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The saying 'The past is written by the victors' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often fail to capture the complete reality, even for the most influential characters in this world's complex history. Kozuki Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Legends often fail to capture the full reality, including the most powerful characters.

The series's latest flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's finest arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them prior to when they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before fame discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden past. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the planet's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned version of occurrences, the exact story Imu approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last Poneglyph in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another key figure of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Similar doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are viewing the Divine Isle event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may provide an explanation later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {