Van Augur

Van Augur (ヴァン･オーガー), nicknamed "The Supersonic" (音越), is the sniper of the Blackbeard Pirates. He was first seen in the Jaya arc shooting down seagulls from a distance so far that the Straw Hat Pirates, who were watching the birds drop from the air, couldn't even see the island he was on.

Appearance
Augur is a rather thin man of abnormal height, with light brown hair that hangs down to his shoulders. He appears calm all the time, even in battles, and his typical expression is generally emotionless. His eyebrows are almost always furrowed in what looks like a saddened expression, and he rarely smiles. The left lens of the glasses he wears is a normal, rectangular eyepiece, but the right side is circular and holds what appears to be a crosshair.

He sports a large black hat, protruding out to both sides: Curiously, its shape bears an uncanny resemblance to an upturned boat's hull. Van Augur is constantly wearing a long black cape, under which he wears a button-up, light purple shirt with loose sleeves, and simple black pants and shoes. Due to the size of his rifle Senriku, he carries it leaned against his shoulder.

Personality
Van Augur is extremely calm and analytical even during battle. He very rarely changes his facial expression. However, in his confrontation with Ace on Banaro Island, he showed a darker side - Showing a devilish grin after a failed killshot. Like his crewmates, Augur is a heavy believer in fate. He displays strong loyalty to Blackbeard and the rest of the crew.

Marksmanship


As the sniper of the crew, Van Augur uses a rifle called Senriku (千陸) in battle. The rifle is extra long in length, and allows extraordinary long range shooting. His skill in accuracy seems to surpass Usopp's. When Chopper suggested to Usopp that the seagulls flying around their ship were sniped from an extremely long distance, Nami immediately disclaims it since they couldn't see the island Augur was on, saying it was 'impossible' for any sniper to do. Augur was even able to tell after he shot the birds that one of them did not die immediately. Another example of his extreme sharp-shooting skills (which is seen in the anime) is when he shot through the bullets of Impel Down's staff, and then through the barrels of their guns, destroying them. He did this in a matter of seconds.

Aside from his deadly accuracy, he also seems to have great speed in shooting and running, as he did during his battle against Portgas D. Ace. He predicted where the fire bullets shot by Ace would strike and dashed at an extreme pace to evade them; this speed would seem to be a heavy indicator of how Van Augur became known as "The Supersonic". His powerful eyesight makes him a valuable asset as a scout for the crew, as he managed to spot Akainu onboard an approaching Marine battleship, from such a great distance that his alert allowed them to make their escape before the Admiral could arrive to arrest them.

Van Augur has demonstrated a high level of endurance during the Battle Of Marineford - When he took a point-blank strike from Sengoku's shockwave blast, and could get up relatively easily and walk away afterward.

Past
So far most of Van Augur's past is unknown, such as how he joined Blackbeard's crew in the first place, whether he holds a bounty, and where he obtained his gun. Some time after joining Blackbeard's crew, Van Auger and the entire crew attacked Drum Island forcing the cowardly King Wapol to flee.

Docking in Mock Town
Van Augur first appeared shooting down seagulls at a far distance from Mock Town, to see which one of them would die painfully and which would die quickly. Later, he and the rest of his crew were seen waiting for Laffitte. They also tried to capture the Straw Hat Pirates, but before they could get to them, the Knock Up Stream sent the Straw Hat Pirates to Skypiea and destroyed their raft.

Duel on Banaro Island
After the Enies Lobby Incident, Augur and the rest of the crew were seen looting Banaro Island when Ace appeared. Augur then started shooting Ace at an incredible speed, and to evade retaliation. Augur and Jesus Burgess then carried the sick Doc Q and Stronger out of the battlefield and watched as their captain and Ace battled. While witnessing the two Logia-users battle, Augur then muses to himself that once again, fate had made its decision that their paths would part once again.

Infiltrating Impel Down
Along with the rest of the Blackbeard pirates, he made his arrival at the main of entrance of Impel Down as the riot in Level 4 of the prison continues. He later appears together with the rest of the crew in front of an escaping Luffy and said that fate holds no coincidences.

After meeting up with Magellan and the exchange of some words between him and Blackbeard, Augur and the rest of the crew are caught and poisoned by Magellan's Hydra technique. Later, the whole crew is saved by an antidote from former Chief Guard Shiliew, who accepts Blackbeard's offer and joins their crew.

Invasion of Marineford
Van Augur is spotted along with the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates on the execution platform where they were watching the events that unfold on the battlefield. Currently he and the others came to Marineford because they wanted to witness Whitebeard's death. He then joins the crew in attacking Whitebeard, barraging him with bullets.

After Whitebeard dies, Augur assists his fellow crewmates in covering Whitebeard's body in a black cloth and guards Blackbeard as he begins to demonstrate his powers. Van Augur and the other Blackbeard Pirates are then attacked by a shockwave created by Sengoku in his Buddha form. He, along with the rest of the crew, leaves the battlefield when the Red Hair Pirates arrive.

Entering the New World
The Blackbeard Pirates make their move in the New World, taking out Jewelry Bonney in the process. The crew is seen bickering amongst each other on a fiery island. The Blackbeard Pirates' raft was brought close to the point of destruction due to Sanjuan Wolf's size, and they seemingly got in contact with the Marines to trade Jewelry Bonney for a battle ship. On look out, Van Augur alerts Teach that the battle ship has arrived, but not for a trade because Akainu is on board. Knowing that the deal will not happen, the Blackbeard Pirates flee, leaving Bonney and her crew behind to be arrested.

Major Battles

 * Van Augur and Jesus Burgess vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Edward Newgate
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Fleet Admiral Sengoku
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Bonney Pirates

Translation and Dub Issues
In the Viz Manga his name is spelled "Ogre". The edited for television FUNimation dub also spells it this way, but the closed captions spell the name as "Auger". With the release of FUNimation's "Season Three First Voyage" (The first set of the Skypiea Arc) this was confirmed to be the case. The subtitles for both the Japanese Language track as well as the subtitles translating just the signs and title cards for the dub both spell his name "Van Auger", however Oda has stated in chapter 595 of the manga the official spelling of his name (Van Augur).

Trivia

 * His surname may be possibly be derived from the famous pirate John Auger, as most of the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates seem to be named after real pirates.
 * In both his appearance and abilities, Van Augur bears a number of similarities to the character Adolphus from Terry Gilliam's film "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen". Adolphus is one of the eponymous Baron's henchmen, and has incredible eyesight and amazing shooting skills, able to detach an apple from a tree about 900 miles away. Van Augur's hat, glasses, hair, cape and rifle all contribute to this resemblance.
 * He can be seen in the beginning of the ninth movie of One Piece, with the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates attacking Drum Island.
 * When the Blackbeard Pirates were mentioned during the Drum Island Arc, there are a few silhouettes shown. Van Augur was the only one of the crew that was depicted correctly.
 * Van Augur's name and the way he was introduced have possible roots in Roman mythology. An augur was a type of omen reader who read the future by interpreting the flight patterns of birds, much like how Augur was shooting seagulls to see which ones were fated to die painlessly.