🔗 Share this article

The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this story's complex past. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, advising readers not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Myths often fail to capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' best arcs to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they became symbols — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the world and seek the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we knew of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family became his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the tale told by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another key figure of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced criticism from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the time jump, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The reality uncovers something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to stop Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never wanted to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are viewing the God Valley incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident excellently embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {