One Piece's Divine Isle Recollection Reveals Why Legends Aren't to Be Believed Without Question

The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central motif that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Popular tales frequently fail to capture the complete reality, including the most influential figures in this story's complex past. Oden wasn't a silly performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he acted out of duty and principle. Kuma was not a ruthless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The whole Divine Isle narrative acts as a warning story, instructing audiences not to judge the characters too quickly.

Myths often do not convey the full truth, including the most powerful characters.

The series's most recent flashback, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the series' finest arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of seeing legends in their peak, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through secondhand stories, painted our understanding of individuals like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Garp. But each of the government's records and the stories of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the bold attitude that ignited a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they typically refer to his second voyage, the epic expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward the final island. However little is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him prior to fame found him.

At that time, Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the World Government's most sinister realities: the extermination "games," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the presence of the planet's hidden sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Roger's reflections about everything happening in the Divine Isle, but maybe finding the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's predicament.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived almost entirely from the former Fleet Admiral's account, both to the viewers and to young Marines. He painted Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Roger and Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the World Government's sanctioned version of events, the very narrative the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Xebec and the event itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was guided by ambition, revenge for his clan, or a wish for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to annihilate the land where his kin resided, he abandoned his ambitions of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives proved to be his undoing. After confronting Imu, he lost his will and liberty, becoming a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness remains, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — believing that death would be a kindness compared to the torment he suffers. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by Sengoku, and the manga presents him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Living Today?

But did Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An intriguing theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, keeping the World Government's last Poneglyph in constant movement to prevent the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Hidden Rebellion

Another key figure of the God Valley incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, causing many to wonder why he couldn't do the identical for his own grandson. Similar doubts have recently reemerged with the God Valley recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp work for the Navy, knowing the Global Authority treats genocide and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The moment Garp saw the Elders' grotesque forms, he struck immediately. His alliance with Roger was not meant to defeat some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an attempt to halt the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to eliminate everyone in the Divine Isle, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the World Nobles in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Storytellers

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a flashback recounted by the giant, covering perspectives and events he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely accurate. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, maybe linked to the giant's yet unknown paramecia ability. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle incident perfectly embodies the notion that history is written by the victors. This mindset is {