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The adage 'History is recorded by the winners' is a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Legends often do not convey the full truth, even for the most powerful figures in this story's intricate past. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley story acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Myths often fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they became icons — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a new age of piracy, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the grand quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. Yet not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the world's unseen ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact story the sovereign authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to eliminate the island where his family resided, he gave up his dreams of domination to save them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Navy, knowing the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by Loki, including perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as completely truthful. The series may provide an explanation later, perhaps connected to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently exemplifies the idea that history is written by the victors. This attitude is {