🔗 Share this article

The saying 'History is written by the winners' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends often fail to capture the full reality, including the most influential figures in this world's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley story acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Legends often fail to convey the complete reality, including the most powerful characters.

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's finest storylines to now. Beyond the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not surpass their human nature. History, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Man Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However not much is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden history. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the world's unseen ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact story Imu 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 aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their power. Now, with what limited awareness is left, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a kindness compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last ancient stone in continuous transit to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his own grandchild. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, aware the World Government treats genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this account as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation later, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {