Vergo

"Demon Bamboo" Vergo was one of the four elite officers and the first to occupy the Heart seat of the Donquixote Pirates under the codename Corazon.

He was a Marine vice admiral, and head of G-5, who made his debut at Punk Hazard. Due to his duplicitous conduct and allegiances, he can be considered the secondary antagonist of the Punk Hazard Arc.

Appearance
Vergo was a tall, light-skinned, lean, yet muscular man with short dark hair, a beard, sideburns, and sunglasses. From his sideburns on, his facial hair grew horizontally. On his cheek it grew downwards with a pointed end.

Vergo wore a white knee-length trench coat that had a quilted design which stopped just below his waist (where the coat then had a plain design), along with two black pockets slightly above the chest on either side. Under the coat he wore a mauve-colored shirt with a purple-colored ascot embedded with a red jewel, with a golden-yellow outline at the top in the tie. He also wore black-colored gloves.

As Vergo was a messy eater, he tended to have pieces of food stuck to his face from time to time, such as French fries when residents of a certain island had a flashback of him, and a partially eaten hamburger patty stuck to his left cheek when he was first introduced. However, once pointed out by Monet, Vergo then proceeded to finish eating the piece of food stuck to his cheek. This also extends to eating utensils- a stirring spoon from a coffee cup got stuck to his face and it stayed on his face for a long time, as it was still stuck when he talked with Caesar following the spread of Shinokuni, and when he proceeded to eliminate G-5. After being interrupted by a kick from Sanji, however, the spoon was knocked loose from his face.

When he was younger, his relative features seem to be the same but is seen with a bowl haircut and lacking a full beard. During his time as a vice admiral of G-5, Vergo wore a Marine coat over his current attire.

Personality
Through his short confrontation with Trafalgar Law, Vergo proved himself to be a shrewd man. He could also come across as patronizing, mocking Law's position by pretending to have some respect for the Warlord. Seeing himself as above the Warlord, Vergo quickly reminded Law of the difference in their power by beating him unconscious. He was also shown to be a person who demands respect from others, such as when he demanded that Law refer to him as Vergo-san.

While around citizens, Vergo was cited to be an amiable, personable and approachable person in comparison to the other G-5 Marines. The parents of the children kept on Punk Hazard trusted Vergo's words that all of the missing children died in accidents at sea. His statement caused them to partly believe that they were truly gone, though some parents still believed that their children are alive. Easily deceiving both citizens and the entire Marine bureaucracy, Vergo had proven himself to be highly manipulative and insidious.

His true identity being a secret to most, he could become very cruel and ruthless once he revealed his true disposition, and would murder his own Marine subordinates without so much as a moment of hesitation or explanation. Being their leader also made him believe that anything he does to them is his right, believing they are nothing but rejects. His cruelty was reflected in his fighting style, as he often brutally beat his victims into submission. He also offered to cut one of Law's ears off and send it to Doflamingo as proof that he killed him. Contrary to his G-5 subordinates, he is very loyal to the Donquixote Family, respecting his comrades as family, though he showed extreme brutality when it comes to dealing with traitors, as he violently beat and scolded Rosinante for his treason; similarly, he does not hesitate in using similar violence against disrespectful juniors.

Despite his perceived intelligence, however, Vergo sometimes seemed to lapse into moments of witlessness such as when he claimed to Caesar that he had been enjoying coffee and cookies, only to be reminded shortly thereafter that there had never been any cookies to begin with. Another example is when he was about to go after Smoker and Law, he could not remember where he placed his sword, only for Monet to remind him that he is not a swordsman. Even Doflamingo is aware of this, as when Vergo claimed to have purchased a camera only to be reminded that he did not buy one at all. In fact, he did not even notice there was a large piece of patty (or any other food and utensils) on his cheek until he was made to notice it. This habit was even around when he was ten years old, as a large, partly-eaten loaf of french bread was stuck on his cheek.

Marines
As a Marine officer, Vergo was supposed to be loyal to the ideals and duties of the naval military; he was shown to be have placed great efforts during his first year enlisted. However, he was, in truth, a pirate who managed to keep his criminal activities a secret and was able to enlist into the Marines. Having spent 15 years ascending the ranks, he nevertheless was an enemy to the organization from the beginning, as he assisted Doflamingo in criminal activities by abusing the privileges as a high-ranking Marine officer, as well as passing off vital information and coverups.

G-5
As Vergo acted congenial towards everyone under his jurisdiction, his subordinates admired him despite their ruthless disregard for laws. However, when the situation called for it, Vergo was willing to mercilessly kill his Marine subordinates, which led them to adamantly believe that the Vergo attacking them was an impostor, insisting that the Vergo they knew was a kind and caring person. Smoker and Tashigi were the only two G-5 personnel who knew and accepted the truth. While engaging Smoker in the SAD room, he revealed his contempt for his charges, dismissing them as failures to the Marines. He also believed that being their leader, he has the right to do anything he wants to them, even killing them outright.

Vergo was concerned about Smoker's transfer to G-5, as he mentioned that from the day Smoker was transferred, he had to put up the largest possible guard to prevent Smoker from finding him out. Vergo also expressed the desire to murder Smoker by accident, since he knew his true disposition. Smoker in turn expressed disdain for his colleague's felonies and intended to battle him alone, in retribution for his treason against the Marines.

Donquixote Doflamingo


Vergo was stated to be Donquixote Doflamingo's most beneficial and trustworthy Marine officer. In the past, Vergo enlisted in the Marines under Doflamingo's orders. Vergo called him "Doffy" (ドフィ) but also referred to him as "Joker". Among the Donquixote Pirates, Vergo had been with Doflamingo the longest, along with the other elite officers, since the four of them already saw Doflamingo as their king when he was 10 years old. While many other citizens tortured Doflamingo for his former status as a Celestial Dragon, Vergo saw the young boy as a friend, and even accepted Doflamingo as his leader after seeing him awaken his Haoshoku Haki. Although Doflamingo was ultimately forced to leave Vergo to die when he lost to Law, he did so by thanking him for all his services, causing Vergo to smile silently.

Caesar Clown
Caesar Clown seemed to trust Vergo, as demonstrated by him giving the Marine Law's heart, who was later able to use it to incapacitate Law when he had begun to move against them. However, Vergo and his group's distrust towards Caesar led them to hire Monet and place her in Caesar’s organization. Caesar, in turn, considered Vergo to be expendable, as he ordered the Shinokuni gas to be leaked into the room where Vergo was engaging his subordinates in order to exterminate the G-5 Marines as part of the demonstration, while revealing that Vergo's life was never a priority compared to the experiment.

Trebol, Diamante, and Pica
Vergo and the three had known each other for over thirty years. They shared a fierce loyalty with Doflamingo, to the point that the four of them destroyed an entire town for having bad pavement that made Doflamingo trip. They also referred to Doflamingo as "Doffy".

Like Vergo, they were Doflamingo's most trusted elite officers. However, upon Doflamingo's instructions to be enlisted into the Marines, his "secret mission" had been kept even from the members of the Donquixote Pirates, as stated by Donquixote Rosinante in his private conversation with Law.

Monet
Vergo and Monet were well-acquainted with one another, as they work under the same leader. Aside from Doflamingo, Monet was the only member of the Donquixote Pirates who knew about Vergo's mission to infiltrate the Marines.

Donquixote Rosinante
Donquixote Rosinante was Doflamingo's younger brother, who disappeared when he was 8 years old, and reappeared in front of the Donquixote Pirates at age 22 to join the crew. Because of Rosinante's claim, Doflamingo did not suspect him at all, and Vergo shared such trust. Rosinante succeeded Vergo in the title "Corazon". Upon discovering that Rosinante spied on the family on behalf of the Marines, Vergo immediately beat his successor violently, showing how angry he was at how their trust was infiltrated by a Marine.

Trafalgar Law
That's Vergo-san to you.

Vergo first met with Trafalgar Law 13 years ago. At the first moment of their encounter, Vergo acted congenially to the boy, not knowing who he was at the time. However, after finding out who he was via finding Donquixote Rosinante, Vergo showed his true nature. When Law tried to stop Vergo from brutalizing Rosinante, Vergo extended the beatings to the boy for not giving him the proper honorific suffix "-san". The beating was so vicious that Doflamingo surmised that it traumatized Law to this day. Vergo mocked Law by pretending to respect him as a Warlord, and then beating him unconscious without hesitation. Ever since that first meeting, Vergo demanded that Law show respect to him by adding the honorific suffix -san when addressing him, and on every occasion that Law neglected to do so, Vergo inflicted tremendous pain onto him. When Law did refer to him as that, it was to serve as mockery before he would defeat him in the SAD room. On Doflamingo's orders, Vergo intended to kill Law in the most brutal manner possible, and Vergo even offered to cut off one of Law's ears as proof. Unfortunately for him, Law paid Vergo back in kind by cutting him in half upon his defeat. Despite this, Vergo tried to warn him about Doflamingo's past, which Law ignored. Law also did not hesitate in leaving Vergo to die in the SAD production room, which he knew would explode.

Sanji
Among the Straw Hats, Vergo only fought against Sanji. Even though Sanji attacked Vergo to stop him from killing Tashigi, he did despise Vergo for harming his Marine subordinates, stating that he was the kind of man that his captain would hate the most. However, their battle was left unfinished as Vergo left to pursue Law to the SAD room.

Abilities and Powers
Vergo was a powerful man who was confident in his superiority to an opponent like Trafalgar Law, who was strong enough to become a Warlord. This was proven by Vergo's two easy victories over Law, although the fact that he had Law's heart, which he used to weaken him, should be taken into consideration. Regardless, Doflamingo had enough confidence in Vergo's abilities to assign him to dispose of Law. Vergo's mere presence was enough to scare off one of Punk Hazard's extremely fierce dragons. He completely overwhelmed Unit 01 of G-5, including Tashigi (minus Smoker at the time), despite their superior numbers. Vergo defeated Vice Admiral Smoker with moderate difficulty (while still holding back his full strength). It can be seen that Smoker already knew that he could not defeat Vergo, so he decided to concentrate on retrieving Law's heart..

Even when he was a 10-year-old, Vergo was strong enough to burn down an entire city alongside Trebol, Diamante and Pica, all of whom were children. He also possessed considerable knowledgeable of Haki, particularly that those who possess Haoshoku Haki have the qualities of a king.

As a former vice admiral and the former head of G-5, he had command over his lower ranking subordinates, as well as control over the entire base. He was also skillful enough to deceive the entirety of the Marines, including the former fleet admiral, Sengoku, and the observant Smoker, in hiding his true affiliations, as well as deceiving citizens with pretexts by falsifying the crimes into "accidents at sea". Even after abdicating the position of Corazon, he remained an Elite Officer of the Donquixote Pirates until his death, meaning he had command over the two thousand soldiers and eleven officers of his pirate crew; his command was equal to Trebol, Diamante and Pica, and just underneath Doflamingo himself.

Physical Abilities
Vergo had an extremely high level of physical durability, endurance, and resilience; he shook off a Diable Jambe-enhanced kick from Sanji to the face (although the attack did cause him to spit out blood), which sent him through a metal wall, followed by an additional barrage of kicks, with few wounds. Law's Counter Shock, an attack strong enough to knock a giant unconscious, barely fazed him. On Minion Island, Vergo stayed in a snowy environment without any signs of feeling cold, as he threw off his uniform and then had it draped over his shoulders open after violently beating Rosinante and Law.

He possessed immense physical strength, as he could fracture a bone in Sanji's leg with one kick. In the anime, he was shown defeating adults even at the age of 10. Vergo was also remarkably fast, as he could easily keep up with Sanji's agility and when Law used his ROOM to retrieve his heart, Vergo immediately appeared in front of him and sent him crashing into a railing with a kick.

Vergo was also an extremely skilled master of unarmed combat. He completely overpowered the expert swordswoman Tashigi and easily fought against Sanji, a powerful master of the Black Leg Style, matching him blow for blow.

Rokushiki
Like several other high-ranking Marines, Vergo had access to the Rokushiki martial arts style. Using Shigan, he swiftly stabbed multiple G-5 Marines at Punk Hazard. He also used Geppo to escape from H2S gas and travel through a hallway, and Soru to stop Trafalgar Law from retrieving his heart. Vergo's mastery of Tekkai was at an extremely advanced level, causing Sanji to wonder if he was made of metal, as he easily withstood Sanji's Diable Jambe-enhanced kicks, which were powerful enough to burn through Jabra's Tekkai prior to Sanji's two years of training, and had become strong enough to destroy the stronger-than-steel body of a Pacifista.

Haki
It was stated by Doctor Fishbonen that all vice admirals possess Haki, so as a vice admiral, Vergo could also use the ability. Even as a cadet in the Marines, he was an exceptionally skilled Haki user.

Busoshoku Haki
Vergo was a master of Busoshoku Haki, being able to harden his body parts and his bamboo stick, allowing him to attack his opponents with great offensive power. He could also apply it to his bare limbs to enhance his strikes, as seen when he brutalized Law with his hardened fist and elbow. He could use Busoshoku Haki for defensive purposes as well, even against bladed weapons, shown when he blocked Tashigi's sword using his hardened arm. During his battle against Smoker, Vergo was confident his Busoshoku Haki was superior to his, which was proven as he broke the former's hardened jitte using his bamboo stick, while severely wounding Smoker at the same time. His Busoshoku Haki mastery was vouched by himself, Caesar, and even Doflamingo, all of which held the upmost confidence in his proficiency.

Vergo was skilled enough to imbue his entire body with Busoshoku Haki, drastically increasing his physical capabilities. When used 13 years prior, this allowed him to deal powerful and severe blows to both Rosinante and Law, which traumatized the latter. According to Doflamingo, it protected Vergo from even Law's spatial cutting power, which was supposedly able to cut through anything. This was proven false, as he was unable to keep Law from slicing him in two at his waistline since his power had improved dramatically since the last time the two had fought.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Vergo possessed the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Weapons
During his time as a cadet, he carried a rifle on his back.

Vergo's main weapon was a long bamboo stick, which was most likely the source of his epithet, "Demon Bamboo", and he frequently used it in tandem with his Busoshoku Haki. It also doubled as a blowgun, which could shoot bamboo arrows (in the anime, bullets) that created large explosions. When Vergo used this attack, the stick became enlarged but it did not break. In the anime, this technique was depicted with the bamboo making a horn-like sound.

Techniques

 * Oni Take (鬼・竹): The source of his nickname, Vergo imbues his bamboo stick with Busoshoku Haki, hardening it, and then strikes down his foe. It was first used to snap Smoker's Busoshoku Haki-imbued Nanashaku Jitte in half while defeating the vice admiral at the same time. This attack was powerful enough to create a shockwave that dented several layers of steel in front of him. In the FUNimation subs, this is called Demon Bamboo.

Past


Vergo already came to know the Donquixote Family when he was 10 years old, having befriended Donquixote Doflamingo alongside the other future officers: Trebol, Pica, and Diamante while in North Blue. Impressed by Doflamingo's ability to use Haoshoku Haki, Vergo, Trebol, Pica, and Diamante swore their loyalty to the young former Celestial Dragon and treated him like royalty, protecting and training him in the arts needed to make him the Pirate King. Their devotion for him is such that they would kill any and everyone who would so much as offend Doflamingo in even the slightest manner, going as far as burning down an entire town for having poor pavement that made Doflamingo trip.

Vergo was the first person to hold the Heart seat (and in effect, the codename "Corazon") in the Donquixote Pirates. At age 26, he enlisted in the Marines under Doflamingo's orders and abdicated the Heart Seat for Donquixote Rosinante to succeed him. Vergo then climbed the ranks for about fifteen years. One year after becoming a Marine, he asked Admiral Sengoku to transfer him to G-5.



About six months after his transfer, he was sent to Swallow Island to help retrieve the Ope Ope no Mi. There, he met a young boy named Trafalgar Law who had a message for the Marines. Law then asked Vergo to help save his injured friend, but upon reaching him, Vergo found out his friend was Rosinante. Vergo then read the letter and saw it consisted of information on the Donquixote Pirates' upcoming plans. Realizing that Rosinante was a spy for the Marines and that Law was the boy he had taken from the crew, Vergo immediately disposed of the document and violently beat both Rosinante and Law by hardening his fists with Busoshoku Haki. Vergo then called Doflamingo to report Rosinante's treason, though Rosinante and Law managed to get away in secret while he was distracted. Doflamingo would suggest that this event traumatized Law to this day.

He reached the rank of captain by the time Doflamingo took over Dressrosa, this was where the people of Dressrosa called the marines to ask for help of the situation, where Vergo responded by "accepting" their request. He did this while keeping his true identity hidden from everyone outside of his affiliates. In the years that followed, Vergo continued to rise through the ranks of the Marines, and eventually became a vice admiral. This allowed Joker to have in his control one of the most trusted and convenient Marines available to him. One day, he claimed to visit his sick sister in his hometown in order to take leaves of absence from his Marine duties.

After becoming head of G-5, Vergo also supported Caesar's research by reporting the kidnapped children to have died in accidents at sea in the official Marine reports, as well as helping to shroud the true nature of Punk Hazard in mystery, though out of distrust, Monet was placed as a deep cover agent to monitor the deranged scientist on behalf of Joker.

During the Timeskip
When Smoker and Tashigi were assigned to G-5, Vergo told them that they would grow accustomed to the rowdy soldiers there and may even start caring for them. One time Tashigi went to tell him about a report of children being kidnapped, and Vergo lied that it was false and just a way to give the parents hope.

Thirteen years after Trafalgar Law had defected from the Donquixote Pirates, Monet reported that he was working with Caesar on Punk Hazard. Vergo was on Dressrosa at the time, and so boarded a SAD Tanker to Punk Hazard.

Punk Hazard Arc


As Law and Monet were walking through Caesar's lab, Vergo approached them from the shadows and stopped Law in his tracks by squeezing his disembodied heart, which Law had given to Caesar as part of their agreement. Vergo said that Law had grown a lot since he had last seen him. Vergo revealed Monet's undercover status, and when Law moved to attack him, Vergo responded by squeezing his heart and hitting him with his Haki-imbued staff. Vergo and Monet then had Law imprisoned in a cage along with Smoker, Tashigi, Monkey D. Luffy, Nico Robin, and Franky who had all been captured by Caesar. Vergo looked outside with interest as he watched Caesar's new creation Smiley rampaging. He then revealed his true allegiance to Smoker and Tashigi, and stated that they and their soldiers would be killed here and he would pass off their deaths as an accident.



Caesar then entered the room, and Vergo and Monet watched as he unveiled his new weapon of mass destruction by transforming Smiley into a gas known as Shinokuni. Caesar had the prisoners' cage moved outside to have them killed by Shinokuni, but after a while the trio did not see any pirates or Marines petrified by the gas after it had consumed the whole island. One of Caesar's men then reported that the prisoners had escaped their cage and broken into the lab, and Vergo went to go deal with Law and Smoker to ensure that he and Doflamingo would stay out of trouble.



Vergo went to the passageway between Sections A and B and confronted a platoon of the G-5 Marines led by Tashigi. The Marines initially thought Vergo had come to help them, and were shocked when Vergo used Shigan on one of them. Tashigi attempted to tell the Marines about Vergo's true allegiance as she attacked him, but Vergo quickly overpowered her. The Marines then started attacking Vergo, though they were still in denial and believed him to be an impostor, and Vergo easily took them out. Suddenly, Sanji came rushing in and kicked Vergo in the face with Diable Jambe. Sanji pummeled Vergo with more kicks, but Vergo quickly got back up with only minor injuries. He and Sanji then started clashing kicks as Shinokuni was released from Section A into the passageway. Suddenly, it was announced over the intercom that Law had gotten into the SAD Production Room, and Vergo was shocked upon realizing what Law was planning to do.



Vergo abandoned Sanji and used Geppo to escape into the Section B. He contacted Doflamingo to inform him of the situation, and Doflamingo ordered him to kill Law immediately. When Vergo arrived at the SAD Production Room, Law attempted to use his Ope Ope no Mi powers to get his heart back, but Vergo physically overwhelmed him and was unfazed when Law tried to electrocute him with Counter Shock. Vergo then gave Law's heart a prolonged squeeze and made him lose consciousness before being confronted by Smoker. Vergo revealed that he had already revealed his true colors to the rest of the G-5 platoon, and mocked Smoker for caring about insignificant soldiers. The two of them fought fiercely, and each managed to land blows on each other.



Ultimately, Vergo was able to exploit Smoker's increased body volume that resulted from his Logia transformation and use Busoshoku Haki to land a powerful strike on him, which broke his jitte and left him defeated on the ground. However, Law then approached the duo with his heart back in his possession, having managed to take it back with Smoker's help. Law started talking to Doflamingo, who was still listening through Vergo's Den Den Mushi, telling him that he was going to lose both Caesar and his SAD supply. Vergo covered his entire body in Busoshoku Haki as he prepared to attack Law, but Law then took out his sword and used his Devil Fruit ability to unleash a massive cut which not only bisected Vergo at the waist, but split apart the entire laboratory and mountain.

Law then cut Vergo into several smaller pieces and attached them to the guardrail in front of the destroyed SAD production machines. Vergo warned Law that he would not be able to replace Doflamingo easily as he did not know Doflamingo's past, and Law responded by vertically bisecting his head. Later, Doflamingo contacted Vergo to inform him that he had instructed Monet to activate a secret destructive gas, which would kill everyone around the lab except Caesar. He apologized to Vergo for having to do this and thanked him for all the work he had done, and Vergo simply smiled. The SAD Production Room then exploded, and Doflamingo, upon arriving at Punk Hazard later, stated that Vergo had died.

Major Battles

 * Vergo vs. Donquixote Rosinante and Trafalgar Law (flashback)
 * Vergo vs. Trafalgar Law (Caesar Clown's Research Lab)
 * Vergo vs. G-5 Marines and Tashigi
 * Vergo vs. Sanji
 * Vergo vs. Smoker
 * Vergo vs. Trafalgar Law (SAD Room)

Filler Battles

 * Vergo, Diamante, Trebol, and Pica vs. unknown thugs

Translation and Dub Issues

 * Vergo's epithet, Kichiku, would normally translate to "Brute". However, the kanji for it is written as 鬼竹 (literally meaning "demon bamboo") instead of the usual 鬼畜, making his epithet a Japanese pun. His technique, Oni Take, also translates to "demon bamboo", but with different pronunciation in the same kanji.

Playable Appearances

 * One Py Berry Match
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece Bounty Rush

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece: Burning Will
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum

Trivia

 * Vergo's former codename, Corazón, is the Spanish word for "heart", matching the card suit motif of Doflamingo's top elite officers.
 * According to One Piece Magazine Vol.3, Vergo's codename was originally supposed to be "Sir Dean".
 * Vergo is the only Elite Officer of the Donquixote Pirates to not have been stated to eat a Devil Fruit.
 * In the 5th fan poll, Vergo ranked 59th, making him the most popular of the Elite Officers.
 * While the first Corazon, Vergo, pretended to be a Marine but was really a pirate, the second Corazon, Rosinante, pretended to be a pirate but was really a Marine.
 * He and Rosinante are the only known Elite Officers to have a real name compared to the others (clover, diamond, and spade).
 * Every morning, Vergo ate a hamburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake for breakfast.
 * Vergo's birthday of July 5th is a pun on G-5, as G is the seventh letter of the alphabet.

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