🔗 Share this article

The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, even for the most powerful figures in this world's complex history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant more than a pirate's contest in search of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to capture the full truth, including the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' best arcs to now. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand tales, painted our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually refer to his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that molded him before glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden history. His love for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the World Government's approved version of events, the exact story Imu approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his will and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he couldn't do the same for his own grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth reveals something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection narrated by Loki, covering perspectives and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this version as entirely accurate. The series may provide an explanation in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly embodies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {