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The saying 'History is written by the winners' serves as a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends frequently do not convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters in this world's complex history. Oden wasn't a foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not 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 game in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters.

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's best arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay tales, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet not much is known 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 the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the child of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the very story Imu approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his family became his undoing. After facing Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to save Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar questions have now resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the reason Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {