Pirates are enemies to marines, as the former essentially justify the work of the latter in the World Government’s eyes. Their conflicts on land and sea are a recurring theme in One Piece. Despite the natural animosity the two groups share, in some cases, they are more closely connected than one might assume.
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Indeed, a lot of pirates share familial connections with various marines. This article will look at said pirates, how they are related to noteworthy marines, and ultimately, where applicable, why the two relatives ended up choosing their separate paths that resulted in them being on opposite sides of the law.
5
Monkey D. Luffy
Monkey D. Garp’s Grandson
- Debut: Chapter 1 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)
- Crew: Straw Hat Pirates
Despite being the primary pirate the series focuses on, Luffy comes from a marine family, with both his father and grandfather having served. Luffy’s father, Monkey D. Dragon, estranged himself from both the marines and his relatives, to form the Revolutionary Army, an organization dedicated to overthrowing the corrupt World Government. Dragon would later be identified as the world’s worst criminal, a moniker befitting of one who takes on the government outright.
Dragon was absent for much of Luffy’s life, with Luffy even being surprised he had a dad. His grandfather, Monkey D. Garp, a marine vice admiral, decided to groom Luffy into becoming a marine. However, Luffy was influenced by an entirely different criminal from his father. Shanks and his crew, the Red Hair Pirates, became acquainted with Luffy at a young age. Their friendship steered Luffy towards the path of piracy, much to Garp’s chagrin, believing Shanks had “corrupted” his grandson.
Luffy seems to value being a pirate not for the wealth or power, but merely the freedom it affords him. His freedom-focused philosophy makes him quite different from the average pirate and their ideals. Garp’s own devotion to the marines stems from a belief in their justice. Where his son and grandson may see a lack of freedom, he instead views a peace driven by order. However, Garp is not foolish enough to buy entirely into the tenets of the World Government. Garp possesses a hatred for the World Nobles, and has repeatedly refused promotions to the rank of admiral for the sake of not serving them directly.
4
Portgas D. Ace
Monkey D. Garp’s Adopted Grandson
- Debut: Chapter 154 (Manga), Episode 91 (Anime)
- Crew: Whitebeard Pirates, Formerly Spade Pirates
Portgas D. Ace had no biological relation to any known marine, with his parents being the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger and his lover, Portgas D. Rouge. However, Garp adopted Ace as a favor to Roger, who noted that their long-term rivalry led him to trust the vice admiral as much as his own crewmates. Due to Garp’s own duties as a marine, he was unable to take care of Luffy and Ace, instead pawning them off to the Dadan Family, an infamous group of East Blue mountain bandits, in exchange for overlooking their crimes.
Despite being a distant paternal figure, Garp spent some time training Luffy and Ace, alongside their friend and eventual sworn brother, Sabo. Like Luffy, Garp wished Ace would become a marine. However, Ace felt he and Luffy would not be accepted as marines, due to both of their fathers being infamous criminals. Instead, Ace viewed piracy as the path to freedom, setting out to sea, and forming his own crew, the Spade Pirates. Eventually, Ace encountered Whitebeard, and after a notable amount of persuasion, allowed the Spade Pirates to be absorbed into the Whitebeard Pirates. Ace became a division commander within the crew, which allowed him to control a portion of it. Additionally, the crew served as an extended family for him, due to his captain’s insistence on treating his crewmates as adoptive “sons.”
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Ace was eventually apprehended by Blackbeard, an ex-subordinate who betrayed the crew. Blackbeard gave Ace to the World Government, in exchange for being allowed to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea, an organization of government-affiliated pirates. This eventually led to Ace’s planned execution, where he once again encountered Garp, who bemoaned the path he took. Garp put duty over family, actively inhibiting Luffy’s efforts to release Ace during the Summit War. However, once Ace was freed, he was eventually executed by Akainu, the admiral who would ascend to fleet admiral after the timeskip. Despite them being on opposing sides until his death, Ace had a level of respect for Garp, acknowledging him as his adoptive grandfather. The vice admiral was devastated when Ace passed, and had to be restrained by Sengoku, so he would not assault Akainu for killing Ace.
3
Nami
Belle-mère’s Adopted Daughter
- Debut: Chapter 8 (Manga), Episode 1 (Anime)
- Crew: Straw Hat Pirates, Formerly Arlong Pirates
Belle-mère was a marine who suffered a potentially fatal injury in the Oykot Kingdom. At first choosing death, she relented upon discovering a pair of orphaned girls in need of protection. From that point on, Belle-mère quit the marines, and adopted the girls, Nojiko and Nami, as her own daughters. Retiring to Cocoyasi Village, the family survived on mikans (a species of orange citrus) grown by Belle-mère. They suffered financial strain, which especially agitated the young Nami, but still cared for each other nonetheless. Unfortunately, Belle-mère was killed by Arlong, who subsequently coerced Nami into joining the Arlong Pirates, making use of her map-creating talent in exchange for not harming the village.
Belle-mère’s motivation to become a marine is not heavily elaborated upon. She was previously a troublemaker in Cocoyasi Village, but wanted to protect people from pirates. However, unlike Garp, her duty was not her first obligation, as she retired from the marines to raise Nami and Nojiko herself. During the Punk Hazard arc, Nami views Tashigi, a marine, as a figure she trusts to take care of the children who were freed from the island. Usopp presumes this is because Nami herself was raised by a marine woman. Nami was effectively forced into being a pirate, but has grown a taste for certain luxuries it has afforded her. Her love of belly is likely due, at least in part, to not growing up with much as a child. Her dream is to create a map of the entire world, which is easier to achieve as a pirate who traverses it.
2
Diez Barrels
X Drake’s Father
- Debut: Chapter 765 (Manga), Episode 704 (Anime)
- Crew: Barrels Pirates
Diez Barrels was once a marine officer of some renown, who was highly respected by his son, X Drake. Despite this fact, Barrels instead turned to piracy, founding his own crew, and forcing his son to join. Barrels’ descent into crime drove a wedge between him and Drake, as he began abusing his son during this time. Barrels eventually came across the Ope Ope no Mi, an especially powerful Devil Fruit. Barrels offered to exchange it with the marines for an exorbitant sum, but was instead robbed of it by Donquixote Rosinante, who gave it to Trafalgar D. Water Law in the hopes of curing his amber lead syndrome.
Doflamingo, Rosinante’s brother, who had decidedly more selfish reasons for finding the Devil Fruit, happened across Barrels and ended up killing him and his crew. Drake had escaped Doflamingo before he put up the birdcage, and eventually found his way back into the marines. Barrels cursed his son as he had passed, and Drake later noted he held no grudge against Doflamingo for killing his father.
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Drake rose to the rank of rear admiral, but eventually returned to piracy, forming the Drake Pirates. His crew was eventually absorbed into the Beasts Pirates, Kaido’s pirate crew, who held authority in Wano. Drake himself became one of Kaido’s highest ranked officers. However, this was ultimately a ruse. Drake’s piracy stint was part of his undercover actions as the captain of SWORD, a black ops organization which allows marines much more freedom in their actions, provided the World Government can subsequently disavow them as necessary.
It is unclear exactly why Barrels became a pirate. Due to seizing the Ope Ope no Mi and being willing to barter it for money, one can infer there was possibly a financial incentive. Drake’s own goal of becoming a marine was, at first, to emulate his father, but evolved into something he wanted to do independently after Barrels’ own defection.
1
Donquixote Doflamingo
Donquixote Rosinante’s Elder Brother
- Debut: Chapter 233 (Manga), Episode 151 (Anime)
- Crew: Donquixote Pirates
The Donquixote Brothers were part of the Donquixote Family, one of a select few to have the privilege of being World Nobles, a protected class allowed, and to some extent, encouraged to act as oppressively as possible towards anyone of lower status. They often captured and kept slaves, with no punishment of any kind, due to their status. Doflamingo enjoyed the privileges of his class, but they were all forfeited by his father, Homing.
Declaring himself a human, rather than a “god” as most World Nobles purport to be, Homing voluntarily removed his family from the World Nobles, and had them relocate to a humbler area. However, due to the locals there despising World Nobles due to the cruelty they inflicted upon them and their loved ones, the Donquixotes were treated savagely, as the World Government now had virtually no obligation towards them. Doflamingo showed excellent Conqueror’s Haki as a child, which led to a small gang volunteering their servitude towards him. Enabled by the gang, he assassinated his father, and began forming his own crew, the Donquixote Pirates, with the gang’s four members acting as his initial crewmates.
Rosinante was horrified by his brother’s actions and subsequently abandoned him. He found a new father figure in Sengoku, who aided him in becoming a marine. Taking advantage of his closeness to Doflamingo, Sengoku gave Rosinante a special mission to infiltrate his brother’s crew. Although Rosinante succeeded for some time, he failed to account for Doflamingo’s own mole in the marines, Vergo. After being discovered, Rosinante was subsequently killed by his older brother. This assassination sparked animosity in Trafalgar D. Water Law, a fatalistic boy who Doflamingo hoped to make a subordinate. Law formed his own pirate crew, known as the Heart Pirates, likely in honor of Rosinante’s codename, Corazon.
Doflamingo’s goal as a pirate seems to be vengeance against the World Nobles, as well as perhaps ascending to an even higher level of power. He despises the World Nobles, whom he was ostracized from, and seems to relish the idea of their suffering. Due to the sensitive information he possesses pertaining to his former status, the World Government seems to treat Doflamingo with extra levels of care, an effort which Akainu seemed to question. Rosinante’s own goal in becoming a marine seemed to be merely to oppose his brother. Rosinante loved his parents and viewed them as great people. He inquired how Doflamingo could be their child, due to how terrible of a person he is. He also seemed to empathize with Law, and made a successful effort to find a cure for his Amber Lead Syndrome.
- Release Date
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October 20, 1999
- Creator
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Eiichiro Oda
- Based On
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Manga
- Number of Episodes
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1122