The Series' God Valley Flashback Reveals Why Myths Aren't to Be Believed Blindly

The saying 'The past is written by the winners' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently do not capture the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures in this world's intricate past. Oden wasn't a silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole God Valley narrative serves as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

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

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's finest arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. However little is known about his initial travels, the one that molded him before fame found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden past. His love for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's unseen ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned version of occurrences, the very story Imu approved to bury the truth about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's scheme to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his family became his downfall. After facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their power. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {