Hachiman



Hachiman is the captain of the Tai Pirates. As a combatant of the and, Hachiman has accumulated knowledge on modern warfare. Naturally, this experience has caused others to seek him out as an ally and employ him for his services quite often. Recognize among other pirates as an immensely powerful individual, and by extension the World Government, coupled with several of his trips into the New World, Hachiman has been proclaimed as a Yonko—four emperor pirates that rule over the second half of the Grand line, the New World.

In his past, Hachiman was a member of the infamous. Later, he was arrested alongside his captain, Shiki, when the latter attacked the impenetrable Marineford despite Hachiman’s warnings. Two decades later, Monkey D. Luffy would eventually free him from his imprisonment, and Hachiman would yet again travel the world, and reenter the new world. Hoping to free villages from despair and the wrath of crazed pirates, Hachiman garnered a crew and vanquished oppressive pirate tyrants, freeing islands from their control and claiming them as his own for their protection.

Appearance
The only physical symbol of his giant heritage is the amount of muscle mass he possesses, and his incredibly large stature, but even that speaks for itself. It is without a doubt that he wouldn’t be nearly as tall without his father’s genes, and although his muscle mass was genetically passed down, it has been groomed and improved upon from years of martial arts, and that is quite obvious. In fact, to others they perceived his appearance as a direct result of his efforts. As a child, he showed very little evidence of his heritage. In fact, Hachiman was recognized as one of the smallest children in his class among his fishmen brethren. By the age of thirteen, he had barely touched four feet, and he weighed almost a hundred pounds less than all of the other children in his class. This resulted in an underestimation of his abilities, forcing Hachiman to compensate his size with skill.

However, just as all boys do, he came upon his growth spurt. Within a few months, he had put on hundreds of pounds, and quadrupled in his height. Until he was eighteen, he didn’t seem to stop growing. At the very end, he peaked at thirty feet, and nearly eleven tons. Regardless of the sudden spike in height and the exponential increase in weight, Hachiman’s body remains considerably proportional; he bore very little fat. Giants are beings built for combat: they can lift tons, and fight for two and a half centuries before eventually growing too old for battle. Their genes lean to an aptitude to development a muscular system consisting of balance; he has a perfect balance of red muscle—the muscle that is responsible for explosive power—and white muscle (the muscle responsible for stamina and duration of exertion). As a result of such balance, his muscular physique intensified severely resulting an appearance that displays the peak condition of the human body.

Personality
Hachiman is the product of the world that he was forced to live in; one that encapsulated him in a sea of malice and prejudice. For years, he was subject to physical and emotional abuse from others regardless of where he went: Fishman hated him for his human flesh, and the land dwellers despised that he was half fish. In a world where everyone wished for his death, Hachiman was truly alone. However, in this world, he had discovered people who respected him for what he was, even if he only was capable of interacting with them for small periods of time. Without these people, Hachiman would have become cynical, heartless, violent, etc. It were these kind people, Brogy, his Sensei, Dorry, and the Golden Pirate Crew, that illuminated the darkness in his heart. Because people like this exist, Hachiman naturally sees the good in every possible person that he encounters, and rarely ever deduces even the most vile of people as evil. Whenever wronged, Hachiman is a man quick to forgive. As a result, people often question whether he’s truly a pirate.

Because of his kind nature, Hachiman doesn’t fit the stereotypical pirate: he generally restrains from fighting unless attacked (but even then he mostly acts defensively), consumes meals using the proper utensils, speaks to others applying the proper endings, and a variety of other simple etiquettes that demonstrate civility. As a result, people often inquire why his reasons of delving into piracy as a living, and he admits that he was never drawn to battles, pillagery, authority, or even the highly sought treasures that the world offers. Instead, Hachiman chose a life of piracy to travel the seas and discover the world. As a child, he didn't care about playing outside on the playground, but rather why outside was...well, outside. What made it hot? What made it warm? Why did seasons change constantly? Why was the world in a constant state of flux? He has always been compelled to make things, to shape the world to his own perspective and views.

To Hachiman, even small discoveries assist him in some manner, and for that it is the reason that he appreciates almost everything. This disposition extends beyond his love for discerning the nature of the universe and to things in his life: love, family, friends, a boat, home, crew members. Everything that he sees on a daily basis are things that Hachiman holds great admiration and gratitude for. It is for this very reason that Hachiman is somewhat possessive, and will often bargain or make sacrifices to ensure these things remain in his possession. Among these things however, Hachiman greatly cherishes the people that choose to interact with him, especially considering that he was an isolated child. In instances where someone takes away one of these people, Hachiman grows extremely irritable and attempts to try and take these people back. He’ll attempt to bargain with the people responsible, but he’ll quickly resort to force if they continuously deny his compromises.

Regardless, the number of people he will do this for is particularly small, for there are very few living things that Hachiman recognizes as his friend. Treated cruelly for a large portion of his life has led to a rather defective aspect of his personality; trust does not come easy to him. Kids would pretend to be his friends, and blindly he would accept their friendship, only to find his toys clothes taken. For someone to truly become his friend, they need to demonstrate a genuine compassion towards him, and an acceptance for what he is, a freak. Only when that occurs, will Hachiman call them friends. As the amount of time it takes for him to identify someone as his comrade is gargantuan, the benefits of his friendship are even more rewarding, to the point where they are his fatal flaw. For a friend, Hachiman will sacrifice the world if need be.

While he seems emotionally driven, Hachiman is indeed no fool. As a man with two brains, he is as competent as one gets. Without a doubt, his emotions are what ultimately he used to make a decision, however he determines his choices using his intellect. He is typically calm and collected, rarely showing any signs of distress even in the most stressful of times, nor does he show extreme levels of anxiety and excitement. Because of this, it takes a gargantuan amount of surprise, stress, or emotional distress to get Hachiman worked up, but when he does his enemies are subject to a merciless rampage. It is during this time, that he truly becomes serious, and notably bloodthirsty. A majority of the time, Hachiman isn’t serious at all, though he isn’t excessively goofy or aloof. Often times, he appears flippant, and it’s not unusual for him to respond to a question with a sarcastic, or witty remark. Hachiman’s disposition never changes regardless of whom he may be around; he’s a smart-alec by nature and nothing threatens him enough to initiate a change. Because of this, people have recognized Hachiman as utterly fearless. He have intentionally teased other powerful pirates, marine soldiers, and on some occasions admirals whenever he encountered them. To those who believe he fears no man, they are correct. Although he is kind, compassionate, calm and composed, Hachiman has spent centuries honing his skills, even during his time in Impel Down where he was confined to a single prison cell. He would do thousands of sit ups, push-ups, and a variety of other exercises to ensure he stayed in perfect shape. As a result, he is very confident in his abilities, to the point where it can even be called arrogance. During conflicts, when he is finally exposed to one, Hachiman generally holds back out of fear that he’ll kill his opponent if he battles them anywhere near his full potential.

His arrogance is what often prevents him from directing involving himself in the affairs of others. If he does, then it will surely sway in his favor, and disrupting an affair is nearly against his views. As an artisan, Hachiman’s perspective on the world is strictly related to that of a machine. Animals killing one another, people fighting others, children getting sick, natural disasters, are things that are natural. Volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis are just events to trigger the destruction of the world, only to have it rebuild itself again. Hachiman believes in the cycle of destruction and rebirth. For everything that is destroyed, something is given life. For this reason, he perceives human nature as good. As a result, he is one who follows the middle road of life. He refuses to disturb the natural order of the universe, but when balance is upset he seeks to simply restore it. Peace cannot be established without conflict, and conflict cannot exist without peace; a balance that Hachiman recognizes.

Hachiman, as a artisan and a scholar, is someone with a rather pragmatic view on the world. While many people allow their experiences to distort their perspective, Hachiman's mechanic-like attitude doesn't grant him a distorted view. Everything that happens is a part of the ultimate machine—the machine he recognizes as life—and is merely a process. The world, rather than being colored, is seen more or less as grey in his eyes. Because of this view, he sees very little reason to deviate from his current lifestyle of the restorer of balance; he believes himself to being an universal constant and, partly due to his relative arrogance, an eternal being. Despite this arrogance however, Hachiman doesn't enjoy much attention at all. He rarely cares about being remembered or acknowledged, but in cases where he does care he prefers it to be through his work as an artisan: the kingdoms he creates. He wishes to create things that he can eternally live alongside with. The lack of desire for attention is a reason why Hachiman finds it quite difficult to speak about himself, but when speaking about his work he is capable of rambling for days.

Early Childhood
His father was an abnormal giant by the name of Gorth, who sought to return home after venturing to conquer new lands. However, fate would ensure that he and his crew wouldn’t. Upon having their ship coated for the underwater expenditure through fishman island, they would be apart of the seventy percent that wouldn’t make it. A tidal wave devoured their ship, but Gorth continued to swim, until fatigue introduced him to the watery depths below. It was luck that saved him; a giant fish woman prevented his death, and took him in. Regardless of his life being saved, the amount of time he was submerged proved damaging. For months, she assisted him even in the simplest task: walking, eating, using the bathroom, etc. The shut off of oxygen from his brain took away his sight. Despite being a stranger, this fish woman took him in and it was that act of selflessness that won his heart, and the two promptly followed with marriage and a child of their own: Hachiman.

It was this birth that would bring about the end to their marriage however, with the death of Gorth. During the process, the giant retracted a disease that would gravely weaken his immune system. For years, he fought it, but in the end he succumbed to its effects and passed in third year of his son’s life. Despite Gorth offering very little financial assistance to the family, his death would indeed impact them in an enormously negative manner. As a giant, he was physically intimidating, and people often avoided his family out of fear of being destroyed. When he passed however, an opportunity for the fishmen and merfolk who hated humans—and by extension giants who are simply giant humans—to openly discriminate against the family.

At the age of three, Hachiman was placed into the local schools on Fishman island, where he would be introduced to some of the most inappropriate behavior. He was different, and it was no defying that fact. He was severely smaller than most of the other children, his skin was akin to that of a human, and so was everything else about him. It was this outward difference which would subject him to discrimination: from the teachers, from the other parents, but most of all from the other students. To them, he was a demon that they wanted to go away; they hated humans, and he was the most similar to human as one could be in their society. Often times, when the teacher wasn’t watching—or sometimes when the teacher pretended to not watch—the other children would physically abuse Hachiman by throwing pencils, spitting gum in his hair, and some would outright attack him with their first or whatever natural weaponry they had.

Despite reporting this to every possible official she could have, the problems ceased. She would’ve have pulled him from school, however she was uneducated herself, thus could not provide the education her son required to succeed in society. Instead, she enrolled him in a fishman Karate dojo where he could learn to protect himself. Unlike the other fishman, the dojo master was not reluctant to accept Hachiman as his pupil, thus he was allowed to practice the ancient fighting style of the fishmen. Whereas the other children and pupils were forced to undergo extreme physical conditioning exercises before even starting to practice the forms, Hachiman was naturally physically gifted. Due to his giant lineage, his body vastly surpassed many of the other students. He could do the exercises more effectively, and with very little strain; the martial arts seemed to come naturally to him as well. It was clear that he was the destine to be the best.

Within several years, he had become the pride of the dojo. Every tournament they partook in, the dojo won, thanks to Hachiman. By the time he was ten, he had already surpassed several of his elder peers by becoming a black belt. Although his talents benefitted the dojo, his fellow pupils grew envious; they hated him for his difference, but more so for his skill. The master often gave him the most attention out of them all. He had grown far too powerful for any of them to attempt to fight, thus they instead decided to attack everything he owned. It was intended to be a prank, but would turn into the most life-changing event in his life. When Hachiman was away at the dojo, some of the students approached his home, and mischievously set it on fire. They left quickly to avoid being spotted. However, what they hadn’t checked for was his mother who found out about the fire much too late and burned with it, orphaning Hachiman.

Young Adult
With his mother dead, Hachiman (now ten years old) found himself without someone to take care of him, and without a home. His sensei, after hearing about the incident, extended his home to Hachiman. The boy gladly accepted, and in response he devoted the entirety of his time to perfecting his martial arts. With an increased focus, he was able to master the karate and juijutsu within a matter of two years; every single minute of every single day was spent perfecting them, so it was only natural. As a means to reimburse his sensei, Hachiman participated in numerous tournaments. However, the dojo itself required a gargantuan amount of funds to maintain, especially if it was to remain the best on the island. Hachiman, even as a twelve year old, could see the strain that he placed on his sensei. He had a wife, and three children to take care of, along with a dojo to maintain. The financial burden that he placed upon his sensei—the only man to ever offer him a fair chance—bothered him greatly. Seeing very little option, he departed his home and joined the armed forces of fishman island.

There, he yet again found himself heavily discriminated against despite is above par skills compared to the rest of the soldiers, especially for his age. Unlike his past, Hachiman no longer had people to comfort him in his time of need, nor a place to call his sanctuary. In this armed forces, he was truly alone. When he would fight back, he found himself forced to scrub the floors with his toothbrush, forced to skip dinner for three days, and in some cases they would restrain him and allow his assailants to physically attack him. He eventually ceased the fight after being punished for his resistance, and this only caused his "comrades" to show their malice more frequently. He would wake up beaten and battered, sometimes sliced open or with gunshot wounds. Their words, their punches, their bullets barely affected him after a time.

Although they were heavily prejudice, his fellow armed soldiers acknowledged his superior strength in comparison to theirs, and that alone was the reason why he had a record for the most missions attended, and the most missions successful in the entire kingdom's history. One day, the world government requested the fishman army's service. A group of bandits had escaped their grasp, but were near their island. Accepting, Hachiman was placed on a ship with two hundred other fishman to capture the small band of pirates, however the government had failed to specify that these pirates were giants. Upon confronting them, the fishman forces were crushed and most of them were killed. Standing on their bones, Hachiman found the energy to make one last stand, and challenged the. If he had won, the pirates would turn themselves in, and if he didn't then Hachiman's life would forever be in his hands. Naturally, the leader accepted and they engaged in battle. This time, the opponent was stronger, faster, more durable, and much larger than what he was used to. Regardless, he fought to his heart's content.

Despite his strength, he lost the duel, but death did not claim his soul. Instead, he was taken as their captive—a slave who would forever serve their crew until he drew his last breath. As a man of honor, Hachiman served the crew diligently: mopping the deck, cleaning the toilets, preparing their meals, etc. Every minute of the day went into satisfying the crew in whatever manner he was allowed to, but during the night he'd hone his martial arts skills with hopes of challenging their leader again to escape his shackles. He practiced his control over the sea, and slowly he began to show progress. Whereas his master was forced to use excessive movements to pull the ocean, a flick of his wrist could cause the water erupt into the air; his superior physical strength proved the reason for this. A year following his enslavement, he challenged Brogy again with his newfound powers, but the giant had improved as well, and Hachiman fell in battle yet again. Much more impatient after a year had past, he challenged the leader within another six months, but the outcome was the same.

Broken, Hachiman continued his chores for the rest of the day, however at night he wasn't seen training, but weeping for one of the few times in his life. He remained frustrated, with his captain for the most part, but with reality in general. Regardless, he had always been the underdog and wherever he went it was always a living hell. Dorry, the co-captain of the ship, spotted Hachiman in shambles. Naturally, he approached, but when he did Hachiman turned away and faced the sea. It was then he was given the option to run away. After all, he was part fishman and he could easily escape. The other option, one that Dorry claimed Hachiman never did, was to stay and not only fight, but win. At that very moment, it was said his life flashed before his eyes. Whenever he fought, he was punished, but rather than continue to fight he would give up just as he was doing now. Imbued with a newfound confidence, Hachiman promised to stay and fight. Under the night sky, he began to train. However, for the second time in his life, someone willingly trained alongside him.

For the next few years, he challenged Brogy in the day, and at night he would train with Dorry, soaking in all of the techniques and tips that the elder giant educated him on. By the time he had become twenty five, he had never won a single battle from the captain, and he continued to serve as their steward for a long ten years, but with each battle his strength was noted to have surpassed the first mates of the crew exponentially; they respected him, and he unknowingly earned it, to the extent that when his captains disbanded the crew they offered him the captain's seat while they conducted their hundred year long duel. Wishing to form a crew of his own, Hachiman declined and the pirate crew was effectively disbanded.

Golden Pirates
Several days after his journey, Hachiman was subject to the power of a large storm. Fortunately, he had lived in the sea, allowing him to continue passing through it with relative ease. When his boat was toppled, or devoured by the waves, he’d defy their power to retrieve it. During this however, he encountered a ship being claimed by the enormous tsunami, and watched as several of its members were consumed by the waves. To the best of his abilities, he attempted to save them, but the tsunami proved powerful even to someone raised in the depths of the sea, and he was only able to save two of the crew members. He swam for miles until he reached the sandy dunes of Alabasta. Within hours of arriving, they awoke, welcomed by a warm smile and a brewing stew. After regaining their strength, and overcoming their fear of Hachiman, they set their sights on the next town which lay across a sea of sand. Without the proper supplies and equipment, the group barely survived their journey across desert, and if Hachiman hadn’t been there they would’ve surely perished. Even he however, despite his relatively efficient metabolism, was barely able to cross it without troubles and nearly succumbed to the extremities. It was through sheer willpower that he managed to do so. Regardless, they reached a small desert town, where they recuperated and gathered the necessary supplies for their journey. In the midst of this, an enemy of Brogy and Dorry spotted Hachiman.

Recognizing him as the steward, they believed him to be weak, and attempted to reclaim their proud by injuring him. Unfortunately, Hachiman was not as weak as they expected, and he defeated them rather quickly. Taking their gold, and treasure, he departed with his two companions across the remainder of the desert, until they reached the capitol of Alabasta. At that point, Hachiman wished the two travelers fortune and departed. Traveling to the bar for a drink, he encountered a pirate being assaulted by other pirates, and he offered his help. He managed to subdue the assailants, and save the pirate who thanked him. The two conversed for some time, and Hachiman revealed that he was looking to purchase a “small” boat to travel, but then the pirate offered him a room on his own ship. Recognizing the opportunity, Hachiman accepted his generous offer, and the two departed for the ship. Upon arriving, he discovered that this pirate was a member of the largest pirate Fleet, The Golden Pirates. Originally, he was taken as a threat by the man’s crewmates, however after explanation he was thanked; the captain of the ship emerged and personally welcomed Hachiman aboard, and as a symbol of his gratitude, and he held a feast in Hachiman’s favor.

Their victory was short lived, as the pirates that Hachiman defended the Golden Pirate crewmember from returned with several of their own ships. Although they were a notably powerful crew, they remained unprepared and soon found themselves in panic. Using his superior physical prowess and skill in fishman karate, Hachiman conjured tsunamis that swallowed these ships whole, allowing the Golden Pirates to escape. Following this, they immediately requested that he be a part of their crew, however he ultimately denied despite their excessive pleading. During their venture, they came upon another island, overrun by pirates. Thanking the Golden Pirates for their service, Hachiman departed, but such was short lived. The survivors of the other pirate crew confessed that they were defeated by a giant, thus the pirates placed a rather large bounty on his head; 10 million berries. His stay on this island consisted of a series of attacks, which he managed to defend against. However, a band of pirates attacked, and their sheer numbers overwhelmed him. He would be saved by the golden pirates, who had followed him despite his denial. It was this act, coupled with the fact that he was no longer safe alone, that prompted Hachiman to become a member of their crew.

Wotan Physiology
The tale of the first fishmen civilization is told to children as myths as forms of entertainment. Stories speak of an ancient city that had conquered lands and acquired enough riches to drench the streets in the gold. However, because of their greed, the city became too heavy and fell into the ocean. The people of this ancient city managed to survive by adapting to the underwater conditions, and evolved over the next hundred of thousands of years until they became modern-day fishmen. While the truth behind the origin of fishmen is unknown, it is undoubtedly certain that they are simply offshoots of ordinary human beings evident by their ability to reproduce with the land-dwellers.

Fishman Genes

 * Respiration: Most, if not all, fishmen have the ability to survive on land and in the ocean indefinitely. Similar to their homo-sapien counterparts, they possess a pair of lungs that enable them to extract oxygen through the air and remove carbon dioxide from their blood. Unlike the land-dwellers, they also are in possession of a twin gills situated on their necks, that bless their bodies with the ability to remove oxygen from the water as well. Because of this, they can breathe on both the land and in the water as long as oxygen is present.
 * Cold Resistant: Because they live nearly 10,000 feet underwater in the bottom of the ocean, fishmen have been forced to adapt to the subfreezing temperatures of the water they inhabit. On average, the water outside of fishman island rest between 0-4 degrees Celsius, which, had they not adapted, would quickly kill anyone who ventured outside of the safety of the island's bubble. Being mammals, and thus warm blooded, Fishmen have acquired a specialized blood circulation coupled with anti-freeze proteins that prevent them from freezing in the depths of the chilliest oceans. As a result, they are able to easily withstand freezing, and even some subfreezing temperatures without the need for clothes of any kind.

Giant Genes

 * Stature: