The Series' Divine Isle Recollection Demonstrates Why Myths Aren't to Be Believed Blindly

The adage 'History is written by the winners' serves as a central motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long woven into the story. Popular tales often fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential characters in this world's intricate history. Kozuki Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of honor and conviction. Bartholomew Kuma wasn't a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and followers.

In chapter #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this idea. The entire God Valley story serves as a warning story, advising audiences not to evaluate the characters too quickly.

Legends frequently fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential figures.

The series's most recent flashback, chronicling the Divine Isle event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Beyond the excitement of witnessing legends in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to surpass their humanity. History, as written by the World Government and retold through hearsay tales, shaped our understanding of figures like Roger, Xebec, and even Garp. But both the government's records and the narratives of those who knew them prove untrustworthy, showing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by purpose and the daring spirit that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a youth ruled by emotion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they usually refer to his later journey, the grand quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that point toward Laugh Tale. Yet little is known about his first journey, the one that molded him before glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger knew little of the globe's secret past. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the World Government's most sinister truths: the genocidal "games," the grotesque appearances of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the world's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's thoughts about everything happening in God Valley, but maybe discovering the child of a God's Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the truth he caught a glimpse of from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec came almost entirely from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to new Marines. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve global control, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it transpires, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's approved narrative of events, the exact narrative Imu authorized to bury the reality 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 the ruler and dismantle the decadent World Government. We are unsure if he was motivated by lust for power, revenge for his clan, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the regime's plan to annihilate the land where his kin lived, 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 determination and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their power. Currently, with what limited consciousness remains, he pleads with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — believing that death would be a kindness in contrast to the torment he suffers. The reality of Rocks is thus very different from the story told 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 really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is even now a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's last ancient stone in constant transit to keep the One Piece from being discovered.

The Hero's Secret Defiance

A further protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured backlash from followers for years for standing by as Akainu murdered Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the time jump, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Hachinosu, causing many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his own grandson. Comparable questions have now reemerged with the Divine Isle flashback: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Navy, knowing the World Government treats genocide and slavery as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous forms, he attacked without hesitation. His alliance with Gol D. Roger wasn't 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 pawn to eliminate all in the Divine Isle, including it seems, including the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is probably the reason Monkey D. Garp detests the World Nobles in the present day and why he never desired to be promoted to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Unreliable Narrators

Even though the audience are viewing the God Valley incident through a recollection narrated by the giant, covering perspectives and occurrences he obviously was absent for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The manga may offer an explanation in the future, perhaps connected to Loki's still mysterious paramecia ability. Still, the God Valley incident perfectly exemplifies the notion that history is written by the winners. This attitude is {