Warning: This article includes spoilers for One Piece manga issue #1164.
The adage 'History is written by the victors' serves as a central motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales often fail to convey the complete truth, including the most influential figures in this world's intricate history. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the streets of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a buccaneer's game in search of emblems and followers.
In chapter #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a cautionary tale, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too quickly.
Legends often do not capture the complete truth, including the most influential characters.
One Piece's most recent look back, chronicling the Divine Isle event, represents one of the story's best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they became symbols — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. The past, as recorded by the Global Authority and retold through hearsay stories, painted our understanding of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's records and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be unreliable, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.
Gol D. Roger may have been guided by purpose and the bold attitude that sparked a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man governed by emotion and the desire to explore. When individuals speak of his legend, they usually refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet not much is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him before fame discovered him.
At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's hidden past. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the monstrous appearances of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the world's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about all that's happening in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a God's Knight on his ship will lead him to understand his place in the globe and seek the truth he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.
Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's version, each to the audience and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not there at God Valley; he was only repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative Imu approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.
In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, retribution for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the island where his kin resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.
This devotion for his relatives proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and freedom, turning into a puppet enslaved to their power. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he pleads with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a mercy in contrast to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus far from the tale narrated by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a positive light during the God Valley incidents.
But was Rocks actually die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the World Government's last ancient stone in constant transit to prevent the One Piece from being found.
A further key figure of the God Valley event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to save the young Marine at Hachinosu, causing many to wonder why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how can Garp work for the Navy, aware the World Government considers genocide and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?
The reality uncovers something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Elders' grotesque shapes, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in God Valley, including it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be elevated to Admiral, reporting directly to them.
Although the audience are viewing the Divine Isle event through a flashback narrated by Loki, covering perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The manga may provide an explanation in the future, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley incident excellently embodies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This mindset is {
