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The adage 'History is recorded by the winners' is a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends frequently do not capture the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this world's intricate past. Oden wasn't a silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a buccaneer's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Myths frequently do not convey the full truth, even for the most powerful figures.

One Piece's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand tales, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But both the regime's records and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Man Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but perhaps discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship 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 knew of Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's approved narrative of events, the very story Imu authorized to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After facing Imu, he lost his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the tale told by Sengoku, and the comic shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An intriguing theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the present day, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in continuous transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to save Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandson. Similar questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, aware the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the current era and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback recounted by Loki, including perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {