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The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends often do not capture the full truth, including the most influential figures in this story's complex history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The entire Divine Isle story acts as a warning story, advising readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Myths frequently do not capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's finest storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of witnessing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Prior to the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his myth, they usually mean his later journey, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However not much is known about his initial travels, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the globe and seek the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the island where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to Imu in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The truth reveals something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this account as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an explanation later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {