🔗 Share this article

The adage 'History is written by the victors' serves as a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently do not capture the full reality, including the most influential characters in this story's intricate history. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's contest in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The entire God Valley narrative acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to convey the full truth, even for the most influential figures.

One Piece's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's finest storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing icons in their prime, it's gripping to see them prior to when they turned into icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his myth, they usually mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame found him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His love for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the exact narrative Imu approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story told by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in God Valley, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by Loki, including perspectives and events he obviously was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This mindset is {