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The adage 'History is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the full reality, including the most influential figures in this world's intricate past. Oden wasn't a silly performer dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Myths often fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most influential characters.

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best storylines to now. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the bold attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually refer to his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His love for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to young Navy recruits. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned version of occurrences, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident 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, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to annihilate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After confronting Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandchild. Comparable doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something distinct. The instant Garp saw the Elders' grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can treat this version as completely truthful. The series may provide an reason in the future, perhaps connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {