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The saying 'The past is recorded by the winners' is a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often do not capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures in this story's complex history. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle story acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Myths often fail to convey the full reality, including the most powerful characters.

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the God Valley event, represents one of the series' finest arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through hearsay tales, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only fragments of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the daring attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the epic quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. However not much is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden history. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the genocidal "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the world's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his ship 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 knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely echoing the World Government's approved narrative of events, the exact story Imu authorized to bury the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This love for his family became his downfall. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Living Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandchild. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority treats mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including 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 never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.

History's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including perspectives and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {