The Three Great Powers

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The Three Great Powers (三大勢力, San Dai Seiryoku) are the three most powerful forces in the fictional world of the anime and manga series One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda.


Contents

[edit] Roles

The Three Great Powers shape and mold the world. While the Shichibukai do not seem to have any interest other than their own gain or personal matters, the authorities of the Marine Headquarters use their power to control countries and to maintain order and justice. The Yonkou serve an unknown role, presumably the mere existence of these powerful pirates is enough to upset the World Government's authority. The Gorousei express fear that if this balance of power is disrupted, the world itself could collapse around them.

[edit] Yonkou

Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp introducing the Yonkou in chapter 432.
Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp introducing the Yonkou in chapter 432.

The Yonkou (四皇 Yonkō?), literally Four Emperors are the four most powerful pirates in the second half of Grand Line. According to Monkey D. Garp, these "Four Emperors" rule above all others and form a precarious balance with the Shichibukai and Marine Headquarters. The Yonkou are not an actual organization, as each pirate works to further his own ends. The World Government considers the four pirates so powerful, that a potential alliance between Whitebeard and Shanks is enough to send them into a panic.

[edit] Members

[edit] Whitebeard

Main article: Whitebeard Pirates

[edit] Red-Haired Shanks

Main article: Red Haired Pirate Crew

[edit] Kaidou

Gecko Moria and Kaidou once fought on equal levels. He has yet to make a physical appearance.

[edit] The fourth Younkou

The fourth member has not yet been revealed in person.

[edit] Shichibukai

The Shichibukai (七武海 Shichibukai?, lit. Seven Armed Seas, Seven Warlords of the Sea in the 4Kids and Funimation dubs) are seven extremely powerful former pirates who have allied themselves with the World Government, hunting down pirates and other criminals considered threats and handing over a large fraction of captured bounties. In return for these actions, the World Government pardons these pirates for their crimes and freeze their bounties. Other pirates consider the Shichibukai to be "government dogs", however. The Shichibukai are granted large deals of autonomy, often going unsupervised for long period of time, and are not guaranteed to follow the World Government's orders, rarely ever showing up for meetings. The World Government tolerates these actions, however, to maintain order over the One Piece world. The Shichibukai are loosely based on the privateers of Europe, government endorsed pirates considered heroes in their homeland and pillagers in others.[1]

[edit] Members

[edit] Dracule Mihawk

Dracule Mihawk (ジュラキュール・ミホーク Jurakyūru Mihōku?), also known as, "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk is the first of the Shichibukai to be introduced and plays a major role as Roronoa Zoro’s ultimate goal. He first appears while the Straw Hat crew are at Baratie, having pursued Don Krieg's armada from the Grand Line. Mihawk destroys Krieg's only remaining ship for the sake of his amusement. Roronoa Zoro challenges Mihawk and loses against Mihawk's 2-inch knife. Leaving Zoro with a huge scar on the front of his torso, Mihawk tells him he will await the day when Zoro can surpass his ability. Mihawk is next seen with Red-Haired Shanks on an island in the Grand Line, delivering Monkey D. Luffy's wanted poster, much to Shanks' delight. Mihawk's most recent appearance in the series has been a meeting between the World Government and the Shichibukai to discuss the Straw Hat Pirates, where it is implied that he has the worst attendance record of all the Shichibukai.

[edit] Jimbei

Jimbei is the leader of the Fishmen Pirates, which split up after he became a Shichibukai. Arlong became captain of some of the former members of Jimbei's crew. Jimbei has not made an appearance in the story so far.

[edit] Sir Crocodile

Sir Crocodile (サー・クロコダイル Sā Kurokodairu?) first appears in One Piece Chapter 126 during a phone conversation with Sanji. He is the leader of Baroque Works, a secret organization of assassins and spies, and a member of the Shichibukai. Utilizing Baroque Works, he incites rebellion in the kingdom of Alabasta in order to gain access to the Poneglyph hidden beneath the palace. He believes it will reveal the location of the weapon Pluton, which Crocodile wishes to gain control of in order to establish his military power. He is defeated by Monkey D. Luffy and stripped of his Shichibukai status by the World Government, after which he is imprisoned. Crocodile ate the Devil Fruit Suna Suna no Mi (Sand Sand Fruit) which allows him to create, manipulate, absorb, and transform into sand. Crocodile mastered the Devil Fruit powers to the point of perfection where he can turn into sand reflexively if attacked and while in a Desert area, his powers make him virtually invincible. He has a tough golden alloy hook where his left hand is supposed to be. When the golden casing of the hook is removed, it reveals to be a hook loaded with poison strong enough to melt through rock. If this poisonous hook is broken, he has a knife hidden away in it that can be used in its place. According to series creator Eiichiro Oda, Crocodile's bounty would have been more than twice its value if reflective of the threat he posed during the Alabasta arc.[2]

[edit] Donquixote Doflamingo

Donquixote Doflamingo (ドンキホーテ・ドフラミンゴ Donkihōte Dofuramingo?) first appears in One Piece Chapter 234, during a meeting between the Shichibukai and high-ranking World Government officials. Doflamingo then appears in Mock Town to punish Bellamy for dishonoring his flag. He displays an ability to control others using movements similar to a puppeteer, and forces Sarquiss to seemingly kill Bellamy. Like many other One Piece characters, Doflamingo has a unique laugh (fufufufufufufufufu). He is suspected of being behind the Slave Auction on the Shabondy Archipelago, seeing how his pirate symbol is shown on the walls of the Auction House in Chapter 501.

[edit] Bartholomew Kuma

Bartholomew Kuma (バーソロミュー・くま Bāsoromyū Kuma?) "Kuma" means "bear" in Japanese. Like Doflamingo, his first appearance is at the government summit of Mariejoa following Sir Crocodile's defeat in Alabasta. He is next seen at Thriller Bark, where he offers Gecko Moria his aid in defeating the Straw Hat Crew. According to Gecko Moria, Kuma is the only Shichibukai truly obedient to the World Government. Kuma possesses the power of the Nikyuu Nikyuu no Mi, one of many fictional Devil Fruits in One Piece. This fruit gives him the ability to repel or reflect anything he touches with his hands. He is also a "Pacifista", an experimental cyborg created by the Marine scientist Doctor Vegapunk. Perona describes Kuma as "a tyrant", and claims he committed every atrocity a pirate could commit.

Kuma is seen again at Marine Headquarters, enduring a scolding from Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He informs Sengoku that the Straw Hat's Log Pose will bring them very close to the Marine Headquarters at Mariejoa.

[edit] Gecko Moria

Gecko Moria (ゲッコー･モリア Gekkō Moria?) first appears in One Piece Chapter 449, as the captain of the enormous ship Thriller Bark. He is extremely large and has a devil-like appearance, but is also exceptionally lazy. Moria ate the Devil Fruit Kage Kage no Mi, giving him control over his own shadow as well as the ability to manipulate the shadows of other things and beings and teleport to another place. Moria can place a stolen shadow into a corpse, creating a zombie that is totally obedient to him. Prior to his appearance in the story, Moria fought on the same level as the Yonkou Kaidou, but his crew was killed. This results in Moria's desire to create an army of zombies to fight for him, as they cannot be killed without the aid of salt. He is defeated by Monkey D. Luffy, making him the second Shichibukai Luffy has beaten. Like many other characters in One Piece, Moria has an unique laugh (kishishishi).

  • Gecko in Japanese(月光, 'Gekkou') also stands for 'moonlight'.

[edit] Marshall D. Teach

Main article: Blackbeard Pirates

Sir Crocodile's replacement, granted the title after his capture of Portgas D. Ace.

[edit] The Seventh Shichibukai

  • Former Bounty: Unknown

[edit] The Marine Headquarters

Main article: Navy (One Piece)
See also: List of One Piece Marines

The Marine Headquarters operate under the authority of the Gorosei and Fleet Admiral Sengoku. Their structure is the most ordered of all the Three Great Powers.

[edit] Other powerful organizations

[edit] The World Government

Main article: World Government (One Piece)

Although not a Great Power in itself, the World Government controls the Marines and to an extent the Shichibukai. Through a Marine overseer that has a direct relationship with the World Government, it also has influence on Cipher Pol. The leaders of the World Government are the Gorosei, Five Elder Stars.

[edit] Cipher Pol

Main article: Cipher Pol

Cipher Pol is a police organization founded by the World Government. CP1 - CP8 is known to the public, as CP9 is secret, and now defeated by the Strawhat Pirates.

[edit] References

  1. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.28 - Chapter 260, Fan question: Are the Shichibukai based on the privateers of old England and France?
  2. ^ SBS questions: One Piece Manga - Vol.36 - Chapter 342, Fan question: What are the bounties in the world of One Piece based on? Is it strength? But in that case, wouldn't Crocodile's 80 million be a bit small?
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One Piece by Eiichiro Oda
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