Varanus Fang

Varanus Fang (バラナスファング Baranasu Fangu) is a former bounty hunter and former Marine commodore. Currently he serves as an Amateur combatant in the Cheeky Pirates.

Appearance
Fang has tanned skin, green eyes, and white, messy hair. His hair generally sticks up and out, similar in shape to a star. He dresses in a white, sleeveless shirt with a high collar, light grey pants, brown shoes with iron plating, and grey fingerless gloves with matching arm braces. He notably obscures his mouth, filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, using a beige-colored scarf and wears a grey forehead protector tied with a white strip of cloth. Notably, when entering his hybrid form, a great deal of his clothing tears off.

Personality
Fang is a rather composed individual. Despite his moniker he’s rather easy to get along and have civil discussions with. While he won’t always go out of his way to fix injustices, he won’t ignore one right in front of him either. During his time with the Marines, he followed moral justice, and will sometimes ignore pirates if their actions are not truly heinous. As a bounty hunter, he seems to take pleasure in his job, although he prefers to go after pirates with a substantial bounty behind them, deeming them more worthy of his time while. He is still capable of recognizing when he's out of depth, such as when he was overwhelmed by Mauricio Kerrim, even seeming annoyed by the level of power he wielded not being indicated by bounty.

Fang strangely has a distaste for wasting anything; from food, to soap, he’ll always make sure it’s used up. He even displays somewhat erratic behavior when it comes to wasted items, quickly thinking of ways that they can be used so as to not be wasted, becoming completely distracted from whatever he was doing before. This strange behavior is also included in the bodies of deceased humans, where the meaning behind his epithet is unveiled; while he will not go out of his way to do so, when someone dies in front of him, and he does not require their body, he eats them. He states that the meat isn’t the best tasting, but it’s good enough to not simply ignore, further adding to his strange batch of morals.

Fang's unique laughter style is "Krihahahaha".

Mauricio Kerrim
When Fang and Kerrim met, Fang was simply attempting to collect Kerrim's bounty. However, the former bounty hunter was woefully underprepared for the sheer might of the pirate captain. Despite this, Kerrim was impressed by Fang's strength a Marine background, and as such, was offered a position into Kerrim's crew, which Fang reluctantly accepted. While he respects his captain's strength and authority, he finds it difficult to actually like him, deeming his destructive habits and killings unnecessary and wasteful.

Abilities And Powers
As a former commodore of the Marines, Fang once held authority over any lower-ranked Marines. It also would stand to reason that Fang would’ve had substantial power in order to reach that rank, as well as excellent leadership skills. However, he forfeited these privileges when he resigned from the Marines. Since he has only continued to gain power since going off on his own, his former Marine rank is likely not indicative of his full strength. Fang believed himself to be powerful enough to defeat Mauricio Kerrim, a Logia Devil Fruit user with a bounty of 200,000,000, by himself. He even claimed to be worth an army when Kerrim stated Fang would need one to take him down. His overall strength and background as a Marine was enough to prompt Kerrim to ask Fang to join his crew.

Physical Abilities
Fang has a high degree of physical strength, capable of shattering a large boulder with a single punch without using Haki or his Devil Fruit. His ability to master every Rokushiki technique, a martial art known to only be accessible to super humans, is another testament to his strength. Fang prefers to go from island to island (and ship to ship) using Geppo as opposed to actually using a ship or raft, a testament to his high degree of endurance as well as his phenomenal leg strength and overall speed.

His physical durability is also quite impressive. During his fight with Mauricio Kerrim, he withstood the Logia user destroying the bar they were in, and came out of the rubble completely unscathed, as well as remaining conscious after taking the brunt of Kerrim's Stance 10 — Serpente Ombra and Stance 16 — Incision Typhoon in quick succession. Even after being defeated, Fang still had ample strength to get up and continue moving without difficulties. It is also worth noting that Fang engaged Kerrim after having not eaten for the entirety of that day and having engaged Kerrim immediately after arriving on the island they were on after using Geppo to arrive there from the nearest island, having not shown any signs of fatigue. Kerrim even admitted himself, that in terms of pure brute strength, Fang was superior to him, at least while his Devil Fruit was active.

Rokushiki
Fang mastered all six Rokushiki techniques while a member of the Marines, not only using each technique in their base form, but also at least one variation of each technique. Strangely enough, Fang seems to demonstrate a special affinity for Geppo, not only using it the most in combat, but also supplementing several of his attacks with the force this technique can bring. He uses three-dimensional movement in a similar manner to the technique Kamisori, greatly amplifying his maneuverability in midair. On top of this, Fang can utilize principals of individual Rokushiki techniques into his standard fighting style in order to increase the potency of his normal attacks, such as increasing the power of his punches by combining them with the speed and power of Shigan, or creating long-range piercing attacks with Shigan by using the principles of Rankyaku.


 * Geppo "Kushu" (月歩「空襲」Geppō "Kūshū"): Rather than making a light step off the air like most uses of Geppo, Fang instead uses an incredibly heavy step with both feet. This generates a shockwave that strikes the ground beneath him. This technique is incredibly fast and powerful. The only drawback is that it sends Fang high into the air after using it (or just launching him far in the opposite direction of whatever way he launched the attack). In the English version, this technique is referred to as Moon Walk Air Raid.


 * Tekkai "Buso" (鉄塊「武装」Tekkai "Busō"): A combination of Tekkai and Busoshoku Haki. Simply activating them at the same time, this drastically increases defense, allowing Fang to defend himself from even Haki-enhanced attacks. This defense was strong enough to partially defend against two of Kerrim's attack, an individual whose own Haki was drastically superior to that of Fang's own. In the English version, this technique is referred to as Iron Body Armament.


 * Shigan "Ryu no Kagizume" (指銃「竜の鉤爪」Shigan "Ryū no Kagizume"): A jab using all five of his fingers on one hand while in his hybrid form with the normal speed and power associated with Shigan. He generally launches this attack in an upward motion, lifting up smaller opponent's into the air and dealing further damage. In the English version, this technique is referred to as Finger Pistol Dragon Claw.

Devil Fruit
Fang ate the Toka Toka no Mi, Model: Komodo Dragon, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allows him to transform into a full Komodo dragon and Komodo dragon-human hybrid form at will. As a Carnivorous Zoan, Fang's battle instincts are much sharper than that of a normal Zoan's. In his hybrid form, Fang's physical strength is amplified to a much greater degree than normal, as well as providing several new attributes to his physique. The scales covering his body are much denser than normal lizard scales, as they are made of osteoderms, greatly enhancing both his defense and offense. On top of that, he possesses claws on each of his hands, which act as a great supplement to the power of his Shigan technique. The most dangerous aspect of his transformation is the venom glands in his cheeks. While not a deadly poison, when introduced into his target's body it can cause a decrease in blood pressure, increase the rate of bleeding via an anticoagulant, cause paralysis and induce shock. However, this takes some time to take effect. The process is generally hastened by physical activity.

Busoshoku Haki
Fang's specialty when it comes to Haki is Busoshoku Haki. Generally he uses it to increase the power of his Rokushiki techniques for both offensive and defensive purposes. He is skilled enough to apply extra heavy coating of Haki, causing his body to turn black in the affected area. Fang has even displayed the ability to coat his entire body in Busoshoku Haki, similarly to Vergo and Pica.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Fang is also capable of using Kenbunshoku Haki. As evidenced during his fight with Kerrim, where he managed to predict his opponent's attack. However, he was unable to dodge at the time due to the fact that he was defending with Tekkai. He can also use this form of Haki to supplement his Rokushiki techniques, such as in the usage of his technique Kami-e "Ken".

Baring Your Fangs
Fang made his debut, still a bounty hunter, when he attempted to capture Mauricio Kerrim and claim his bounty. However, he found himself having underestimated the power of the pirate captain, who handed him a decisive defeat during their brief scuffle. In the end, Kerrim extended an invitation to join his crew, the Cheeky Pirates. While hesitant at first, and even claiming that he would kill Kerrim in the future, given his background as a Marine, he eventually relented and decided to join.

Lasting Impressions
Not long after being recruited into the Cheeky Pirates, Fang found himself sunbathing on the bow of the Cheeky Pirates ship, the Laughing Turtle. Unable to relax as he had planned, he instead found himself becoming acquainted with his crew mates.

Trivia

 * Varanus is the genus that Komodo dragons belong to.


 * Fang's source image comes from White Star, a character from the anime and manga series Soul Eater.