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The adage 'History is written by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to convey the full truth, including the most powerful characters in this story's intricate history. Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he acted out of duty and principle. Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a buccaneer's contest in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Myths often fail to convey the full reality, even for the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the daring attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. Yet little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "contests," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the planet's unseen ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist wasn't even present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's approved version of occurrences, the exact narrative Imu authorized to bury the reality 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 aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the government's scheme to eliminate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After facing Imu, he lost his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec really die? An intriguing theory is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

Another key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has faced criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, knowing the World Government treats mass murder and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was using Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the reason Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Although the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this version as entirely truthful. The series may provide an explanation later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event perfectly embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {