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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the narrative. Popular tales often do not capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle story serves as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

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

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the story's finest storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them prior to when they became icons — when their fame had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand tales, painted our understanding 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 turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the world's unseen ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact story Imu approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks really die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to Imu in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is 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 all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his own grandson. Comparable doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection recounted by Loki, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this account as completely truthful. The series may offer an reason later, maybe linked to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {