🔗 Share this article

The saying 'History is written by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales often do not convey the full reality, even for the most influential characters in this story's complex history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley story serves as a warning story, advising readers not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to now. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became symbols — when their reputation had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. Yet not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His affection for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even there at God Valley; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to annihilate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. After facing Imu, he lost his will and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks really die? 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 Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the God Valley event is Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his own grandson. Similar doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The reality uncovers something distinct. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering perspectives and events he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this account as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an reason in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This attitude is {