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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends often fail to capture the full reality, including the most influential figures in this world's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to convey the complete truth, even for the most influential figures.

One Piece's latest flashback, chronicling the God Valley event, represents one of the story's finest storylines to now. Apart from the excitement of witnessing icons in their prime, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through secondhand tales, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the daring attitude that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they usually refer to his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before fame found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative the sovereign authorized to bury the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his kin lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. Upon facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another key figure of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for a long time for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the time jump, when he endangered all to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable doubts have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, knowing the World Government treats genocide and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The truth reveals something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {