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The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales often do not capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures in this story's complex history. Oden wasn't a silly performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley story serves as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Legends frequently do not capture the full reality, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's most recent look back, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into icons — when their fame had still not surpass their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his legend, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand expedition 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 discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden history. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's approved version of events, the very story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a marionette controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further protagonist of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked all to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the same for his own grandchild. Similar questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in God Valley, even it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I think we can treat this account as completely truthful. The series may offer an reason in the future, perhaps connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {