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The adage 'The past is written by the victors' serves as a central motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends often do not capture the full truth, including the most influential figures in this story's complex past. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends frequently fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' best storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything occurring in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even there at God Valley; he was only repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very story Imu approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's scheme to eliminate the island where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family became his downfall. After confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he struck without hesitation. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are viewing the God Valley incident through a recollection narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {