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The adage 'The past is recorded by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Legends often do not capture the complete reality, even for the most influential figures in this world's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no silly performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we see the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, advising readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Legends frequently fail to convey the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

The series's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle incident, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to see them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as written by the World Government and recounted through hearsay tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's accounts and the stories of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him before fame discovered him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and including the existence of the planet's unseen ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about everything occurring in the Divine Isle, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very story the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of domination to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and liberty, turning into a puppet enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is still a slave to the ruler in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last Poneglyph in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from fans for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how can Garp serve the Marines, aware the Global Authority treats genocide and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's grotesque forms, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an attempt to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, even apparently, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can consider this version as completely truthful. The series may provide an explanation later, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {