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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a central motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to convey the complete truth, including the most influential characters in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to judge the individuals too hastily.

Myths often do not capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters.

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, showing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring spirit that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was only echoing the Global Authority's approved version of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks really die? An interesting idea is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his own grandchild. Similar questions have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Garp work for the Navy, aware the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once desired to be promoted to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by Loki, covering perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as completely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {