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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a key motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to convey the full truth, even for the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no silly performer prancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to capture the complete reality, including the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' best arcs to now. Beyond the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into icons — when their fame had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However not much is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Now, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga presents him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, knowing the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in God Valley, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle event through a flashback recounted by the giant, including viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I believe we can consider this account as completely truthful. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley incident excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {