Laffitte

Laffitte, nicknamed "Demon Sheriff", is the navigator, chief of staff, and one of the Ten Titanic Captains, as the captain of the Fifth Ship of the Blackbeard Pirates. He is also a former West Blue policeman known for countless acts of police brutality, which resulted in his exile from that sea.

Due to his actions and role, he is a minor antagonist in the Jaya Arc, a supporting antagonist in the Impel Down and Marineford Arcs, and a major antagonist in the Final Saga.

Appearance
Laffitte is incredibly pale, and tap dances while he walks because of his shoes (though his black tap-dancing shoes do not seem to affect his stealthiness). He is also very tall, as much so as the majority of his crewmates, and slim. He wears an off-white collared long-sleeve shirt patterned with yellow crosses and navy jumper pants. His most distinguishing accessories are his classic black top hat and red wooden cane, with which he also wears a pair of gold hoop earrings. His lips are abnormally dark red.

After becoming the captain of the fifth fleet, he added a new black (white in the anime) cape with feathered collar to his attire.

Personality
Laffitte lived in West Blue and worked as a sheriff, but was exiled because he was excessively cruel and violent. In contradiction to his past, Laffitte now seems to be a calm and affable individual that is constantly smiling. He apparently did not attempt to assist in fighting alongside his crew when Portgas D. Ace attacked, whistling as he ran away with the rest of the crew to a safe watching distance.

When Teach ordered his crew to attack, Laffitte gleefully smiled as he shot Whitebeard to death, and also when Teach used his new-found Gura Gura no Mi to wretched havoc on the already devastated Marineford as Teach taunted the Marines about sinking their Headquarters.

Despite being a malevolent pirate, Laffitte has an extremely refined and sophisticated personality, always speaking in a polite and courteous manner even when threatening people such Avalo Pizarro for wanting to replace Teach as captain. He also reprimanded Burgess for his habit of referring Teach as "captain" instead of "admiral".

Like the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates, Laffitte believes strongly in luck, fate, and dreams.

Marshall D. Teach
Laffitte seems to be very loyal to his captain Marshall D. Teach, as seen when he jokingly threatened to kill Avalo Pizarro who suggested he should replace Teach as captain of the crew, or when he had to keep reminding Burgess that he should address Teach as "admiral" instead of "captain".

Abilities and Powers
As a former sheriff, Laffitte had authority and power over citizens. However, due to his extreme cruelty, he lost this authority when he was exiled. After the time-skip, he is officially the Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates 5th fleet/ship and part of a group of Ten Titanic Captains that personally guard the Emperor, Blackbeard.

Although his combat abilities are unknown, he must be someone very powerful. The fact, that Blackbeard refuses to accept any weakling in his crew, even going so far as to reject Super Rookie Jewelry Bonney with a bounty of 140,000,000, is further testament to Laffite's power. He seems to have confidence in his abilities as he threatened to kill Avalo Pizarro, one of the most powerful criminals in Level 6. He was also quickly recognized by Vice Admiral Tsuru.

It was stated during the Marineford Arc that he was able to hypnotize Marines to open the Gates of Justice for him.

Stealth Master
Laffitte is considerably skilled in infiltration. When he traveled to Mary Geoise, he easily bypassed all the security defenses of the sacred land of the World Government and joined in the meeting for the new Warlord of the Sea nomination, all without being noticed until he willingly revealed himself, a notable feat considering he was able to sneak past a number of high ranking Marines and three Warlords who each boast considerable degrees of sensory Haki, while wearing tap shoes no less (anime-only feature).

Later at Marineford, before the Blackbeard Pirates sailed to Impel Down, Laffitte infiltrated the control room to hypnotize the Marines present there without being noticed.

Navigational Skills
As a navigator, Laffitte guides the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates through the open seas. His level of navigational skills are as of yet unknown, though it is expected he is a significantly skilled navigator to navigate through the Grand Line including the seas of the New World. Interestingly enough, despite his occupation, he is not seen carrying a Log Pose, which is essential for navigating in the Grand Line.

Physical Abilities
Laffitte is able to quickly move in a similar fashion to the Soru technique as shown in Blackbeard's fight with Ace.

Laffitte has been shown to possess a large amount of endurance being able to continue fighting even after taking one of Whitebeard's Gura Gura no Mi shockwaves (albeit not a direct hit) and a direct hit from Fleet Admiral Sengoku's shockwaves with the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates.

Devil Fruit


Laffitte has eaten an unnamed Devil Fruit and shown that he can transform his arms into a pair of bird-like wings, though it has not been confirmed if this is the Fruit's ability or a power separate from it. He demonstrated this ability when the Blackbeard Pirates invaded Impel Down.

Weapons
Laffitte carries a cane that he spins to accompany his tap-dancing from time to time; it is yet unknown if it can be used as a weapon. Laffitte was using a pistol when he helped to murder Whitebeard. He was also seen holding it while keeping Marine soldiers away from Blackbeard.

Past
Laffitte used to be a sheriff in the West Blue, but he became a pirate after being removed from the police force and exiled from the West Blue for being excessively violent and unnecessarily cruel to his protectorates. He was eventually invited to join the Blackbeard Pirates as the navigator. Sometime after joining Blackbeard's crew, Laffitte and the entire crew attacked Drum Island forcing the cowardly King Wapol to flee.

Jaya Arc


Blackbeard sends Laffitte to Mary Geoise to propose his name as Crocodile's successor in Warlords of the Sea.

Once he arrives at the castle, he interrupts Dracule Mihawk, telling those present that if they don't mind that he is also at the meeting and that he did not expect there to be so many famous people. Sengoku asks who he is, to which the pirate replies that he to being there because he has learned that Crocodile had lost his title and that they are anxiously looking for a worthy replacement. There, Tsuru identifies him and tells Sengoku about his violent past, to which Laffite doesn't care, since the reason she's there is to recommend a certain person as warlord.

Here he says the name "Teach", revealing that he is the captain of his crew. However, Sengoku replies that since he was someone unknown, he would not be useful as a replacement to intimidate other pirates. Laffite replies that they are aware of it, but that they have a plan for it, in addition to asking them to remember the name of the "Blackbeard Pirates" well.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc
As the crew ransacked a village on the Banaro Island, Blackbeard reads a newspaper and reveals to his crew that the Straw Hats have wreaked havoc on Enies Lobby, noting that Luffy's bounty will be greatly increased. Lafitte then comments on how Enies Lobby is connected by a Sea Train to Water Seven and Van Augur claims that he is not far from where they are, so the crew prepare to go after them. Just then, however, appears Portgas D. Ace to confront them.

After Ace turns down Blackbeard's offer to join the crew, he watches as Van Augur and Burgess attack him. At that moment, Ace uses Hiken to attack the crew, where Laffite manages to dodge it, before retreating along with the other crew members on the orders of Ace's captain. Later, he and the rest of his crew stayed on the sidelines to watch the fight between Blackbeard and Ace.

Impel Down Arc
The Blackbeard Pirates sailed to Impel Down and Laffitte hypnotized the guards at the Gates of Justice to open for all battleships. While Monkey D. Luffy was rioting on Level 4 on his way back out of the prison, the Blackbeard Pirates arrived at Impel Down. They forced their way into the great prison with obvious hostility. As they made their way through Level 1, they encountered former Head Jailer Shiryu, and then made their way down to Level 4, where they encountered the escaping prisoners.

Laffitte stood by as Blackbeard and Luffy briefly fought. After exchanging words with the prisoners, the Blackbeard Pirates continued on their way to the lower levels and confronted Chief Warden Magellan, who poisoned them with his Hydra technique. Later, the whole crew was saved by an antidote from Shiryu, who accepted Blackbeard's offer and joined their crew.

When they reached Level 6, the Blackbeard Pirates had the prisoners fight to the death with the survivors joining the crew.

Marineford Arc
Laffitte was spotted along with the other members of the Blackbeard Pirates, new and old, on the execution platform where they arrived to watch the events unfold on the battlefield. Blackbeard, who had apparently brought his crew back to Marineford so that he could witness Whitebeard's death, exclaimed that he was happy to have arrived in time to do so. Laffitte revealed to Sengoku that he hypnotized the Marines in the control room of the Gates of Justice. After Blackbeard confronted Whitebeard, the Blackbeard Pirates attacked Whitebeard to death.

After Whitebeard died, Laffitte assisted his crewmates in covering Whitebeard with a black cloth and guarded Blackbeard as he started to demonstrate his powers. He warned the marines that there was no entry. When Blackbeard later emerged and demonstrated the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, Laffitte laughed at the confusion it caused amongst their enemies.

Sengoku in his Buddha form then attacked the Blackbeard Pirates, blasting them with shockwaves. While Blackbeard fought against Sengoku and Monkey D. Garp, Red-Haired Shanks arrived on the battlefield. The Blackbeard Pirates decided to leave rather than fight the Red Hair Pirates.

Post-War Arc
The crew made their move in the New World, taking out Jewelry Bonney in the process. The crew was seen bickering amongst each other. Avalo Pizarro tried to declare himself the captain, but Laffitte threatened to kill him and reminded him that they are the "Blackbeard Pirates". Blackbeard Pirates' raft was brought close to the point of destruction, due to Sanjuan Wolf's size, and they seemingly got in contact with the Marines, to trade Jewelry Bonney for a battleship. Van Augur alerted Teach that the battleship had arrived, but not for trade because Akainu was on board. Knowing that the deal would not happen, the Blackbeard Pirates fled, leaving Bonney and her crew behind to be arrested.

During the Timeskip
One year after the war at Marineford, the Blackbeard Pirates fought against the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates and ultimately won.

The Blackbeard Pirates used Teach's knowledge of Whitebeard's former territory to conquer it. Now that Blackbeard had become an Emperor, the Blackbeard Pirates were hunting down powerful Devil Fruit users in order to absorb their abilities. Eventually after the Blackbeard Pirates expanded into a fleet, Laffitte became one of the "Ten Titanic Captains" and assumed command of the Blackbeard Pirate's fifth ship earning the nickname "Demon Sheriff". At some point the crew encountered Kuzan on some Island and after a brief skirmish they all started having a drinking session and having a good laugh. The crew then started taking about "the man with the burn mark" that could lead them to the fourth and final Road Ponyglyh, that is needed to reach Laugh Tale. Laffitte then wondered if they should kill the former Marine Admiral in order to gain the power of the Hie Hie no Mi but instead Teach to everyone’s shock invited Kuzan to join the crew and Kuzan who wanted to live on his own terms accepted.

Zou Arc
After Doflamingo's defeat, the Blackbeard Pirates stopped by Dressrosa but were unable to find Burgess. At a certain sea in the New World, Laffitte and Shiryu were contacted by Burgess via Den Den Mushi. Burgess informed them that he stowed away on a ship that led him to the Revolutionary Army's base on Baltigo, and Laffitte had to remind Burgess that "Captain Teach" now went by the name "Admiral Teach". Burgess requested Doc Q's help, as he had been critically wounded by Sabo. He then told them to inform Teach and get the Blackbeard Pirates to attack the island. The Blackbeard Pirates later attacked Baltigo, destroying the island by the time the Marines and Cipher Pol arrived, but the Revolutionary Army was able to escape. However, the Blackbeard Pirates fled after briefly clashing with Cipher Pol.

Anime and Manga Differences

 * In the anime, Laffitte was first depicted as an average-size man, smaller than the rest of his crew. This mistake was not corrected during the battle between Blackbeard and Ace in Banaro Island, even when it was clear in the manga that he was as tall as his crew members. Only in the invasion of Impel Down and Battle of Marineford was his size accurately depicted in the anime.
 * Laffitte's hair was drawn differently in his first appearance. In his debut, his hair seemed slightly shorter and was somewhat unkempt at the end, but in his second appearance it is completely straight.

Major Battles

 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Drum Kingdom
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Impel Down Guards (Level 1)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Edward Newgate
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Fleet Admiral Sengoku
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Bonney Pirates
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates (under Marco, unseen)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Revolutionary Army (unseen)
 * Blackbeard Pirates vs. Cipher Pol (unseen)

Translation and Dub Issues
In the edited for TV Funimation dub, his name is pronounced with an "R" as "Raffit". On the uncut DVDs however, his name is pronounced with an "L" and is spelled "Lafitte" in the subs.

Playable Appearances

 * One Py Berry Match
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Gigant Battle
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush!

Trivia

 * Laffitte's name is possibly based on Jean and Pierre Lafitte, famous real-life pirate brothers.
 * Laffitte's wide open eyes and ability to move silently are similar to owls, as well as his wings and overall face. He shares this theme with Fukurou.
 * Laffitte is the only member of the Ten Titanic Captains with an unnamed Devil Fruit.
 * Laffitte's favorite food is lollipop candy.

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