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The saying 'History is recorded by the victors' serves as a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales frequently do not convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful figures in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant more than a pirate's game in search of flags and followers.

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

Legends frequently do not capture the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters.

One Piece's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the daring attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His affection for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the globe and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's account, each to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the very narrative Imu approved to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Currently, with what little awareness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last ancient stone in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something distinct. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he struck without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as completely accurate. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the winners. This attitude is {