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The saying 'The past is written by the victors' is a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters in this world's intricate past. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's game in search of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the complete reality, including the most powerful characters.

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' best storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of figures like 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 pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals speak of his legend, they typically refer to his later journey, the epic expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

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 audience and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not there at God Valley; he was only repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact story Imu approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last ancient stone in constant movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar questions have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The moment Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this version as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, maybe linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {