Highlights
- Gol D. Roger and Montblanc Noland are similar in their pursuit of freedom and adventure in the Grand Line, but their fates diverge with their deaths.
- Both characters proclaimed the existence of treasure, but Roger was believed and died a hero, while Noland was branded a liar and died in disgrace.
- Roger’s final words sparked a chain reaction that will likely bring down the World Government, and fans speculate that Noland’s tale holds clues about the true nature of the One Piece treasure.
One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy as he pursues his dream to find Gol D. Roger’s treasure and become the Pirate King. After obtaining this title, Gol D. Roger willingly handed himself over to the Marines, and his execution went down in One Piece history as one of the most emblematic events of the series. In revealing the existence of a great treasure, he motivated an entire generation of pirates to pursue the freedom to follow their dreams, with his last words serving as a catalyst to the events taking place in the current narrative.
Though this certainly makes Gol D. Roger one of the more memorable One Piece legends, there is another character whose death closely resembles his in many respects. This is Montblanc Noland, a secondary character introduced in the pre-timeskip Jaya Arc whose death scene is a narrative inversion of the Pirate King’s.
Who Is Montblanc Noland?
Montblanc Noland is the One Piece character the in-world picture book “Liar Noland” is based off. He is a Lveel Kingdom Admiral who explored the Grand Line four hundred years before the current One Piece story takes place. After hearing the ring of the Golden Bell, he and his crew approach Jaya and encounter the disease-stricken Shandia tribe. Luckily for them, Noland is knowledgeable about the Tree Fever that afflicts them, and he manages to create a cure using his vast knowledge of herbology. These actions lead him to becoming great friends with the Shandia, and he promises to return before once more departing for Lveel Kingdom to tell the King the tales of his travels.
After informing the King of the existence of the Golden City, he instantly orders a military expedition to Jaya, but the rough seas of the Grand Line prove to be too much of an obstacle for the Lveel Kingdom’s military forces and their attempts to set sail end in failure. Eventually, Noland is tasked to escort the king, a task he gladly consents to as he is eager to honor his promise to return to his friends. Upon arriving, he is shocked to find the City of Gold and the entire Shandia tribe have disappeared, and he is branded a liar by the disappointed and enraged King. Of course, fans now know the City disappeared when it was transported to the sky by the Knock Up Stream, but Noland isn’t given a chance to discover this for himself and is executed for lying upon his and the King’s return to Lvneel.
How Does Noland’s Life Parallel Gol D. Roger’s?
Though at first glance these One Piece characters may appear unrelated, Montblanc Noland and Gol D. Roger are two sides of the same coin. The contexts of their decisions are different, but both men set sail for the Grandline to pursue a life of freedom and adventure, and on their respective journeys both encountered friends, respect, and riches. Gol D. Roger became the Pirate King when he eventually managed to reach Laugh Tale and obtain the fabled One Piece treasure. On the other hand, Noland couldn’t return to the Golden City, and was branded as a liar instead of a legend as a result.
Their execution scenes are extremely similar too, with both being held in the same stance at execution, and both proclaiming the existence of the respective treasure to the crowd of onlookers. This is where the parallels end though, because whilst Roger was believed and died a hero with a smile on his face and the knowledge that his last words would likely turn the world upside down, Noland’s death was the opposite. Like Roger, he also proclaimed the existence of his treasure, but he wasn’t believed and because of this he died frowning, branded a liar and a coward.
The chain reaction started by Gol D. Roger’s final words led to the current state of complete upheaval in the Grand Line’s power balance and will probably bring around the complete collapse of the World Government by the end of the series. Many powerful actors in the Golden Age of Piracy share this goal, and as the series progresses, the race to reach Laugh Tale gets tighter and fiercer.
Mangaka Eiichiro Oda is known for his foreshadowing and ability to plan ahead, so given Gol D. Roger’s parallels with Montblanc Noland, it is possible that this in-world tale holds more hints to the true nature of the One Piece. An interesting fan theory states that since Noland was telling the truth but wasn’t believed, Gol D. Roger, who was believed, may have been lying, and since the City of Gold was a city of riches, the One Piece may instead be a more unconventional type of treasure.
One Piece is available to stream on Prime Video.
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