One Piece's God Valley Flashback Reveals Why Myths Aren't to Be Trusted Blindly

The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends frequently do not convey the full truth, even for the most powerful figures in this world's intricate history. Oden was no silly performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist 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 pursuit of flags and followers.

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

Legends often do not convey the full truth, even for the most influential characters.

The series's latest look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's best storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their prime, it's gripping to see them prior to when they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. The past, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our understanding of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his myth, they typically refer to his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However not much is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

Back then, Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the globe and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's account, both to the audience and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was motivated by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his will and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Now, with what little consciousness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandson. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Garp work for the Navy, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may offer an reason in the future, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {