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The saying 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a central theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Legends often fail to capture the full truth, including the most powerful characters in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' best storylines to now. Beyond the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his myth, they usually mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the extermination "games," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the globe and seek the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the exact narrative Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After facing the sovereign, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp work for the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely accurate. The manga may offer an reason later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently embodies the notion that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {