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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Legends frequently do not convey the full reality, even for the most influential characters in this story's complex history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a buccaneer's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this theme. The whole God Valley story acts as a warning story, instructing audiences not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Myths often fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they turned into icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Man Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people speak of his legend, they typically refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even there at God Valley; he was only echoing the World Government's approved version of events, the exact story Imu approved to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga presents him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth reveals something distinct. The instant Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in God Valley, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and events he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as completely truthful. The series may offer an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {