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The saying 'The past is written by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this story's complex history. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's contest in search of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

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

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' best storylines to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they turned into icons — when their fame had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they usually refer to his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory discovered him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the globe and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative Imu authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the land where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his family became his undoing. After facing the sovereign, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the God Valley events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the present day, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the time jump, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something distinct. The instant Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as completely truthful. The manga may provide an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident excellently embodies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {