Warning: This article includes reveals for One Piece manga chapter #1164.
The saying 'The past is written by the victors' is a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the story. Popular tales frequently do not capture the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures in this story's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no silly showman prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and principle. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who separated the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was helping them. Likewise, Davy Jones meant beyond just a pirate's game in search of emblems and followers.
In installment #1164 of One Piece, we see the peak of this idea. The entire God Valley story acts as a warning story, instructing readers not to judge the characters too quickly.
Myths frequently do not convey the complete reality, including the most powerful characters.
One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the Divine Isle incident, represents one of the series' best arcs to date. Apart from the excitement of witnessing legends in their prime, it's compelling to observe them before they became symbols — when their fame had yet to outgrow their human nature. The past, as recorded by the World Government and retold through secondhand tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, revealing only fragments of who these men truly were.
The Individual Prior to the Legend
The future Pirate King may have been guided by mission and the daring attitude that ignited a fresh era of buccaneering, but prior to he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his legend, they typically refer to his second voyage, the grand expedition in pursuit of the guide stones that point toward Laugh Tale. However little is understood about his first journey, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.
At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His love for Shakky led him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the genocidal "contests," the monstrous forms of the Gorosei, and even the existence of the planet's hidden ruler, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about all that's happening in the Divine Isle, but perhaps finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his place in the globe and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's predicament.
The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec
Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's account, each to the audience and to young Navy recruits. He depicted Xebec as a vile, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it transpires, Sengoku was not there at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the very narrative the sovereign authorized to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.
In truth, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt Global Authority. We are unsure if he was motivated by ambition, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he found out the government's scheme to annihilate the land where his family resided, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.
This devotion for his family became his undoing. After confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a puppet controlled to their authority. Currently, with what limited awareness is left, he pleads with Roger and Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a mercy compared to the torment he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus very different from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic presents him in a positive manner during the God Valley events.
Is He Living Today?
But was Rocks really die? An interesting theory is that he is even now a servant to Imu in the current timeline, acting as the scarred individual, keeping the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the One Piece from being found.
Garp's Secret Rebellion
A further protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for a long time for doing nothing as Admiral Akainu murdered Ace. That feeling only grew more intense after the time jump, when he risked all to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his biological grandchild. Comparable questions have recently reemerged with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Navy, aware the World Government treats mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?
The reality uncovers something distinct. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to halt Imu, who was using Xebec as a pawn to wipe out all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, even the World Nobles themselves. This incident is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he never wanted to be promoted to Admiral, answering straight to them.
History's Unreliable Storytellers
Even though the readers are seeing the Divine Isle event through a recollection recounted by Loki, covering perspectives and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The series may provide an explanation in the future, maybe linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently embodies the notion that history is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {
