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The saying 'History is written by the victors' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends often do not convey the full reality, including the most influential characters in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden was no silly performer prancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

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

Myths often fail to capture the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's best arcs to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our understanding of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they usually refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his initial travels, the one that molded him before glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His affection for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the exact story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives became his downfall. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to Imu in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to stop Imu, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, including viewpoints and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {