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The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' is a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, including the most powerful characters in this story's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley story serves as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Legends often fail to convey the full truth, including the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's finest storylines to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into icons — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. History, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand stories, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his legend, they usually mean his second voyage, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However not much is known about his initial travels, the one that molded him before fame found him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and seek the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved version of occurrences, the very narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This love for his family became his undoing. After facing Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the God Valley event is Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandson. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Garp serve the Navy, knowing the World Government considers genocide and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may offer an reason in the future, maybe connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {