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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' serves as a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently do not convey the full reality, even for the most powerful figures in this story's complex history. Oden was no silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of honor and principle. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends frequently fail to capture the full reality, even for the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's finest arcs to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the daring attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the planet's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the globe and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's plan to eliminate the land where his family resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his family became his undoing. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Now, with what limited awareness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to save Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he couldn't do the same for his own grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Navy, aware the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Even though the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this version as entirely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {