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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters in this story's intricate history. Oden was no silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire God Valley story serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

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

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, represents one of the series' finest storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they became symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that molded him before glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After facing the sovereign, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Now, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's last ancient stone in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority treats genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in God Valley, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection narrated by Loki, covering perspectives and events he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this account as completely truthful. The series may offer an reason in the future, maybe connected to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {