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The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' serves as a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the full reality, including the most influential characters in this story's intricate history. Oden was no silly showman dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this idea. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths often do not capture the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the series' best storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of witnessing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people speak of his legend, they usually refer to his second voyage, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory found him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but maybe finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's version, both to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's approved version of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign authorized to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his determination and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something distinct. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, including perspectives and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The series may provide an explanation later, perhaps connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley incident excellently exemplifies the notion that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {