🔗 Share this article

The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends frequently do not capture the full truth, including the most influential characters in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and followers.

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

Myths often fail to capture the full reality, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's latest look back, detailing the God Valley incident, stands as one of the story's finest arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people speak of his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the epic expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. However not much is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but maybe discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, 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 don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his family resided, he gave up his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his downfall. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking 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 tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining ancient stone in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Comparable doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth reveals something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may offer an explanation in the future, maybe linked to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly embodies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This attitude is {