Koala

Koala is a former slave who was set free by Fisher Tiger's rampage on Mariejois. She sailed along with the Sun Pirates to reach her home town. At some point later, she became the Substitute Fishman Karate Instructor of the Revolutionary Army.

Appearance
When she appeared twelve years ago, Koala was a skinny girl with long, unkempt brown hair. She also had distinctively large and round eyes, similar to that of a koala, and was always smiling. She had on a dirty, short-sleeved collared shirt, which she wore under dark overalls and a smudge on her right cheek. Judging from the way Fisher Tiger branded her on her back, she had the mark of the Celestial Dragons on her back, which was replaced by the mark of the Sun Pirates.

After a few weeks she has neat, shoulder-length hair, a light-colored dress, and a pair of loafers.

At age 23, she became relatively well-endowed, with a pronounced hourglass figure, and wears a newsboy cap with goggles, a light shirt with frilly collar, a short skirt, and thigh-high boots or stockings.

Personality


Aladdin described Koala as having the lifestyle of a slave ingrained in her blood, even after being set free for three years. She was very apologetic and vowed to never cry or stop working. The pirate explained that if a slave ever cried or stopped cleaning, then they would be killed.

Koala seemed to consider the Sun Pirates her masters, as she asked them if she would be killed if she stopped cleaning. The pirate also said that slaves panicked constantly, even when they were by themselves, and could never trust anyone. It is unknown if Koala also became paranoid in that regard.

By the time they reached her home town she genuinely liked the fishmen and mermen of the Sun Pirates, creating especially strong bonds with Hatchan and the future members of the Macro Pirates. She went as far as to actually hold Fisher Tiger's hands despite him trying to shake her off.

Sun Pirates
Koala was much loved during her time with the Sun Pirates. As the crew included former slaves, they understood the plight that Koala had suffered and why she was how she was. They treated her and protected her while she traveled with them and were very sad to see her go.

Fisher Tiger
Koala was deeply thankful to Fisher Tiger for freeing and returning her home. Though she appeared to like the fishmen, Fisher Tiger himself admitted that he was unable to love humans upon his deathbed so he could not return affection towards her. He even refused to hold her hand, though he still smiled when she returned home.

Arlong
Arlong spent the entire time objecting to her presence on the Sun Pirates' ship, attempting to beat or kill her for being a human. Koala seemed to have left a long-term impression on Arlong as it seemed, notably, in the final moments of his fight with Luffy, Arlong stated that as long as Nami was fed and well-clothed, she was happy. As a slave, Koala had little much to her name and what made Koala happy was the things she had missed while being a slave such as nice clothes and suitable meals.

Nico Robin
She has some connection with Nico Robin, who was rescued by the revolutionaries just prior to the timeskip. In a conversation with Sabo, she commented on how she had not seen Robin in a while.

Sabo
Koala seems to be well acquainted with Sabo. She knows him well enough that she knows of Sabo's relationship with Ace and Luffy as well as his guilt at not being at Marineford to help save Ace. She consoled Sabo by telling him that it was impossible to know whether Sabo would have made a difference or not.

Fishman Karate
She is skilled enough at Fishman Karate to be able to teach it and was able to defeat an opponent much larger than her. Not being a fishwoman and still being able to learn the art makes her more impressive.

Past


After Fisher Tiger attacked Mariejois, Koala escaped and fled to an island. Unfortunately, the inhabitants there had no way of returning her to her homeland. When the Sun Pirates visited there three years after she was freed, the inhabitants asked them to take the little girl home. After Koala introduced herself and thanked Tiger for freeing her, she boarded the Sun Pirates' ship.

Koala was instantly met with hostility by Arlong, who hit her for being human, but was restrained by Hatchan. Tiger gave the girl the mark of the sun to cover up her slave mark. He then told the girl that she was allowed to cry if she wished and made a vow to return the little girl to her home. Koala then began to cry.



The Sun Pirates were able to find an Eternal Pose for her home island, Foolshout Island. When they arrive, she bid everyone farewell, and Tiger took her to her village. The whole town rejoiced, but everyone was still afraid of Tiger.

Later, she heard some strange noises. When she asked if anyone else heard them, her mother replied no. The truth was that Fisher Tiger was attacked because people from a previous island informed the Marines about the Sun Pirates while the people on this island allowed it on the condition that the Marines overlook the fact that she was a released slave and not take her back.

Dressrosa Arc
She was seen sitting on a pile of defeated enemies, talking to Sabo on the Den Den Mushi inquiring about his meeting with Luffy. She told him that Ace's death could not have been prevented by him. Then, when Sabo told her to inform him if anymore underground movements happened, Koala told him that she would. Later, Koala disguised herself as a member of the Donquixote Pirates and managed to get inside the Corrida Colosseum, relieved that she had arrived just in time to watch the next round.

Trivia

 * Koala is the first non-fishman known to use fishman karate as well as the first human to have their Celestial Dragon slave mark replaced with the symbol of the Sun Pirates.
 * Koala and Nami were both in fishmen crews and draw contrasting parallels with each other:
 * While Nami was forced to join Arlong's crew against her will, Koala only traveled with the Sun Pirates because they were asked to take her.
 * While both were forced to wear their crew's mark, Koala's "mark of the sun" was put on to replace another mark. Nami's Arlong tattoo was removed and replaced with a tattoo of her own design.
 * Each girl ended up with a permament mark replacing a former mark of enslavement as a result of affiliation with fishmen.
 * When Koala joined the Sun Pirates, she was finally allowed to cry, whereas with Nami, after she was forced to join Arlong she refused to cry.
 * Koala was never forced to do any work as she was freed from slavery. Nami was forced to draw maps and act as a slave to Arlong.
 * Koala's time in the crew was only meant to be temporary while Arlong intended to keep Nami in the crew forever.
 * Koala left the crew with good memories and was sad to leave the crew while Nami's time was spent in misery and was happy to leave. This caused Koala to have a good opinion of fishmen while Nami had to put her feelings behind when she finally came across fishmen again.
 * In Koala's case, her hometown exchanged her freedom with the Marines for the lives of the fishmen. In the case of Nami's hometown, they fought against the fishmen for their freedom after the Marines betrayed them.

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