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The adage 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently do not capture the full truth, including the most powerful figures in this story's intricate past. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this theme. The whole God Valley narrative serves as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the full truth, including the most powerful figures.

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the God Valley incident, represents one of the story's finest storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret history. His affection for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true 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 motivated by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the island where his kin resided, he abandoned his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks really die? An interesting theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the time jump, when he risked all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something distinct. The instant Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as completely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {