Hyougoro

Hyougoro of the Flower is the former yakuza boss of the Flower Capital and the most famous yakuza in Wano Country during the Kouzuki Family's reign. During Kurozumi Orochi's reign, he was imprisoned in Udon's prisoner mines until he was freed by Monkey D. Luffy. As a prisoner, he was known as .
==Appearance==
Hyougoro is a small, elderly man with a cyan tuft of hair and goatee that resemble small flames. He has a blue tattoo covering his shoulders and upper back that resembles a vest with pink flower patterns and a border.
As an inmate of the Prisoner Mine, he wore a black and white striped yukata undone above the waist, leaving his upper body bare aside from a small orange scarf. He also wore small round orange glasses and . He later draped a short light cloak over his shoulders.
At the battle at Onigashima, he wore a light-colored yukata with dark cherry blossom patterns and a dark cloak with bird symbols somewhat similar to the Kouzuki Family crest.
Over twenty years ago, he was a taller heavyset man with longer hair and goatee resembling wilder flames. He regained this physique while being infected by the Ice Oni virus, with the addition of elongated nails and sharp molars on his right side.
===Gallery===
==Personality==
Despite being a yakuza boss, Hyougoro is an extremely honorable and kind man who was once famous throughout Wano for his unmatched chivalry as a samurai. Countless samurai and even Oden himself held utmost respect for him. Hyougoro deeply despises the tyranny of Kurozumi Orochi and the Beasts Pirates, denouncing their oppression of Wano's citizens and murder of everyone who stood up to them. When given the chance to submit to Orochi, he refused, yearning for the old days when honorable people were still alive. As such, due to his absolute dedication to samurai's honor, pride, loyalty, and chivalry, he was completely disgusted and infuriated to see Orochi's subordinates switch allegiance to Kaidou right after Orochi was decapitated by Kaidou.
After spending a long time in the prison, he became broken down physically and mentally, although he still voiced his disappointment with his lack of food despite such an attitude being punishable. However, when Luffy gave him more dango, Hyougoro took the pirate's honor very seriously and made no secret of his new fortune, being willing to accept death for it because of how it fulfilled his memories of the past. By his admission, he consigned himself to a miserable death in prison.
Upon reuniting with Raizo and made aware of the whereabouts of the alleged deceased members of the Nine Red Scabbards and Momonosuke, Hyougoro came to appreciate a new will to live, being very relieved that he did not die before knowing everything, and requesting to join the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance to overthrow Orochi and Kaidou.
He can be bold to the point of staying in the path of an angry Big Mom just to test Luffy.
During the raid on Onigashima, he is shown to be optimistic, saying that he cannot imagine the alliance losing.
==Relationships==
===Wano Country===
Hyougoro was respected by all the samurais of Wano for his immense chivalry and kindness towards the citizens. Shinobu believed that if Hyougoro joined their campaign in overthrowing Kaidou and Orochi, he could rally all the samurais to their cause. Hyougoro's patriotism towards Wano is so great that he absolutely refused to cooperate with Orochi's plans for mass weapon factory industrialization, despite the consequences of going against Orochi. After being imprisoned, most of the citizens thought he was executed by Orochi for defiance and his fellow prisoners no longer recognized him as the legendary Yakuza, simply referring him as Grandpa Hyo. They cared deeply for Hyougoro who no longer had the strength to work in the hard prison labor, but lack the courage to help him by defying the Beast Pirates. When Daifugo attacked Hyougoro for cheating the system, they pleaded him to stop hurting Hyougoro as he could possibly die due to his old age. However, when seeing him use an advanced Armament Haki technique on a Gifter, the prisoners realize that he is Hyougoro. Hyougoro also expressed sadness at the death of the former benevolent Hakumai Daimyo Shimotsuki Yasuie after seeing his execution. Hyougoro held immense sympathy towards the impoverished citizens of Wano and their immense suffering and misery from Kaidou and Orochi's tyranny. When Luffy was silently angered at the Ebisu Town citizens laughing at Yasuie's death, Hyougoro solemnly explained about the side effects of the defective SMILE fruits which Orochi had fed his own citizens, including some of their fellow prisoners who had fallen victim to Orochi's twisted cruelty. When Daifugo and the other Beasts Pirates attacked his fellow prisoners, Hyougoro rushed to their aid, though was disappointed by their broken morale that led them to simply give into the Beasts Pirates' oppression. When Luffy successfully convinced them to retaliate back at the Beast Pirates, Hyougoro was elated while praising Kin'emon for making an extremely wise choice of recruiting Luffy as their ally.
===Kouzuki Family===
Among the many Wano citizens, even Kouzuki Oden himself held the utmost respect for Hyougoro. In turn, Hyougoro have the same amount of respect for Oden and his family. In fact, he and his wife were some of the few people who still stood by Oden's side when the then Kuri daimyo humiliated himself in public for five years, with Hyougoro's wife even complimenting Oden on his dancing. When the family was believed to have died out completely, Hyougoro came to lose his will to live and consigned himself to a miserable death in Udon. Seeing Raizo still alive renewed his will to live, and he requested to join the alliance to topple Orochi. Raizo was surprised to see the difference in Hyougoro's appearance since their last contact 20 years ago, but was nevertheless confident in his charisma being a valuable asset to their alliance. Even after Hyougoro's fall from grace, Kawamatsu continues to worry for his safety, imploring Luffy not to let the elderly yakuza die.
===Allies===
====Monkey D. Luffy====
Due to Luffy saving his life and offering him dango, Hyougoro held immense gratitude and respect for Luffy because of how he reminded him of his past. Luffy himself took a liking to Hyougoro and openly attacked Daifugo when the latter tried to kill Hyougoro despite the consequences of execution. Hyougoro showed great concern when Luffy was hurt by Babanuki and pleaded with Queen to spare Luffy, even offering to be punished in his place.
During the Sumo Inferno, Hyougoro was able to dodge attacks because he trusted Luffy's instructions. Once he found out about the advanced Armament Haki technique that Luffy was trying to learn, Hyougoro offered to teach him. Upon learning that Luffy is an ally of the still living Momonosuke, Hyougoro came to believe that it was fate that Luffy was sent to Udon, where many potential allies are imprisoned by Orochi, and that it is the most ideal location to reinforce their rebellion against the tyrants of Wano.
Hyougoro wishes for Luffy to get stronger as he put himself in the path of an angry Big Mom in the hopes that Luffy can improve his skills. When the prisoners in Udon began to doubt Luffy after learning he is a pirate, Hyougoro vouched for him. He has shown to have great faith in Luffy's abilities as he continued to supervise his training after the prison takeover. Hyougoro also defended Luffy when his fellow yakuza tried to punish Luffy for speaking to Hyougoro so casually.
===Enemies===
====Beasts Pirates====
Hyougoro strongly despises the tyranny of the Beasts Pirates and their ally Orochi and was thrown into prison for his refusal to submit. After being helped by Luffy, Hyougoro bravely declared his disdain for the Beasts Pirates when Daifugo threatened to kill him. When they first met after many years, Queen mocked Hyougoro for his miserable plight.
Once he witnessed Hyougoro used an advanced Armament Haki technique to defeat Alpacaman, Queen expressed praise towards the old man.
====Kurozumi Orochi====
When Orochi seized power as the shogun, Hyougoro refused to acknowledge his authority. Eventually with the help of Kaidou, Orochi had Hyougoro arrested and sentenced him to life imprisonment in Udon. Hyougoro also joined the Kouzuki Revolution in order to overthrow him. Nevertheless, Hyougoro was disgusted when seeing the Orochi Oniwabanshu and Mimawarigumi easily relinquished their allegiance to Orochi and pledged loyalty to Kaidou for self preservation after Orochi was decapitated.
==Abilities and Powers==
In the past, Hyougoro was once Wano's most famous yakuza boss, being in charge of all Underworld dealings in the Flower Capital. He carried enough respect to hold authority over the five yakuza bosses of the other regions of Wano. In fact, his popularity among the Wano population was so massive that Shinobu was certain that, even after two decades, Hyougoro alone would be able to recruit the necessary amount of samurai to stand a chance in the revolution against Orochi.
At his best, Hyougoro was quite a powerful warrior, respected by countless samurais, Yakuzas, and even Orochi and Kaido; wanted to recruit him into his ranks. In fact, before the confrontation between Oden and the pirate, the latter stated that if the samurai had allied with Hyougoro five years earlier, he and his crew would have been at a clear disadvantage against the nation's samurai.
===Physical Abilities===
In the past, Hyougoro had a legendary strength. However, due to long term malnutrition on account of his imprisonment, along with the effects of old age, Hyougoro's strength has significantly declined. However, he is still strong enough to move five massive stone blocks.
After eating Queen's oshiruko supply, Hyougoro regained enough energy and strength to overpower the Beast Pirates with his swordsmanship.
Hyougoro has exceptional endurance despite his old age, as he could withstand an Artificial Zoan Devil Fruit enhanced Gifter, Daifugo's brutally kicking him without spitting out the food Luffy offered him. This, when combined with his superior Busoushoku Haki skills, allowed him to survive getting sent flying and crashing deep into a wall by Emperor Big Mom, which is an incredible feat by itself, as Big Mom is powerful enough to destroy cities, sink battleships, and even kill a strong giant as a child with just her bare hands. In spite of suffering this injury, he is able to fight the Beasts Pirates later on.
Hyougoro has displayed great agility in spite of his old age. He was able to avoid the sword attacks of Alpacaman and counterattack fairly easily, though he did have Luffy's future vision to tell him what would happen next.
Hyougoro has shown incredible willpower, able to resist the feral berserker effects of the Ice Oni virus from affecting his mind through sheer will, exploiting the strength enhancement effects to his advantage, shockingly impressed Apoo and Drake.
Becoming infected by the Ice Oni virus granted Hyougoro the return of the strength of his prime, though in exchange for his lifespan. With this, he was able to easily decimate many Beasts Pirates and the entire ex-Mimawarigumi as well as the Orochi Oniwabanshu. Even the arrogant Queen saw him as a real threat, believing he could take down everything in his path.
===Haki===
====Armament Haki====
Hyougoro is an extremely skilled and experienced Armament Haki user, which is called "Ryuo" in Wano. He can harden parts of his body and can utilize an advanced application of Armament Haki that allows him to emit his Haki a short distance without a medium. It is strong enough to strike down a Gifter without touching him. He also withstood an attack from Big Mom by guarding himself with Armament Haki. He was skilled enough as a teacher to teach Luffy in the same advanced technique.
In the anime, when Hyougoro uses advanced Armament Haki, it is shown as a pink colored flowing aura.
====Observation Haki====
Hyougoro possesses the ability to use Observation Haki as he sensed Luffy's presence on top of the Skull Dome and realized he was still alive.
===Swordsmanship===
Hyougoro is an extremely skilled veteran Samurai who learned the concept of Wano, where one wield their sword as an extension of their will, choosing what he does and does not want to cut. Despite his old age, malnourished body, and spending twenty years imprisoned in Udon, he managed to dispatch dozens of Beasts Pirates easily using his sword, then participated in the Raid on Onigashima. When his original strength was briefly restored to him, Hyougoro managed to defeat the captains of the Mimawarigumi and the Orochi Oniwanbanshi with his swordsmanship.
===Weapons===
20 years ago, Hyougoro wielded a long thin katana. He regained his sword after joining the rebellion.
==History==
===Past===
Years ago during the Kouzuki Family's reign, Hyougoro was the most famous yakuza boss in Wano Country. He was allied with the Kouzuki Family, whose patriarch, Kouzuki Oden, was a fan of his since childhood. When Oden was 15, Hyougoro and his yakuza family got dragged into the Harem Revolt incident. 41 years ago, his subordinates informed him of Kin'emon stealing their money. Hyougoro simply told his men that they would not stand a chance against Kin'emon in a one-on-one fight. He later witnessed Oden defeating the Mountain God and was impressed by this feat.
20 years ago, Hyougoro was captured and his wife and men were killed for refusing to submit to the shogun Kurozumi Orochi. He was handed over to the Beasts Pirates and was imprisoned in Udon's Prisoner Mine.
===Wano Country Saga===
====Wano Country Arc====
After moving five big block rocks in the Prisoner Mines, Hyougoro went to collect his dango allotment and was disheartened to see that he only received one piece of kibi dango for his work. The guard punched Hyougoro for talking back, leaving him lying on the ground. The deputy warden Dobon then arrived and stepped on Hyougoro, but was then defeated by the prisoners Monkey D. Luffy and Eustass Kid, and Luffy picked up Hyougoro and carried him on his shoulder.
On the next day, Hyougoro thanked Luffy for saving him. Luffy then gave Hyougoro some of his meal tickets in an act of kindness.
The next day, Hyougoro was attacked by the guards, who were suspicious about him having so many meal tickets. However, he refused to give up his dango, as Luffy's actions reminded him of Wano's past and he was willing to die now that this had fulfilled him. Before Daifugo could kill Hyougoro, though, Luffy came in and attacked the guard. Hyougoro and Luffy were then caught and brought before Queen. After Queen mocked him for being a weak old man, Hyougoro begged Queen to spare Luffy.
Hyougoro and Luffy were sentenced to fight in death matches called the Sumo Inferno. Both of them were forced to wear collars that will behead them if they step out of the ring, but they were allowed to have their handcuffs removed for combat. As the first group of opponents attacked them, Hyougoro watched as Luffy instantly knocked them out with Supreme King Haki. After Luffy defeated more opponents, Hyougoro was puzzled when Luffy mentioned Silvers Rayleigh.
Hyougoro and Luffy were eventually confronted by Alpacaman and Madilloman. Thanks to Luffy being able to predict their attacks, Hyougoro was able to avoid them. When Luffy told Hyougoro about trying to learn an advanced Armament Haki technique, Hyougoro demonstrated this technique and defeated Alpacaman with it.
Hyougoro tried to teach Luffy, but the latter continued defeating opponents without making any progress. They eventually exhausted to nighttime when everyone else went to sleep. Hyougoro questioned Luffy why he wanted to defeat Kaidou, and in the process, Raizo came to explain everything. Surprised to see Raizo and learn that the Nine Red Scabbards and Momonosuke are all still alive, Hyougoro came to renew his will to live and requested to join their alliance to topple Kaidou and Orochi. He also revealed many potential allies that were locked in the prison.
During the night, Hyougoro and Luffy ate oshiruko that were stolen from Queen but overate and grew fat. On the next day as the Beasts Pirates gathered around the ring, Hyougoro and Luffy prepared for the next set of matches, but Queen went to turn on the Picture Tanishi. Hyougoro then tearfully witnessed the execution of Shimotsuki Yasuie. When Luffy commented that no one should laugh when a person dies, Hyougoro explained about a side effect of the SMILE fruits. After watching Luffy's crewmates causing a commotion at the execution site, Hyougoro saw Kamazo and the recaptured Kid brought to the prison. After Kid revealed Kamazo to be his crewmate Killer, Hyougoro noted that Killer became a victim of a defective SMILE fruit.
Soon afterwards, Hyougoro witnessed Big Mom breaking into the prison. Unlike Luffy and the Beasts Pirates, Hyougoro was not shocked since he was unfamiliar with her. He was then surprised to see Big Mom overpowering Queen. After Luffy unwittingly admitted that he ate the oshiruko for which Big Mom was looking, Big Mom directed her anger towards Luffy and pushed him and Hyougoro out of the ring. Fortunately, Luffy managed to remove the collars. Hyougoro stayed in Big Mom's path, hoping that Luffy could become stronger by fighting her. Hyougoro noted that what Luffy just did was superior to what he had been trying to teach him, and so if Luffy could do that, he should be able to protect him from the attacking Big Mom. However, Big Mom instantly sent Luffy and Hyougoro crashing into a wall. Luffy worriedly apologized to Hyougoro as he pulled him out of the wall, and Hyougoro revealed that he used Haki just in case. Hyougoro told Luffy more about the advance usage of Armament Haki before Big Mom chased Luffy throughout the Prisoner Mines.
After Queen subdued Big Mom and took her away from the Prisoner Mines, Hyougoro watched Luffy fight the Beasts Pirates, commenting that Luffy was not easily discouraged. After Raizo freed Kawamatsu and joined up with Kikunojo and Chopper, Hyougoro told Kikunojo and Raizo to reveal themselves in order to rally the prisoners. Hyougoro and his allies then prepared for battle. As they fought against the Beasts Pirates, they were soon cornered by prisoners who were infected by the Mummy virus. Hyougoro was amazed when Luffy managed to sway them into rebelling against the Beasts Pirates. He was then pleased to see Luffy defeat Warden Babanuki.
After the prison takeover, the prisoners became skeptical when they learned that Luffy is a pirate. Hyougoro became worried as he tried to reassure them. He then wondered where Luffy went. While seeing the prisoners bowing to Momonosuke, Hyougoro realized that they needed a goal in order to fight. After Chopper treated Luffy and the infected prisoners, Hyougoro was pleased to see how much trust Luffy had gained. He then got reacquainted with the four yakuza bosses who were also imprisoned in Udon. When they threatened Luffy for speaking to Hyougoro casually, Hyougoro once again vouched for him.
As the day of the Fire Festival drew closer, Hyougoro continued supervising Luffy's Armament Haki training. He also received Yasuie's last message. After Luffy finished with his training and left Udon two days before the raid on Onigashima, Hyougoro was contacted by Kin'emon, who told everyone participating to use the remaining time to prepare. Hyougoro also informed his fellow rebels in Udon that Cho would be bringing weapons from Ringo.
The rebels gathered at Habu Port and on the day of the Fire Festival, they joined the Scabbards at Tokage Port on a fleet of ships. After Jinbe arrived to aid the rebels, Hyougoro joined Law and the Scabbards on the Polar Tang and volunteered to lead the samurai. He also took part in their discussion on how to enter Onigashima.
After the Straw Hats defeated the guards at the torii gates, the rebels arrived at Onigashima and received Beasts Pirates disguises from Kin'emon's Fuku Fuku no Mi. Hyougoro then joined Denjiro in the southern forces. After Denjiro's forces split into two groups, Hyougoro and several rebels infiltrated the Performance Stage in the Skull Dome, where they found Momonosuke tied to a crucifix. They then waited patiently for the time to strike.
After Kaidou disposed of Orochi for his New Onigashima Project, Hyougoro was greatly disgusted when the Orochi Oniwabanshu and the Mimawarigumi swore their allegiance to Kaidou out of self-preservation, throwing away their warrior pride and honor without hesitation. After the Scabbards and Izou launched a surprise attack on Kaidou, Hyougoro and the rebels revealed themselves as the all-out war on the Beasts Pirates began.
As the battle raged on, Hyougoro and the yakuza leaders decided to go after the Tobiroppo. Despite the number of enemies, Hyougoro stated that he could not imagine the alliance losing. When Luffy used Gear Fourth to attack Goki, Hyougoro commented that Luffy looked like a Wisdom King.
After Queen unleashed the Ice Oni virus, Omasa became infected. He prepared to take his own life, but Hyougoro stopped him. As Chopper began mass-producing the antidote, the yakuza bosses volunteered to guard him. During the struggle, Hyougoro got infected by the Ice Oni virus, but he physically returned to his prime self. The Mimawarigumi challenged him, but Hyougoro managed to defeat them. As his infection worsened, Hyougoro ordered Yatappe to end his life before he could completely transform into an ice oni. Yatappe struggled with the task, and as he swung his sword, Chopper stopped it and administered the cure to Hyougoro. With the effects reversed, Hyougoro returned to his short stature. As Chopper slapped Queen and exclaimed that he was not a "tanuki", Hyougoro inwardly apologized for having called him such.
When Kaidou later announced that Luffy and the Scabbards had lost, Hyougoro grew worried, but Momonosuke then relayed Luffy's message, rallying the Alliance's forces. As Zoro was shortly after that fighting King, both Hyougoro and Kawamatsu were pointing out similarities between Zoro and some of the members of the Shimotsuki Family, Ushimaru and Ryuma. He was later shocked to see a gigantic dragon flying through the Performance Floor, with Luffy hanging off of one horn. Hyougoro then watched in shock as Queen launched his neck and tail from his body. When Big Mom got defeated by Kid and Law and she caused an explosion's quake to go through all of Onigashima, everybody on the Performance Floor was physically shaken by it. When Luffy was supposedly beaten again by Kaidou, Hyougoro sensed that Luffy was still alive on the rooftop. After the Raid of Onigashima ended, he would take part in the celebration of the liberation of Wano, partying alongside the fellow Yakuza.
===Final Saga===
====Oni Child Yamato's Golden Harvest Surrogate Pilgrimage====
Before Yamato went to travel throughout Wano, he visited Hyougoro and Nekomamushi.
==Major Battles==
*Hyougoro and Monkey D. Luffy vs. Madilloman and Alpacaman
*Hyougoro, Monkey D. Luffy, Tony Tony Chopper, Raizo, Kikunojo, and Kawamatsu vs. Beasts Pirates (Prisoner Mines)
*Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance vs. Beasts Pirates and their allies
==Translation and Dub Issues==
Hyougoro's name includes two long "o" sounds, as Hyōgorō. For unknown reasons, these have been romanized differently, with the first long "o" becoming "ou" and the second becoming "o".
==Merchandise==
===Video Games===
====Playable Appearances====
*One Piece Treasure Cruise
*One Piece Bounty Rush
==Trivia==
*Hyougoro's appearance from 20 years ago resembles the , the two wrathful guardians at the entrance of many Buddhist temples, and , a guardian deity primarily revered in Vajrayana Buddhism.
**Hyougoro holds authority over Wano's yakuza bosses, just as Fudō Myō-ō is preeminent among the . In real life, Fudō Myō-ō is highly revered among some Yakuza members who often draw on his intense facial expression and demeanor, sometimes tattooing it as a protection charm.
*Hyougoro is the second person to teach Luffy the art of Haki (after Rayleigh). In this case, it is advanced Busokoku Haki.
*At 100 cm, Hyougoro is the shortest adult human male in the series, with Miss Buckin being the only other human shorter than him.
*Hyougoro's favorite drink is daiginjo.
==References==
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