🔗 Share this article

The adage 'History is written by the winners' is a central motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, even for the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Myths often fail to convey the complete truth, including the most influential characters.

One Piece's latest look back, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' finest arcs to date. Beyond the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through hearsay tales, painted our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His affection for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the very story Imu approved to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little awareness is left, he begs with 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 tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive manner during the God Valley events.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks really die? An interesting idea is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar questions have now resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government considers genocide and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to stop Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by Loki, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The series may provide an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {