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The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' serves as a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures in this world's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of emblems and crews.

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

Legends frequently do not convey the complete reality, even for the most influential characters.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle incident, represents one of the story's best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their prime, it's gripping to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had still not outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay tales, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the government's records and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden past. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at the Divine Isle; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact story the sovereign approved to conceal the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's scheme to eliminate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting Imu, he lost his will and freedom, becoming a puppet controlled to their power. Now, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, including perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may provide an reason later, maybe linked to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident excellently exemplifies the notion that history is written by the victors. This attitude is {