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The saying 'History is recorded by the victors' is a key motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the full reality, even for the most influential figures in this story's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Legends often fail to capture the full reality, even for the most powerful characters.

One Piece's latest look back, chronicling the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' best storylines to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. History, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including 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 fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the daring spirit that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

Back then, Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden history. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the world's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both to the viewers 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 join forces to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the World Government's approved narrative of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's scheme to eliminate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and liberty, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting idea is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar questions have now resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, aware the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {