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The adage 'History is recorded by the winners' serves as a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Popular tales frequently do not capture the full reality, even for the most powerful figures in this world's intricate past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to judge the characters too hastily.

Legends frequently do not capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' best storylines to date. Beyond the thrill of seeing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay tales, painted our perception of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His affection for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned version of occurrences, the exact story Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a marionette controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An intriguing 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 prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar doubts have now resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats genocide and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {