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The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this story's complex history. Oden wasn't a silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of duty and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones signified beyond just a buccaneer's game in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths often fail to capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters.

The series's latest flashback, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to now. Beyond the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them prior to when they turned into icons — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand tales, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden history. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but maybe discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further protagonist of the God Valley event is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to save Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar questions have recently reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how could Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can consider this account as entirely truthful. The series may offer an explanation later, perhaps linked to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the notion that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {