Higuma

Higuma was a mountain bandit. He was the first antagonist to be introduced in the series, and the first of three in the Romance Dawn Arc (third of three in the anime).

Appearance
Higuma was a tall, dark-skinned man with a black goatee, black hair, and an "x" shaped scar above his right eye. He wore a long purple coat with a white shirt and black trousers. He also had a golden necklace around his neck.

Personality
Higuma was an arrogant man who was used to getting his own way. He walked about as though he owned the world and was prepared to kill if needed. He showed his pride towards pirates, calling them cowards who sail with their ships on the sea. If anyone resisted him, he would threaten them with his status as a killer and a wanted man. In truth, he was a coward and proved this twice; when his men were wiped out and when he faced the Sea King.

Abilities and Powers
Higuma was the leader of his own pack of bandits, and managed to earn a bounty of 8,000,000, which is higher than the average 3,000,000 of East Blue. He carried a sword with him, although his ability as a swordsman is unknown. He also had some strategic sense, as he used his own insult towards pirates sailing the sea to his advantage to hide out in the sea, believing that nobody would look for him there; and knew about the existence of Devil Fruits and their weakness, while most in the East Blue would dismiss them as myths.

However, for all of his limited fame that he tended to flaunt, he was rather weak; turning to taking a child hostage and using a smoke bomb as cover the moment the pirate crew he bullied defeated all of his men. His strategy of hiding out in the sea to evade pirates was negated as he was ignorant about the Sea King that lived near the coast, which, coupled with his helplessness when his escape plan backfired, cost him his life.

Luffy's Past
During the childhood of Monkey D. Luffy, Higuma was the leader of a band of mountain bandits. The group of bandits first appeared when they burst into the Party's Bar. When Higuma first entered the bar, he told the people in it to make way for the "scourges of the mountains". He then went on to say how sorry he thought the pirates inside the bar looked, and that it was his first time seeing them. He then walked up to the bar, and laid his hand on the table. He then told the barkeeper, Makino, that him and his group are mountain bandits. He then told everybody in the bar not to be scared, and that the bandits are only there to buy beer, and only will injure as few people as possible. Makino then told him that the bar had just ran out of liquor, which caused Higuma to call the situation strange, and wonder what the pirates are drinking. He then comically asked if they are drinking fruit juice. Makino then told him that the last of it was just served to the pirates in the bar. Higuma then knocked Shanks onto the ground, while also breaking many glasses and plates. Higuma then told Shanks that if he likes to clean, that the new mess should be able to keep him busy for quite a while. He then called Shanks an idiot, and departed the bar with his bandits, but not before calling the rest of the pirates cowards. Outside of the bar, Higuma and his bandits then decided to go to another village to get beer, because the lack of beer in the Party's Bar was outrageous.



Suddenly, Shanks spoke up, and told Higuma that he felt guilty for drinking the last of the beer, and apologized to him. Shanks then offered Higuma a bottle of beer. Higuma refused the offer though, which was shown when he broke the bottle over Shanks' head. Makino and Luffy looked on in shock, the bandits laughed, and Shanks' crew looked on in silence. Higuma then asked Shanks what he takes him for, and said that Shanks can not make a fool out of him. He then asked Shanks what good one bottle of beer would do for him. Shanks replies by ignoring Higuma, and focusing on the mess instead, saying "what a mess". Higuma then held up a picture of his wanted poster, and gloats about his 8,000,000 bounty. He went on to say that he is a wanted man, and that he has killed fifty-six people, mostly fools like Shanks himself. He then told Shanks to watch himself if he is fond of breathing, and also told him that if he is smart, he will sail away and make sure that Higuma never sees him again. Shanks continued to ignore him though, and asked Makino to give him a rag so that he could clean up the mess.

After this incident, Luffy was in the Party's Bar alone with Makino discussing the actions of Shanks. Suddenly, Higuma walked into the bar, which caused Luffy to be surprised. Higuma then stated that there are no pirates in the bar today, and that it smells better because of it. He then said how him and his bandits were in the area, and that they decided to stop by. Higuma and his bandits then sat down, and asked Makino what she was waiting for, since they were customers. He then demanded that she serve them drinks. After having received their drinks, the bandits started to talk badly of Shanks once again, with Higuma also doing this. Higuma then bragged about how he broke a bottle over Shanks' head, and how he did not even do anything about it, and said how pathetic it was. Higuma then said that cowards like that make him sick, and that he really wanted to kill Shanks, and also that the pirate group was very weak.

As Higuma carried on, saying that all pirates are talk, Luffy spoke up to defend Shanks and his crew, and told Higuma to take back what he said, because he thinks Higuma and his crew are not cowards. Higuma then wondered why the boy was doing this, as Luffy continued to tell the bandits to take back what they have said.

After this, Higuma and his bandits took Luffy outside of the bar and attempted to beat him. They then told him that he has a strange body, due to their kicks and punches not hurting him at all. Luffy continued to tell the bandits to take back their words about Shanks and his crew, and attempted to punch Higuma. Higuma easily dodged Luffy's punch, and went on to say that there sure are some strange creatures in this world, due to Luffy being a rubber boy. As Higuma dodged, he grabbed Luffy's arm, and threw him onto the ground. Luffy then told Higuma that he will make him pay for this. Higuma then said that he has discovered a new life form, and that he might be able to sell Luffy to a freak show to make a lot of money. Luffy then charged forth, which caused Higuma to call Luffy a stubborn brat, and kick the boy to the ground. Higuma then explained to Luffy that he was just drinking and talking with his men, and did nothing to offend Luffy himself. Luffy replied by saying that Higuma did insult him, and then told him to apologize once more. Higuma then put his foot on top of Luffy, which caused Luffy to call Higuma a "mountain ape".

Then, the mayor of the town, Woop Slap, ran up to the commotion, and begged Higuma to let Luffy go. He then told the bandits that he has no idea what Luffy did, and that he has no intention of fighting them. He then offered the bandits money in return for Luffy's safety, but Higuma replies by telling the mayor "nice try", and that he should know how the world works. Higuma then went on to say that it is too late to save Luffy at this point, because Luffy had attacked Higuma, which he considers to be an unpardonable act. He then went on to say that Luffy also called him names, and that he can not take these words from a freak. Luffy replied by telling Higuma that he started the problem, and then went on to curse at him and call him names. This caused Higuma to get even angrier. He then told Luffy that he is not going to sell him anymore, but instead he plans on killing him. The mayor then continues to beg Higuma to spare Luffy.

Suddenly, Shanks and his crew arrived at the scene, and Shanks said that since nobody came to greet them at the docks, something must have been going on. Shanks then greeted the mountain bandits, and told Luffy that he thought his punch was as strong as a pistol. Luffy then told Shanks to shut up. Higuma then asked the pirates why they were still there, and asked them if they were taking a break from their cleaning duties. He then told Shanks that he does not know what his pirate crew wants, but that if they come any closer, him and his bandits will kill them. Shanks then walked forward a little bit, which caused one of Higuma's bandits to put a gun to Shanks' head. The bandit told him not to move any further, or he would blow Shanks' head off. Shanks then told the bandit that his life was at stake, and that if he does not want to risk his life, he better put the gun down. The bandit then questioned what Shanks meant, but suddenly, one of Shanks' crew members shot the bandit in the head. Everybody in the surrounding area looked on in shock at the situation. The bandits then started to panic, questioning what the pirate had done, and also saying that he situation was not fair. Shanks' crew then told the bandits that pirates are not fair, and that they are not dealing with saints.

Shanks then told the bandits that they are pirates, and that they do not play by the rules. Shanks then told the bandit group that they can make fun of him, pour drinks on him, and even spit on him, and he will just laugh it off. He then told them that nobody hurts a friend of his, no matter the reason. Higuma then laughed at Shanks' words, and mocked him by saying how intimidating he thought the speech was. He then went on to say how pirates just spend their time floating around on little ships, and that they should not think they can stand up to mountain bandits. He then told them not to make him laugh, and then ordered his men to kill the pirates. His men charged forth, and screamed at the pirates to die. Another one of Shanks' crew mates then told Shanks that he will take care of the bandit problem. The pirate then walked up to the bandits, and easily defeated them. The pirate then asked them about their previous insults against pirates. He then went on to say that if the bandits want to fight the pirates, they will need to bring a battleship in order to do so. The spectators looked on in shock at these new developments.

Higuma then began to panic, and told Shanks that Luffy started the whole situation. Shanks then replied by saying that it does not matter, and also stated that Higuma has a bounty on his head. This caused Higuma to panic even more. He then threw down a smoke bomb in order to escape. While the smoke screen was still up, Higuma grabbed Luffy and took him away with him. After the smoke screen cleared up, Shanks panicked due to letting Higuma get away with Luffy.



On a ship, in the middle of the ocean, Higuma was shown laughing and bragging about his brilliant escape. He then said how nobody will expect a mountain bandit to hide out at sea. It was then shown that he had brought Luffy with him. He revealed to Luffy that he had brought him on board as a hostage, but then went on to say that he has no further use for him. He then said that he has already killed fifty six people, and that one more will not matter. He then began to kick Luffy into the ocean, which causes Luffy to curse the bandit. Higuma then kicked Luffy into the ocean, knowing that the boy could not swim due to to having the power of the devil fruit. As he kicked the boy in, Higuma said goodbye. Luffy then called Higuma a jerk as he flew into the water, and Higuma called him a brat. Luffy then said that he could not even get in a single punch, and Higuma continues to laugh and call the boy a bastard. As Luffy started to drown, a sea king emerged from the water. The Sea King appeared in front of Higuma's boat, which caused Higuma to scream in terror. The Sea King then ate Higuma, along with his boat, swallowing him whole.

Translation and Dub Issues
His name refers to a species of bear that lives in Hokkaido. It is generally understood his English Epithet "The Bear" was designed because Viz wanted to retain the character's original name while also informing the English-speaking audience of its meaning.

Trivia

 * Before his death, Higuma bragged about having an 8,000,000 bounty on his head and even carried around his own "Wanted" poster to prove it. This is the first mention of bounties in the manga. This can be considered ironic, since he was bragging about it to Shanks, who is already of a legendary status considering his power (even then), history, and status as a pirate.
 * He was the first mountain bandit to appear in the series.

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