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The adage 'History is recorded by the winners' is a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often fail to capture the full truth, even for the most powerful characters in this story's complex past. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the peak of this idea. The whole Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, instructing readers not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the complete reality, including the most influential characters.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's best arcs to date. Beyond the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they turned into icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When people speak of his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His love for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's account, both to the viewers and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only echoing the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to bury the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the government's plan to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to save Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandson. Similar questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to stop Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The series may offer an explanation later, maybe linked to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the idea that history is written by the winners. This mindset is {