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The saying 'History is recorded by the winners' is a key motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to capture the full truth, including the most powerful characters in this story's complex history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Similarly, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the peak of this idea. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Legends often fail to capture the full truth, including the most powerful characters.

One Piece's latest look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they became symbols — when their reputation had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and recounted through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, showing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man ruled by passion and wanderlust. When people discuss his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the guide stones that point toward the final island. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret past. His love for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and including the presence of the world's unseen sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not there at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the World Government's approved version of occurrences, the exact narrative Imu approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his dreams of domination to save them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his determination and liberty, turning into a marionette enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

A further key figure of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Similar doubts have now resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an effort to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in God Valley, including apparently, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I think we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation later, maybe connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event excellently embodies the idea that history is recorded by the winners. This attitude is {