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The saying 'The past is written by the winners' is a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the full reality, even for the most influential characters in this story's complex past. Oden was no foolish showman prancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and crews.

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

Myths frequently do not convey the complete reality, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's latest look back, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the story's finest arcs to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not surpass their human nature. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of piracy, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the world's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's version, both to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned version of occurrences, the very narrative Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his kin lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Now, with what little awareness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying 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 favorable manner during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to stop Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are viewing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this account as entirely truthful. The series may offer an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {