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The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales often do not convey the full reality, including the most powerful figures in this world's intricate history. Oden was no silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative serves as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to convey the full truth, including the most influential figures.

The series's latest look back, detailing the Divine Isle incident, represents one of the story's finest arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand tales, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the grand expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. However little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the genocidal "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned version of occurrences, the very story the sovereign authorized to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his dreams of domination to save them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks actually die? An interesting idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to save Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar questions have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as completely accurate. The series may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {