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The adage 'History is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the full reality, including the most influential characters in this world's complex past. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones signified beyond just a buccaneer's contest in search of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this idea. The whole Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Myths frequently fail to convey the complete reality, including the most influential figures.

The series's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley incident, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. History, as written by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth governed by emotion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the epic expedition in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However not much is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before fame found him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the planet's unseen sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived almost entirely from Sengoku's version, both to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the very story Imu approved to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his downfall. After facing the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and freedom, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a favorable manner during the God Valley incidents.

Is He Living Today?

But did Rocks really meet his end? An interesting theory is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's only remaining ancient stone in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

A further key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for a long time for standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the time jump, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the same for his own grandchild. Comparable questions have now resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority treats mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in God Valley, even apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he not once desired to be promoted to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Storytellers

Even though the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by Loki, including perspectives and events he obviously was absent for, I think we can treat this version as completely truthful. The manga may offer an reason later, perhaps connected to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly embodies the idea that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {