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The adage 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters in this world's intricate history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and followers.

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

Myths often do not convey the full reality, even for the most influential figures.

The series's latest look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to date. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their human nature. The past, as written by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. 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 merely repeating the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign authorized to bury the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his undoing. After facing Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what little awareness remains, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another key figure of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may provide an reason in the future, perhaps connected to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This mindset is {