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The adage 'History is written by the victors' is a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to convey the complete truth, including the most influential figures in this story's intricate history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. 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 more than a buccaneer's contest in pursuit of emblems and crews.

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

Legends often do not capture the complete truth, even for the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' best arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, painted our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the world 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 Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative the sovereign authorized to bury the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the government's scheme to eliminate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his dreams of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last ancient stone in continuous movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in God Valley, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can consider this account as completely accurate. The manga may provide an reason in the future, perhaps connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {