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The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to capture the complete truth, including the most powerful characters in this story's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a pirate's contest in search of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

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

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the series' finest arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into icons — when their fame had still not outgrow their human nature. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold spirit that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and even the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the very narrative Imu authorized to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his kin lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his family became his downfall. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable manner during the God Valley events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Akainu killed Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once wanted to be promoted to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this version as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This attitude is {