One Piece's Divine Isle Recollection Reveals Why Myths Shouldn't Be Believed Without Question

The adage 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a central theme that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda has for some time integrated into the narrative. Legends often do not convey the full reality, even for the most influential figures in this world's complex history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who separated the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a buccaneer's game in pursuit of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the peak of this theme. The entire God Valley narrative serves as a warning story, advising readers not to judge the individuals too quickly.

Legends frequently do not capture the complete truth, including the most powerful figures.

One Piece's most recent flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' finest arcs to date. Apart from the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had still not surpass their humanity. The past, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay tales, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the stories of those who were acquainted with them prove unreliable, showing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Man Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by purpose and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they usually mean his later journey, the epic quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward the final island. However little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to fame discovered him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's secret history. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden sovereign, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his role in the world and pursue the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we knew of Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so dangerous that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was only repeating the Global Authority's approved narrative of events, the very narrative Imu authorized to conceal the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical 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, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he abandoned his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his family became his undoing. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what little consciousness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to end his life — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus very different from the story told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to the ruler in the present day, serving as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's last ancient stone in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

Garp'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 standing by as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the time jump, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandson. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley flashback: how could Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers genocide and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he attacked immediately. His partnership with Gol D. Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to stop Imu, who was using Xebec as a tool to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably 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.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection recounted by Loki, including viewpoints and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can consider this version as completely accurate. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to the giant's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {