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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a central motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends often fail to capture the full reality, including the most powerful characters in this story's complex past. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a pirate's game in search of flags and crews.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Legends frequently fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley incident, represents one of the series' finest storylines to date. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they became icons — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the regime's records and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "contests," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the world's unseen sovereign, 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 ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and seek the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's account, both to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very narrative Imu authorized to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the island where his kin lived, he gave up his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. Upon facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette controlled to their authority. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga presents him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? 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, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandson. Comparable questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in God Valley, including apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he not once wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as entirely truthful. The series may provide an explanation in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly embodies the idea that the past is written by the winners. This attitude is {