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The saying 'The past is written by the victors' serves as a key theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the story. Popular tales often do not capture the complete truth, including the most influential figures in this world's intricate past. Kozuki Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's game in search of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the peak of this idea. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Legends often fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential figures.

One Piece's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the series' best storylines to now. Beyond the excitement of seeing icons in their prime, it's gripping to observe them prior to when they turned into symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. History, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, painted our perception of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men really were.

The Man Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his legend, they typically refer to his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet little is understood about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for the barkeep guided him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even 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 God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his place in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He painted Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the government's scheme to annihilate the island where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he endures. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a favorable light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks actually die? An interesting idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in constant transit to prevent the ultimate treasure from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was using Xebec as a pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the cause Garp detests the World Nobles in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection recounted by Loki, covering viewpoints and events he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this version as entirely truthful. The manga may offer an reason later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle event perfectly embodies the notion that the past is written by the winners. This mindset is {