We haven't seen Rocks with the Yami Yami yet, so unless he mastered it's powers almost instantly I doubt it, I would presume at the moment it has to do with the weird ass Go shit that Imu's fruit seems to have.
Here’s the other things:
I would laugh if Rocks is the Yami Yami no Mi.
And then they raise the Straw Hat flag. If anything, it could explain Luffy fighting Blackbeard before Imu.
Burgess Goes...gets BTFO by Yamato because Burgess exists to job.
if the theory about devil fruits is true this could actually be the case. people could be getting their souls sealed inside the fruits which is why smile fruits are so fucked up they are imperfect devil fruits lacking a soul thus only the strongest people can make them work because their soul fuels it.
That would not make sense. The Yami Yami no Mi was recorded in the encyclopedia and thus has to be at least somewhat older.
That'd certainly explain why at least the Nika fruit would have its truth hidden. Throw it into the "wait for the endgame to talk about it" pile.
even the Oden flashback was well paced after he joined whitebeard
In an actual good example of this, I would say Luffy is more like the audience experiencing the story and world than just being an audience surrogate. He rejected the location of The One Piece because there's still a world that is worth seeing and the treasure is part of that journey. The journey of the series started with him and grew into the SH then we started seeing more forces at play that connect what is happening and why this treasure is so important.
I’m gonna be honest, I’m not a fan of these Celestial Dragons chapters. Every time they’re featured it’s the same broken record of “these people are horrible, you should hate them, please wait for the CDs to get what’s coming to them, like Luffy punching one in the face.” I get that’s the point because Oda is waiting to show how they got to how they are, and what’ll happen after their demise, but there’s nothing interesting or entertaining about them or their antics/behavior.
I agree, as I myself have commented on how Garling is being portrayed.
As i mentioned, i think Oda really just wants to emphasize who the villains are and why they must be defeated.
Tranquilizer bullets, i'm sure that the CD's gave the marines non lethal bullets so their victims don't die via Marine
I actually think slightly differently. I think they've been allowed to do this shit so Imu can "save" the populace from them. He's going to strike down the villainous rulers and usher in an era of freedom. Which is complete horse shit but when it comes to a mask you can discard when you want to rule openly could you get much better than this lot?
I thought the big deal was Roger, Garp, and Rocks to show how Garp got his nickname and how things turned into a narrative change akin to Alabasta.
I get that, but it’s the same thing over and over again. Even God Valley seems like the standard rage inducing bullshit we’ve been told about the CDs and why they’re supposed to be hated. And why they must be defeated. It’s just that Oda is taking his sweet time to getting to where the CDs are…actually defeated. The endgame can’t come soon enough.