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The adage 'History is recorded by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales often do not convey the complete reality, including the most powerful characters in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's contest in search of emblems and crews.

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

Myths often fail to convey the complete truth, even for the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had still not outgrow their human nature. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, painted our understanding of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the planet's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the world and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of occurrences, the very narrative Imu approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his family resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a marionette enslaved to their power. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really die? An interesting idea is that he is still a servant to Imu in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

Another protagonist of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has faced criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have now resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Marines, knowing the World Government treats genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an reason later, perhaps linked to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {