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

The adage 'The past is written by the victors' serves as a key theme that Eiichiro Oda's epic author Eiichiro Oda has for some time woven into the story. Popular tales frequently fail to convey the complete truth, including the most influential characters in this story's intricate past. Oden was no foolish performer dancing through the roads of Wano; he behaved out of duty and conviction. Kuma wasn't a merciless villain who tore apart the Straw Hat Pirates, either; he was doing them a favor. Likewise, Davy Jones meant beyond just a pirate's game in pursuit of flags and crews.

In installment #1164 of the manga, we see the culmination of this theme. The entire Divine Isle narrative acts as a cautionary tale, advising audiences not to evaluate the characters too hastily.

Myths often fail to capture the full truth, including the most influential figures.

One Piece's most recent look back, detailing the God Valley event, represents one of the series' best storylines to date. Apart from the excitement of seeing legends in their prime, it's compelling to observe them before they turned into symbols — when their reputation had yet to surpass their human nature. History, as written by the Global Authority and recounted through hearsay stories, shaped our perception of individuals like Roger, Rocks D. Xebec, and even Monkey D. Garp. But both the government's accounts and the narratives of those who knew them turn out to be untrustworthy, revealing only fragments of who these individuals really were.

The Individual Prior to the Legend

Gol D. Roger may have been guided by mission and the bold spirit that sparked a fresh era of piracy, but before he was known as the King of the Pirates, he was a youth ruled by passion and the desire to explore. When people speak of his myth, they typically mean his second voyage, the grand quest in search of the Road Poneglyphs that lead to the final island. However little is understood about his initial travels, the one that shaped him prior to glory discovered him.

Back then, Gol D. Roger knew little of the world's secret past. His affection for the barkeep led him to the Divine Isle, where he discovered the Global Authority's most sinister realities: the extermination "contests," the grotesque appearances of the Gorosei, and including the presence of the world's hidden sovereign, Imu. We are yet to witness Gol D. Roger's reflections about everything happening in God Valley, but perhaps discovering the son of a Holy Knight on his ship will make him realize his place in the world and seek the reality he caught a glimpse of from Xebec's situation.

The Truth About The Infamous Captain

Before this recollection, what we were aware of of Rocks D. Xebec was derived mostly from Sengoku's version, both to the viewers and to young Marines. He depicted Rocks D. Xebec as a vile, power-hungry man determined to achieve world domination, someone so threatening that Roger and Monkey D. Garp had to team up to defeat him. But as it turns out, Sengoku was not present at God Valley; he was merely echoing the World Government's approved narrative of occurrences, the exact story the sovereign approved to conceal the reality about Xebec and the incident itself.

In reality, The captain, whose real name was Davy D. Xebec, was a ethical man who aimed to overthrow Imu and dismantle the corrupt World Government. We don't know if he was guided by ambition, retribution for his family, or a desire for fairness, but when he found out the regime's scheme to eliminate the island where his kin resided, he gave up his dreams of domination to rescue them.

This love for his relatives proved to be his downfall. Upon confronting Imu, he forfeited his will and liberty, turning into a marionette controlled to their power. Currently, with what little awareness remains, he begs with Gol D. Roger and Monkey D. Garp to kill him — thinking that death would be a kindness in contrast to the living hell he suffers. The truth of Rocks is thus far 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 D. Xebec really die? An intriguing idea is that he is still a servant to the ruler in the current timeline, serving as the scarred individual, maintaining the Global Authority's last Poneglyph in constant movement to keep the One Piece from being found.

The Hero's Hidden Rebellion

Another protagonist of the Divine Isle incident is Garp, who has endured criticism from fans for a long time for doing nothing as Akainu murdered Portgas D. Ace. That sentiment became even stronger after the timeskip, when he endangered everything to rescue Koby at Pirate Island, causing many to question why he couldn't do the same for his own grandchild. Comparable questions have recently resurfaced with the God Valley recollection: how could Monkey D. Garp serve the Marines, knowing the World Government treats mass murder and enslavement as entertainment for the upper class?

The reality uncovers something different. The instant Monkey D. Garp saw the Gorosei's monstrous shapes, he attacked without hesitation. His partnership with Gol D. Roger wasn't to defeat some evil Xebec, but a courageous act of defiance, an effort to halt Imu, who was manipulating Xebec as a pawn to wipe out everyone in God Valley, even it seems, even the Celestial Dragons themselves. This event is likely the reason Garp detests the Celestial Dragons in the present day and why he not once desired to be elevated to Fleet Admiral, answering straight to them.

The Past's Untrustworthy Narrators

Although the readers are viewing the God Valley event through a recollection narrated by Loki, including viewpoints and events he clearly was absent for, I believe we can consider this version as completely accurate. The manga may provide an explanation later, perhaps linked to Loki's yet unknown Devil Fruit. Still, the Divine Isle event excellently exemplifies the idea that history is recorded by the victors. This attitude is {