One Piece's Divine Isle Recollection Reveals Why Legends Aren't to Be Believed Blindly

The saying 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a central theme that One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Legends often fail to capture the full reality, even for the most influential characters in this story's complex history. Oden was no foolish showman dancing through the roads of Wano Country; he acted out of duty and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a ruthless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend meant more than a pirate's contest in search of flags and followers.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we witness the culmination of this idea. The whole God Valley story serves as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Legends often do not capture the full reality, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's latest flashback, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best storylines 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 reputation had still not surpass their human nature. History, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, painted our perception of individuals like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the narratives of those who were acquainted with them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these men really were.

The Individual Before the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and wanderlust. When individuals discuss his legend, they typically mean his later journey, the grand quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. However not much is known about his first journey, the one that shaped him before glory discovered him.

Back then, Roger was largely unaware of the globe's hidden past. His affection for Shakky guided him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous appearances of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the son of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this flashback, what we were aware of of Xebec came mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the viewers and to new Navy recruits. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, power-hungry man bent on global control, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was only echoing the Global Authority's approved version of occurrences, the very story the sovereign approved to bury the truth about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, retribution for his clan, or a desire for fairness, but when he discovered the government's plan to eliminate the land where his kin lived, he gave up his ambitions of domination to save them.

This love for his family became his downfall. After facing the sovereign, he lost his will and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Now, with what little awareness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the tale told by Sengoku, and the comic presents him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle incidents.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But did Rocks really die? 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 Global Authority's only remaining Poneglyph in constant transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Secret Rebellion

Another key figure of the Divine Isle event is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for standing by as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling became even stronger after the timeskip, when he risked all to save Koby at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he couldn't do the identical for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth uncovers something distinct. The moment Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he struck immediately. His partnership with Roger was not meant to vanquish some evil Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a tool to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, even apparently, including the World Nobles themselves. This event is probably the cause Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the current era and why he not once desired to be elevated to Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are seeing the God Valley incident through a recollection narrated by Loki, including viewpoints and events he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The manga may offer an reason later, perhaps connected to Loki's yet unknown paramecia ability. Still, the Divine Isle incident excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the winners. This mindset is {