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The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales frequently do not convey the complete truth, even for the most influential characters in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish performer dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and followers.

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

Legends frequently fail to convey the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

The series's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's finest arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's records and the narratives of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet little 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 secret history. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's approved version of events, the very story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his family resided, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette controlled to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads 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 story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks really die? An interesting theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to prevent the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as completely truthful. The manga may offer an reason in the future, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that the past is written by the winners. This attitude is {