🔗 Share this article

The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends often fail to capture the complete truth, even for the most influential characters in this world's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a pirate's game in search of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Myths frequently do not capture the full truth, including the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley incident, stands as one of the story's best arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's gripping to see them prior to when they turned into icons — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But both the regime's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Man Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden history. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even present at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's approved narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign authorized to bury the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Now, with what little consciousness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the reason Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this version as completely truthful. The manga may provide an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly embodies the notion that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {