One Piece's Divine Isle Flashback Demonstrates Why Legends Shouldn't Be Trusted Blindly

The adage 'The past is written by the victors' is a key motif that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the narrative. Legends frequently fail to capture the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures in this story's complex history. Oden was no foolish performer prancing through the roads of Wano Country; he behaved out of honor and principle. Bartholomew Kuma was not a merciless antagonist who tore apart the Straw Hats, either; he was helping them. Likewise, the Davy Jones legend signified more than a pirate's game in pursuit of emblems and crews.

In chapter #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle narrative serves as a cautionary tale, instructing readers not to judge the characters too hastily.

Myths often do not convey the complete truth, even for the most powerful figures.

The series's latest look back, detailing the Divine Isle event, represents one of the series' best arcs to now. Beyond the thrill of witnessing legends in their prime, it's gripping to observe them before they turned into icons — when their reputation had yet to outgrow their humanity. The past, as written by the World Government and recounted through hearsay stories, painted our perception of figures like Gol D. Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and including Monkey D. Garp. But each of the regime's accounts and the stories of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only pieces of who these individuals truly were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been driven by mission and the daring spirit that ignited a new age of buccaneering, but before he became the Pirate King, he was a young man ruled by passion and wanderlust. When people speak of his myth, they typically mean his later journey, the epic expedition in search of the guide stones that lead to the final island. However little is known about his initial travels, the one that molded him prior to glory found him.

At that time, Gol D. Roger was largely unaware of the globe's secret history. His love for Shakky guided him to God Valley, where he discovered the Global Authority's darkest truths: the extermination "games," the grotesque forms of the Five Elders, and even the presence of the planet's hidden ruler, the mysterious leader. We are yet to witness Roger's thoughts about everything occurring in God Valley, but maybe finding the child of a Holy Knight on his vessel will lead him to understand his place in the world and seek the reality he glimpsed from Xebec's predicament.

The Reality About Rocks D. Xebec

Before this flashback, what we knew of Rocks D. Xebec came mostly from Sengoku's version, each to the viewers and to new Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, ambitious man bent on world domination, someone so dangerous that Gol D. Roger and Garp had to join forces to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku wasn't even present at God Valley; he was merely repeating the Global Authority's approved version of events, the exact story Imu authorized to conceal the reality about Rocks D. Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, Rocks D. Xebec, whose true name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who sought to overthrow Imu and dismantle the decadent World Government. We don't know if he was guided by lust for power, revenge for his family, or a desire for justice, but when he discovered the government's plan to annihilate the land where his family lived, he gave up his ambitions of conquest to save them.

This love for his family became his undoing. Upon facing Imu, he forfeited his determination and freedom, becoming a marionette enslaved to their authority. Currently, with what little awareness is left, he begs with Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that dying would be a mercy compared to the living hell he endures. The truth of Rocks D. Xebec is thus far from the story told by the former Fleet Admiral, and the comic shows him in a positive manner during the Divine Isle events.

Is He Still Alive Today?

But was Rocks D. Xebec really meet his end? An intriguing idea is that he is still a slave to Imu in the present day, acting as the scarred individual, maintaining the World Government's only remaining Poneglyph in continuous transit to keep the ultimate treasure from being found.

Garp's Hidden Defiance

A further key figure of the Divine Isle event is Monkey D. Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for years for standing by as Akainu killed Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment only grew more intense after the timeskip, when he risked everything to rescue the young Marine at Hachinosu, leading many to question why he was unable to do the identical for his biological grandson. Comparable doubts have now reemerged with the God Valley flashback: how can Garp serve the Navy, knowing the Global Authority considers mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the elite?

The reality reveals something different. The moment Monkey D. Garp saw the Elders' grotesque shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Xebec, but a bold act of rebellion, an effort to stop the sovereign, who was manipulating Rocks D. Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in the Divine Isle, including apparently, even the World Nobles themselves. This event is likely the cause Garp despises the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once wanted to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, reporting directly to them.

History's Unreliable Narrators

Although the readers are seeing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by the giant, including viewpoints and occurrences he clearly wasn't present for, I believe we can consider this version as completely truthful. The manga may offer an reason later, perhaps connected to the giant's still mysterious Devil Fruit. Still, the God Valley incident excellently exemplifies the idea that the past is written by the victors. This mindset is {