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The adage 'History is written by the victors' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's contest in search of flags and crews.

In installment #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 quickly.

Myths frequently do not capture the full truth, including the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, represents one of the story's best storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by purpose and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret history. His affection for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen 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 role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned version of occurrences, the exact story Imu approved to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to annihilate the island where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his downfall. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and liberty, becoming a puppet enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive manner during the God Valley events.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to Imu in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's last Poneglyph in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the God Valley incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and events he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as completely truthful. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the idea that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {