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The adage 'History 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 frequently fail to capture the full reality, even for the most influential figures in this world's intricate history. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's game in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Legends frequently fail to capture the full truth, even for the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the story's finest arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's gripping to see them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had still not surpass their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, revealing only pieces of who these men truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals speak of his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His love for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's account, both to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even present at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the World Government's approved version of events, the exact story Imu authorized to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his kin lived, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and freedom, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little awareness is left, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the World Government's last ancient stone in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something distinct. The moment Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and events he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as entirely accurate. The series may offer an explanation later, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that history is written by the victors. This attitude is {