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The adage 'History is recorded by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends often fail to capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters in this world's intricate history. Oden was no silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley story acts as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Myths often fail to convey the full truth, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's latest look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' finest storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became icons — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the bold attitude that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When individuals speak of his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret history. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest truths: the genocidal "contests," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's unseen ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the island where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his undoing. After facing Imu, he lost his will and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their power. Now, with what limited awareness is left, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks actually die? An interesting idea is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the God Valley incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in God Valley, even it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a recollection recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can treat this account as entirely accurate. The series may offer an explanation later, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly embodies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {