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The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Legends often fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful characters in this world's complex past. Oden was no silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's game in search of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The whole God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, advising readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to capture the complete reality, including the most influential figures.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' finest storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became icons — when their fame had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the daring attitude that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, both to the audience and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's approved narrative of events, the very story the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, turning into a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what little awareness remains, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback recounted by the giant, including perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can consider this version as entirely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently embodies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {