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The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' serves as a central motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, even for the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a buccaneer's contest in search of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley story acts as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends frequently do not convey the full truth, including the most influential characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley incident, stands as one of the story's best arcs to date. Beyond the excitement of witnessing icons in their prime, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their fame had yet to surpass their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. However not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved version of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks really die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another key figure of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar questions have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government considers genocide and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this account as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an explanation later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {