The Series' God Valley Recollection Demonstrates Why Legends Aren't to Be Trusted Without Question

The saying 'The past is written by the victors' serves as a central motif that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends often fail to convey the full truth, including the most influential characters in this story's complex past. Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's game in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Legends often do not convey the full reality, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' finest arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring attitude that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame discovered him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest realities: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe finding the child 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 The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's approved narrative of occurrences, the very narrative Imu approved to bury the truth about 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 the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to eliminate the island where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his family became his downfall. After confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his own grandchild. Comparable doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the World Government treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can consider this account as entirely accurate. The series may offer an reason in the future, maybe linked to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {