Who is Streusen in ‘One Piece’ and is he connected to the Rocks Pirates?

Streuse was always one of those characters in One Piece that we tend to forget about. Often in the background, accompanying Big Mom in some way or another… but perhaps all that is about to change.

One Piece is currently a galore of information. Miscellaneous bits of the story are being dropped here and there, in good ol’ Eiichiro Oda fashion. So naturally, all of these morsels of lore are being unveiled masterfully, even if none of us could have anticipated what was about to unfold. Recently, we met the Rocks Pirates, and among the familiar faces, a few new ones were also introduced – one of them bearing an eerie resemblance to Streusen. So, let’s jog our memories, shall we?

Who is Streusen in One Piece?

We’ve known Streusen for quite some time, but we often overlooked his significant impact on the story over the years. To summarize, we first met Streusen on Whole Cake Island, where he served as the executive chef of the Big Mom Pirates. As time went on, we discovered that not only was Streusen the best person to satisfy Linlin’s cravings and hunger pangs with his devil fruit, but he also co-founded the crew alongside Big Mom herself.

He’s been by Big Mom’s side since she was six years old, witnessing Linlin unconsciously eat her adoptive mother Carmel, as well as all the other orphans. Despite witnessing such a violent act, Streusen still approached Linlin in a friendly and kind manner, offering her companionship and, eventually, a partnership in creating the Big Mom Pirates that we know today.

Throughout the Whole Cake and Wano arcs, we learned that Big Mom, Kaido, and Whitebeard were all a part of the infamous Rocks Pirates when they were starting their lives in piracy, but we never truly discovered where Streusen was during this time… until now.

Was Streusen in the Rocks Pirates?

All evidence points to Streusen having been a member of the Rocks Pirates, a once-feared and highly active crew nearly 40 years ago. In Chapter 1096 of the One Piece manga, the incident at God Valley that led to the island’s destruction is finally revealed in a flashback, unveiling the beginning of the events.

So, why were the Rocks Pirates involved in this incident? The answer lies in God Valley being an ungoverned island rich in resources. This prompted the Celestial Dragons to announce a manhunt to rid the island of its inhabitants and the victor of this competition would be rewarded with two extremely powerful Devil Fruits: the Paw-Paw Fruit (now belonging to Kuma) and the Fish-Fish Fruit, Model: Azure Dragon (Kaido’s fruit).

Naturally, with such enticing prizes at stake, pirates from all around gathered on the island, including Roger’s crew and the Rocks Pirates. In a panel showing both crews entering God Valley, we not only see the entire Rocks Crew but also catch a glimpse of what appears to be Streusen, albeit he looks very small in the image.

Fans quickly noticed that Big Mom’s executive chef was also on the vicious pirate roster. This suggests that while Linlin was one of Rocks’ pirates, Streusen likely followed suit and accompanied her in this piracy adventure not just as a chef, but as an actual fighter who was once feared across all the Sea Blue.