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The saying 'History is recorded by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures in this story's intricate history. Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma was not a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a pirate's game in search of emblems and crews.

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

Legends frequently do not capture the complete truth, even for the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

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 new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's approved narrative of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he endangered everything to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The truth reveals something distinct. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, including perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I think we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {