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The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends frequently do not convey the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this world's intricate history. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. Kuma was not a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's game in pursuit of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

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

The series's latest look back, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's best arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of seeing icons in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through hearsay stories, shaped our understanding of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of 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 men really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the globe's secret history. His love for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the very story the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the island where his kin resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what little awareness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in constant movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle event through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {