Vergo

"Demon Bamboo" Vergo (鬼竹のヴェルゴ) was a high-ranking member of the Donquixote Pirates, Marine vice admiral, and head of G-5 who made his first appearance on Punk Hazard. Due to his duplicitous conduct and allegiances, he can be considered the secondary antagonist of the Punk Hazard Arc.

Appearance
Vergo is a tall man with short dark hair, a beard, sideburns, and sunglasses. From his sideburns on, his facial hair grows horizontally. On his cheek it grows downwards with a pointed end.

Vergo wore a knee-length trench coat that has a quilted design which stops just below his waist (where the coat then has a plain design), along with two dark pockets slightly above the chest on either side. Under the coat he wore a light-colored shirt with a dark-colored tie. He also wore dark-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, as he had a spoon when he proceeded to eliminate G-5.

When he was younger, his relative features seem to be the same but is seen wearing a Marines cap and lacking a beard and goatee. 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 Shichibukai. Seeing himself as above the Shichibukai, 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.

Vergo stated that his favorite food was hamburgers. He appeared to be a very messy eater, as he was first shown to have the hamburger still on the side of his cheek, and apparently not noticing it until Monet pointed it out.

While around citizens, Vergo was cited to be an amiable 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 has 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 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.

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 on his cheek until he was made to notice it.

Smoker
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 knows his true disposition. Smoker in turn expresses disdain for his colleague's felonies and intends to battle him alone in retribution for his treason against the Marines.

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 mercilessly killed many G-5 Marine, 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.

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" but also refered to him as "Joker". Among the Donquixote Pirates, Vergo had been with Doflamingo the longest, and although Doflamingo ultimately dismissed Vergo for losing 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.

Trafalgar Law
Vergo had a past relationship with Trafalgar Law; he knew the Shichibukai since they were members of Doflamingo’s crew. During one occasion in the past, when Law infuriated Vergo, the latter had injured the young pirate so severely, Doflamingo surmised that it traumatized Law to this day. Vergo mocked Law by pretending to respect him as a Shichibukai, and then beating him unconscious without hesitation; Vergo also demanded Law to show respect to him by adding the honorific suffix -san when addressing him, and on both occasions that Law neglected to do so, Vergo inflicted tremendous pain onto him. 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. Law pays Vergo back in kind by cutting him into many pieces upon his defeat.

Abilities and Powers
Vergo was a powerful man who was confident that he was above an opponent like Trafalgar Law, who is powerful enough to become a Shichibukai. This was backed up by easily defeating Law twice, though he had Law's heart to weaken and incapacitate him before their confrontations. In either case, Doflamingo had enough confidence in Vergo to entrust him to kill Law in the most brutal method possible. He was also strong enough to completely overwhelm the entire Unit 01 of G-5 (minus Smoker at the time) despite their superior numbers.

He was shown to have a high level of endurance, as he was able to shake off a direct kick to the head from Sanji, who had strengthened the blow with Diable Jambe (although the attack did cause him to spit out blood). He was able to take even Law's Counter Shock, which was strong enough to take out one of the Yeti Cool Brothers with a single blow, with little damage.

He possessed incredible physical strength, as with one kick he was able to fracture a bone in Sanji's leg. Vergo was also remarkably fast, as shown when Law used his Room ability to retrieve his heart and Vergo immediately appeared in front of him and sent him flying with a kick.

Being a vice admiral and head of G-5, he had command over lower ranking subordinates, as well as control over the entire base. He was also skillful enough to deceive the entire Marine force, including the observant Smoker, in hiding his true affiliations, as well as deceiving citizens with pretexts by falsifying the crimes into "accidents at sea."

Rokushiki
Like several other high-ranking Marines, Vergo had access to the Rokushiki martial arts style and has demonstrated Shigan while fighting G-5 Marines at Punk Hazard, Geppo to escape from H2S gas via midair travel through a hallway, and Soru to stop Trafalgar Law from retrieving his heart.

Haki
Vergo used Busoshoku Haki to harden his body parts and any object he wielded similar to Luffy's Busoshoku Koka technique; in his case, a bamboo stick. During his battle with Smoker, Vergo was confident that his skill with Busoushoku Haki was superior to his colleague's and was shown to be capable of breaking the former's Haki-imbued jitte with a single attack from his bamboo stick, as well as seriously wounding his opponent. His use of Busoshoku Haki had been vouched by himself, Caesar, and even Doflamingo.

He could manifest his ability for defensive purposes, such as when he blocked Tashigi's sword with just his arm. Sanji described this ability like a mass of iron, thus making Vergo's body very resistant to attacks as seen when he withstood being smashed through a wall by the former. He could also apply it to his bare limbs to enhance his strikes. His ability was what earned him the epithet "Demon Bamboo".

If the need arose, or if Vergo became enraged enough, he was capable of imbuing his entire body with Busoshoku Haki, resulting in a significant increase in muscle mass and size. According to Doflamingo, it was with this form that he had severely beaten Law in the past, and that it protects him from even Law's cutting power, which was supposedly able to cut through anything. Despite this, he was still unable to keep Law from slicing him in two along his waistline, as Law's power had improved dramatically since the last time the two had fought.

Weapons
When attacking Law, Vergo was seen using a bamboo stick that he combined with his ability to harden it into a black material, which may be a reference to his nickname "Demon Bamboo". Vergo was also shown to use his bamboo like a dart gun when he blew explosive darts out of his bamboo stick.


 * Oni Take (鬼・竹): The source of his nickname, Vergo imbues his bamboo stick with Busoshoku Haki, turning it jet black and incredibly hard, and then strikes down his foe. It was first used to snap Smoker's Nanashaku Jitte in half while defeating the vice admiral at the same time.

Past
Vergo met Law a long time ago when he was working for Joker. In one of their meetings, Law enraged Vergo so much that he hardened his body with Busoushoku Haki and traumatized Law by brutally injuring him.

Vergo himself was a pirate, but before becoming famous, he enlisted in the Marines under Doflamingo's orders, and climbed the ranks for about fifteen years, eventually becoming a vice admiral, while keeping his true identity hidden from everyone outside of his affiliates. This allowed Joker to have in his control one of the most trusted and convenient Marines available to him. While he was in the upper echelons of the Marines, he claimed to visit his sick sister in his hometown.

Vergo also benefited from 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 Tashigi and Smoker were first transferred to the G-5 base. Vergo was telling them how the soldiers are rowdy and not too bright, but were overall good people. In between flashes of Vergo taking out more troops, Tashigi remembers a soldier telling her about how Vergo sometimes leaves suddenly to go home and care for his sick sister. She also remembers talking to him about a kidnapping case where Vergo told her it was a false claim, and that the parents were in denial and overreacting about the death of their child, saying that the idea of kidnapping gives them hope that their child is still alive, saying Tashigi would understand when she became a parent.

Punk Hazard Arc
During the battle between Caesar, the Straw Hat Pirates, and the G-5 Marines, Vergo came across Law just as the young man fell to the ground, suffering internal damage as he began to cough up blood. He asked Law if he thought they really knew nothing, saying they placed Monet in Caesar's employment as a deep cover agent due to his boss' distrust of Caesar Clown. He mused on the fact that Law is a Shichibukai. Law asks him when he arrived, and he answered just moments ago. He explained he was in Dressrosa when he heard that an SAD tanker was heading out so he got on board, noting that it was the right choice.



Law did not believe that Vergo's arrival was that coincidental and asked what he did to harm him. Vergo replied that if Law had done any harm, he would be dead right now, saying that Law can not hide anything from adults. Law then said he will have to get rid of him, grabbing his sword. But before he can even begin to draw it, he suddenly dropped it due to Vergo's paralyzing grip on Law's heart. Vergo then remembered he wanted to restate what he said earlier. He took out a bamboo staff and darkened it by imbuing it with Busoshoku Haki. He then brought it down on the back of Law's head, demanding that Law call him Vergo-san from now on.

Vergo then captured Law, and put him in a cage along with Luffy, Robin, Franky, Smoker, and Tashigi. Vergo questioned Caesar's motives, which Monet suggested that since he has awoken his pet, Smiley, that he must be starting a new experiment. Monet inquired if Vergo ate a hamburger this morning, which Vergo answered saying that it was his favorite and asked how she knew. Monet tells him there is some meat left on his cheek. Vergo is later revealed as Vice Admiral Vergo, head of the Marine G-5 base. Continuing his discussion with Monet, Vergo commented that he would like to see the experiment and asked if everyone outside was going to die. Replying that they probably will, Monet assured Vergo that he would be safe inside the research facility. Interrupting the conversation, Smoker begins shouting at Vergo that the soldiers outside are his subordinates. Knowing this, Vergo was shown to be apathetic towards their plight and was instead more interested in the prisoners being held in the cage, referring to it as a grand line-up.

Smoker begins to talk about "Joker", stating that it is the name of an underworld broker. Berating himself for not being able to weed out Vergo, their captor told Smoker that from the day Smoker was transferred; he had put up the largest possible guard, to keep Smoker from catching on to his illicit activities. Vergo told him that he would finally be relieved of that stress, as now that Smoker and Tashigi know his true identity; it meant that the two Marines will have to die there, while Vergo assured them that he will record it as an accident at sea. Asking Law who Joker is, Law explains to Luffy that he used to be a subordinate of Joker as well as Vergo (accounting for how they knew each other) and revealed to the group that Joker is just an alias he uses as a broker, but his real name is known throughout the world as Donquixote Doflamingo.



Vergo was later seen sitting with Monet drinking coffee while Caesar made his broadcast to the various underworld brokers. During this broadcast it was revealed that Vergo was able to swiftly defeat Law due to the fact that after the Shichibukai and Caesar had made a deal involving the former and Monet's hearts, Caesar had then presented it to Vergo who subsequently used it to severely weaken Law during their battle. Caesar met up with Monet and Vergo, the latter of the two talking about how they had just been drinking coffee with some cookies, only to quickly remember that there were not any cookies to be had. Asking Caesar when he was going to start the experiment, the deranged scientist replies by asking Monet to collect some pictures, and tells Vergo to do a better job at keeping the Marines at bay, admitting that the arrival of Smoker and his men had caused him to become nervous.

After the Straw Hats, Law, Kin'emon, Brownbeard, and the G-5 Marines unite and form an alliance, Vergo was seen with Caesar and Monet while Caesar is being informed that the Straw Hat Pirates, G-5 Marines, Kin'emon and Brownbeard are in the base. Vergo said that he was going to have to go kill Law, and looked for his sword. Monet told him he does not have a blade, since he was not a swordsman, and Vergo remembered he was not but he swore he would crush the interlopers personally.



Arriving in the area the G-5 Marines had been left in, he initially did nothing while the soldiers celebrated his sudden appearance, believing him to be leading reinforcements. Tashigi was the only one not celebrating. Tashigi can barely make enough sound to tell them to run before multiple soldiers fall in front of Vergo. As a Marine falls over, Vergo's index finger is shown with fresh blood dripping from it. A soldier asked Vergo why he was attacking, saying that even as a form of punishment, using Shigan will kill them.

Tashigi charged at Vergo with her sword. Vergo blocked the sword with his arm and then grabs her by the head. He then delivered a devastating close range punch that knocked her to the ground and almost unconscious. A soldier yelled at Vergo, calling him an impostor, saying the real Vice Admiral Vergo would never do this. The remaining soldiers all gang up and attack Vergo, but Vergo annihilated all of them so he is the only one left standing. Tashigi, in her mind, prays for Smoker's help. Vergo then heard someone and a person is seen bounding around the corridor. Before Vergo can react, Sanji delivers a flaming kick to Vergo's head. The soldiers that are still conscious are surprised to see one of the pirates. Sanji said he heard the sound of a woman in trouble and came to help.

Sanji and Vergo began fighting, with Sanji landing a "Flange Strike" sending Vergo hurtling into a wall. Seemingly unfazed by the kick, Vergo prepared to counterattack, and Sanji remarked on Vergo "hardening like steel". Vergo attacked with one of his left kicks fracturing Sanji's right leg while Sanji blocked. Vergo attacked with another left kick as Sanji narrowly ducked avoiding the blow. As the two continue, Sanji yelled for the Marines to run away to the B Building as the room began to go into lockdown and the gas is let in from the A Building. An emergency broadcast was heard from the D Building that Law has invaded the SAD production room much to the dismay of Caesar and Vergo, with the latter stating this was what Law was after ever since he became a Shichibukai and that whatever he is planning will make a mess of the New World.

After running away from Sanji, Vergo contacted Donquixote Doflamingo and notified him of Law's betrayal. Doflamingo ordered him to mercilessly kill Law, and Vergo agreed to bring back an ear to show proof of Law's death. Doflamingo then tells Vergo, Caesar, and Monet that he is going to send two subordinates (Baby 5 and Buffalo) to Punk Hazard, and when they arrive, all of them are to return to Dressrosa.

Afterwards, Vergo arrived at the SAD room to confront Law. During the battle, Law tries to retrieve his heart, but Vergo beats him to the ground and steals the heart back. Law uses a Counter Shock on him, but it is ineffective. Law tells him that he was the one miscalculation in his plan as Vergo prepares to finish him, when Smoker suddenly shows up and prepares to engage Vergo.



Smoker asks Vergo why the room they are in feels so eerie. Vergo told him not to worry about it. Smoker tells Vergo he is not looking forward to telling the company about their senior officer's treason, since Vergo was deeply admired by his subordinates. Vergo told Smoker he will not have to worry about his charges. Smoker, angered by this, attacked Vergo with his jitte, demanding to know what he did to the soldiers. Vergo blocked this attack with his bamboo cane.

Vergo then taunted Smoker for having compassion towards his subordinates, but told him that since the truth is out, they will all have to die. Vergo's cane expanded in the middle, and something shoots out of it like a blowgun. The shot causes a huge explosion. Smoker avoided the attack by becoming intangible and tried to attack Vergo from behind. Vergo leaned back and narrowly avoided getting hit. He then tried to kick Smoker, but Smoker blocked it with his foot. He swung his cane but Smoker dodged it and moves around to Vergo's exposed side. Smoker then delivered a devastating punch to Vergo's face, sending the vice admiral flying back and landing in a heap. Smoker told him to never lay a hand on his subordinates and that his position did not make him infalliable.



The battle continued until the apparent defeat of Smoker, when it turns out he only acted as a diversion for Law to retrieve his heart without resistance. After this the Shichibukai starts to admonish Doflamingo, who was monitoring the battle with a miniature Den Den Mushi in Vergo's coat pocket. When Law claims that he is going to defeat Vergo, the vice admiral took his coat off and hardened his body with Busoshoku Haki. However, Law easily cut him in two with his Devil Fruit ability, along with the entire area.

After his defeat, Vergo was dismembered and attached to the railing. He was complaining about his defeat, not knowing what to do. Vergo then tried to warn Law, saying that he is doomed because he does not know anything about Joker's past. Law proceeds to slice Vergo's face in half. As Law and Smoker are leaving the SAD room, Law discloses to Vergo that the room he is stuck in will explode.

Before the room explodes, Vergo received one last message from Doflamingo, who thanked him for all the hard work he had done until this point. Vergo is last seen smiling. Shortly after this exchange, the SAD production room explodes, killing Vergo in the blast.

Major Battles

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

Translation and Dub Issues
Vergo's epithet, Kichiku would normally to translate into "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.

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