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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' serves as a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends often do not convey the full reality, including the most powerful characters in this story's complex history. Oden wasn't a silly performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative serves as a warning story, advising readers not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

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

The series's latest look back, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's finest arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became symbols — when their fame had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through hearsay tales, painted our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before fame found him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the globe and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both 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 Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was only echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative the sovereign authorized to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp serve the Marines, aware the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. 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 the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are viewing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as entirely truthful. The manga may offer an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {