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The adage 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends frequently fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most influential figures in this story's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish showman prancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of duty and conviction. Kuma was not a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the peak of this idea. The whole Divine Isle story acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Myths often do not convey the full truth, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's latest look back, chronicling the God Valley incident, represents one of the story's finest storylines to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their prime, it's gripping to see them before they became icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When individuals speak of his legend, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's hidden history. His affection for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist wasn't even there at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of occurrences, the very narrative the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple the ruler and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was motivated by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the island where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This devotion for his relatives became his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that dying 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 the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Could He Be Living Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Secret Rebellion

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for years for doing nothing as Akainu killed Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he endangered all to rescue the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable doubts have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The truth uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and events he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can treat this account as completely accurate. The series may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This mindset is {