Issho

Issho, also commonly known by his alias Fujitora, is a Marine admiral. He was conscripted into the Marines through a World Military Draft during the two-year timeskip along with fellow newcomer Ryokugyu, both filling the two vacancies in the admiral positions caused by Kuzan leaving the Marines and Sakazuki becoming fleet admiral.

Issho was first mentioned by Sakazuki when the latter was first discussing plans to deal with Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law. His following mission and actions on Dressrosa made him the first admiral to make an appearance after the timeskip and the secondary antagonist of the Dressrosa Arc.

Much like his predecessor, Kuzan, Issho is strongly against the Marines' dogma of "Absolute Justice" and extremely vocal in his opposition of it. His disgust with the corruption and evil in the world is such that he has intentionally blinded himself many years ago so as to avoid ever seeing it again. He particularly holds strong disdain for the Shichibukai system, longing to disestablish it, and after learning about the horrific atrocities comitted by Donquixote Doflamingo of the Shichibukai in Dressrosa, Issho formally apologized to King Riku and his citizens on behalf of the Marines, thus infuriating Sakazuki and risking his admiral position.

Appearance
Issho is a blind man with only the whites of his eyes showing, though he usually keeps both eyes closed. He has an X-shaped scar centered on the left side of his forehead that stretches over both eyes, which was actually self-inflicted due to his decision to blind himself. He has short dark hair, a mustache, and a beard. He seems to be very tall, a trait shared with other admirals.

Like other admirals, Issho sports the standard marine coat with his personal clothes underneath, wearing the coat on his shoulders like a cape with his arms not in the sleeves. His sleeves cuffs are purple. While previous admirals and other high-ranked marines wear the conventional suit and tie underneath their marine coats, Issho opts for a light-purple yukata held up with a dark purple belt, all underneath a purple cloak, matching the color in his alias. Issho wields a shikomizue (a Japanese swordstick) that doubles as a cane for his blindness, and also wears geta sandals. He has white bandages wrapped around both of his forearms, with handguards on both hands.

Personality
In this world... There are many horrible things that you do not want to see.

Issho appears to be a reasonable man that is very trusting of people, as seen when he actually believed that he kept losing at roulette purely by chance. The moment he was told that he was being cheated and that the swindlers tried to kill Luffy for revealing their trickery, he retaliated mercilessly and stated that being blind spared him from seeing the corruption in the world. In fact it was Issho himself that cut his own eyes to avoid seeing such evil.

He also takes responsibility for the collateral damage he inflicts, as shown when he compensated the shop owner for the damages he caused when creating a massive crater to attack the swindlers. He appears to follow his own ideals instead of adhering to the Marines' doctrine of Absolute Justice. However, he still follows the law, as he chose to spare Caesar Clown simply because he was a subordinate working under Donquixote Doflamingo, although he did understand that Doflamingo could be up to something and desired to investigate further into the problem if it were not for the law and lack of solid evidence.

He is rather modest, as he barely commented on the remarks Doflamingo and Law made on his formidable reputation and display of power. Nevertheless, Issho has a sense of pride that prevents him from going back on his decisions, refusing to apologize to Sakazuki after their heated argument for letting Luffy and Law escape.

During the first time he was seen in battle, Issho was shown to be willing to use excessive force as he summoned down a meteor to attack both Law and Doflamingo. Doflamingo even commented that he does not hold back.

Issho is also an extremely compassionate man, gentle and soft-spoken towards his subordinates and also despite being one of the highest ranking marines, Issho exhibits immense concern for innocent civilians, prioritizing their safety over his duty to arrest and punish criminals, unlike his superior Sakazuki and most other high-ranking marines, such as Vice-Admirals who are ruthless to the point of sacrificing their own subordinates for the sake of killing criminals.

Despite his responsible personality, he seems to enjoy gambling and is not entirely serious with his duties, as he was playing roulette even when he was supposed to be apprehending Luffy and Law. Gambling seems to be a big theme in his personality, as he often makes gambling references and analogies as part of his conversations. On top of this, he makes many very big gambles during combat, even sometimes gambling the safety of others. When he brought a meteor down on Green Bit, he was not completely sure that Trafalgar Law and Doflamingo were powerful enough to prevent the island from being obliterated. He launched both his battleship and a meteor at the Straw Hats, not accounting for Law and his abilities. He brought down yet another meteor on Dressrosa itself while the bird cage was active, not understanding that the cage would actually split the meteor into pieces, thus widening the impact of the blast and endangering more people.

Another trait Issho displayed is his ability to remain calm. Even when one of his own meteorites was sent flying back at his ship, he was calmly slurping a bowl of soba noodles acting as if nothing was happening while his whole crew was in panic and even commenting on his choice of timing for a meal.



Though Issho is normally calm and serious, he has also displayed a sense of humor unlike most admirals, and even exaggerated comedic expressions, contrary to the realistic expressions and designs the admirals share. When Luffy took him on in a one-on-one fight, Issho was amused by the fact Luffy started calling out his own attacks in battle, not to patronize him because of his handicap, but because Luffy had taken a liking to Issho and wanted an earnestly fair fight with the admiral. After realizing this, he cracked up and started laughing, which Luffy, however, found annoying.

At one point in his life, Issho grew so disgusted with seeing all the evil in the world that he decided to take his own eyes. However, he later regrets this decision as he was unable to see the face of the man whom so many are willing to risk their lives to protect. He also gets very offended when enemies patronize him because of his blindness and hold back against him, or show pity towards him.

Issho is also a man of his word and follows his own rules, and sometimes makes his decisions based on a roll of a dice that he always carries wherever he goes. For example, he used a dice to determine whether or not to pursue Luffy and his crew following the downfall of Doflamingo.

Issho is very of fond of eating soba noodles, as he is seen frequently eating them from time to time.

Marines
As an admiral of the Marines, Issho is deeply respected within the organization. He has compassion for his subordinates and many Marines, including Vice-Admirals Bastille and Maynard held strong respect for Issho. When several Marines fell under the control of Doflamingo's Parasite, Issho opted to use his gravity powers to restrain them rather than using lethal force to stop them. Issho prostrating before King Riku to apologize for the World Government's irresponsibility, prompted his Marines to follow suit, which was a strong contrary to Sakazuki's concern about the Marines' dignity.

Sakazuki
He seems to be trusted by fleet admiral Sakazuki, who sent him to deal with the Straw Hat Pirates' and Heart Pirates' alliance, with the two captains of the groups being a notorious pirate and a Shichibukai respectively. Sakazuki even apologized to Issho when he informed him about Donquixote Doflamingo's false resignation from the Shichibukai. However Sakazuki became furious when Issho admitted that the Straw Hat Pirates defeated Doflamingo and apologized on his knees on behalf of the marines in full view of the world. He demanded that Issho does his job and kills Luffy and Law, threatening to make sure no marine base will take him in until the task was done. Issho, who was disgusted at the actions of the Marines until now - including but not limited to the World Government attempting to give credit to the Marines for Crocodile's defeat and turning a blind eye to Doflamingo's actions in Dressrosa, told Sakazuki that he was honored to fulfill his orders. Because of this, Issho refuses to apologize to Sakazuki for their heated argument, despite Sengoku suggesting that it would make Sakazuki forgive him.

Smoker
Issho also seems to be close to Smoker, who also believed that the Shichibukai system should be abolished. Smoker and Tashigi praised Issho for not allowing the incident with Doflamingo in Dressrosa to be covered up, just like it was with Crocodile in Alabasta.

World Government
Is the World Government... some kind of god!?

Despite technically being a servant of the government, Issho utterly despises the World Government and their actions. This was made apparent during Doflamingo's Birdcage game, as Issho noted how the government continues to ignore the citizen's cries when they are truly in trouble and that if he, a Marine admiral, arrests Doflamingo, then the government could cover the ordeal like they did in Alabasta. Not wanting them to cover it up like before, Issho purposely humiliated the government by bowing before Riku Dold III and giving a heartfelt apology on behalf of the government. This action utterly infuriated the Gorosei and Fleet Admiral Sakazuki and put Issho's title as admiral on the line.

Shichibukai
Despite the fact that the Shichibukai are on the World Government's side, Issho, like Smoker, believed that the Shichibukai are nothing more than pirates who cannot be trusted and is willing to abolish the Shichibukai's system.

Pirates
As a marine, he views pirates as enemies, although he is more flexible than most marines and is able to look past them and see their good qualities. He was willing to acknowledge Luffy's character for his help with the swindlers, and felt obligated to fight him because he considered it "biting the hand that feeds him". However, he puts the civilians' safety above the pirates' arrest. When he realized that he was being cheated by some of Doflamingo's underlings, he quickly took care of them.

Monkey D. Luffy
Despite being enemies, Luffy helped Issho when Doflamingo's thugs were cheating due to his blindness and thanked Luffy for his kindness. However, during Doflamingo's Birdcage game, Issho was going to hinder Luffy and his allies from reaching Doflamingo, but he was stopped by Sabo. He then allowed Luffy to defeat Doflamingo. During the Straw Hat Pirates and allies' escape, Issho fought against Luffy until they escaped. When Issho attempted to drop the rubble on Luffy, he was stopped by the cheering citizens of Dressrosa and decided to let Luffy go. When Doflamingo's business associates attempted to kill Luffy, Issho dropped the rubble on the enemy fleet as a farewell gift for Luffy and thanked him for cleaning up the World Government's mess.

Trafalgar Law
Issho became Law's enemy after revoking his Shichibukai status when Law declared an alliance between him and the Straw Hat Pirates. He then cooperated with Donquixote Doflamingo to defeat him at Green Bit. When Doflamingo was preparing to kill the downed Law, Issho quickly stop the Shichibukai stating he was there to arrest Law not to kill him and held him down with his devil fruit before he escaped. Issho helped Doflamingo take Law back to the palace, after having his men hold off the Straw Hats. When Doflamingo was defeated, Sakazuki ordered Issho to kill Law and Luffy if he wishes to maintain his position, something Issho agreed to.

Donquixote Doflamingo
Having allied himself with Doflamingo, Issho proceeded to attack Law and the Straw Hat Pirates. Issho has exhibited great disgust in working together with Doflamingo. When helping Doflamingo fight Law, Issho purposely tried to harm him in the process. Doflamingo shows very little respect towards Issho's high ranking status and enjoys being able to manipulate him for as long as possible.

However, Issho revealed that he dislikes the Shichibukai system and plans to end it, despite being willing to help Doflamingo in defending Dressrosa for the moment since the safety of the country was a priority. Issho said he would deal with Doflamingo later and warned him against attacking him lest his bounty will increase. After Doflamingo activated the Birdcage and Dressrosa descended into a spontaneous civil war, Issho sensed the 'anger' in the revolting citizens and questioned why he and the World Government has allowed such corruption and terror to exist under Doflamingo's reign, especially as Doflamingo begins massacring citizens with his Birdcage attack.

Despite the rampaging chaos, Issho and his subordinates did not act against the Donquixote Pirates and only arrested them after their defeat. While Doflamingo was being escorted to Impel Down, Doflamingo expressed his frustration over Issho's decision to not help him.

Revolutionaries
Due to being an officer in the Marines, he is an enemy of the Revolutionary Army. As such he and his battalion engaged Sabo to capture Luffy. He personally clashed with Dragon's second-in-command. Despite this opposition he confesses to Sabo it is not possible for the Marines to stop Doflamingo and leaves the Heavenly Demon's defeat to the pirates.

Riku Dold III
Issho has a great respect for King Riku and made the same bet as him. After Doflamingo's defeat, Issho told him not to take responsibility and bowed down towards him to apologized for the World Government allowing a vicious pirate to become one of the Shichibukai and take over Dressrosa. Riku asked Issho raise his head until he found out the reason Issho couldn't attack Doflamingo at the palace. Issho claimed this is not the Marines' victory.

Abilities and Powers
As an admiral, Issho has command over the many thousands of soldiers ranked lower than him, his status being second highest within the entire Marine organization, just below Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. He also has the power to initiate a Buster Call on any island he deems to be a threat, as well as grant lower ranking World Government agents such a privilege. As an admiral, he has the authority to revoke a Shichibukai's title.

In terms of combat strength, Issho is considered to be one of the strongest fighters within the entire World Government structure, as an admiral is considered the "Greatest Military Power". Issho is at least strong enough to have Sakazuki's confidence in dealing with both Monkey D. Luffy, a notorious pirate, and Trafalgar Law, a rogue Shichibukai. Alongside Sengoku and Tsuru, he was able to defeat Jack, a right-hand man of the Yonko Kaido with a bounty of 1,000,000,000.

Despite being blind, Issho has proven to be able to handle himself extremely well in battle, as he was still able to perfectly time his defense against the meteor he summoned and deflected it without a problem. According to Doflamingo, Issho and Ryokugyu are two very formidable and venerable beasts within the Marines. His strength was also admired by Monkey D. Luffy, when the latter watched his fight against Doflamingo's thugs. When Doflamingo tried to attack him, he showed absolutely no concern and easily blocked his attack. A testament to his fighting skills was that he was able to fight against Sabo, the chief of staff of the Revolutionary Army to a standstill and emerge without a scratch on him. This is a noteworthy feat given his opponent recently acquired a Logia class fruit before their fight, and it is also notable since Sabo had defeated Jesus Burgess without sustaining any injury after nearly killing one of the Yonko's highest ranking subordinates with ease.

He appears to have excellent hearing, as he was able to hear lightning from Nami's Clima-Tact while she was far away from his position, something that Doflamingo wasn't able to detect. He also stated that he is able to sense the movement of clouds.

In the anime, Issho is also shown to be very good at gambling, having won many games in roulette before the owners started to cheat him out of his money. In roulette, he seems to be relying on his sharp hearing and sense of gravity to predict the outcome. The only reason he was losing was because he was being cheated by thugs who were taking advantage of his blindness.

Physical Abilities
Issho is incredibly resilient, having guarded from a Haki-imbued Gear Third Punch without the use of his own Haki while only gaining a minor bruise. He also has immense strength, as he was able to defend against extremely powerful attacks from Zoro and Luffy without visible effort.

Issho has great reflexes and combined with his skill in Kenbunshoku Haki, Issho could swiftly defend against an unexpected kick from Doflamingo without any effort. In the anime, he was able to catch and stop Doflamingo's Parasite string before it could take control of him while casually sitting down, while most people easily fall victim to the same attack.

Devil Fruit


When exacting retribution on Doflamingo's thugs that were cheating him because of his blindness, Issho used an unknown Devil Fruit power. It grants him the ability to manipulate gravity around a chosen location at will by sending gravitational forces. He first used this power to create a gravitational force of such intensity that it caused the swindlers to be pressed heavily against the floor, which caved in to create a gigantic hole as a result. Later, he used immense amounts of gravity to accomplish other feats, such as summoning a meteor to fall from the sky. After the battle against Law with Doflamingo, he used his power to increase gravity on one point to pin Law to the ground and immobilize him. However, it seems that his gravity powers can be disrupted by attacking Issho himself. This is shown outside the Coliseum when Issho and Doflamingo confronted an injured Law, Kin'emon and Zoro used a projectile slash to interrupt Issho, enabling Zoro to escape from Issho's gravitational pin.

Issho can also reverse gravity to create a circular barrier around him which repels attacks. As a testament of his power, he stated that the meteor he brought down was merely to test his strength. This was proven further much later, when he was shown capable of levitating all of the rubble on the entire island of Dressrosa. He usually unsheathes his sword in order to create the gravitational forces. He is also able to use his powers to levitate and move materials such as a battleship or a rock, similar to Shiki's Fuwa Fuwa no Mi, and use the rock as a platform to stand on to levitate; though unlike Shiki's power, Issho's is not hindered by the necessity of having to touch the target beforehand, and he can affect both living and inanimate objects; in exchange, Issho must maintain his focus for his powers to remain active.

Attacks

 * Gravito (重力刀 (グラビとう)): Issho's signature technique. Issho can manipulate gravitational forces by channeling his Devil Fruit ability through his sword. He can send the gravitational forces by swinging or just simply moving his sword. The direction of the gravitational forces can be upwards, downwards, or sideways. He has been shown to only use one at a time so far. It was first used against the thugs of the Donquixote Pirates by manipulating gravitational forces downwards. However, this technique was not named until his fight against Sabo. The kanji for "gravity" is originally read as "juuryoku", and this is the only attack so far of Issho's to have an alternate reading.
 * Moko (猛虎): Issho channels his gravity powers into his sword and does a blank horizontal slash, generating immense levels of gravitational forces around him that push out horizontally, which knock away anything including his enemies, buildings, trees, and whatever else that is unfortunate enough to be in the attack radius. The force is so strong that it easily destroys the ground and buildings, reducing them to rubble. While using this technique, the gravitational force generates black lightning around Issho. It was first used against Sabo in Dressrosa. The name of this technique is a reference to Issho's epithet, Fujitora, which means "wisteria tiger".
 * Jigoku Tabi (地獄旅): Issho slices through a large group of enemies over a wide area, then as he sheathes his sword it causes a powerful downward force of gravity sending them down into a massive crater. It was first demonstrated against a group of thugs. Although it was not named in the manga or anime, it is named in Pirate Warriors 3, in which it is translated as Trip to Hell. In the manga, Issho never sliced the enemies with his sword before causing the ground to cave in, while in the anime and Pirate Warriors 3, he does.

Video Game Attacks

 * Abare Himatsuri (あばれ火祭り): Issho stands on a piece of rock and levitates it into the air and flies across the battlefield, raining a storm of meteorites in his wake. It is used and dubbed as Festival of Furious Flames in Pirate Warriors 3.

Haki
It was stated that all Marines ranked vice admiral or higher possess Haki. Issho can utilize and has shown mastery over two types of Haki.

Busoshoku Haki


Issho could clash head on physically with Sabo, a Logia-class Devil Fruit user and also a proficient Busoushoku Haki user, demonstrating an extremely high level of skill in Busoshoku Haki. He could focus strong concentration of Busoshoku Haki into his sword, turning it obsidian black and making it strong enough to defend against the razor sharp threads of the Birdcage, which can slice cannonballs and buildings with great ease.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Issho is also masterful in Kenbunshoku Haki, which he used to compensate for his blindness in battle. His incredible skill in Kenbunshoku Haki gives him a strong sense of danger. He can accurately predict fast attacks from enemies such as an unexpected kick from Doflamingo. In the anime, he could sense Doflamingo's fast Parasite thread and even grabbed it before it took control of him. He also correctly sense an enranged Pica preparing to attack before his subordinate pointed out to him. In his fight with Sabo, he could keep track of Sabo's extraordinary agility which is enhanced by the fire based powers of the Mera Mera no Mi, but the most prominent example is his capability to see his surroundings in a form of an aura which is not impeded by his blindness. Similar to Otohime, Issho can also read and hear the true thoughts and emotions of other people as he was made aware that the Dressrosa citizens had no ill will towards Luffy while they were "chasing" him at the Dressrosa coast.

Swordmanship
Issho wields his sword in a reverse-grip style, with the blade pointing in the direction opposite of his thumb. Despite his blindness, Issho has shown to be an exceptionally powerful and skillful swordsman able to skillfully block powerful attacks as he was able to parry Zoro's powerful flying slash that was strong enough to bypass the incredibly heavy gravitational force generated from Issho's Devil Fruit abilities and blast Issho himself away a considerable distance, as well as defend against Luffy's Elephant Gun which is strong to defeat a giant Kraken. In a hostile conversation with Doflamingo, Issho easily defended himself from an unexpected kick from the Shichibukai, showing incredible power and lighting fast dexterity in his swordsmanship. His swordsmanship combined with his Devil Fruit powers allow him to fight equally with Sabo, an immensely powerful fighter wielding a staff enhanced by flames generated from the Mera Mera no Mi without any injuries at all, a tremendous feat as Vice-Admiral Bastille, a giant and a highly skilled swordsman wielding the Same-kiri Bocho, and Jesus Burgess, who is one of the most powerful members of the Blackbeard Pirates, were completely defeated by Sabo.

Weapons
While other admirals have been shown to mostly rely on their Devil Fruit abilities in battle, Issho wields a shikomizue (a cane sword) in tandem with his Devil Fruit ability. The connection between these two factors has yet to be explained, though it seems he channels his power through the sword, as shown when he pointed the blade at Trafalgar Law to create a gravitation field to pin down the young pirate and cause a rock to crumble.

Due to his blindness, Issho uses his sword as a cane outside of battle to check his surroundings as he walks. Despite being blind, not being able to see does not seem to impede him in battle.

Past
Not much is known about his past, but at some point in his life, Issho intentionally blinded himself when he became disgusted with all the evil and corruption he had seen in the world.

Sometime during the two years when the Straw Hat Pirates were separated, he was promoted to the rank of Admiral in the World Military Draft. He joined the Marines because he wanted many things to come to fruition, one of which is to end the Shichibukai system.

At some point, he spoke to Smoker, who revealed to him what had happened at Alabasta. He also listened to Smoker's frustration over how the World Government covered up the incident.

Dressrosa Arc
Issho was dispatched to Dressrosa by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki to deal with Monkey D. Luffy and Trafalgar Law.

In a restaurant in Acacia, Issho was gambling with some of Doflamingo's men that were cheating. Luffy called the thugs' bluff and helped Issho. After giving his thanks to Luffy, he unsheathed a sword from his cane. As the thugs were crushed and collapsed into a hole in the ground, he said that being unable to see the world's filth could be considered an advantage of being blind. Everyone stood in awe after his display of power, the crew speculated that he must definitely have some Devil Fruit ability and Luffy immediately asked outright who exactly he was. Issho laughed and stated that for both their sakes it would be unwise to reveal who he is. As he walked off, he gave the bartender a piece of paper and told him to forward all the damage claims to the address on it.

Later at the Corrida Colosseum, he was scouting out all of the big names competing in the monthly tournament, and told his subordinates that they should leave. He requested three battleships and a large number of medical officers and said that he would go to Green Bit first. Then, he asked his subordinate about the number of spectators as well as the populations of the town and country. When his subordinate asked why that was needed he replied that before counting the number of enemies, they should count the number of people needing protection.

At Green Bit, Issho lead his men to the southern beach where Law and Caesar Clown were present. On the way, he was contacted by Sakazuki, who informed him that Doflamingo's resignation was a false report. Issho and his subordinates arrived at the exchange site at the same time as Doflamingo. While Law and Doflamingo were exchanging words, such as how their negotiations were off, Issho noted Caesar's presence. Upon seeing Issho, Doflamingo commented on how he and Ryokugyu are beasts in terms of power. Issho explained that he is aware that Doflamingo was not following the rules as a Shichibukai and that he noticed that Caesar referred to Doflamingo as Joker. Doflamingo simply replied that if the admiral wants to investigate him, he had better be prepared to back up his claims. Issho then turned his attention to Law and stated that Law would be forgiven if the Straw Hats were his subordinates. After Law declared that he and Luffy are indeed in an alliance, Issho took away Law's Shichibukai title and used his gravity ability to bring down a meteor. Before the meteor impacted, Issho, Doflamingo, and Law used their abilities to reduce the meteor to pieces. After emerging unscathed, Issho, Doflamingo, and Law faced each other in a three-way confrontation.



As the fight went on, Issho continued unleashing devastating attacks. Once Law was overwhelmed, Issho sat next to Law's injured body, holding him down with his gravity ability, as Doflamingo explained the history of the Donquixote Family. Issho later commented that he heard lightning in the distance, much to Doflamingo's confusion since the weather seemed fine. Law realized that Nami's group was approaching Green Bit and told Doflamingo that he never said that the heart he was holding belonged to Caesar. Doflamingo squeezed the heart to confirm, and a nearby Marine started to scream in pain. Law quickly used this opportunity to escape by using his Devil Fruit. Issho calmly sat still as Law grabbed Caesar and fled, with Doflamingo in hot pursuit of him.

He later sent a Marine ship flying towards the Thousand Sunny while attacking the Straw Hats' ship with meteors. Law redirected one of the meteors to the Marine ship, dealing significant damage to it. As a Marine reported the damage, Issho casually commented on his own miscalculation while slurping a bowl of noodles. To his men's surprise, Issho ordered them to head back to Dressrosa, musing on how the tides have turned.



When a Marine told Issho that a fight just broke out in the middle of town, Issho, with a concerned look on his face, told his men to hurry. Issho arrived at the scene just in time to block Zoro's swing at Doflamingo. He then used his ability to push Zoro underground, but the swordsman sent a flying slash towards the admiral, which he repelled with little effort. With an unconscious Law in tow, Issho and Doflamingo head for the palace, where the admiral and the Shichibukai would have a chance to finish their conversation.

While Franky attempted to breach the Toy House, Issho heard the commotion through a Den Den Mushi. Doflamingo then asked the admiral if the Marines should do something about the Straw Hats. When the Marines made a move to arrest Franky at the Toy House, Doflamingo thanked Issho. Doflamingo told him that he made a wise choice, but the admiral replied that he should not be mistaken as an ally. Issho stated that if Luffy decided to fight him, there would be a lot of destruction and protecting the citizens from that destruction was his "Justice" and that was what he had utilized the Marines for. As for Doflamingo, he would deal with him later. Issho said that he accepted the position of admiral because there had been certain things that he wanted to accomplish, and one of those things was the total discarding of the Shichibukai system. He also mentioned about a country where pirates threatened to hijack the royal throne and commented that if the attempt succeeded, it would become as vile as Dressrosa. Doflamingo then tried to kick him. Issho blocked his attack with ease and continued saying that the balance of the Three Great Powers would be shattered and if Doflamingo kept on committing crimes, the bounty on his head would increase after the Shichibukai system was abolished. After finding out his true intentions, Doflamingo assumed that Issho was going to kill him, but the admiral said that they should continue being allies for the time being. From that point onwards, he would protect Dressrosa and ignore all of its malpractices.

Issho was with Bastille as all the toys transformed back into their original forms, causing a widespread panic. He later watched as Doflamingo trapped Dressrosa in his "Birdcage" and forced random people to attack each other. While listening to Doflamingo's explanation of the survival game he created, Issho used his Devil Fruit power to immobilize Marines who were under Doflamingo's control, preventing them from attacking civilians. Later, he ordered Bastille to tell all squads to focus on stopping the civilians from hurting each other. He clarified that the Straw Hats and Law are their main targets.

Later, Vice Admiral Maynard left the Corrida Colosseum and reported to Issho about Doflamingo's connection with the underworld. Maynard explained that it would be the best time to arrest Doflamingo, but Issho responded that it is not the World Government's role to play God in the wake of the anger-filled screams of the citizens and instructed the Vice Admiral to continue following his orders. Issho later confronted Luffy, Zoro, and Law. While Issho clashed with Zoro again, Pica joined the fray as a massive stone giant. When Luffy made Pica angry by laughing at his voice, a Marine told Issho to flee before Pica launched his attack.

Issho and the Marines were later stationed at the base of the new King's Plateau apparently to hinder the Straw Hats from reaching Doflamingo. However, while Luffy and his allies were charging up the new King's Plateau, Sabo was seen preventing the Marines from going after them. Issho asked Sabo if that was his duty as a revolutionary. Sabo replied that he was doing his duty as a brother. Once Sabo defeated several Marines including Bastille, Issho brought down some meteors. However, the meteors were sliced into smaller pieces by the Birdcage and they fell onto the city. Issho worried about the damage he caused and he regretted his mistake. After learning about Sabo's relation to Luffy and Ace, he clashed against the revolutionary. As the battle raged on, Sabo asked Issho why he was acting oblivious. Issho admitted his bluff and jokingly asked Sabo to show mercy towards him due to his blindness. Sabo then told the admiral that he does not discriminate against anyone. Issho noted that Sabo was not all talk after all, but asserted that he also had a title and reputation to maintain and used Ferocious Tiger to make gravity go horizontally with enormous pressure, destroying several buildings in the process as the sheer force made Sabo burst into flames as he charged forward, clashing with Issho once more, causing Sabo to ponder just what the admiral was plotting. Issho then told the young revolutionary that he was willing to bet his life on their fight.

Issho ultimately decided to end their battle after revealing his views on how it was impossible for even the Marines to become heroes. When Sabo asked him about what would happen if someone discovered how he feels, Issho called it a gamble and wished Sabo good luck. The admiral then went to the old King's Plateau where Riku Dold III, Viola, Usopp, Kin'emon, and Kanjuro were present. He spoke with Riku, saying that he decided to make the same bet as him by placing his faith in Luffy.

He later left the old King's Plateau and ordered his troops to gather the citizens in one place where they could protect them. When Zoro defeated Pica and destroyed Pica's statue, Issho protected the citizens in the city by keeping the rubble afloat long enough for the people to evacuate.

During the final phase of Doflamingo's game, Issho noticed the falling Chiyupopo while the citizens fled from the shrinking Birdcage. He later helped Zoro, Kin'emon, and Kanjuro slow down the Birdcage. Once Luffy finally defeated Doflamingo, Issho silently stood as the Birdcage collapsed and the people celebrated Doflamingo's downfall.



During the aftermath, the Marines arrested the Donquixote Pirates. Issho approached Riku and kneeled down on the ground while bowing his head before him, giving him a heartfelt apology for all the damage a Shichibukai has caused and the World Government's irresponsibility. Riku asked Issho to raise his head, but the admiral did not mind if the whole world saw him kneeling, saying that it is more important for the world to know the truth. Issho further stated that after allowing Doflamingo to do as he pleased, he had no right to preach justice.

Sakazuki later contacted Issho and scolded him for allowing the true news of Dressrosa to spread throughout the world without consent from his superiors. He angrily told Issho that he should have known what it meant for him to admit fault, and that he should have reported it before taking action. Issho replied if he had done so, the incident might have been covered up as it always has been in the past. Issho stated that he does not want to be made into a hero for something he did not do, and that the World Government needed to take responsibility for their actions. Sakazuki shouted that it was a matter of credibility and trust, while Issho responded that if their credibility was so easily damaged, then they never had any in the first place. Sakazuki then ordered Issho to make amends before returning to headquarters by bringing back the heads of Luffy and Law, and promised him that until he carried out this order, the doors to all Marine bases would remained closed to him. Issho appeared to take his superior's decision in stride.

Later that night, Issho rolled a dice and it showed a one. Issho then decided not to capture Luffy and Law for the time being. Maynard objected to this decision, but Issho only told him not to complain. Three days after Doflamingo's downfall, Issho met up with Tsuru and Sengoku. Tsuru asked Issho why he did not capture Luffy and Law. Issho explained that he based his decision on the roll of a dice and that Luffy and Law have been lucky for two days in a row. He then gave his dice to Tsuru and declared that if the dice rolled on any number other than one, he will go after the pirates. The dice rolled on a six and Issho mobilized the Marines to pursue Luffy and his allies. Issho stated that he will test Luffy's luck himself. Issho then headed for the eastern port, the location of the Straw Hats' escape point.

As Luffy's allies prepared to stand their ground against the admiral, Issho used his gravity ability and prepared to strike them all by raising up all the rubble from Dressrosa into the sky and clearing the way for a battlefield. Luffy arrived and struck him with a Haki-imbued Gear Third attack. Although he knew he could not defeat him like a normal enemy, Luffy declared that he grew tired of running from the admiral after having run from the other admirals in the past, and decided he would defeat anyone regardless of their notoriety, even the Yonko, for the sake of becoming the Pirate King.

As they clashed, Luffy announced every single one of his attacks and where he was aiming before striking. Issho wondered if Luffy was taking pity on him due to his blindness. Luffy declared that he would not attack without saying anything, given that his opponent was blind. Annoyed and slightly angered, Issho blew Luffy away with his gravity ability. Luffy's allies caught him and fled across a bridge leading to a gigantic ship in the distance. Issho continued to levitate all the rubble and prepared to sink all the pirate ships in the vicinity by dropping the rubble, while simultaneously revealing that his blindness was his own doing after seeing too many terrible things in the world and refusing to witness any more. However, the Dressrosa citizens arrived to "chase" Luffy. Even though he was aware of their true intentions, Issho would not risk harming the citizens. It surprised him that none of the citizens had any anger in their voices and were acting in a genuinely compassionate manner. For the first time in his life, he started to regret his decision to blind himself, because he was not able to see Luffy's face with his own eyes, though he remarked that he felt that it was a kind face.

When pirates who allied with Doflamingo arrived and started attacking Luffy and his allies, Issho dropped the rubble on the enemy as a farewell gift. He then thanked Luffy for all he had done. Sengoku appeared behind him, saying that he heard him, much to the admiral's embarrassment.

After leaving Dressrosa, Issho took part in escorting Doflamingo. Sengoku asked Issho to apologize to Sakazuki, but Issho refused, saying that he still has his pride and stated that after they drop Doflamingo off, he is going on a trip. Sometime later, a subordinate of Kaido, Jack, attacked the Marine convoy in an attempt to retrieve Doflamingo. Though he sank two of the Marine ships, Jack was ultimately defeated.

Anime and Manga Differences

 * In the anime, before he went to the restaurant, he had a brief conversation with Zoro. Zoro seemed intimidated by him and was about to unsheathe his sword, but then calmed down after Issho walked past him.
 * In the anime, Issho wins 15 times in the game of roulette before he eventually "loses" to Doflamingo's thugs, with others betting on his calls to also make money. In the manga, it only shows him "losing" to the thugs.
 * In the anime, Issho slashed Doflamingo's thugs with his sword before creating the hole. He slashed all of them, though it appeared to have no effect, but after he sheathed his sword, the gravity started to take effect. In the manga, Issho did not slash them with his sword, but merely sheathed his sword to make the hole.
 * In the anime, after leaving Corrida Colosseum, Issho uses his Devil Fruit ability to retrieve a lost balloon for a young girl.
 * When confronting Luffy and Zoro during Doflamingo's Birdcage game, the manga only showed him clashing swords with Zoro. In the anime, Luffy tries to attack Issho first.

Major Battles

 * Issho vs. Doflamingo's thugs
 * Issho and Donquixote Doflamingo vs. Trafalgar Law
 * Issho vs. Roronoa Zoro
 * Issho vs. Sabo
 * Issho vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Dressrosa Eastern Port)
 * Doflamingo's Marine escort vs. Jack (not shown)

Filler Battles

 * Issho vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Birdcage)

Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Unlimited World Red
 * One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum
 * One Piece Thousand Storm

Trivia

 * His appearance is based on the late actor Shintaro Katsu, more specifically his role as Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. The similarities are as follows:
 * They carry a shikomizue (cane-sword) for both walking and battle.
 * Both have a love for gambling (although Zatoichi is able to recognize whether or not he is being taken advantage of). Interestingly, they were also targets of gambling cheats right in their maiden appearances, Issho in the restaurant and Zatoichi in The Tale of Zatoichi. While Issho was successfully duped, Zatoichi saw through the deception.
 * They wield their swords in identical styles, and both utilize iaijutsu (quick draw techniques).
 * Both seem to put the best interests of the people first. In fact, they help out citizens when they are in crisis.
 * Both are quite humble.
 * They are able to strike fear in their opponents during combat, and have succesfully dealt justice to leaders of antagonist groups.
 * Both are also interested in going on trips. In the movies, Zatoichi is depicted as a wanderer and Issho has decided that he would be going on a trip after Sakazuki barred him from entering any Marine base.
 * Many of his named techniques originate from his movies. Jigoku Tabi originates from Zatoichi and the Chess Expert, and Abare Himatsuri is derived from Zatoichi at the Fire Festival.
 * Issho and Ryokugyu's animal aliases (Tiger and Bull, respectively) are the representation of the northeastern quarter where the ogre that Momotarō must kill lives.
 * In an SBS, a reader asked why Fujitora was not just named "Purple Tiger" (紫虎), with a simple color like the other admirals. Oda responded that he did not like the feel or pronunciation of Murasakitora or Shitora (both meaning purple), and decided on Fujitora because it sounded cooler.
 * In the 5th fan poll, Issho ranked 36th, making him the most popular (current) admiral of the Marines following after his predecessor Kuzan.
 * In the anime, a common animation error is for the scars over one or both of Issho's eyelids to be drawn too long or too short from time to time.
 * In the video game One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, Issho is one of the few characters that Boa Hancock cannot turn into stone with her Devil Fruit abilities (both when controlled by the player or encountered as an enemy), which is a reference to his blindness and not knowing what she looks like. However, this immunity has yet to be confirmed or denied in the source material, as Issho and Hancock have not met or interacted in the series thus far.

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