One Piece Pirates Who Used To Work For the World Government

Key Takeaways

• Some powerful characters were once government-affiliated pirates before turning to piracy.
• The Seven Warlords of the Sea, a government-sanctioned group, abused power and caused chaos.
• The Warlord system has been abolished, leading former members to potential new allegiances.

The World Government and its various branches in One Piece exist to control the world and theoretically purge it from piracy. Yet even with this stated goal, piracy remains popular the world over. If not taking into account the Emperors and various other powerful pirates with ambitions of control, sometimes the call comes from inside the house.

These pirates had ties to the government and operated on its behalf for a time, some even concurrently with their career in piracy. Here are various pirates who were once employed by the World Government.

5 Vergo

The First Corazon

• Debut: Chapter 671 (Manga), Episode 597 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: None

Vergo was an early subordinate of Donquixote Doflamingo, impressed by his Conqueror’s Haki, which he displayed at the age of 10. His early loyalty was rewarded with a high-ranking position in the crew, alongside other longtime adherents. Although Doflamingo himself was technically employed as a Warlord by the World Government, Vergo was a mole sometime before then, keeping tabs on the marines by enlisting in their ranks.

Having risen to the level of Vice Admiral, Vergo’s own spot in the crew was technically vacant. In his place, a mole for the marines, Rosinante, the long-lost younger brother of Doflamingo, took the rank of Corazon. However, it was Vergo’s intervention that resulted in the discovery of Rosinante’s treachery and eventual death.

Vergo would later end up outing himself, after failing to kill a group of imprisoned marines and pirates, although it is unclear how widely known his crimes became, due to Smoker wishing to spare his subordinates the pain. He ended up dying at G5, in a room Doflamingo remotely made explode. Despite this fact, he was content, with Doflamingo genuinely thanking him for his dedicated years of service.

4 Who’s-Who

One of the Tobiroppo

• Chapter 977 (Manga), Episode 982 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Neko Neko no Mi, Model: Saber Tiger

Who’s-Who is one of the Kaido’s highest-ranked officers, falling below only the three All-Stars. Prior to the Beasts Pirates, he ran a crew of his own. Yet even this was preceded by an earlier occupation, a member of Cipher Pol 9, a government-run agency. With this distinction, Who’s-Who was trained as an assassin from a young age, with an emphasis on the martial art of Rokushiki. He is also a Zoan user, like a few other members of the collective, such as Rob Lucci, Kaku, and Jabra.

Despite his might, a noted failure cost him his position, as he was in charge of guarding the Gomu Gomu no Mi when the Red Hair Pirates stole it. This resulted in him being imprisoned in Impel Down before turning to piracy. Sometime after forming his own crew, they were absorbed into Kaido’s, with Who’s-Who eventually gaining his current distinction as one of six officers. He eventually lost in a duel with Jimbei. Due to the disarray of the Beasts Pirates after Kaido’s purported death and the capture of various All-Stars, Who’s-Who’s current position in the crew, as well as if it even exists is unclear for the time being.

3 Shiryu

One of the Ten Titanic Captains

• Debut: Chapter 538 (Manga), Episode 440 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Suke Suke no Mi

Shiryu was once the Head Jailer of Impel Down, a federal prison that is based in the sea. However, his excessive brutality was too much even for them and resulted in him being condemned to the secret sixth level, where the prisoners whose terrible crimes are erased from record wait to die. During the breakout at Impel Down, Shiryu was dispatched despite still being slated for execution. However, a ray of salvation came to him, in the form of the Blackbeard Pirates. A government-affiliated crew, numbering only 5 members, their captain, Marshall D. Teach, saw fit to beef up his numbers by recruiting from the prison’s most terrible criminals.

The crew suffered poisoning after being attacked by the fearsome then-warden, Magellan. Shiryu saves them all from death by providing the antidote to the warden’s poison, becoming one of five prisoners to join the crew during the breakout. Although both Blackbeard and Shiryu sacrificed their ties to the government, they built up their crew off Whitebeard’s grave. Eventually, Teach became an Emperor, taking on the self-imposed rank of Admiral, making his initial crewmates nine of his Ten Titanic Captains.

2 Kuzan

The Tenth Titanic Captain

• Debut: Chapter 303 (Manga), Episode 225 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Hie Hie no Mi

Kuzan was a marine who worked his way up to the rank of admiral. He was notably a protégé to Luffy’s grandfather, Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp. Despite their employment, the pair had varying disdain for the World Government. Kuzan notably became an adherent of Lazy Justice, believing it rarely worthy of being enacted, after the massacre in Ohara. Garp’s own disdain was more directed at the World Nobles, who were the reason he refused to become a full-fledged Admiral despite being offered the position repeatedly. After the events at Marineford and Sengoku’s retirement, Kuzan had a days-long duel with Sakazuki, better known as Akainu, to determine which of the pair would become Fleet Admiral, effectively being in charge of the marines.

The result was Akainu becoming Fleet Admiral, causing Kuzan to vacate his position. He was eventually confirmed to be a member of the Blackbeard Pirates, with it later being clarified that he was in fact one of their captains. Despite this, his exact loyalty to the crew is unclear, with even his fellow crewmates being deeply suspicious of his motive for joining. Nonetheless, due to all of them being effective allies of convenience, they seem fine with his participation in the crew for the time being.

Due to formally resigning from the marines, and not seeming as immoral as his crewmates, people speculate Kuzan is actually a member of SWORD, a black ops unit confirmed to have at least one other ex-marine acting as a pirate for intelligence-gathering purposes. However, due to Kuzan’s own stated disdain for the World Government and his unclear motives, this remains purely conjecture for the time being.

1 The Seven Warlords of the Sea

Government-Sanctioned Pirates

• Debut: Chapter 49 (Manga), Episode 23 (Anime)
• Devil Fruit: Varies, the majority of pirates to hold this rank are Devil Fruit users, but a few of them do not appear to have one

This roster of pirates varies in members, motivations, and the exact nature of each crew. The now-defunct Warlord system led pirates to pledge themselves to the government in exchange for leniency towards certain actions. They were decried by others as government lapdogs but nonetheless tended to be more powerful than the average pirate.

A common denominator was an abuse of power, which led to multiple government-affiliated kingdoms suffering. Crocodile and Doflamingo were both imprisoned for their crimes against said kingdoms, although the former escaped during a breakout. Other pirates joined for relatively more noble reasons, such as Hancock, who wished to keep the government out of Amazon Lily. She took to further disrespecting the government, betraying them for Luffy during the Summit War. Despite maintaining her role after the fact, she made no secret of her hatred towards the World Government.

Jimbei notably joined in an effort to improve Fish-Man/Human relations, but resigned due to a refusal to fight Whitebeard. Blackbeard only joined the organization to build up his own crew, quitting as soon as this goal was accomplished. Law made a similar tactical maneuver, using his status to gain clearance for marine bases and eventually discarding it as soon as he aligned with Luffy.

The only member who seemed genuinely loyal to the government at any point was Bartholomew Kuma, who sacrificed his autonomy. Nonetheless, upon regaining it, he even took on the likes of the Five Elders. Ultimately, the continued insubordination led to Issho calling for the system to be abolished, with support from rulers of affected kingdoms. This motion succeeded, meaning no overt pirates are currently under government employ.

It is unclear where exactly certain pirates will find themselves, but a common speculation is Cross Guild, a mercenary group founded by Crocodile and Mihawk, with their fellow former Warlord, Buggy, acting as the figurehead. This organization actively targets marines, by putting bounties on their heads. Due to the government no longer sanctioning their activities, it is likely at least a few more former warlords will find themselves with an ax to grind.

In their place, the Seraphim have been activated. Programmed by Dr. Vegapunk, these lunarian-hybrid pacifistas are partially made with the DNA of warlords. They have been shown capable of taking on Emperors and their crews and are already being used in certain excursions, to deal with particularly difficult pirates.