Roger's fruit (you can tell how important that fruit was to Shanks by his reaction). So, understanding how fate governs so much in the one piece universe, Shanks submits and passes on his dream of becoming the pirate king (he gives Luffy the strawhat).

How does any of this relate to how Roger got that disease, you ask? I think, like Luffy, Roger learned how to activate the "gears". As we know, going into gear mode drastically shortens your life. What we don't know is HOW it shortens your life, and by this theory, I believe I've answered that.

Roger was the former Rubberman and he contracted his "disease" by his use of "gear mode".

Thank you for reading!

 

[Ashura_Ichibugin]

Actually, this was discussed a little in some threads before. The general opinion is that if Roger was the previous eater of the Gomu Gomu No Mi, somebody would have commented on that. Some people say that if that was the case, World Government would have hunted Luffy with all its power from the beginning as that fruit would have had great symbolic meaning. And I once written in a post I hope he was not the previous eater of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, that much similarity would be overkill.

Nice to at last have a thread dedicated to this topic.

 

[Anduren]

I like your idea/theory/speculation. Although I don't think Gol D. Roger was a rubberman, that would be speculation too untill we learn more in the future about him. From what I got from the story, Gol D. Roger may have had the same "incurable disease" Dr. Hiruluk had, and as to fulfill Tony Tony Chopper's dream he will be able to cure the incurable disease if/when Luffy gets it in the future by using something associated with sakura blossoms.
Even though this is also a whole lot of speculation, I've had the feeling that Hiruluk and Kureha were pirates that may have traveled during Gol D. Roger's time and the incurable disease may be an aspect of one of the islands in the new world they traveled to. Maybe the Wano country also exists in the new world and Hiruluk was cured there somehow and he associated his recovery to the sakura blossoms there (with the Japanese theme and all).

 

[silver_soul]

It's a pretty interesting theory but I think if it were true then we would've seen some kinda reaction from people that have met luffy and who were known to have met Roger e.g. Buggy's reaction when he first saw Luffy as a rubberman, that flower-head doctor who was on Rogers ship, just to name a couple. They would've shown it in their reactions if they saw any resemblance of Roger in Luffy's abilities.

 

[pobeb]

In terms of people having reactions to Luffy's rubber ability, I pose this question: Why didn't buggy react to the strawhat? Or Mihawk? Or even Rayleigh at first?

Plenty of people who've either known roger or shanks have met Luffy without even a mention of his famous hat. I feel like it's just part of the writing oda is employing. If he wanted us to know that roger owned the hat first, he would have made it clear when rayleigh first met luffy. I think this is the same idea with the rubber ability.

 

[MaiSiaoSiao]

Idk about Buggy.But as for MiHawk and RayLeigh,they probably know about Luffy long before luffy set out on his journey.Remember the duels shanks and mihawk had before shanks lost his left arm?I think shanks told him the reason.I forgot if it was mentioned in the anime or manga .But for Rayleigh it was. http://www.mangareader.net/103-2613-17/one-piece/chapter-506.html

 

[Mad Wanze]

In terms of people having reactions to Luffy's rubber ability, I pose this question: Why didn't buggy react to the strawhat? Or Mihawk? Or even Rayleigh at first?

Plenty of people who've either known roger or shanks have met Luffy without even a mention of his famous hat. I feel like it's just part of the writing oda is employing. If he wanted us to know that roger owned the hat first, he would have made it clear when rayleigh first met luffy. I think this is the same idea with the rubber ability.

actually, Buggy did react to the straw hat, as it remined him of Shanks. There's the possibility Roger gave the hat to Shanks before buggy joined the crew. By the way, i think the theory is pretty smart, even if i don't really want Luffy to be the exact copy of Gold Roger, and i hope Roger had a much more charming Devil Fruit. Gomu Gomu no Mi fits perfectly Luffy's personality, but Roger's? Doing the Fusen to bounce cannonballs off? Personally i hope not!

 

[NoLimit89]

With regards to the straw hat, I think Roger only wore it before he became famous. Same with Shanks. Only a few people know about how the hat was passed down, like Rayleigh or Shanks, however most people who knew Roger before, simply did not pay much attention to it. I mean something like a strawhat doesn't exactly stand out UNLESS you name yourself the strawhat pirates and always have the signiture strawhat on during battles. And that is the reason why WG didn't go "OMG that's the hat that Roger wore and it clearly symbolizes his will being passed down! We must hunt down Strawhat immediately!!!"

They only started paying attention to the strawhats after Luffy started beating shichibukais and trashing WG strongholds.

 

[elitefox]

The following is strictly speculation, so please, take it as just that:

Spoiler

It's common knowledge that Gol D Roger had some sort of incurable disease before his death, but nobody actually knows what that disease was. Admittedly, I didn't think this was noteworthy at first, but then I noticed something. Over the series, Oda has made it a point to draw the similarities between Roger and Luffy:

-They both smiled on the execution platform in Lougetown
-They both wore the same hat
-They share the same idea about piracy, http://www.mangareader.net/103-2613-17/one-piece/chapter-506.html (later on rayleigh also asks luffy if he can conquer the grand line, and although it doesn't show it in the manga, the anime paralleled luffy's response with a shot of roger)

So, obviously they're alike in many ways, and Oda has been making it a point to show that to his audience. I submit, that not only did they share these aforementioned things, but they also shared devil fruit powers, and that's exactly how Roger obtained his disease.

This may sound a bit far fetched, but I believe that before Shanks met Luffy, he was in East Blue searching for Roger's devil fruit (devil fruits respawn when their owner dies). And again, I'm merely speculating that the fruit exists in East Blue based on what we've been shown. Anyways, Shanks meets Luffy and realizes that not only does he share Roger's spirit, but OH SNAP he just ate Roger's fruit (you can tell how important that fruit was to Shanks by his reaction). So, understanding how fate governs so much in the one piece universe, Shanks submits and passes on his dream of becoming the pirate king (he gives Luffy the strawhat).

How does any of this relate to how Roger got that disease, you ask? I think, like Luffy, Roger learned how to activate the "gears". As we know, going into gear mode drastically shortens your life. What we don't know is HOW it shortens your life, and by this theory, I believe I've answered that.

Roger was the former Rubberman and he contracted his "disease" by his use of "gear mode".

Thank you for reading!

I don't think they have the same devil fruit though, if it is, many of the so called veterans will have a response when they saw luffy using rubber properties for the first time. but only notable for luffy is his king's haki which is fitted for a PK

 

[silver_soul]

In terms of people having reactions to Luffy's rubber ability, I pose this question: Why didn't buggy react to the strawhat? Or Mihawk? Or even Rayleigh at first?

Plenty of people who've either known roger or shanks have met Luffy without even a mention of his famous hat. I feel like it's just part of the writing oda is employing. If he wanted us to know that roger owned the hat first, he would have made it clear when rayleigh first met luffy. I think this is the same idea with the rubber ability.

That's a good point and Oda may well carry such an intention but don't forget, it's a hat. The impact of common clothing accessories can hardly be compared to that of common DF abilities.

Also, Rayleigh had already spoken to Shanks before he met Luffy and Shanks had told him about his hat so that would explain Rayleigh's reaction.

Besides, as NoLimit pointed out, that hat may well have been a lesser known characterisic of Roger, I mean, have you seen the way he dressed in Rayleigh's flashback of their first encounter, the hat was the thing that stood out the least in that funky outfit.lol.

 

[Omnion_1990]

Same as Garp, I propose Roger did not have a Devil-fruit ability but had insane strength and a huge haki reserve. He's also been shown with a Sword and pistol, which he used in his fights. In fact a sword wound by roger was given to whitebeard. Why fight with a sword if you have gomu gomu abilities?

However I do believe Oda is shaping Luffys dead in the image of Rogers death, which is quite sad. Luffys lost 10 years of his lifespan and now loses his life-force forcing blood to pump around his body at immense pressure with gear 3, doesnt look like hell reach Garps prime old age.

 

[Renaan]

I stick to my guns on this that he had no Devil Fruit ability, his Colour of Observation was just on a completely different level that anyone else. I know it's not Canon but in the Anime luffy is talking to this old guy in a bar and the guy says the line.. 'No one could touch him', this to me is along the lines of his 'Voice of all things' kinda ability.

I crazy strong Colour of Armement is all well and good, but if you cannot hit your opponent you're pretty screwed.

He could feel the smallest ripple of the waves, to the clouds to the beat of the heart beat of fish in the ocean, it was that crazy powerful. It allowed him to navigate anywhere, to get through storms and eventually to Raftal

 

[undertoe]

Um, maybe YOU don't know how using Gears shortens one's life, but to a lot of us, it's fairly straightforward physiology. Same with the vigoro hormones. It's not some voodoo curse that ends up netting you a disease. Think about the people who mentioned that Gears will shorten Luffy's life. How would they know so much about Roger's situation? This is a half-baked theory at best.

 

[WhatWhatinthebutt]

Actually, this was discussed a little in some threads before. The general opinion is that if Roger was the previous eater of the Gomu Gomu No Mi, somebody would have commented on that. Some people say that if that was the case, World Government would have hunted Luffy with all its power from the beginning as that fruit would have had great symbolic meaning. And I once written in a post I hope he was not the previous eater of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, that much similarity would be overkill.

Nice to at last have a thread dedicated to this topic.

This pretty much sums up my thought... but whatever power he had he was scarier than 'Quakeman'... watch him have like some sad ability like Bonney..

 

[tret16]

using the gears shortens luffy's life because it puts a high strain on his organs due to the increased blood flow and other things his body does in the mode. it doesn't give him any disease or anything like that.

 

[Anduren]

It would be a really funny twist if it turns out that Gol D. Roger DID have the same ability as Bonny. At least it would explain why the marines, and specifically Akainu, was so intent on capturing her.

EDIT: By the way I just looked up what "Disease" meant literally:
"a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment." (dictionary.com)

Technically, If using gear 2nd and 3rd is killing Luffy, the weakening and wearing off of his internal organs due to extreme stress could be considered a disease.

 

[Zinc]

Gol D Roger wasnt a devil fruits eater and he was pirate king and thats why hes so EPIC !!!

 

[Saint Markus]

i thought Garp had some kind of "superhuman" ability of some sort. anyways, i agree with some other people, Gol D. Roger probably mastered "haki" and that's what made him so powerful. like, Rayleigh, who manages to fight "admirals" with devil fruit powers, with just skill alone.

nice theory though.

 

[Gravitas]

Didn't Rayleigh say that Roger had the ability to "hear the voice of all things". I doubt this is haki related.

Let's remember the following:

-Roger could write in the ancient language, as evidenced by the message he left on glyph in skypeia.

-Rayleigh also said that he and his mates lacked the intellect of scholars to properly interpret the messages they found in their journeys, so I doubt Roger actually learned the language of the ancient kingdom through scholarly means.

-I think it is a given that he had a DF power. Maybe not a power that gave him any destructive abilities since people tend to say that his physical power was unmatched. I think he may have had some kind of paramecia or a mythical zoan of some sort that turned him into a creature that had psychic abilities. Any guesses?

 

[darth volcaniz]

i think Gol D Roger may have had some devil fruit power. but i dont think it was the gomu gomu no mi. i say this because, everyone fails to mention white beard. white beard, for a long time, has been on a sort of supplemental life support system dealing with some heart condition. we know he was up there in the years, so it could have been from his massive size. but i think heart failure may be a hidden draw back of the devil fruits.