Heart Pirates

The Heart Pirates are an infamous and notable rookie pirate crew from the North Blue and introduced on Sabaody Archipelago around the time the Straw Hat Pirates arrived there two years ago. Their captain, Trafalgar D. Water Law, is a member of the Worst Generation and a former Shichibukai. They are currently in an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates, Kozuki Family, and Mink Tribe with the goal of taking down Kaido of the Yonko.

Jolly Roger
Unlike many other pirates from the North Blue, the Heart Pirates do not use a skull and crossbones, but a smiley face instead. The Heart Pirates' jolly roger has protrusions in six directions and is in fact pretty similar to that of the Donquixote Pirates, without the cancel sign over it. The smiley is a reference to Donquixote Rosinante, who wanted to be remembered smiling, in contrast to his brother Donquixote Doflamingo's murderous manner and contrasting symbol.

Known Members


The crew consists of twenty-one members, all but two of whom wear a pale-lilac boiler-suit apparel with the crew's Jolly Roger emblazoned on the left side of the chest, aside from their captain and Navigator. When Jean Bart first joined the crew, he merely wore a black shirt after changing out of his slave's clothes, but after the time-skip, he is shown to have adopted the same outfit as the rest of the crew. Their uniform is notable for being similar to the ones worn by the World Noble's slaves who were working in Tequila Wolf, with the only notable differences are the color and the Heart Pirates' have their jolly roger on their suits. They also have a single female crewmember. The anime depicts the full number of twenty-one, including Law, but some are to be considered non-canon, as they were never seen in the manga, especially since one of them is Pandaman. Several unnamed crewmembers make multiple appearances, such as the one with a white mask or the one with braids; on the other hand, some have only made one background appearance.

It appears that Bepo, Shachi and Penguin are all proficient in martial arts, in which they all seem stylistically similar. Their captain is also the doctor on-board.

Crew Strength
They are a strong crew for them to have made it all the way to Sabaody Archipelago, and have a captain who is a member of the Worst Generation. With the addition of the new member, famous pirate captain Jean Bart, the crew may have grown even stronger. All crewmembers were able to withstand a blast of Haki from Silvers Rayleigh, though Shachi stated that he almost passed out, which may indicate he is slightly less powerful.

Like the rest of Supernovas, they were able to escape Kizaru's raid. They were also able to make it to Marineford, where the war was taking place not long after leaving Sabaody Archipelago. They also assisted the minks in fighting against an invasion by the Beast Pirates led by Jack.

They also seem to have incredible medical expertise, as their submarine is equipped with various advanced medical equipment including a complete operating theater, and their captain is a surgeon capable enough to heal Luffy and Jinbe while the former was on the verge of death and the latter was brutally wounded by Akainu's magma.

Given that their captain is a former member of the Shichibukai, it is likely that the crew's reputation and strength have increased as well.

The crew on Law's behalf has become allies with the Straw Hat Pirates, making them such a dangerous alliance that it even jeopardized and ultimately cost Law's position in the Shichibukai.

Ship
The Heart Pirates use a submarine called the Polar Tang as their main mode of transportation.

The vessel seems to display considerable speed and maneuverability when submerged, as seen when it completely outpaced Aokiji's Ice Age, and evaded Kizaru's Yasakani no Magatama. It also seems that the Polar Tang can go through the Calm Belt since it left Amazon Lily without needing to be accompanied by the Kuja Pirates' ship.

Despite the fact that it works like a submarine, its design is similar to a ship as it has a mast and lamps on the outside. Also, on the side of it is the Jolly Roger of the Heart Pirates with the word DEATH, referring to the tattoos on Trafalgar Law's hands.

From the inside, the Polar Tang seems to be well-equipped with medical apparatuses and life-support systems all stored in the sick bay.

Past
Trafalgar D. Water Law, the captain of the Heart Pirates, was originally a crew member under Donquixote Doflamingo when he was 10 years old. During his time with the Donquixote Pirates, he partook in various raids while combating his Amber Lead Syndrome. He also met Vergo in their travels. He stayed with the crew until he turned 13, leaving the crew following the death of Corazon by Doflamingo's hands.



After his defection, Law traveled to Swallow Island, where he was taken in by Wolf. He then encountered Bepo, a mink who came from Zou, when the later was being bullied by Shachi and Penguin, two local ruffians. After Law beat up Shachi and Penguin when they turned on him next, the two boys and Bepo became interested in Law, causing them to join him.

Law and Bepo went to Wolf's house and started living with him. Later, Law and Bepo saved Shachi and Penguin when they were severely injured in a boar attack. After hearing their story, Law invited them to live with them in Wolf's house.

Law, Bepo, Shachi and Penguin eventually formed the Heart Pirates. They fought their way through Paradise and eventually reached the Sabaody Archipelago.

Sabaody Archipelago Arc
On their first appearance, the Heart Pirates were watching a battle between Urouge and Killer, until it was interrupted up by X Drake.

Afterwards they went to a slave auction. While not particularly taking part in the auctions, they watched the events and eventually witnessed Monkey D. Luffy punch Charlos. After the ensuing battle, Rayleigh appeared and used his Haki on everyone, including the Heart Pirates. Every member took it without a problem, except for Shachi, who got a bit dizzy. After the marines started to surround the building, Kid, Luffy and Law went out to deal with them. Eventually, Bepo joined the fray as well and Jean Bart was freed from his explosive collar and recruited, choosing his old pirate life over a life as a slave. While retreating and trying to escape from the marines, Jean smashed a bridge, to cut the marines off. Shortly afterwards, the crew encountered the Kid Pirates who were in a battle with a Pacifista, though they mistook it for Bartholomew Kuma. Law decided to help the Kid Pirates, in spite of Kid's protest. They fought the Pacifista together. While the battle was not shown, the Heart Pirates were shown to escape without any lasting damage.

Marineford Arc
During the Whitebeard War, the crew was still present on the on Sabaody Archipelago. They were just about to leave.

Later on, the crew appears on the battlefield to save Luffy. Due to Buggy distrusting the Heart Pirates, he did not hand a badly wounded Luffy and Jinbe over right away. However, both the crew and Buggy started to panic when Kizaru began attacking Luffy, Jinbe and Buggy, so Buggy handed them over to the crew despite his mistrust. The crew then submerged with their submarine and managed to escape all three of the Admirals' attacks.

Post-War Arc
On their journey, a marine battleship came along with them. It was shown that Boa Hancock, Iva and his okamas were on the Marine battleship, much to the pirate crew's relief. Boa Hancock then invited the Heart Pirates to treat Luffy on Amazon Lily.

After Luffy's treatment was over, the Heart Pirates headed off, though unlike many other pirates, Law decided to stay in "Paradise" for a bit longer.

During The Timeskip
Sometime during the timeskip, Law became a Shichibukai, giving the Heart Pirates immunity from the World Government. A month before the return of the Straw Hat Pirates, the Heart Pirates went to Zou to wait for Law while he executed his plan to take down Donquixote Doflamingo. They were under the care of Nekomamushi, since Bepo is a native of Zou.

Punk Hazard Arc
Law went to Punk Hazard to wait for the Straw Hat Pirates, and formed an alliance with Caesar Clown. The Straw Hats arrived a month later, and Law asked to form an alliance with Luffy to take down Kaido, which Luffy accepted, officially forming an alliance between the Heart and Straw Hat Pirates. Law turned against Caesar and his subordinates, and with the help of the Straw Hats and the Marine branch G-5, defeated Caesar's team and blew up the facility producing SAD as part of his plan to cripple the SMILE trade between Doflamingo and Kaido. He also captured Caesar in order to force Doflamingo to quit the Shichibukai, since Caesar was vital to SMILE production.

Dressrosa Arc
Law and the Straw Hats then went to Doflamingo's kingdom, Dressrosa, to destroy the SMILE Factory and fully cripple Doflamingo's trade with Kaido. Law took Caesar to Green Bit to complete his deal with Doflamingo, but discovered that Doflamingo had never quit the Shichibukai. Marine Admiral Fujitora accompanied Doflamingo to confront Law, stripping him of his Shichibukai status for allying with the Straw Hats, and proceeded to attack him with Doflamingo. Law managed to prevent Doflamingo from getting Caesar back, and revealed that his goal was actually to bring Doflamingo down to avenge Corazon and die if necessary, so he ended his alliance with the Straw Hats. Law was defeated and captured, and when Luffy came to rescue him, he attempted to end the alliance, but Luffy refused. Law and Luffy made a final charge toward Doflamingo with the help of various allies, and confronted him once again. Despite being brutally injured by Doflamingo, Law fought as long as he could and left Luffy to finish Doflamingo off, which the pirate succeeded in doing. Three days later, Law and the Straw Hats left Dressrosa, and Law's bounty increased, indicating he had been officially expelled from the Shichibukai.

Invasion of Zou
During the Beasts Pirates' attack on Zou, the Heart Pirates fought alongside the Mink Tribe.

Zou Arc
After Luffy's group arrived, the Heart Pirates got reacquainted with Luffy after he arrived at the Whale Forest. They were later reunited with Law after he arrived at their location using Bepo's vivre card. Law then brought his crew to introduce them to the Straw Hats, and talked to Luffy alone about their plans for dealing with Kaido and Luffy's quarrel with Big Mom.

The next day, upon finding out about the Kozuki Family's quest to defeat Kaido, Law agreed to have the Heart Pirates join the newly-formed Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance against Kaido. The Heart Pirates, some of the Straw Hats, and the Kozuki Family retainers prepared to travel to Wano Country in the Heart Pirates' submarine while Luffy's group rescued Sanji and Nekomamushi looked for the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates.

Wano Country Arc
After leaving Zou, the Heart Pirates infiltrated Wano Country. From the top of a mountain, Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin spotted Luffy and Zoro through binoculars as the latter two entered Okobore Town. When Luffy and Zoro were heading to the Bakura District in pursuit of a Gifter that abducted a little girl, the trio informed Law about the situation. Alarmed, Law planned to stop Luffy and Zoro from causing trouble. On the way to Bakura Town, Bepo ate a fish from the polluted river and got sick, delaying the Heart Pirates from reaching the town. After entering the town, Law confronted Hawkins. Law briefly fought Hawkins, but their confrontation was interrupted when Luffy and his group passed by with a cart of food stolen from the Beasts Pirates. After they brought the food to Okobore Town and Law scolded Luffy and Zoro for their reckless behaviour, he took them to the ruins of Oden's castle.

Law, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo stood outside the castle as Kin'emon talked with Luffy and the group that traveled to Wano on the Thousand Sunny. They later witnessed Kaido's arrival to the Kuri region. When Luffy dashed off to face Kaido, Law went after him alone. Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo were still at the castle when Kaido destroyed it with a fire breath. They survived thanks to Shinobu sinking them into the ground.

After the ordeal at Oden Castle, the Heart Pirates worked to deliver Kin'emon's secret message to his allies. Sometime later, Law's crewmates were captured to be used as bait for Law. The captured Heart Pirates were incarcerated in the Rasetsu District Prison along with the arrested rebels. Prior to Law's arrival, Hawkins linked himself to Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin, and Bepo was moved to another location. When Law came to rescue his crewmates, Hawkins confronted him. Law surrendered to Hawkins in exchange for the release of his crewmates. Also, he asked them to keep the information of his capture a secret to Luffy. Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin reunited with the rest of the crew, and Bepo gave Nami Yasuie's last message.

Trivia

 * In the Japanese fandom, Penguin and Shachi were often called "Penguin" (ペンギン) and "Casquette" (キャスケット). The former after the word on his cap, and the latter after the Japanese name of the type of hat he wears.
 * The Heart Pirates' Jolly Roger resembles a virus, a suitable choice considering Trafalgar Law's profession and his epithet: "Surgeon of Death".
 * Also their jolly roger is a "smiley", as first seen used by Law's former superior Donquixote Doflamingo. But unlike Doflamingo's smiley, theirs does not have a "cancel" sign across it. At the end of Chapter 766, Corazon wanted Law to remember him smiling if he ever thought about him in the future, therefore this is most likely the origin for the smile on the jolly roger.
 * Before the timeskip, all the crew members except for Law, Bepo, and Jean Bart had their face obscured by some kind of hat.
 * Law having a submarine for a ship might be a reference to the Trafalgar class of submarines.
 * The name "Heart Pirates" have several possible origins.
 * It is likely a reference to Doflamingo's promise to give the "heart" position in his organization to Law.
 * It may be a reference to Law's Mes technique, in which he literally takes the heart from his opponents.
 * The crew may also have been named in honor of Corazon (Spanish for heart), who was Doflamingo's younger brother, Law's benefactor, and the previous owner of the heart seat in the Donquixote Family. This is a fact that particularly infuriates Doflamingo, believing it to be a curse derived from his younger brother's kindness.
 * Additionally, the Ope Ope no Mi was shaped like a heart, further referencing the heart theme.
 * In an SBS, a fan noted that the crew seem to have a "cold climate animal" theme: Bepo is a polar bear, Penguin and Shachi are named after polar animals (although orcas are found in all oceans) and Law's hat is like a larga seal. Oda acknowledged this and also noted that Law was represented by a snow leopard (another cold climate animal) in Toshio Asakuma's Animal Figurine Collection. Their submarine's name continues this pattern.
 * In a later SBS, three additional members names are revealed to follow that theme: Ikkaku means "narwhal", Uni means "sea urchin", and Clione is a genus of sea slugs.
 * Jean Bart is the only known member not to follow this theme.

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