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The saying 'The past is written by the victors' serves as a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to convey the complete reality, including the most influential figures in this world's intricate history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, advising readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths frequently do not capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, represents one of the series' finest arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them prior to when they became icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay tales, shaped our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's records and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by purpose and the daring spirit that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his myth, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand quest in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His affection for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his place in the world and seek the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned version of events, the exact story the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the island where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of domination to save them.

This love for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting 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 Poneglyph in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his own grandchild. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and events he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The manga may offer an reason in the future, maybe linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident excellently embodies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {