Name: Nikko the Red Lion

Age: 28

Starting Location/Current Location: East Blue

Personality: How does one describe an interest? For Nikko, his life is the search for that next special interest. That thing he cares about deeply. That nips at that bud of inspiration and allows it to blossom. Even as a child he was like that, addicted to his special interest. In this case, Gold Roger. And while he was shamed for it, he never found a reason to stop caring about it. In short, he's a man who cares deeply, about the things that interest him. If they don't?
Needless to say, he has killed before. With disinterest in his eyes. It wasn't hard killing that disobedient pirate. It was just a thing to do. That is Nikko. A pirate who just treats anything outside his few interests as something... Irrelevant, or just outright boring. Killing is easy when you don't care about the life of the person you're shooting. Maybe that's why he seems so... Strange. Why he seems to lack empathy. But that's false. He's actually very empathetic, but only when it's related to something that interests him. Is it odd? Is it cruel? Yes. But that's just Nikko.
At his core, he's an artist. A man who cares for the spectacle. A man... Who will fight for his dream.

Dream/Goal: What does a man like Nikko want? It's strange... But he wants to write the first, and only biography on the King of Pirates. Gold Roger. To do so, he plans to follow Luffy's path, act as a pirate, and truly understand what made the King... The King.

History: The eldest child of Shiki the Golden Lion. A child of the greatest rival of the King of Pirates, and possible heir to the empire his father had designed for him. And yet, born in the North Blue, Nikko never had the same kind of interests his father did. He never had the interest to simply sit in ships, and fly around the world. He never saw the glory of his heritage. Instead... As a child he was always fond of somebody other than his father. Gold Roger. His father's rival, was the one who caught his eyes. Some days, he would follow his father about on trips, just in the hopes of seeing Roger. But he only saw him once, from a distance. That was also the day his father his injured by a steering wheel, which he adopted as a family crest of a kind. Thus why part of a steering wheel acts as a makeshift hair-tie.
Shiki often insisted that his child, and heir should be special. More so than any pirate, and more than Roger. As such, he spent quite a fortune seeking out a Devil Fruit that he believed would make his son a powerful pirate. It took several years, but on Nikko's thirteenth birthday, he was gifted with a devil fruit. He didn't like it, but biting his lip, he swallowed his dis-interest in his father's ambition, and ate the fruit. The Taiyō Taiyō No Mi. A Devil Fruit sometimes known as the Sun Sun Fruit. It was a paramecia that embodied the eater with the power of the sun itself, but in a way that they possesses the heat and light, and not the flames.
Turning fifteen, the boy's dis-interest with his father's plans reached a peak. He left to go visit his mother in the South Blue, a trip he didn't bother returning from. He had spent years with his father in the hopes of seeing Roger, and yet nothing came from it. As he was never truly a pirate, and he worked hard to bury his father's connection to him, Nikko was never a target by the World Government. Instead he took on other hobbies, like writing. Hoping to write stories about great pirates.
Then... He was eighteen, and Roger died. His words sparking a cry to seek One Piece. And there... WAS THE SPARK OF INSPIRATION HE NEEDED! Nikko knew the story he wanted to tell. It was one he had failed to see as a child, but now as an adult? He wanted to write the Pirate King's Biography. But the king was dead. The only way to write such a story would be to go on the seas, and follow Roger's own path. Taking up a dingy, he vowed to recreate Roger's rise to power, without the influence his father would have offered him.
Though... He has received letters from his father's former First Mate, asking him to consider joining up with the Golden Lion Pirates, despite his father's imprisonment in Impel Down. He has naturally turned down such offers. Until, he tried stealing his own ship. Quite a few strange happenstances later, and he found himself sitting on a small liferaft, alongside Shigeuchi the Trickster, his father's first mate. After a bit of bickering, Nikko finally gave in, and named their small liferaft his first ship. Which was later sunk when they managed to capture a Galleon, and then that got sunk when they couldn't staff a full galleon and moved onto a more reasonably sized vessel.
Since then, Nikko has undertaken the role of Pirate Captain very well. With his first mate, and a very active pirating career ahead of him. And he did.
Now, he seeks to replicate his work on his first novel, with a sequel about Luffy D Monkey.

Crew: The Red Lion Pirates

Ship: The Gold Lion Mark 2

Specialty/Profession: Professional Writer / Ship Captain

Fighting Style: At the moment, his fighting style is primarily based around kicking. A style developed to protect his hands, because how can he write without them? His projection of fire, heat, and light is used to increase the impact of his kicks. Otherwise, his fighting style is best described as standing still, and only moving if somebody gets close. He's not about to start rushing at people.

Weapons: A flintlock. Though that's not saying much.

Devil Fruit: Taiyō Taiyō No Mi - A paramecia fruit, also known as the Sun Sun Fruit. This fruit is referred to as one of the Invincible Fruits, despite this though it's also considered one of the weakest of that bunch. Simply put, it turns the possessor into a Sun Person. Their body becomes a living nuclear core, that generates near endless amounts of heat, fire, and light. Because his body is running on its own 'exploding core' his body never needs to rest. This also means... the possessor will be restless. Constantly needing to burn off excess energy. At least they'll never had to worry about a cold winter's day.
Through training, the user can focus and control his 'burning insides' for combat. By generating fire, heat, or bright lights to blind others around him. This control can come more naturally the longer one has practice with it, but those who aren't practiced have a nasty tendency to casually burn people while shaking hands. The heat generated can theoretically rise to 5,778 K, the heat of the sun. But because that might end up destroying the body, it is unwise to raise the temperature that high. Rather, it mostly just causes third degree burns on contact, but can drastically rise depending.
With training, it is possible to fire beams of concentrated heat, fire, or light. Or even combine all three at once.

Items: A pen, and a great deal of paper.

Bounty: 115,000,000 Beli (Wanted for: Being the SunSon of a pirate, destruction of property, stealing several ships, and for selling a book not approved of by the World Government.)

Color: "This is a good color, right? It's f7976a."

Name: Shigeuchi the Trickster

Age: 44

Starting Location/Current Location: East Blue

Personality: “Work smarter, not harder”; that’s the motto by which Shigeuchi lives his life. He’s a man who dislikes making things complicated, one who’s always looking for the easiest option without compromising on the end result; the mark of a job well done is not exceeding expectations but by meeting expectations with time and resources to spare. That said, he also believes that a job worth doing is one worth doing well; his approach to life should not be mistaken for laziness or sloppiness.

This makes him very good at organising and leading people towards completing a task, while at the same time making him something of a nightmare to work under. He is very particular about the way things are done, can be strict and demanding of his underlings. He is quick to anger when mistakes are made but also quick to forgive and forget in the name of keeping things moving. Furthermore, Shigeuchi is also very frugal; a perennial penny-pincher who approaches purchases with a mentality of only buying what’s ‘good enough’ and nothing more. He is not one to indulge in frivolous needs.

Lastly, Shigeuchi is absurdly unambitious for a pirate. He never seeks out responsibility or power, instead finding it placed in his lap without ever looking for it and grumbling about how troublesome it makes his life the whole time. He is someone who cannot fathom how he ended up where he has, with people under his command and a heap of responsibility weighing on his shoulders; he’ll complain and lament his existence constantly, even as he works hard at his given task.

Dream/Goal: Dreams? Shigeuchi doesn’t have many right now. A life without complications would probably be his answer; money would help with that, so would power, while fame would be a detriment. Unfortunately as a pirate those things tend to go hand in hand.

For now his goal would be keeping his old captain’s son alive. Maybe work at helping him become stronger than his father someday, if the boy’s willing.

History: Where to start? Shigeuchi first became a pirate as a teenager, being recruited as a lowly deck hand in the fleet of Shiki the Golden Lion the one time the large pirate fleet docked at his home town for supplies; they were looking for new blood and Shigeuchi was looking for a way out of his current situation, seeking a life of freedom with the pirate crew. This was not a well thought out decision.

It turned out that being the lowest rung of the ladder on a fleet of cutthroats and brigands was not the easy life he had imagined it to be however and did not remotely live up to the romantic image most young idiots have of a life at sea. Shigeuchi was put hard to work by the crew, was given little freedom or pay in return and for the most part spent the next couple of years bored and tired. It was a simple life however, one that didn’t require much thought on his part and he always knew more or less what the next day would bring.

He was a hard worker however and seemed to have a talent for directing his fellow workers so as to make them more efficient and effective, something which didn’t go unnoticed. Bit by bit he was promoted up the ranks of the crew, at one point or another in his twenty years of being a pirate holding almost every position that didn’t require specialist knowledge or skills, almost always in a position to order or organise other crew members. Shigeuchi complained every step of the way, always grumbling about the complications and extra responsibilities his new role brought, but generally accepted because it was always easier to be the one giving the order than the one trying to correct the orders of others.

At some point Shigeuchi even found himself in charge of an entire division, only one of over fifty in Shiki’s fleet but a division nonetheless. As part of his new position he was even given a Devil Fruit, the Kōkan-Kōkan No Mi, both as a reward for his promotion and to make him a stronger member of Shiki’s fleet. The Devil Fruit and its associated curse was another complication he never wanted, but at least the power to move himself and his crew around the ship near instantaneously was useful for keeping things moving.

Shigeuchi worked as a division commander for a little over a year when Roger went and got himself executed and the Admiral’s eldest son got it into his head to run off and start his own crew. As a result, Shigeuchi was ordered to go after the brat and become a member of his crew, to assist him in whatever he wanted to do and to keep him alive while trying to convince him to join his father’s fleet.

His life has never felt more complicated than it did during that time. He followed Nikko on the first legs his journey, always seemingly a step behind as he tried to catch up to the aspiring writer, eventually finding him and convincing the boy to let him join his crew. In the process he managed to avoid the fate of the rest of the Gold Lion Pirates, avoiding death or imprisonment unlike the others.

He thought it would end when Nikko published his book, but now the brat has it in mind to write a new story about the new Pirate King and, of course, Shigeuchi is going to need to keep an eye on him.

Crew: The Red Lion Pirates

Ship: The Gold Lion Mark 2

Specialty/Profession: First Mate of the Red Lion Pirates

Fighting Style: As a swordsman, the way Shigeuchi fights should be obvious; to put it simply it involves getting as close to the enemy as possible and sticking his sword in them before they do the same to him. That said he’s only a semi-decent duellist, nothing special as far as swordsman go, so he needs to rely on more than just his skills to win. He uses a longer sword than most and wields it two-handed, relying on strength and technique more than speed to beat his opponents.

Shigeuchi’s epithet of ‘Trickster’ comes from the way in which he uses his Devil Fruit power as he fights. His Devil Fruit allows him to swap places with another object of similar size, including his opponent; he uses this power to instantly chance his or his opponent’s position on the battlefield, confusing them and using that to his advantage.

Weapons: A tachi; like a katana but with a longer blade and a deeper curve, for those of you who don’t know. He also carries a tanto as a backup weapon.

Devil Fruit: Kōkan-Kōkan No Mi – A Paramecia type fruit known as the Exchange-Exchange Fruit. It allows the user to exchange two objects of roughly equal size, having them trade places instantaneously with each other. At the moment Shigeuchi is only able to use his Devil Fruit power on himself, trading places with another object within his range so long as that object is about the same size as himself, but eventually he’ll be able to exchange an object he is holding or touching with another and maybe even swapping any two objects or people he can see.

Items: Aside from his weapons, the clothes on his back and a bag with a few basic supplies, Shigeuchi doesn’t have much in the way of possessions.

Bounty: 130,000,000 Beli. It’s not often a first mate has a higher bounty that their captain, but Shigeuchi is still wanted for his time as part of The Gold Lion Pirates on top of being a member of Nikko’s crew.

Color: It’s gray. Hope it’s not too hard to read.

Name: Balthier D. Sydney

Epithet: Black Dragon Sydney

Blue/Sea: West

Crew/Base: (Former) Captain of the Black Dragon Pirates.

Bounty/Rank: 99,999,999

Age: 22

Height: 6'7"

Appearance: He is tall, built lean and muscular, with dark red eyes, messy black hair, the back braided in a long tail, tanned skin and a black dragon tattoo that runs from his right wrist to his bicep.

He wears a nice black trench coat, open, with a button-down maroon shirt and loose white pants girded by a black sash. (He removes the coat during a fight because he likes it and doesn't want it ruined.)

Personality: He has a easy-going temperament, and in general, is a hard worker. He has a wicked, sometimes morbid sense of humor, and a mild temper. He can be more than a little arrogant and stubborn, he defiantly hates being told what to do. He is a thrill-seeker with a lust for adventure that is without equal. He loves to live life on the edge, which can result in him diving head-first into ridiculously dangerous situations without a second thought and a smile on his face. He can be kind, even charming, but to his enemies he is terrifying and merciless. He loves food, drink, and alcohol. Of the latter, he has built up a superhuman tolerance for it, which only drives him to consume more to get more drunk.

Devil Fruit:



Natural/Learned Skills: Balthier is best described as a jack-of-all-trades but master-of-none. He can cook well enough not to give people food poisoning, he can clean, make, break, fix, navigate, perform first aid, or fight. He is always eager to learn something new.

He has a rudimentary understanding of Haki, able to use two of the three types: Armament and Observation. His skill in Armament is impressive for his relative experience. He has a knack for it. Observation, on the other hand, he struggles with, but can use to a satisfactory degree.

It is unknown if he has potential for Conqueror's Haki.

Weapons: Himself. He's learned in several forms of martial arts, his specially are vicious infighting techniques.

Transportation: Was a massive iron-clad Frigate called the Nidhogg. Now, he has nothing.

Dream/Goal: Adventure, and to find his old crew.

Origins: Born to a somewhat well-to-do family, Balthier received an extensive education from a young age. His life was completely and drearily normal. He dreamed of one day setting out to sea himself. But that normalcy abruptly ended when he was thirteen. His home was attacked by pirates, and in the chaos he was separated from his family. He never saw them again. He was left on the streets, just another orphaned boy. Until one day, through some strange circumstances, he met a man who took him in.

This man's name was Alzac.

Alzac was an old, long retired smuggler pirate. He had traveled the world, seen all four blues, even the Grand Line and the New World. But, due to a slew of terrible events, he gave up being a pirate. But, he took the wealth he had earned from his dubious trade and settled down to more reputable carrier. By those who knew him, he was considered a wise and kindly man. During his carrier as a pirate, he was often scorned for being idealistic and merciful. He was something of a contradiction: a peaceful criminal. Force, for him, was a last resort. He strove to handle matters as nonviolently as possible, though dirty tricks and intimidation were all fair. Many mistook this for weakness, but they would be dead wrong. He was a master swordsman and an excellent navigator; he trained Balthier both how to fight and how to sail. Unfortunately, in two short years, he died of simple age, peacefully in his sleep. In those short years, however, he became as much a father to Balthier as his biological father. He also passed his dream on to Balthier, a dream to find the One Piece.

Balthier mourned him, but understood that his adopted father wouldn't want him to wallow in grief. So, a short month later, he gathered supplies and set out on the sea to seek his fortune. But, despite his skills, the only job he could find was as a cabin boy on a merchant vessel. He took it, deciding he would make it work.

The captain of that ship was a cruel and uncaring man. Many a long voyage was spent under the lash with little food, water, or other luxuries maximize cargo space. Undermanned too, they were forced to do the work of a crew twice their size. During a particularly bad storm, the captain drove them mercilessly until the crew snapped and mutinied with Baltier at it's head. Their mutiny succeeded with auspicious ease; the former captain and a few loyal crewmates were unceremoniously beaten, then tossed in a rowboat in the middle of the ocean.

That is the story of how Balthier, despite his young age, became captain of the soon-to-be infamous Black Dragon Pirates. A very successful carrier as a privateer pirate followed, during which he eventually earned a bounty of exactly 99,999,999 berries for piracy, mayhem, public indecently, public drunkenness, larceny, sinking multiple Marine warships, capturing multiple Marine warships, sacking two cities, destroying a Marine base, impersonating a Marine Captain, burglarizing a Marine Captain's house, and shaving a Marine Captain's prize showdog. During all this, he earned his devil fruit powers. How this happened is a story for another time.

But then, after a hedonistic seven years of piracy, his second mate, a man named Alistair Tianlong, decided he wanted the money and fame. So he lead a mutiny of his own, in turn, marooning Balthier on some deserted island, where he spent nearly a month struggling to survive with a sea-prism stone bullet in his shoulder, rendering him weak and unable to transform.

But it seemed like fate still had something in store for him. He managed to signal a passing ship, and from there, get to a doctor who surgically removed the bullet. Now, he set out to sea, once more, with vengeance on his mind.

Name:Kuroda Jōichirō ( 黒田 城一郎 )
Pirate, Navy, Citizen: Former marine, currently free agent pirate.
Age:Late 20s
Devil Fruit [if acquired]:Pika Pika no Mi (Glint Glint Fruit)
Natural/Learned Skills:Kenbushoku Haki (Very basic), Busoshoku Haki (Moderate), Rokushiki (Basic knowledge, limited practical usage), Swordsmanship (High moderate), Cooking (High basic), Medical (Very basic), Navigation (Next to none), It is unknown at this point in the story whether or no he possesses Haoshoku Haki.
Bio:Jōichirō was born in the North Blue to fairly average upbringings. His parents had a small shop selling groceries. Growing up, Jōichirō idolized the former admiral Borsalino, even going as far as trying to behave similarly to a aloof navy admiral. When he became of age, joining the marines was a no-brainer for him, wanting to take after the footsteps of his idol.

However, upon joining the marines, he detested the structured lifestyle and the order-taking. He much enjoyed the freedom of being able to go wherever he wished. He thought that all marines were able to move freely as they wished, being single-minded about his idea towards the marines in the fact that the admirals basically had the freedom to move as they wished, unless an order came from the world government. Sighing, he basically resigned himself to the strict life of being a low ranking marine grunt.

Then a whisper came by. A whisper of a devil fruit. As the former admiral passed from this life, his fruit came back into view. Jōichirō knew he had to get that fruit for himself. Not only to take after his idol, but to use its powers to rise up in ranks to gain more and more freedom. Rumor had it that the fruit was reacquired by the marines and kept under locks, in fear of it falling into the word hands. This happened when Jōichirō was 16...

The next few years, Jōichirō spent his time training with the marines, learning about haki, and the secret combat style Rokushiki. However, Rokushiki and its usage escaped him. He, however, learned to use the sword very well. It became his primary style of offense. At age 20, he deemed himself as ready. Ready to stage his 'heist'.

Jōichirō, as a commodore, strolled into the marine vault, as he has done so many times before. The lower ranked marines saluted him and granted him unrestricted access to where he wished to go, as they have no doubt that he would be planning on committing what he planned to do. In the depths of the vault, Jōichirō located what he was looking for, the Pika Pika no Mi. Grinning, he hacked through the security system that he had years to study and imitate. Without much of a hiccup, the security barrier was disabled and Jōichirō finally had direct access to the fruit.

Without a second thought, Jōichirō took the fruit and ate it whole. Of course, it tasted like a horrible blend of iron, bananas, and mint. Upon its consumption, Jōichirō fainted...

When he would wake, he found himself on the deck of his ship, stripped of his title. He sat up, and looked at his crew. Well, former crew at this point. He discovered that he was being transported to Marine HQ to answer for his actions. He chuckled. "You forgot something...." He whispered. The marine crew had forgotten to shackle him with seastone. in the blink of an eye, Jōichirō vanished.

That was well over 5 years ago. Now, Jōichirō travels from town to town, never settling down for more than a few days for fear of being caught. His next destination, Alabasta...

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Text color: I know, its not yellow, but its easier to read.