The Series' Divine Isle Flashback Demonstrates Why Legends Shouldn't Be Believed Blindly

The adage 'The past is recorded by the victors' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has long integrated into the narrative. Popular tales often do not convey the full reality, including the most influential characters in this story's intricate history. Oden wasn't a foolish performer prancing through the streets of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma was not a ruthless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, as well; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified beyond just a pirate's contest in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In installment #1164 of One Piece, we witness the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle story serves as a warning story, instructing audiences not to evaluate the individuals too hastily.

Legends often do not capture the full truth, including the most influential characters.

The series's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley event, stands as one of the story's best storylines to date. Beyond the thrill of witnessing icons in their peak, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as recorded by the World Government and recounted through secondhand stories, shaped our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Xebec, and including Garp. But both the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be unreliable, showing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

The future Pirate King may have been driven by purpose and the bold spirit that sparked a new age of piracy, but prior to he became the King of the Pirates, he was a young man governed by passion and the desire to explore. When people discuss his legend, they typically mean his second voyage, the epic quest in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. Yet little is known about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory found him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the world's secret history. His affection for Shakky led him to the Divine Isle, where he uncovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the genocidal "contests," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and including the existence of the planet's unseen sovereign, the mysterious leader. We haven't seen Gol D. Roger's thoughts about all that's occurring in God Valley, but perhaps finding the son of a Holy Knight on his vessel will make him realize his role in the globe and pursue the reality he glimpsed from Rocks D. Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Prior to this recollection, what we were aware of of Xebec was derived mostly from the former Fleet Admiral's version, both to the audience and to new Navy recruits. He painted Rocks D. Xebec as a despicable, ambitious man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to team up to overcome him. But as it turns out, the strategist was not present at the Divine Isle; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's sanctioned narrative of events, the exact narrative Imu approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the event itself.

In truth, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a principled man who sought to topple Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a wish for justice, but when he discovered the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his family resided, he gave up his dreams of conquest to rescue them.

This devotion for his relatives became his downfall. Upon confronting the sovereign, he lost his will and liberty, turning into a marionette enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what little consciousness is left, he begs with Roger and Garp to end his life — thinking that death would be a mercy in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The reality of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the tale narrated by Sengoku, and the manga shows him in a positive light during the Divine Isle events.

Could He Be Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec actually meet his end? An interesting idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as The Man Marked By Flames, maintaining the Global Authority's last ancient stone in continuous movement to prevent the One Piece from being found.

Garp's Secret Defiance

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from followers for years for standing by as Admiral Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That feeling only grew stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered all to save the young Marine at Pirate Island, leading many to question why he was unable to do the same for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have recently resurfaced with the Divine Isle recollection: how can Garp work for the Marines, aware the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as sport for the elite?

The truth reveals something different. The instant Garp witnessed the Gorosei's grotesque shapes, he struck without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to vanquish some villainous Rocks D. Xebec, but a bold act of defiance, an attempt to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Xebec as a tool to wipe out all in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This incident is likely the cause Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be promoted to Admiral, reporting directly to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the audience are seeing the Divine Isle incident through a recollection narrated by the giant, including perspectives and occurrences he obviously wasn't present for, I believe we can treat this account as entirely truthful. The series may offer an reason later, maybe connected to Loki's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Nevertheless, the Divine Isle event excellently exemplifies the notion that the past is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {