Pirate

A **pirate** is, broadly speaking, any professional criminal that operates wholly or partially on the world's seas, especially people conducting robbery by ship. In most, if not all, cases they lead or belong to a group of like-minded criminals, known as a **crew**.

Though not the only existing type of criminal, pirates appear to comprise most of the world's significant bounty heads, and—with the possible exception of the Revolutionary Army—constitute the strongest opposition to the authority of the World Government and Marines.

## Etymology

While the English word "pirate" is derived from the Latin *pirata* ("pirate, corsair, sea robber") and Greek πειρατής (*peiratēs*: "brigand"), the Japanese word for pirate—*kaizoku*—comprises the kanji for Template:Nihongo and Template:Nihongo, in analogy to such terms as Template:Nihongo.

## Overview

Template:Cquote

In the world of *One Piece*, perhaps the trait most universal to pirates, beside their sea-going activities and general defiance of the law, is the Jolly Roger: a skull-and-crossbones symbol meant for intimidation, usually flown on black ship flags and sails, which exists in countless variants among different pirates. Such symbol's overall connotations are strong enough that the Marines have been known to attack ships flying it on sight, even if those onboard are not identified with any particular bounty or crime.Template:Qref

The (stereo)typical pirate is greedy, violent, and ruthless, willing to hurt anyone and destroy anything to gain what they want—be it treasure, power, or even personal amusement. For this reason, it is not uncommon for civilians to fear and detest pirates on principle, even if they have never personally met any.

On the other hand, many law-abiding individuals and communities are known to romanticize pirates, or at least tolerate them if they keep themselves in check:

* Monkey D. Luffy's hometown Foosha Village served as a friendly harbor to the Red Hair Pirates for over a year, strongly influencing Luffy's own childhood dream to become a pirate. The village continues to celebrate and publicize Luffy's every increase in bounty, with only its mayor ever objecting.
	+ The other Straw Hat Pirates' hometowns are also known to engage in the latter, even if (*e.g.* Cocoyasi Village) they have been victimized by pirates in the past.
* Water 7's shipyards are entirely willing to service pirates as long as their shipbuilding prices are met and no violence is threatened.
* Fish-Man Island freely welcomes pirates as tourists, despite the ongoing problem of pirates kidnapping merfolk and fish-men to sell as slaves.

Generally, the Marines do not pursue otherwise law-abiding people simply for aiding or associating with pirates, though exceptions can and have been made for particularly notorious cases. They do tend to discourage children from admiring pirates, and undercover Marine Donquixote Rosinante even pretended to hate children to dissuade them from joining the Donquixote Pirates.

While not all pirates enjoy having a bounty over their head a number of them take pride of the notoriety that comes with it even going as far to increase it by taking down others to gain Template:Nihongo.Template:Qref

While the majority of pirates are male humans, it is far from unknown for women (*e.g.* Alvida, Nami, Jewelry Bonney), fish-men and merfolk (*e.g.* Arlong, Capote, Hyouzou), giants (*e.g.* Dorry, Brogy, Sanjuan Wolf), Minks (*e.g.* Bepo), and even non-sapient animals (*e.g.* Richie, Momoo) to also sail under a Jolly Roger and attain comparable reputations.

### Crews

Virtually all pirates exist as part of some Template:Nihongo, comprising of other pirates willing to operate under the same Jolly Roger. These are typically led by a single Template:Nihongo, who makes (or at least has final authority on) all major actions taken by the crew and often possesses the highest combat ability and notoriety.

Other positions common to pirate crews include:

* A Template:Nihongo, who advises the captain, relays orders to the rest of the crew, and usually assumes authority in the captain's absence.
* Template:Nihongo, who specialize in fighting and, depending on the crew's size and focus, may have no other skills. Combatant types include:
	+ Template:Nihongo, who specialize in using swords for combat.
	+ Template:Nihongo, who specialize in using ranged weapons such as firearms.
	+ Template:Nihongo, who specialize in using their own bodies for combat.
* Template:Nihongo, who are in charge of keeping their crews on course to their next destination.
* Template:Nihongo, whose purpose is to prepare meals to keep the crew fed.
* Template:Nihongo, whose purpose is to keep their crew mates healthy with medicine.
* Template:Nihongo, who are in charge of maintaining repairs of the crew's ship.
* Template:Nihongo, who specialize in music to keep the crew entertained.
* Template:Nihongo, recruited at a young age, who may be used for anything from unpleasant chores to open combat.Template:QrefTemplate:Qref Though the position carries little authority or respect in itself, it can serve as a valuable training ground for pirates to build skills or notoriety on.Template:QrefTemplate:Qref
* Template:Nihongo, animals who usually serve as entertainment, but can also be combatants depending on their abilities.

Usually, a pirate crew recruits new members at the sole discretion of the captain, who may set strict, objective standards (*e.g.* Demaro Black demanding only captains worth Template:B70,000,000 and above in his crew, or Charlotte Linlin demanding marriage ties to her blood relations) or none at all besides personal fondness. Some captains may also force unwilling individuals to join their crew; the traditional pirate game known as the Davy Back Fight exists to promote this, though only the Foxy Pirates have actually been known to use it.

Pirate crews also tend to be named after the captain, whether directly (*e.g.* the Roger Pirates, the Krieg Pirates and the Barto Club) or through an epithet or personal motif (*e.g.* the Red Hair Pirates, the Straw Hat Pirates, the Whitebeard Pirates and the Heart Pirates). The exceptions are usually named after a common race or origin shared by all members (*e.g.* the Giant Warrior Pirates, the Kuja Pirates and the New Fish-Man Pirates) or else a deliberate communal theme (*e.g.* the Black Cat Pirates, the Sun Pirates and the Beasts Pirates).

### Ships

All but the newest (or poorest) of pirates sail on specialized ships that bear their corresponding Jolly Roger on the mainsail and/or flags; in most cases, the figurehead is also customized to reflect the captain's epithet or personal motif. Apart from this, a pirate ship may be of any size and equipped with any level of technology, depending on the skills and materials available to—and ambitions of—its crew.

(Of course, as criminals, very few pirates have qualms about stealing or hijacking new ships when needs arise. Don Krieg was particularly infamous for using civilian and Marine ships to facilitate his sneak attacks.)

### Territories

A sign of a pirate's threat is their ability to gain territory from a small island to a base over several villages. Often, to stay out of sight, they will keep their base hidden like the Kid and Fire Tank Pirates. As a difference in their power the Seven Warlords of the Sea held countries while the Four Emperors have chains of islands under their control.

## Categories and Classes

Template:Cquote

While pirates operate in all of the world's known seas, different crews can vary sharply in power, scope, and notoriety. These disparities are often reflected by a crew's area of operation:

 File:Eleven Supernovas One day.png
* Those in the Four Blues (East, West, North, South) are regarded as lesser—particularly the East.Template:Qref The World Government largely ignores them, leaving their apprehension to non-Headquarters Marines.Template:Qref

 File:Whitebeard and Roger.png
* Those who successfully enter or start out in the Grand Line are commonly deemed Template:Nihongo and paid more serious attention by Marine Headquarters and older pirates, though not universally.Template:Qref
	+ Rookie pirates with bounties surpassing Template:B100,000,000 are deemed exceptional, and categorized as **Super Rookies** or Template:Nihongo.Template:Qref The most (in)famous of these are the eleven identified with the Worst Generation, though they are by no means the only ones.Template:Qref
* Those who establish significant reputations and power-bases, particularly after crossing the Grand Line's first half and entering the second half, may be deemed Template:Nihongo. Thus far, only five individuals (Shanks,Template:Qref Edward Newgate,Template:Qref Charlotte Linlin,Template:Qref Kaidou,Template:Qref and Gol D. RogerTemplate:Qref) have been given this descriptor.

It should be noted that these designations are largely informal, with (at best) vague parameters.Template:Qref They stand in contrast to the more formalized categories and titles listed below.

### Seven Warlords

Template:Main

The Template:Nihongo are a selection of pirates legally allied with the World Government. While not employees or officials *per se*, they are allowed to pursue most pirate activities without threat of arrest (their bounties being completely frozen), along with a number of other privileges. In return, they are expected to further the World Government's interests, mainly by giving over a share of their plunder (and, implicitly, limiting their targets to other pirates).Template:QrefTemplate:Qref

Warlords are recruited somewhat arbitrarily, but always with a focus on power and notoriety; as such, they are widely feared (and/or reviled as "government dogs") by most other pirates. Nevertheless, they vary widely in abilities, methodologies, and personalities, some operating alone while others maintain full crews and are even acknowledged as legitimate sovereigns.

After the Warlords Crocodile and Donquixote Doflamingo were both discovered to be directly undermining member kingdoms of the World Government (Arabasta and Dressrosa, respectively), the Council of Kings instated a complete abolition of the system, reverting all of the remaining Warlords to "common" pirates.Template:Qref

### Four Emperors

Template:Main

 File:All Yonko Teased.png
The Template:Nihongo are a widely recognized group of four New World veterans who rose to prominence after the execution of Gol D. Roger and are widely regarded as the strongest pirate captains in the world. Of the five known pirates to hold this title, three were formerly members of the infamous Rocks crew. There is a strong degree of overlap between the Four Emperors and those who are considered Great Pirates, with the original four all being known as such. As the strongest and most influential pirates in the world, a certain level of strength and prestige is needed to be recognized as an Emperor. The Four Emperors and their subordinates are considered one of the three great powers of the world, along with the Marines and (formerly) Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Pirates regarded as emperors are extremely powerful as combatants, captain notoriously strong (and often large) crews, and hold immense levels of influence over the goings on of the New World. Typically, emperors of the sea will hold territory; islands which they either have defacto rule over or are directly involved in the internal politics of. In addition to this it's not uncommon for pirates of this level to have other notable crews serving under their own as subordinates.

The title of **Fifth Emperor** (５番目の皇帝 *Gobanme no Kōtei*) was unofficially given to Monkey D. Luffy by Morgans of the *World Economy Newspaper* following he and his crew's escape from Big Mom's territory. It should be noted that this title was given based on highly embellished accounts of the Whole Cake Island incident, and as such is seemingly not recognized by the World Government or Marines yet. However, in the eye of the public Luffy is perceived as a figure standing adjacent to the Four Emperors.

Pirates considered emperors of the New World are known to have many extremely impressive feats under their belt. Red-Haired Shanks, the second most recent addition to the Four Emperors, is known to have regularly dueled against the greatest swordsman in the world prior to losing his arm. Edward Newgate was widely known as the late Pirate King's career-long rival. All pirates to be referred to as emperors hold *extremely* high bounties, all of which are in the *billions*. The late Whitebeard previously held the second highest bounty of any pirate to have existed, while Kaidou currently boasts the highest active pirate bounty (additionally, these two are regarded as the **Strongest Man in the World** and **Strongest Creature in the World** respectively.) When fully assembled, a pirate crew of this level may even be strong enough to stand a chance in a battle against the entire Marine force and Seven Warlords of the Sea, as demonstrated during the Summit War of Marineford.

### Pirate King

 File:Roger Before Execution.png
The Template:Nihongo is a title applied to the strongest pirate alive. Its latest—perhaps only—universally-acknowledged holder was Gol D. Roger, who inextricably linked it with the mythical treasure known as **One Piece**.Template:Qref

Before his death, Roger hid the One Piece in an unknown location—popularly believed to be Laugh Tale, the farthest-known island on the Grand Line. The frenzy over discovering and owning such a massive treasure sparked the "Great Age of Pirates". Whoever finds and claims the One Piece shall officially become the next Pirate King.

During the last portion of his life, Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate was generally acknowledged as the man "closest" to being the next Pirate King, though he admitted to having no interest the title at all. One of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Donquixote Doflamingo, believed that had Whitebeard truly wanted to become the Pirate King, he would have already. Many people who had met Luffy, such as Vivi and Koby, believe that he will become the Pirate King; Kokoro also addressed Luffy as the Pirate KingTemplate:Qref and Shakuyaku has stated that both she and Silvers Rayleigh were rooting for Luffy to achieve this goal.Template:Qref

The reasons for a person wanting to be the next Pirate King vary; individuals like Buggy, Gecko Moria and Blackbeard wish to acquire it for the power and influence the title would come with, while others like Luffy and Crocodile (prior to the event that caused him to let go of it) wish to become the next Pirate King simply as a personal dream. The Four Emperors are considered candidates for it because they are extremely powerful and are very close to it. Among them, Blackbeard, Big Mom and Kaidou have shown interest. Luffy, as well as Crocodile in his youth, seem to only want it for the adventures that are involved with locating the One Piece.

The Pirate King is said to be the ruler of the sea; something that Luffy confirmed when asked about it by Enel. But when talking to Silvers Rayleigh, Luffy said that the Pirate King is not the most powerful or wealthiest person in the world, but simply the person with the most freedom on the sea. After hearing this Rayleigh smiled to himself, possibly because Roger himself had also stated this being his primary value.Template:Qref

One thing is for certain; the journey to become the next Pirate King is very long and extremely dangerous. Even Mihawk claimed that such a goal is far more difficult than challenging him for the title of the "Greatest Swordsman in the World". After the death of Portgas D. Ace at the hands of Akainu, Luffy considered giving up his dream after seeing how powerless he was until he was reminded of those who believed in him by Jinbe.

Despite "King" usually being a masculine title, the title of Pirate King appears to be gender-neutral, as Big Mom seeks the title.Template:Qref