Warning: This piece includes reveals for One Piece manga chapter #1164.
The saying 'The past is written by the winners' serves as a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales frequently do not convey the complete truth, including the most powerful characters in this world's intricate past. Oden was no silly showman dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, as well; he was helping them. Similarly, Davy Jones signified more than a pirate's contest in search of flags and crews.
In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, instructing readers not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.
Myths often do not convey the full truth, even for the most influential characters.
One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to see them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had yet to surpass their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's records and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.
The Man Prior to the Myth
The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the daring attitude that sparked a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his myth, they usually mean his second voyage, the grand quest in pursuit of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that molded him before fame discovered him.
At that time, Roger was largely unaware of the world's hidden past. His affection for the barkeep led him to God Valley, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's unseen ruler, Imu. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but maybe discovering the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the world and pursue the truth he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.
The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec
Prior to this recollection, what we knew of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to overcome him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even there at God Valley; he was merely echoing the Global Authority's sanctioned version of events, the exact narrative Imu authorized to bury the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the event itself.
In truth, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the regime's plan to eliminate the island where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.
This love for his relatives became his downfall. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited awareness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a favorable light during the Divine Isle events.
Is He Still Alive Today?
But did Rocks actually die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the present day, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.
Garp's Secret Defiance
A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has faced criticism from fans for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered all to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Garp work for the Marines, aware the World Government treats genocide and slavery as sport for the upper class?
The truth reveals something distinct. The moment Monkey D. Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Gol D. Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to stop Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.
History's Untrustworthy Storytellers
Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a recollection recounted by the giant, including perspectives and events he clearly wasn't present for, I think we can consider this version as completely truthful. The manga may offer an explanation later, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley event perfectly embodies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {
