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The adage 'History is recorded by the victors' serves as a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often do not convey the full reality, including the most influential characters in this world's complex history. Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Myths frequently fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most influential characters.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the story's finest storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to see them prior to when they became symbols — when their reputation had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through hearsay tales, shaped our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that molded him before glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything happening in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, each to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little awareness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced criticism from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Comparable doubts have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority treats genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to stop Imu, 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 probably the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, including viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this version as completely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {