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The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends often do not convey the complete reality, including the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Oden wasn't a foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's contest in pursuit of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, advising readers not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Legends often do not convey the full truth, including the most powerful characters.

The series's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing icons in their prime, it's compelling to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through hearsay stories, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically refer to his later journey, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the planet's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even there at God Valley; he was only repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family resided, he abandoned his dreams of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives became his undoing. After facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually die? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. 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 same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the World Government considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this version as entirely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation later, maybe linked to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly embodies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {