Hornigold Dan/Abilities and Powers



Overview
Despite his status as the First Mate of the unnamed crew, Hornigold Dan is considered an extremely powerful pirate. He often gloats to being nothing more than Zack’s muscle for dangerous situations. When Buster D. Zack is absent or healing, Hornigold Dan is responsible for decisions and will lead the crew until their captain returns. Some consider Dan a guiding figure for Zack while others state that he is Zack’s support system. Regardless, his potential has caused other crew members to believe anything is possible as long as those two stand together. He has, on numerous occasions, been confused as the captain of their small crew. Hornigold often notes a dislike for Logia users, due to their complete reliance on their devil fruit to survive. As their primary source of offense and defensive, he believes that they are nothing more than simple henchman without the fruit. Hence the lack of actual pirate captains who wield Logia fruits. As a devil fruit user himself, Hornigold states that he refuses to rely solely on his fruit for strength. Rather it is nothing more than an amplifier for his already impressive abilities. His devil fruit usages remain focus on supportive functionalities as well as techniques which increase his overall damage output. Regardless, he continues to train his devil fruit powers to excel.

Physical Abilities
Naturally, Hornigold Dan possesses impressive physical prowess. He is a speed-type fighter, shifting throughout the battlefield and performing impressive evasive maneuvers. Dan states that his power comes from an almost unbreakable core and massive legs. While others utilize muscles to generate strength, Hornigold focuses upon generating torque through his movements. He is able to break through concrete structures, shatter steel defensis and toss a cannonball over a considerable distance. Dan’s philosophy is one which requires him to remain grounded or feel the ‘’earth’’ beneath him. Even in situations where he is high above, his body becomes the ground which remains unmoved. Hornigold Dan’s physical power has made him one of the crew’s more dangerous combatants, for his conditioning allows him to stand against large enemies. Utilizing speed to generate strength creates a situation where the two forces are balanced. His body follows the concept of duality - utilizing one opposite to form the other extreme and essentially achieving balance.

Hornigold’s physical prowess stems from his work as an Innkeeper’s assistant. He would find himself in continuous fights and lose horribly. Motivated by defeat, his body would naturally heal itself into a stronger state. After undergoing extensive training beneath, his body became the ultimate weapon for a warrior.

A combination between his conditioning and indomitable willpower, Hornigold is a true fighter in every sense of the word. He possesses incredible endurance and durability, withstanding a constant onslaught from opponents more than twice his size. He moves with relaxation, absorbing blows which he cannot avoid and continuing onwards. Dan believes that pain is nothing more than the body telling itself that there is danger. And by already understanding that there is danger he can dismiss it that much quicker. Essentially he visualizes his brain giving him a message which says alert. He crumbles up the paper and throws it away. Thus he is able to ignore the pain and focus upon the battle at hand. Hornigold exclaims that the human spirit is suffering. He uses muscles as an example, for one’s muscles can only grow after undergoing extreme stress. Only when destroyed will one’s body obtain the strength require to overcome the obstacle. And such, his body has conditioned itself to withstand obscene amounts of damage without succumbing to it. Leading to Hornigold fighting despite possessing fatal wounds. Additionally, his stamina has been increased through his constant battles.

“It’s a shame that he’s a puncher...his legs are the strongest things about him.”

Hornigold’s focus on torque and transforming speed into raw power through controlling one’s body has granted the First Mate immense speed, agility and reflexes. Through speed, he is able to achieve enough strength to match the punch of an miniature giant. He can maneuver skillfully throughout the battlefield without alerting the enemies. He often utilizes this skill to infiltrate the enemy base and perform reconnaissance while his crew prepares. Dan also avoids being captured alongside his crew so that he can use his speed and stealth to remain undetected. Hornigold possesses the reflexes of a fighter. He is able to twist through oncoming strikes with a mastery of the ‘’bob-and-weave’’ technique. His powerful legs allows him to control his body movement, engaging his core so that he obtains a complete mastery over the muscles in his body.

Fighting Style
Hornigold Dan is a boxer. He is extremely skilled in the art of hand-to-hand combat which he obtained from training beneath ***. Hornigold often states that he hates the usage of kicking and refrains from utilizing his legs to cause damage. Instead, his legs are primarily to generate the torque required to deliver his infamously deadly punches. The muscles within his shoulders and arms are constantly relaxed, allowing his hands to move unhindered. His hand speed is blinding, constantly flowing through various angles in order to strike his opponent.

His punching technique follow the concept of ‘’float like a butterfly and sting like a bee’’. A single bee sting causes minimal damage compared to the collective sting of an entire hive. With the hive representing a punching combination, one is able to deliver devastation by skillfully strining weaker punches and a several powerful strikes. Essentially it is a form which rarely focuses on actual physical strength. The power of his strikes are influenced by the relationship between the momentum of his body and the gravity pressing upon it. Each strike draws its power from the ‘’ground’’, that is the force upon which his body is able to resist. It transforms into a swift and powerful rotation of his feet, followed by his hips, through his abdominals, chest, shoulders, and finally released through a snapping motion. He compares his combat foundation to a lion tamer utilizing a whip. Where as the energy forms at the base of the whip and travels to the tip, surpassing the speed of sound and releasing devastating force relative to its size. Although his fighting style is a grounded form, he is extremely agile and states that speed surpasses power. As long as there is something for his body to resist the moment he begins his strike, he is able to deliver devastating blows. The snapping motion of his punches are reminiscent to the moment of contact of a whip, thus allowing his strikes to deliver the concussive force required to cause damage. He has shattered opponent’s entire skeletal structure with one single punch despite their towering and bulky physique. Additionally, Hornigold describes his attacks as actions for “speed” and actions for “power”. His left arm is meant to weaponize speed, essentially setting up his opponents for the destructive power of his right arm. However, he is able to switch the purpose of his arms accordingly. The focus on speed allows for a reliance on various maneuvers which range from feints to soft strikes meant to draw specific responses from his opponents. As opposed to individual strikes, Dan’s fighting style centers around the entire combination. Each combination has a specific purpose, with the individual strikes serving as the pillars of the entire structure. Thus, breaking down his offensive approach requires one to actually deduce each punch separately - an extremely difficult task considering the speed upon which he maneuvers. The combination of angular combat increases the efficiency of his strikes. Hornigold is considered a counter fighter. He continuously leads his opponents into opening up through weaker strikes or bee stings. The second they retaliate, Dan utilizes a maneuver to enter his enemies opening and releases a power strike.

Hornigold Dan’s code of honor is considered different. He believes in utter equality and battle. Stating that when one puts their life on the line, they transcend beyond simple titles and classifications. He has fought women, children and men without hesitation. He rather against surprise attacks and will alert his enemies of his presence before striking. He approaches each battle with a strategic mindset, breaking down his opponent’s weaknesses and strengths mentally. However, he is not above entering an unorthodox state, breaking the fundamentals of his fighting style in order to overcome a difficult situation.

Golden Horus
Hornigold Dan’s weapon of choice are a pair of boxing gloves and other gauntlets, each with specific purposes and features. However, his current pair of weapon and his most treasured possession is a pair of boxing gloves comprised of gold and fabric. These metallic gauntlets...

Devil Fruit
Hornigold ate a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit called the Bitu Bitu no Mi at a very young age. At first, Hornigold could only experience the passive traits of the devil fruit in the form of an extra-sensory enhancement, as shown when the young Hornigold could locate people during friendly games of hide and seek. It was only as he grew older did Hornigold realize that he inherited special powers from the legendary Devil Fruit. It was almost fate that Hornigold consumed the Bitu-Bitu no Mi as opposed to the Gura-Gura no Mi, for the Bitu-Bitu’s effects are more for complementing one’s battle capabilities as opposed to naturally possessing world-destroying power. Hence Hornigold is able to utilize his devil fruit as an extension of his own might. He can release, manipulate, absorb and amplify pulses from his body for a variety of purposes. These pulses are the result of a burst of energy which Hornigold’s body naturally produces after consuming the fruit. This energy can traverse through solid, liquid, gas, or other forms of energy. This unnamed energy, similar to the concept of one’s life force, is able to traverse through both matter and vacuum. However, the damage is increased when used through a physical medium as opposed through a vacuum, for a vacuum requires more conscious power to release. Meanwhile, surrounding matter actually carries his pulses through the area. Although unable to swim, Hornigold’s pulses recieve an exponential increase when utilized against objects submerged in water.

As opposed to other Devil Fruit users, whose abilities are centered around the actual devil fruit, Hornigold’s powers are actually focused upon his fighting style and complemented by the Bitu-Bitu no Mi. His usage of the fruit is purely to amplify his striking power and maneuvering speed. And such, his subtle usage of the Bitu-Bitu no Mi often causes enemies to forget he even possesses a devil fruit. If anything, he considers his unique powers to be nothing more than an enhancement as opposed to an actual weapon. It is this bonding between his devil fruit and physical prowess which has granted him impressive growth over the years. This is shown in the efficiency of his attacks. Numerous enemies have stated that Hornigold’s already impressive punching power carries a secondary force equal to that of a cannonball slamming against their body.

Passively, his body emits constant low pulses which he states are actually in line with his heartbeat. These pulses expand outwardly over an immediate area and return immediately. They are used in a manner similar to a sonar, allowing Hornigold to sense his surroundings through a mental map. When on sea, it allows him to steer his crew away from hidden danger and avoid seakings.In terms of offense, he has so far utilized only four official attacks - based on an actual punch with a different purpose. Each punch is released with a powerful snapping motion, carrying the energy of his bodyweight. At the moment of impact, his muscles tighten to deliver an enormous concussive strike which is enhanced by a devastating pulse. Hornigold is capable of utilizing his pulses from various parts of his body for different purposes. He has emitted pulses from his feet to alter his trajectory, increase his initial speed and provide movement similar to burst. He can emit pulses from his mouth to knock nearby enemies unconscious, a technique he has recently discovered.

The pulses are comprised of a physical ‘’concussive’’ energy which burst from Hornigold’s body. Unfortunately he is only able to manipulate the frequency, power and initial direction of the pulse. Once released, it will continue to travel onwards before returning to Hornigold after reaching a fixed end. Dan is capable of utilizing this energy to disrupt the energy attacks of his opponents and even disrupt certain electronic equipment.

Hornigold names his attacks in chinese, using the same characters to impose a double meaning upon the strike itself. Contrary to others, his attacks are actually the overall purpose of his combination.

The energy his body creates is limitless. He states that it is not an energy meant to rejuvenate or provide sustenance. Thus he is able to continuously utilize his pulses. However, the amount of pulses his body can release is directly tied to his conditioning.

Kenbunshoku Haki
References