One Piece Pirates Who Are Former Gangsters

While pirates are the primary criminals focused on in One Piece, they are far from the only type of criminal to be identified in the series. Bandits are identified early on as an example of another kind of notorious criminal present in the series. Another present, but less common kind of criminal is a gangster.

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These criminals typically operate as part of a crime syndicate, which usually has its own “captain,” variably identifiable as the “godfather,” “don,” or “boss.” Beyond the existence of the criminal underworld, which itself has ties to certain pirates, many pirates themselves were also previously gangsters. These pirates are former gangsters who chose to take the seas.

1

Nico Robin

The Demon Of Ohara

• Current Affiliation: Straw Hat Pirates

Robin was the sole survivor of Ohara, a civilization massacred by the Marines as a result of its archaeologists researching the Void Century. To assist in her capture, she was slandered by the government, having credited her with the destruction of warships and the desire to control ancient weapons. Due to quickly being made a pariah to the general public, she resorted to a life of crime before she even turned ten.

Despite technically having been a pirate at age eight, Robin was involved with at least two other criminal organizations before becoming a Straw Hat. The latter of these was a crime syndicate known as Baroque Works, which she joined in her early twenties.

Although not necessarily classified as a “gang,” the group has the trappings of one, as a criminal organization that maintains influence over a territory, with its leader having ownership and control over facilities in Alabasta before his greater ambition of controlling it wholesale. His design, and ability to keep the government at bay, are also meant to resemble a classic mob boss.

This organization used code names, often reserving numbers for its men and notable dates for its women as their designated aliases. Mr. 0, as the lowest-numbered member, was the organization’s leader. He was also Crocodile, a government-sanctioned pirate, who had a good public image among the nation’s people. Working under Crocodile, Robin used the alias of Miss All Sunday. She was his highest-ranked subordinate and tended to act as a messenger between him and his other underlings.

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Despite their ties, Robin’s unease with Crocodile controlling an ancient weapon was one of many factors that led to their alliance crumbling. She attempted suicide after failing to stop him but was defeated by Monkey D. Luffy. She has since forcibly invited herself into the Straw Hat Pirates, eventually gaining their acceptance. During her time away from them, she was also involved with the Revolutionary Army, which lionized her as a victim of the government’s injustice.

2

Eustass Kid

Crimelord From The South Blue

• Current Affiliation: Kid Pirates

Eustass Kid, along with his crewmates, was part of an island unaffiliated with the World Government in the South Blue. A tax, known as the Heavenly Tribute, is given to the World Nobles in exchange for the government’s protection. This commonly means unaffiliated islands are both poor and crime-ridden, such as Whitebeard’s home island of Sphinx during his youth.

Kid, alongside his future crewmate, Killer, lost a shared childhood crush named Victoria, to gang violence. Each of them went on to lead a gang that would control one of the island’s four towns, with two other similar gangs being led by fellow future crewmates, Heat and Wire. The four gangs led an assault on the gang responsible for Victoria’s death. Seeking a challenge, the four gang leaders took the seas on the Victoria Punk, a ship named for the late crush of Kid and Killer.

Kid is a fairly aggressive and antagonistic pirate, whose violence has led to the death of many innocents, helping his bounty reach supernova levels, and allowing him to be distinguished as a member of the Worst Generation, alongside eleven other notorious pirates. Nonetheless, he will occasionally ally with less evil pirates, such as Monkey D. Luffy, if a greater threat requires it. Kid often justifies his behavior in the grand scheme, comparing it to the admittedly larger-scale misconduct of the World Government and the nobles they protect. This philosophy is likely influenced by the crime and poverty he witnessed as a youth. His distaste for the authority of others is likely why he tends to find himself embroiled in conflict with more powerful figures.

He was recently defeated by Shanks, with the Giant Warrior Pirates sinking his ship. This was in response to his attempt to lead an attack on Elbaf. How he and his crew fared in the outcome is currently unclear, but it’s quite possible they now sleep with the fishes.

3

Capone Bege

Godfather From The West Blue

• Current Affiliation: Fire Tank Pirates

Capone Bege is perhaps the most infamous example of a gangster turned pirate. His image deliberately hearkens back to the appearance of the iconic mobster, Alphonse “Al” Capone, whom he also shares his birthday with. However, Bege doesn’t seem like the type to be taken out by tax evasion. He was in charge of one of the Five Families of the West, who ran the West Blue’s criminal underworld. He typically took to antagonizing other rival crime families, being content to merely rob them and leave them in disarray, rather than seek further control for himself. His targeting did not go beyond leaders of any gang, but this alone led him to need to retaliate often, something his own Devil Fruit easily allowed him to do.

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Bored with his dominance on land, he took to the seas, rechristening his crime family to the Fire Tank Pirates. He quickly gained infamy with the same sort of tactics he used on land to defeat other pirate crews. He became a supernova, a rookie pirate with a bounty of over 100,000,000 belly, being inducted into the Worst Generation. The most recent known target of his assassination efforts was Charlotte “Big Mom” Linlin. Bege infiltrated the Big Mom Pirates, participated in a surprisingly successful arranged marriage, and even cut an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates, to further this goal. But Big Mom’s near-invincibility made it a failed effort, as her powerful screams destroyed the murder weapons once she was finally made vulnerable. The attempt gave Monkey D. Luffy further infamy as “the fifth Emperor,” much to Bege’s chagrin as its primary organizer.

Despite his cruel, conniving mannerisms, Bege is big on family. Bege is something of a father figure to his men, and has their complete respect and subservience, despite the aggressive mannerisms of some of his cronies. Once his wife, Charlotte Chiffon, was inducted into the crew via their marriage, she was treated with a similar level of respect. He also made similar efforts to unite with his sister-in-law, Lola, at his wife’s behest, and eventually brought the Charlotte sisters’ father, Pound, aboard as well.

4

Bartolomeo

Kingpin From The East Blue

• Current Affiliation: Barto Club; Straw Hat Grand Fleet

Bartolomeo’s past as a gangster is known, but not particularly elaborated upon. He was said to be the kingpin of a mafia with 150 towns under him. He became fascinated with Monkey D. Luffy after watching a freak lightning strike halt his attempted execution in Loguetown. He steadily followed Luffy’s exploits until the Summit War, when he instead decided to take to the seas himself, forming the Barto Club. He has since become notorious for his exploits, gaining the moniker of “Bartolomeo the Cannibal.” He has shown a willingness to assault innocents and, more generally, disrespect for others. Yet, with Luffy and his crewmates, he has a sort of childlike wonder, absolutely adoring and obeying each one of them.

A microcosm of his character is shown in Corrida Colosseum, where he disrespects most of his competitors and relishes their scorn, but competes to obtain the Devil Fruit of Ace, Luffy’s late brother, so he can present him with it himself. Bartolomeo was one of many figures in Dressrosa to become a follower of Luffy, with several other organizations being formed or rebranded into pirate crews after being rescued by the Straw Hats. He was one of seven pirate crews to make up the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, a group of pirates who unquestionably serve Luffy. However, the relationship is largely one-sided, with Luffy tending to view it as more of an alliance, rather than demanding servitude.

The Barto Club was recently attacked, with their ship, the Going Luffy-Senpai, having been shot down by Yasopp, Usopp’s father, and a crewmate of Shanks under the Red Hair Pirates. This was the result of a skirmish instigated by the Barto Club, where the crew attacked an area protected by the Red Hair Pirates and burnt down their flag. Luffy’s rapport with Shanks went undocumented by Bartolomeo, presumably due to it not being relevant in most of his post-Loguetown exploits. Shanks gave Bartolomeo a poison bottle he was supposed to force Luffy to consume, yet out of guilt, he swallowed it himself, as his captain did not order the attack. After discovering it was not poison, his crew quickly escaped, and Yasopp shot them, much to the shock of Shanks. The exact outcome of this event is once again unknown, but the crew’s deaths are not necessarily out of the question.

5

Trebol

Gangster From The North Blue

• Current Affiliation: Donquixote Pirates

Unlike most other ex-gangsters, who were explicitly involved in large-scale criminal operations, Trebol was not a significant criminal before piracy. He instead was part of a small gang alongside the likes of Vergo, Pica, and Diamante. They met the man who would take them to prominence when he was a boy, with that boy being known as Donquixote Doflamingo. As a child, Doflamingo was once a World Noble, who was deposed as a result of his father, Homing, attempting to humble the boy, by forfeiting his immediate family’s claim to nobility. Unfortunately, they were moved to a town where the civilians hated World Nobles, due to the Heavenly Tribute, and other methods they had of depriving civilians. As a child, Doflamingo displayed Conqueror’s Haki, an ability only some especially ambitious individuals are born with.

His ability impressed the four gangsters, who from that day onward chose to be his servants, and confirmed, as he had thought, that he was destined for greater. Trebol, in particular, enabled him by giving him his Devil Fruit, as well as the gun he ended up murdering Homing with, irreparably fracturing his birth family. From there, Doflamingo would form the Donquixote Pirates, with the four gangsters who discovered him serving as his highest-ranked subordinates. Whether he knew it at the time or not, Trebol can be most accurately classified as an enabler, having encouraged the worst of his captain’s behavior.

Doflamingo himself went on to be heavily connected to the criminal underworld, having been involved in human trafficking, the manufacturing of artificial Zoan Devil Fruits, and the sale of rare weapons from Wano, among other activities. It is unclear how much his allies’ past gang activity factored into this decision. Doflamingo has something of a familial relationship with his highest-ranked members, insisting they are not to be made fun of, and showing genuine respect for their sacrifices on his behalf.

One Piece

Release Date

October 20, 1999

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Monkey D. Luffy (voice)

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  Kazuya Nakai

  Roronoa Zoro (voice)