🔗 Share this article

The saying 'History is recorded by the victors' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently do not capture the complete truth, including the most influential figures in this story's complex past. Oden was no silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and principle. Kuma wasn't a ruthless villain who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was doing them a favor. Similarly, Davy Jones meant more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, advising readers not to judge the characters too quickly.

Myths frequently fail to capture the full truth, even for the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's finest storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing icons in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they became symbols — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, painted our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the regime's records and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Man Before the Myth

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his myth, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to Laugh Tale. Yet not much is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before fame found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden history. His love for the barkeep guided him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest realities: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and seek the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's version, both to the audience and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved version of events, the exact narrative the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Rocks D. 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 corrupt Global Authority. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his family, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his kin resided, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family proved to be his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a marionette controlled to their power. Now, with what limited consciousness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the God Valley events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks really meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is even now a slave to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

Another key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has faced backlash from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked all to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Marines, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the upper class?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' monstrous shapes, he struck without hesitation. His alliance with Roger wasn't to defeat some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, answering directly to them.

History's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the Divine Isle incident through a flashback narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I think we can consider this account as completely truthful. The manga may provide an explanation later, perhaps linked to the giant's still mysterious paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event perfectly exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {