Daikaku

Daikaku (デーカク Deekaku) is a pirate and the captain of the Monk Pirate crew. The last High Priest at a Buddhist temple, he became known as Mad Monk by the World Government. Having eaten the Hito Hito no Mi, he has become a Human Man.

Appearance
Daikaku is a fairly short, thick built man. He isn't fat though, as it is all muscle. As a monk, he shaves his head, although his sideburns have grown out, and he also has a trimmed moustache and beard, showing his hair to be black in colour. His eyebrows are fairly bushy, and usually seen up in a jovial facial expression. His nose is a deep red colour from busted capillaries, though this was a side effect of him Awakening his Devil Fruit instead of from over drinking. He wears a set of black robes that are draped with saffron and maroon patterned ones. These robes are extremely worn, as they were the ones he wore in his old temple. On his feet he has sandals.

Before becoming High Priest, Daikaku looked much the same, only younger. He lacked any of his current wrinkles, and didn't have side burns or a moustache, though he still had his beard. He was considerably skinnier, as a large portion of his mass was a direct result of his Devil Fruit, and his nose was not red. He wore similar clothing, with the black robes and sandals, only missing the saffron and maroon ones that indicate one as being High Priest.

History
Daikaku was born on Chimon, an autumn island in the first half of the Grand Line. This small island has had a long history as a peaceful, self sustaining island with no true governing body that goes back to the Void Century. The only thing that is on it is a fairly large Buddhist temple that is its own sect, possessing a poneglyph within the temple walls. This temple has held a stable relationship with the World Government despite not being controlled by a government under their control. This is because they have sworn to uphold the peace, and because of the negative perception they would gain from the public if it was discovered that they attacked a peaceful, religious sanctuary.

Daikaku himself was the first born son of the High Priest, making him a direct descendent of the temples founder, and in line to become the succeeding High Priest. His childhood was spent learning the philosophies of the temple, and training in the martial art passed down from the founder, Otokomichi (男途 path of man), through the use of which, the priests would fight off any rowdy pirates that came to Chimon. At the age of twenty, Daikaku became the latest High Priest after the passing of his father. As initiation to ascend to High Priesthood, it was tradition to eat a fruit from the Tree of Enlightenment, a tree that has been growing and producing fruit since the temples founding. This tree is kept within four walls, but no roof, where only the High Priest is allowed to enter, becoming quite large after 900 years. The fruit that Daikaku ate had an unusual colouration, and had a very funky taste to it, but it was the only one available for him at the time, so he ate the whole thing without complaint. After eating this fruit, his mind opened up, giving him enlightenment just as the tree’s name suggested.

While walking around the temple grounds, High Priest Daikaku came across the poneglyph that is kept on their premises, and realized that he understood the words that were written on it, something he never could do before. What was recorded on it was shocking to him, and he decided that he must relay these teachings to the rest of the members of the temple. Unfortunately, as the World Government did not trust this unaffiliated island, they had a few of their people infiltrated as monks. When word reached them that the High Priest could read the ancient writings, and was spreading knowledge acquired from a poneglyph to the inhabitants of the island, a Buster Call was set ordered to eliminate the threat, under the guise that this temple was only a front for devils wishing to bring an end to the peace of the World Government. The Buster Call rained hell down upon the small island, burning it down to the ground and wiping it off the maps of the world. Daikaku however managed to just barely survive the onslaught thanks to him subconsciously using Busoshoku Haki. After recovering enough to move, Daikaku decided that he must continue learning the secret of the Void Century, and that he would need to become a pirate in order to do so and oppose the corruption.

Having already realized that what he had eaten as initiation as High Priest was a Devil Fruit, and that the Tree of Enlightenment was merely a tree that produced the specific type of fruit that that particular Devil Fruit reincarnated into, Daikaku cut down this tree to use as wood for a ship off of the island, being the only thing that survived the attack besides Daikaku himself. Because he didn’t have any sails to pick up the wind, he made a row boat with his limited skill. Because of the treacherous weather seen within the Grand Line, and lacking any Log Pose to use for navigation, it was a miracle that he managed to get to a different island alive. From this new island, Daikaku began his life of piracy, stealing a proper ship for himself. Over time, the Monk Pirates infamy caught the attention of the World Government, and they realized he was a survivor of the Chimon incident. Two attempts to erase this mistake of theirs were made before they discovered just how dangerous he truly was. The first was through CP9, but one of the assassins sent killed his fellow agents and joined Daikaku. The next time, they sent a promising Marine Vice Admiral, but he and his whole ship came back severely wounded, and after his recovery, left the marines to join the former monk. Assessing him as a major threat, Daikaku was given the epithet “Mad Monk” in an attempt to discredit anything that he should spread.

Powers & Abilities
As the Captain of his crew, Daikaku has full authority over the other members. In order to ease his job slightly, he has two Jokers that act with authority, and split the crew into four divisions, each with a leader that commands the other members. Daikaku usually leaves most of the details for these six people to tend to, while he deals with any major decisions.

Devil Fruit
The Hito Hito no Mi is a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that is based on the human species. Because he was already human, instead of gaining normal Zoan-type powers by eating the Hito Hito no Mi, Daikaku has gained two different things, the first of which being enlightenment. This has opened his mind up, allowing him to truly look at everything objectively without being clouded by emotions. It also gave Daikaku the knowledge of human potential, and to comprehend it all. While he wasn't granted the genius of people like Vegapunk, he is fully capable of understanding anything humanly possible to understand, whether someone tells him it or he reads it. He can instinctually understand any human language, spoken or written, which allows him to read poneglyphs. He has also shown to be able to see through any fighting style or martial art, which lets him read his opponents movements, or even incorporate pieces into his own fighting style and improve upon them if he is given enough time. Devil Fruit users who fight him tend to think that he can also see through Devil Fruits just as he can see through fighting styles, but that is not the case. Despite the fact that he can't see through them, he can objectively look at the powers they grant in order to puzzle out possible weaknesses thanks in part to his enlightened mind. What can possibly be seen as the most dangerous quality Daikaku's enlightenment gave him is a thorough knowledge of Haki. It is believed that he may potentially have more knowledge of this powerful force than anyone else alive. While this in itself doesn't provide him with a powerful Haki, it does give him incredible control over his Haki. He also has knowledge about the intricacies of the energy that no one else knows about.

The second thing Daikaku gained with this Devil Fruit is a genetically superior body. Upon eating the Hito Hito no Mi, his body changed on a genetic level. All of his body’s functions have been enhanced to the peak human level, such as his senses, reaction time and immune system. This genetic superiority didn't affect superficial appearances, so he still looks the same as he did before. This resulted in him going through somewhat of a late growth spurt after eating the fruit, gaining significant muscle mass, but only to the optimal level, so he doesn’t get slowed down by his muscles. Since hybrids born between the different races in the world; such as fishmen, giants, dwarves, or what is classically referred to as humans; will produce fertile offspring, they can be considered subspecies as opposed to entirely separate species. This means that overall they all fall under the “human” classification. Because of this, by gaining a genetically superior human body, Daikaku gained traits from these other races. This includes the strength of fishmen, the speed of dwarves, and the vitality of giants.

Awakening
The highest level of mastery over ones Devil Fruit, an Awakening is known to result in differing powers depending not only on the individual fruit, but same Devil Fruit types also seem to produce similar results. Daikaku has achieved an Awakened state with his Devil Fruit after years of training. While Mythical Zoans appear to be quite different from other Zoans in their Awakening, most Zoans result in a much larger, and physically powerful hybrid form, as well as a major increase in the user’s regeneration. They also gain a dripping nose and cutesy facial features. This state is extremely draining on the users mental strength, where if they over use it, they will essentially become mindless beasts that completely lose their individuality to the fruit. Even though Daikaku is a Zoan Devil Fruit user, his power doesn't act the same way as would be expected of a Zoan as a result of him being the same species as his fruit. This irregularity can also be seen in his Awakened form, as he doesn't have a hybrid form to enter. Instead, when Daikaku enters his Awakened state, he gains an increase in strength and regeneration, but without an increase in his body size or the cutesy face. He did however gain a permanently reddened nose. Due to his enhanced mental fortitude, he can stay in his Awakened state longer than normal before his conscious mind starts to weaken.

Fighting Style
Daikaku’s fighting style is very fluid, adapting to his opponent in the middle of the fight and through incorporating new styles into his own. This is a result of his Devil Fruit providing him with enlightenment. He can see through people; tell what someone might be thinking based on their body language, predict an opponent’s movements by watching their muscles relax or contract, and even replicate a person’s techniques perfectly just by watching. In this way, he simply becomes more and more dangerous the more varied the opponents he faces and survives against. Despite having such a fluid fighting style, he does require a base to act as a container of sorts. Otherwise, if he had no style to act as a base, his fighting would be all over the place an utter mess. Daikaku uses the martial art of his temple, Otokomichi, as his base. There are two reasons for this choice; because he had already trained in it for well over a decade by the time he ate his Devil Fruit, and because it is unique to him as the last remaining resident of Chimon. Otokomichi is a much disciplined, defensive martial art at its core, resulting in Daikaku being mainly a defensive fighter whose movements all have a purpose. It focuses on countering an opponent’s attacks and using their own momentum against them. As this defensive style is the basis for Daikaku’s entire fighting style, he mostly uses the skills he incorporates in a passive aggressive manner to reflect it. Since he is truly fluid while fighting though, he will occasionally make an openly offensive movement if he has read that the situation calls for it. His fighting stance that he goes into before any altercation is an open legged stance with him holding a set of prayer beads taut between both hands. This stance is important for Daikaku getting into the proper mindset for a fight. If he should start fighting without entering this stance, his technique becomes sloppy. Though for Daikaku, that just means that his movements aren’t flawless. Because of this, he will always look for an opportunity to enter his fighting stance if he were to get ambushed into a fight.

Thanks to the Ace of Hearts in his crew, Daikaku has received plenty of exposure to the martial art used almost exclusively by the World Government, Rokushiki. This martial art is said to change a user’s body into that of a superhuman. There are six techniques that users can learn, with a seventh becoming available to those who have truly mastered the other six. Individuals who are particularly skilled with a particular technique will often create their own variation of it. These techniques include: making ones body go limp in order to effectively dodge, hardening one’s body to be strong as steel, blindingly fast movement, jumping in the air, effectively turning ones finger into a body piercing bullet, creating air blades with kicks, and producing shockwaves from ones fists. As he has been exposed to Rokushiki so much, Daikaku has thoroughly seen through the techniques, and has allowed them to seep into his own style. He isn't the biggest fan of this particular martial art, though he does find the non-offensive techniques to be quite useful.

After witnessing a great many masterful swordsmen in battle, including the Ace of Spades in his crew, Daikaku was able to see through the art of swordsmanship. However, as he isn't a swordsman himself, he wasn't able to include it into his fighting style at first. Eventually he managed to figure out a way though, utilizing something similar to a Mutoryu style. Daikaku realized that master swordsmen begin focusing all of their strength into one point, along the blade of their swords, in order to maximize their cutting power, even if they don't realize they are doing this. By making use of this concept with his body instead of a sword, Daikaku can create fissures in objects with his blows. His Mutoryu is powerful enough to split a mountain in two with a single punch.

Daikaku and his crew have had several altercations with the Happo Navy within the New World, giving him the opportunity to witness, and ultimately see through, Hasshoken, the signature fighting style used by this multi-generational pirate crew. This particular fighting style makes use of the creation of shock waves to enhance their attacks. These shock waves can't be blocked by conventional means, able to bypass most forms of defense and damage the targets internal organs directly. Daikaku has learned to utilize shock waves through the use of Hasshoken, though he doesn't often use it. He usually only uses it offensively when he is getting pushed to his limits by an opponent. He has also created a defensive use for these shock waves. He initially created this defense to aid him against opponents that also use Hasshoken, though later realized it could be used in many other situations. This defense is to create a shock wave when he gets hit that can cancel out the opponents shock wave, but can also be used to weaken most other types of attacks to his body.

Haki
Haki is a mysterious energy that is found within all living creatures in the world. Through proper training, anyone is capable of unleashing this energy, while some people have been known to be born with the ability to use it in some form. This energy comes from an individual’s strength of will. There are two forms of Haki that are available to everyone, while a third form can only be used by a limited number of people. These people are considered to be “kings”, and prove to be powerful leaders who tend to find success in their lives. Daikaku is self taught in all thre forms of Haki, having gained knowledge of this skill after achieving enlightenment. Due to his incredible strength of will, he has a very powerful Haki. Because he has achieved enlightenment through his Devil Fruit, Daikaku acquired a near total understanding of Haki, allowing him to utilize his to its ultimate potential.

Busoshoku Haki
Busoshoku Haki is an offensive form of Haki that allows a user to coat their body with invisible armour that will also magnify the damage done by any attack. This armour also allows for someone to grab hold of any Devil Fruit user’s true form. With this, Logia users, and some Paramecia users as well, can be damaged through sheer force of will. This was the first form of Haki that Daikaku showed skill with, utilizing it subconsciously during the Buster Call on his temple, only surviving the onslaught because of this invisible armour. Because he used it without conscious thought though, his Haki didn't provide him with a perfect protection. This resulted in him just barely surviving the Marine's attack, receiving heavy concussive damage. After recovering from the attack, he realized that he didn’t survive by mere chance, and that he had tapped into a powerful force in order to survive. He has since trained his Haki extensibly, and doesn’t show a preference towards a single form. Instead he proves to be just as skilled with all three forms, a result of his deep understanding of Haki.

Other Skills
Daikaku is highly skilled at navigating, able to easily travel through the New World without difficulties. This came from two things. He gained an incredible understanding of navigation from reading advanced books about it, knowing all the recorded intricacies. The other thing that helps his skills is his enhanced senses. Thanks to his senses, he can feel changes in the wind, smell oncoming storms, and determine slight changes in the outside temperature, among other things. By combing the knowledge accumulated through text, his body's sensitivity, and what he learns through his own experiences filling in any gaps, Daikaku proves to have masterful skill at navigating.

Behind The Scenes

 * His appearance is based off of Suguro Tatsuma from Ao no Exorcist.
 * His name is a Buddhist name that means "great enlightenment".
 * The author has received permission to use the Hito Hito no Mi.
 * The author has received permission to use Haoshoku Haki.