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The saying 'History is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Legends often do not capture the full truth, including the most powerful characters in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a pirate's game in search of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the peak of this idea. The whole Divine Isle narrative serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.

Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the thrill of seeing legends in their prime, it's gripping to see them before they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But each of the government's accounts and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Myth

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth governed by passion and the desire to explore. When individuals discuss his myth, they typically refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to fame found him.

Back then, Roger knew little of the world's hidden past. His love for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the World Government's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the child of a God's Knight on his ship will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not present at the Divine Isle; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved narrative of occurrences, the very story Imu authorized to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their authority. Now, with what little awareness remains, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he endures. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a favorable manner during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks actually meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the present day, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

Another protagonist of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to wonder why he couldn't do the same for his own grandchild. Similar questions have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Garp work for the Navy, knowing the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' monstrous shapes, he attacked immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some villainous Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in God Valley, including apparently, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, reporting straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Storytellers

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection narrated by Loki, covering viewpoints and occurrences he clearly was absent for, I believe we can consider this account as completely truthful. The series may offer an explanation later, perhaps linked to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the idea that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {