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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the full truth, even for the most powerful figures in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly performer dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to judge the individuals too hastily.

Myths frequently do not convey the full truth, even for the most powerful characters.

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to see them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his legend, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his initial travels, the one that molded him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden history. His affection for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the planet's unseen ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned version of events, the very narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the land where his kin lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his downfall. After facing Imu, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the present day, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to prevent the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something distinct. The moment Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in God Valley, even it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this version as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {