Tom

Tom was a powerful pufferfish-type Fish-Man, known as the most skilled shipwright in the world. Tom is responsible for building the Oro Jackson, Gold Roger's ship, which got him into trouble with the Marine and the World Government. Although building a ship for pirates is generally not considered a crime (as the shipwrights have no control over who mans their ships), a special case had to be made for Tom because his client was the Pirate King.

To escape what would be a cruel and unnecessary fate, Tom made an agreement with the judge: given 10 years, he could save his dying home city of Water 7, by constructing an unprecedented Sea Train which could traverse even the roughest of weather to deliver and receive goods and services. Thus, Tom's trial went into recess for a decade, to reconvene after the Sea Train's completion.

However, Tom was also the holder of a blueprint for Pluton, an ancient warship of power so great that its name survived the passage of time (or perhaps the cataclysm) that blotted out most of the world's history. This is the same Pluton that Crocodile was seeking in Alabasta.

Tom's possession of the blueprint led other factions of the Government to seek it: of note, a man named Spandam, who was at the time working for Cipher Pol No. 5, a secret governmental organization not overseen by the Marine. Spandam, in an effort to secure the blueprints, hired people to steal and man the ships of Tom's student, Cutty Flam, to attack Water Seven at the resumption of Tom's trial. Though he knew Franky to be innocent, Tom took responsibility for the actions of his pupil's ships, thus reinstating his original sentence. Tom was escorted on the train he built to Enies Lobby, where he was allegedly executed shortly thereafter.

In a recent Japanese Fan Poll, Tom is currently ranked the 41st most popular character in One Piece.

Like some of the other characters of One Piece, Tom had a unique laugh, he started it with a "Ta" (i.e. ta ha ha ha ha!)