One Piece just did one of its best narrative tricks. For six years, we have taken Sengoku's version of the God Valley Incident as gospel. It is Monkey D. Garp (the Marine Hero) who annihilated the wicked Rocks Pirates with Gol D. Roger. Nobody questioned it deeply enough.The flashback is now showing how deeply Eiichiro Oda set up this trick. Garp was not protecting the good guys; he was ignorantly defending Celestial Dragons in a human hunt. The "evil" Rocks Pirates were just trying to do a jail break for some comrades. The entire God Valley story got turned on its head.Sengoku talking about the God Valley (Image Source: VIZ)When former Fleet Admiral Sengoku first revealed anything about the God Valley Incident in Chapter 957, he gave us what looks like a comprehensive story. He also validated that Garp and Gol D. Roger joined forces to take out the infamous crew captained by Rocks D. Xebec.After all, as Sengoku said, that was technically true. The Rocks Pirates did invade the island. And Garp and Roger did team up. The island itself disappeared from all maps after that. But the veteran Marine left out some essential context that would have told a very different story.The Propaganda Machine at Work in One PieceMost info about the God Valley Incident was erased (Image Source: VIZ)The World Government created a story that painted Garp as a hero, so to speak. Worldwide nobles of One Piece would learn that the Marine Vice Admiral had kept at bay a rampaging force of evil. For those in power, this story did double-duty.First, it was fantastic for the reputation of the Marines at an important time. Second, and even better, it completely removed Roger from this. So the eventual Pirate King's deeds cannot be connected to heroic actions. Third, and more fundamentally, it concealed the reality of what the Celestial Dragons were up to on that island.Sengoku confirmed that Garp hated talking about God Valley. The former Fleet Admiral attributed this reluctance to two factors: having to ally with a pirate and being forced to protect Celestial Dragons.What the Flashback Actually Reveals in One PieceGarp, along with Whitebeard, Xebec, Big Mom, Kaido, and Roger, attack Imu (Image Source: VIZ)The current ongoing God Valley flashback in One Piece has deconstructed the propaganda systematically. Garp knew nobody was going to explain there were World Nobles commiting a lawful massacre on an island. Young Monkey D. Dragon, son of Garp, saw the horrors firsthand and rebelled from orders by saving refugees.It's not like the Rocks Pirates attacked indiscriminately or because they were pure evil. At that time, their main objective was to save kidnapped Shakuyaku and retrieve her from being a prize in the hunting competition. Even Rocks D. Xebec himself was shown to be struggling to protect his own wife and child.This creates a total reframing of the incident. The presumed "villains" were acting in a manner that ultimately saved people, while the "heroes" just defended murderers. This is more than just reframing one historical moment in One Piece. It goes to demonstrate just how influential the World Government had been in controlling data and information throughout the series.The Real Garp vs. The Legendary HeroWhat makes this revelation impactful is the way it makes Garp more human. This iconic Marine was not the steadfast emblem of justice that his propaganda would suggest. He was a man caught in an impossible situation who made difficult decisions with no clear right answer.His attempt to strike Imu in the flashback exemplifies what kind of man he was. Faced with the undisputed highest authority in the World Government, he was ready to strike.The Vice Admiral's disallowance of the title or rank of Admiral means something different here. It wasn't because he was trying to avoid direct service to the Celestial Dragons, but rather because he disagreed fundamentally with the system he was a part of.Furthermore, the God Valley deception creates a precedent for revealing other "established" truths about One Piece. If this foundational moment was completely misrepresented, what else has been purposely hidden? The series has placed emphasis on approaching data with skepticism, particularly if received from those in power.