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The adage 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Legends frequently do not capture the full truth, even for the most influential characters in this story's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The entire God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' finest storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they usually refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret history. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's unseen ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the audience and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the government's scheme to eliminate the island where his family resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks really die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's only remaining ancient stone in constant movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the same for his own grandson. Comparable questions have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Garp serve the Navy, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may provide an reason later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently exemplifies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {