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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no silly performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's game in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley narrative serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to judge the characters too hastily.

Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most powerful characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's finest storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they became icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that sparked 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 people discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before fame discovered him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps finding the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's approved version of events, the very story Imu authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the island where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After facing the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Now, with what limited awareness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in constant movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for years for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp serve the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, even it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an reason later, perhaps connected to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {