Neptune

**King Neptune** is a coelacanth merman and the king of the Ryugu Kingdom on Fish-Man Island. He is also the current patriarch of the Neptune Family, father of Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Manboshi, and Shirahoshi, and the husband of the late Queen Otohime.

## Statistics

### Epithet

God of the Sea (海神 Kaishin?),[2] Great Knight of the Sea (海の大騎士 Umi no Dai-kishi?)[3]

### Family

Fukaboshi (Son), Otohime (Wife, Deceased)

## Appearance

Neptune is a giant-sized and muscular coelacanth merman. He has a red nose, small eyes, and long thick orange curly hair (despite his age of seventy) and beard. Both his chest and arms are covered with hair. He is bare-chested and has matching black tattoos on both arms, which looks like a spiral with wavy protrusion designs around it.

He wears a gold crown that resembles a tulip with jewels embedded, a golden bracelet on each wrist, and carries a gold trident with an elaborate design.

At Otohime's funeral, he wore a large suit. When he and his family arrived at the Red Port for the Levely, he wore a dark-colored coat.

## Personality

Neptune seems to be very blunt, as he simply invited the "Straw Hat humans" to the Ryugu Palace, instead of being more cordial. He also tends to shout his words out for no reason, including a habit of shouting his own name at random times, being followed by his whale shouting "Hoe". Neptune sometimes mispronounces people's names, as he refers to Zoro as "Zori". He appears to be easy-going, absent minded, and carefree as he was scolded by his ministers for leaving the castle on a whim on more than one occasion. He has a tendency to finish most of his his sentences with the word "jamon".

However, he can be serious when the situation demands it, as he intended to capture the Straw Hat Pirates when they were wrongly accused of kidnapping mermaids, though Neptune did not think it was fair to arrest them based on a prediction made by Madam Shyarly, and merely wanted to capture the crew rather than arrest them for a precaution. In addition to being fair, while in his youth he would kill others for revenge, in the present he has shown to be very merciful, as he allowed the human slaves of the New Fish-Man Pirates to leave and let the lower Fish-Man subordinates to do penal work under the watch of the army.

He dotes on his only daughter Shirahoshi, and worries about her immensely. He provided several extreme but necessary security measures to protect her from Vander Decken IX, and even attempted to beg the Straw Hats to rush to her aid when he thought that his daughter is in danger. Neptune apparently acknowledges the value of sacrifice, as he decided that he would rather risk his daughter's safety in the hands of strangers than in Decken's captivity. He gets quite upset when he hears that Shirahoshi is upset and gets very emotional when she is in danger as shown when he burst into tears when Shirahoshi was supposedly kidnapped and when Decken went after her.

Neptune is also partially perceptive as he correctly guessed that Luffy snuck Shirahoshi out of Hard-Shell Tower by stuffing her inside Megalo, even though everyone else thought this was a bizarre idea. However, he can jump to conclusions when he stopped suspecting Luffy after Vander Decken IX appeared in the palace and quickly accused Decken of kidnapping Shirahoshi.

He stated when his wife died, that even if the person who killed his wife was unarmed he would have torn them apart. However, moments later he noted Otohime would not approve of a revenge attack and though he would only have listened to those words because it came from her, he still could not understand why he could not bring himself to tear that person apart. He did not understand how the events led to the people of Fish-Man Island and humans hating each other. He however, wanted to end the cycle of hate between humans, he noted due to his past as a soldier he could not be a candidate for causing such a thing as he would only cause the opposite of his intentions to happen. He understood how the circle continued though, that children who witness darkness only continue the dark path that has caused their problems, but time could heal those scars and pain.

Neptune is well aware of the Void Century and poneglyphs, as well as the dangerous potential they pose to the world. Despite doting on his daughter, he knew she is the incarnation of the deadly ancient weapon, Poseidon, and fears of her power having fully awakened. He was also shocked and seemingly slightly frightened that Nico Robin is able to read about Joy Boy in the Sea Forest's poneglyph, but trusted her enough to tell her about the history in detail when she asked.

Like many other characters in the series, he appears to have a unique laugh: Hoh hoh hoh hoh.

## Relationships

### Family

Neptune appears to be very protective of his family, as he had his sons form an army solely to track down Vander Decken IX so that the pirate would stop harassing his daughter. He also has a beloved whale named Hoe. While Otohime was alive, Neptune supported her actions in promoting peace. Even ten years after her death, Neptune said he still loved Otohime and still considers himself married to her.

When he was tied up after his failed attempt to capture the Straw Hats, Neptune begged the pirates to ensure Shirahoshi's safety when he suspected that she might be in danger, showing great concern for his daughter, and warned the crew that if anything happened to Shirahoshi, he would hunt them down to the ends of the sea. Neptune considers Shirahoshi to be very precious to him. After Decken went after her, he begs the Straw Hats to stop Decken, going as far as to offer the crew anything. Neptune was even surprised his daughter knew who killed her mother and never told anyone, but he was proud she honored her mother's wish to not hate the one responsible. When Charlos attempted to enslave Shirahoshi, Neptune nearly gave up on Otohime's dream as he prepared to attack the World Noble and CP0 until the noble that his wife saved protected her.

### Ryugu Kingdom

The Ministers of the Left and Right tend to yell at Neptune for his lack of responsibility as the king of Ryugu Kingdom, and he does not seem to have any resentment to that.

As he is with his family, he also cares deeply about his subjects, going so far as to block an attack made by Hody Jones against his soldiers while they were tied up, despite being wounded as a result. Ironically, Neptune said earlier that he was willing to trade his soldiers' lives for Shirahoshi's safety. His affection is reciprocated by the civilians, who were even willing to see their kingdom destroyed (by Luffy in Shyarly's prediction) than allow Neptune to die in front of them.

### Friends

#### Roger Pirates

By the time of Roger's final journey, the Roger Pirates had a strong enough relationship with Neptune. Neptune trusted the crew enough to show them the Poneglyphs at the Sea Forest. The crew were also close enough to Neptune to joke with him about damages to Fish-Man Island and about his future daughter.

#### Edward Newgate

He was a personal friend of the Emperor, Whitebeard, as first shown when the Minister of the Left referred to him as Neptune's friend. Their friendship was the reason why Whitebeard protected the island. Though it is unknown how they became friends, but it is known that they had been friends for quite a long time as Neptune was said to have helped Whitebeard out a lot during his younger days; the two even shared a drink in the past.

#### Straw Hat Pirates

He respected the Straw Hats for saving his daughter's pet, Megalo, and invited them to a banquet as gratitude. However, Shyarly's prediction caused a conflict between him and the pirates. Neptune and his guards attempted to capture the pirates for the island's safety. The Straw Hats, in turn, resisted and ended up capturing Ryugu Palace instead, causing even more mistrust between them. They quickly put aside their differences after Hody Jones started his coup d'état. After the Straw Hats saved Neptune, his family, and his kingdom from Hody, he has come to befriend them and cleared them of all crimes. He even allowed them to have all the treasures that were in the treasure room due to being indebted to them. Neptune remarked that he wishes to borrow their flag for the safety of Fish-Man Island in case it loses Big Mom's protection.

Neptune had felt contrite for not notifying the Straw Hats that the Tamatebako contained a bomb and had hoped that the bomb would not detonate if Big Mom should open the chest. Ironically, this had helped the Straw Hats greatly when they were cornered by the Big Mom Pirates, allowing them to escape from the Whole Cake Chateau.

#### Jinbe

Neptune is a close friend of Jinbe as he's known him since when he was part of his army. Neptune was grateful towards Jinbe for joining the Seven Warlords of the Sea in an effort to support Otohime's quest for peace with humans. Even though Jinbe forfeited his title, Neptune still respects him and allows him to visit the island anytime he wishes. Neptune even encouraged Jinbe to consider joining Luffy's crew.

#### Monkey D. Garp

Neptune and Garp became acquaintances as Garp escorted the Neptune Family to the Levely. Due to Garp being Luffy's grandfather, Neptune and Garp are able to get along.

### Enemies

#### Vander Decken IX

Since Vander Decken IX kept harassing Shirahoshi with threatening marriage proposals, he has earned Neptune's wrath. Neptune had his sons form an army against the pirate. After Shirahoshi was believed to be kidnapped from the palace, Neptune quickly threw accusations at Decken after seeing him enter the palace just because he was after his daughter for ten years.

After Decken and Hody were defeated, Neptune wasted no time in imprisoning the pirate, which released his daughter from being pursued by him any further.

#### Hody Jones

Neptune's other main enemy is Hody Jones, a Fish-Man who strongly believes in vengeance against humanity. Hody believes that Neptune is unfit to rule Fish-Man Island because he (from Hody's perspective) lacks pride. Wanting to create a world where humankind is completely enslaved, Hody intended to overthrow him, going as far as to join Neptune's army only to gain battle experience, and then discarding his allegiance and disloyally launching a coup d'etat. Neptune berated Hody for overdosing on Energy Steroids, expressed disdain about his selfishness as the new king, and ultimately turned to a violent hatred after the former soldier revealed that he was the one who killed Otohime ten years ago. It appears that after Shirahoshi explained why she never told everyone the truth even though she knew about it, Neptune let go of that hatred and decided to just imprison Hody after his defeat rather than have him executed for his crimes.

After seeing Hody turn into an old man due to the side effects of the Energy Steroids, Neptune took pity on him when seeing that he can no longer hurt anyone and decided to possibly change his penal sentence.

## Abilities and Powers

As the king, he has royal authority over the entire Ryugu Kingdom. His lone presence outside the palace is enough to cause a panic.

He seems to have an uncommon ability for a merman as he is able to communicate with whales; normally, they can only do so with regular fish. He uses that ability to call his pet whale, Hoe, when he needs him.

He has a strong sense of danger. In the anime, he could quickly understand Zoro's strength and refrained his men from taking Zoro head on. He immediately took caution right after the New Fish-Man Pirates took Energy Steroids. He's also fully aware of the existence of Haki as he commented on Otohime's Kenbunshoku Haki skills.

### Physical Abilities

As a former veteran soldier himself, Neptune is an extremely powerful warrior, being respected as the "Great Knight of the Sea". Even Brook and many Fish-Men acknowledged his strength. However, his strength has declined due to his old age, as he ended up straining his back due to excessive exertion which gave Zoro the upper hand. Neptune's sprained back also rendered him defenseless against the New Fish-Man Pirates when the pain incapacitated him after using one of his more powerful attacks. Neptune has massive strength befitting his size. He could carry around and wield a gigantic trident. It also required that the Strawhat to use metal chains instead of rope to restrain him. He also has vast durability as he withstood a relentless Yabusame attack from Hody to defend his helpless men. Later at the Gyoncorde Plaza, he survived brutal assaults of Uchimizu and Yabusame from Hody, who had gained a monstrous enhancement of physical strength via overdosing on Energy Steroids.

### Merman Combat

*Further information: Merman Combat*
He is shown using a technique called "Merman Combat". With it, he is capable of manipulating water, grabbing it with his hands as if it were something solid and launching water-based projectile attacks.

### Weapons

He carries around a gigantic trident fitting his size, and is presumably proficient in using it, as Brook and many Fish-Men acknowledged his strength. Zoro, however, seemingly stopped one of his attacks with ease, and soon after managed to subdue Neptune and lock him in chains without receiving any visible injuries, although Neptune was taken by surprise and did his back in.

## History

### Past

#### Early life

In his early years, Neptune was a soldier who avenged the lives of his fallen comrades and in the process, killed and took prisoner many humans. At some point, Neptune became a close friend of Whitebeard when they were both in their prime.

A few months after he became king of Fish-Man Island, Neptune was visited by the Roger Pirates. Neptune showed them the Poneglyphs at the Sea Forest.

#### The Time of Otohime and Fisher Tiger

While his wife, Otohime, was alive and preaching to the people of Fish-Man Island to unite with humans, Neptune told the Minister of the Left that he would not stop her from doing what she must and ordered the minister to protect her anyway he can.

When Fisher Tiger had a meeting with Neptune and Otohime after what seemed to be an adventure, Neptune asked Tiger about what he saw during his adventures. Tiger answered with one word, "humans". After news of Fisher Tiger's rampage in Mary Geoise reached the palace, Otohime told Neptune about the voice she heard from his heart, a voice raising a battle cry.

After Fisher Tiger's death, Neptune received a letter from Jinbe that explained the true story. Neptune comments that Tiger had lived the only way he could. Otohime tells him that she understood what his heart was saying the last time he visited the palace. Later, Jinbe visited the palace and spoke with Neptune about his invitation to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Jinbe told Neptune that accepting the position would help strengthen the bond between species and in some way, support Otohime's cause. Neptune agreed, saying it would cheer her up.

#### The Hope of Fish-Man Island

One day, an uproar occurred on Fish-Man Island when a World Noble named Mjosgard arrived on the island in a wrecked ship. The noble was spared from the Fish-Men's wrath and his wounds were treated. When Otohime wanted to travel to the surface with Mjosgard, Neptune objected, saying he would go in her place. Otohime told him that a weak person like her has to go with the noble in order to prove that the surface is safe for everyone. He let her go and waited for one week, trying to keep his children's spirits up.

Otohime returned safe and sound and she finally reached out to the citizens of Fish-Man Island and collected their signatures. Neptune and his children were overjoyed with her success. However, that excitement was short-lived as Otohime was later assassinated in broad daylight by Hody Jones.

Hody got away with the crime by placing the blame on a human pirate, leaving everyone on Fish-Man Island to believe that the human was the culprit. Neptune, feeling rage towards the human, locked himself in Hard-Shell Tower to keep his anger under control. As the Minister of the Left stood outside the tower, Neptune grieved over his wife's death. He was torn between love and duty. As a king, he wanted to honor Otohime's ambition and make peace with the humans. But as a husband, he wanted to tear apart the person who killed his wife.

Before Otohime's funeral, Neptune's children told him about the letters that kept flying to Shirahoshi. Neptune read one of the letters, which was a marriage proposal by Vander Decken IX. Neptune told his children not to go out to the funeral since threats still lurk around. Neptune attends Otohime's funeral in the Sea Forest and watched Fukaboshi's speech through a visual broadcast.

When Vander Decken IX started threatening Shirahoshi's life, Neptune became so enraged that he had his three sons form an army to capture him.