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The adage 'History is written by the winners' serves as a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the full truth, even for the most powerful figures in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to judge the individuals too hastily.

Myths frequently fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' best arcs to now. Beyond the excitement of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into icons — when their fame had still not surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he lost his determination and freedom, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks really die? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to save Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Similar questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as sport for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and events he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an reason later, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {