🔗 Share this article

The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' serves as a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often do not capture the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this story's complex history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this theme. The entire God Valley story serves as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths often do not capture the full reality, even for the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' finest storylines to date. Apart from the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them prior to when they became icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand stories, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals speak of his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet not much is understood about his initial travels, the one that molded him before glory discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His love for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the world's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the globe and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the World Government's approved narrative of events, the exact story the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to Imu in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

Another key figure of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to save Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, knowing the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Although the readers are viewing the God Valley incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The series may offer an explanation in the future, perhaps linked to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley event excellently exemplifies the notion that history is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {