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The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' serves as a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the complete reality, even for the most influential characters in this world's intricate past. Oden wasn't a silly showman dancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a pirate's contest in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Legends often do not capture the full reality, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the series' best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they became icons — when their reputation had still not outgrow their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay tales, shaped our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the regime's records and the stories of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his legend, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden past. His love for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the audience and to new Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that 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 echoing the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the exact story Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. After facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and liberty, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus far from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually die? An interesting theory is that he is still a servant to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for a long time for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered all to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp serve the Marines, knowing the World Government considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The reality reveals something distinct. The instant Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and events he obviously wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as entirely accurate. The series may offer an explanation later, maybe linked to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the God Valley incident perfectly embodies the idea that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {