Koby

Koby the Hero is a Marine Captain who trained together with Helmeppo under Vice Admiral Garp's supervision. He is currently a member of the Marine special forces unit SWORD.

He was formerly an involuntary pirate ship caretaker for the Alvida Pirates until he was liberated by Luffy, being the first person Luffy befriended on his travels. He reunited with Luffy during the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, after becoming a fully-fledged Marine soldier. During the timeskip, Koby earned fame as a hero for his actions through the Rocky Port Incident. After a failed attempt to arrest Boa Hancock, he was a prisoner of the Blackbeard Pirates until he escaped with the help of Perona, his colleagues at SWORD and his mentor, Monkey D. Garp.

Due to his status as a hero, the Cross Guild has assigned Koby a 5-star bounty, worth 500,000,000.

He is Luffy's ally during the Romance Dawn Arc. He and Helmeppo are the central characters from the Diary of Koby-Meppo Cover Page Serial and supporting antagonists of the Post-Enies Lobby Arc. Koby is also a brief antagonist in the Marineford Arc.

Appearance
In his first appearance, Koby was a small, timid, chubby boy with kobi pink hair and round-frame glasses.

Due to the passage of time and Garp's training, Koby has grown thinner and taller, standing close to Luffy in height. He has also gained a cross-shaped scar above his right eye, presumably earned under Garp's heavy-handed tutelage. His hair has grown longer and shaggier since his growth spurt, but it has retained its kobi pink color.

Koby wears a standard-issue Marine jacket, pants, and neckerchief as well as a brightly patterned bandanna worn tied across his forehead. Koby's glasses are still present, but he has adopted the habit of wearing them pushed up on his forehead, occasionally using them for reading.

After the timeskip, Koby has grown even taller, reaching Garp's shoulders. He now wears a scarf, a senior officer's Marine coat with the word "justice" on it, a merit on his jacket, and a new bandanna. The scar on his forehead also has grown wider.

Personality
Koby was first introduced as the Alvida Pirates' hapless ship caretaker who lived in fear of both the ship's crew and captain. Two years of forced servitude had robbed him of all hope of escaping as well as his dream of becoming a Marine, leaving him with few goals other than avoiding being bludgeoned to death by Alvida's iron mace. Luffy was less than impressed with Koby's cowardice, describing him as "pretty stupid and useless...and kinda wimpy too". However, Luffy's boundless optimism and single-minded pursuit of his dream rekindled a similar conviction in the downtrodden ship caretaker, allowing him to defy his captors, even under the threat of a brutal death by Alvida's mace.

As the pair continued in their travels, Koby remained timid and cautious, often relying on Luffy to perform dangerous tasks and becoming alarmed by his companion's reckless behavior.

He was also shown to be perceptive, noting that it was "strange" for the citizens of Shells Town to be afraid of a Marine Captain and telling Luffy that he had "a bad feeling about this." Koby's naïve belief in the blanket integrity of the Marines was dashed when he witnessed the actions of Axe-Hand Morgan and his son, but it only strengthened his resolve to become, in his words, "a real Marine."

Under Garp's instruction, Koby's timidity has been replaced with confidence, although he remains polite, self-effacing, and apologetic if he feels he has done something overly ambitious (such as publicly stating his goal to become a Marine admiral). He continues to be an emotional, compassionate person who can easily be driven to tears for a variety of reasons, which led to Zoro jocularly calling him a "crybaby" during their reunion at Water 7.

Koby does not act with the reckless bravery that many characters in the series exhibit, but rather on moral compunction. He has put his life on the line at least twice for the sake of what he feels is right, most notably at the Summit War of Marineford where he brought fighting to a standstill by facing down Admiral Akainu and bought the precious seconds needed for Luffy to escape

Koby has an immense amount of determination. In the early days of his training as a Marine when he was still weak, he would trained relentlessly non-stop by punching battleships which could only be done by powerful Marines such as Garp and Kuzan due to acknowledging his lack of fighting talent. Despite his already exhaustive training session with Garp, he continued to train on a daily basis despite his hands would keep bleeding from the injuries.

For all he has done and is capable of doing, Koby is rather humble, as he denied Kyros' claim of him being a hero during the Rocky Port Incident and did not claim credit for stopping a torpedo that was aiming at the Dressrosa and Prodence Kingdom ships. He felt ashamed for thinking Marines had come to rescue him and considered it thinking that the world revolved around him when trying to escape from Hachinosu, and was shocked when he discovered they had come for him.

Monkey D. Garp
Garp is the mentor/instructor of Koby and Helmeppo; he keeps them out of trouble and ensures that they are not slacking off. If they do get out of hand, he knocks them around to ensure they know their place. Koby admires Garp, even though he maintains a highly brutal clutch on him because he would not be where he is without him. Garp was horrified when Koby shouted out to stop the massacre at Marineford during the Whitebeard War.

After Koby was captured by Blackbeard, Garp went to Hachinosu to rescue his apprentice much to his shock and surprised that Garp and the rest came just to rescue him. Garp acknowledged Koby's potential and determination as he entrusted Koby to stop Pizzaro's devastating attack on the Marine Ship.

Helmeppo


After his father's termination from the Marines, Helmeppo lost access to the luxurious life that he once held under his father's rank. He was forced to become a chore boy alongside Koby, and despite Koby's good-natured attempts to befriend him, he refused any of it. After being kidnapped by his own father and held hostage, Helmeppo disowned his father and started changing, becoming braver and less of a spoiled brat. Eventually, Koby and Helmeppo become good friends. Now they are working together. In addition, Helmeppo seems to care for Koby, and he rushed to help him after being defeated by Luffy.

After Koby had been captured by the Blackbeard Pirates, Helmeppo wanted to go save his friend as soon as possible, pleading with his superiors to do so.

Sakazuki
Koby seems to have a great fear of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. He and Helmeppo were terrified when they witnessed him executing a fellow marine simply for abandoning his post. Also, after Koby’s speech about the lives of their comrades, Sakazuki was unmoved in the slightest and tried to kill him, only to be stopped by Shanks. This incident did not affect Koby's standing in the Marines, since he was promoted to the rank of Captain after Akainu's promotion to Fleet Admiral.

X Drake
Koby and X Drake seem to know each other due to their familiarity during their conversation by Den Den Mushi. They appear to have a trusted professional relationship due to Koby being one of the few people who is aware that Drake's return to piracy was a ruse, and he is still affiliated with the Marines as a commanding officer of the SWORD unit.

Monkey D. Luffy


Koby was one of the first people Luffy met on his journey. He traveled briefly with Luffy, acting as a temporary navigator after Luffy had helped him escape from his servitude to Alvida. He later joined the Marines following the incident with Captain Morgan. The two also encountered each other at Water 7. Although they are now on opposite sides and will inevitably have to fight, Koby and Luffy still consider each other friends, since Luffy helped Koby muster up the courage to become a Marine.

They were both happy to see each other again at Water 7 though he was surprised to learn of Luffy's father. However, during the Battle at Marineford, Koby chose to fight Luffy only to be swiftly defeated by a punch to the face. Despite that, this has not damaged their friendship, as Koby still admires Luffy's strength. Koby would frequently speak praises of Luffy in front of the other Marines such as X Drake despite his status as an infamous pirate.

Roronoa Zoro
Koby also met Zoro while he was imprisoned in Captain Morgan's Marine base. At first, Koby was afraid of Zoro's bad reputation. However, after finding out Zoro had a kind personality, Koby started to admire him. Both of them were glad to see each other again at Water 7. However, Zoro acknowledged that Koby was better friends with Luffy than with himself.

Alvida Pirates


Koby was forced to serve as a chore boy under Alvida and her crew for two years after he had accidentally boarded their ship. Because of his cowardice, he would do whatever he was ordered to do without question. He was often mocked by the pirates in Alvida's crew. Alvida would often ask Koby who was the most beautiful woman in the world and, if he did not reply that she was, he would be punished. When Luffy showed up, he explained to Koby that he was willing to die for his dream. After Koby had realized that he should also be willing to die for his dream, he found the courage to openly defy Alvida and express his true feelings towards her. This angered Alvida, and she was about to kill Koby, but Luffy stepped in and quickly defeated her.

Boa Hancock
After the dissolution of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Koby was sent to capture Boa Hancock, who herself was preparing to fight back. He offered Hancock a peace solution which is to surrender herself and come with the Marines just so the World Government will spare her people, only for her to angrily refuse and turn most of the Marines into stone, save for Koby. He seems currently unaware, however, of her affiliation with Luffy.

Marshall D. Teach
Koby was captured by Blackbeard and his crew after the invasion of Amazon Lily. According to Blackbeard, Koby helped him oust Ochoku and take over Hachinosu during the Rocky Port incident, but the details of such event are still unknown. When Blackbeard held 800 marines soldiers hostage against him, Koby surrendered and turned himself to Teach in exchange to release the Marine hostages. Blackbeard intended to use Koby to negotiate with the Government to legalize Hachinosu as a country for criminals, which Koby contemptuously rebuffed. When Blackbeard learns the true agenda of SWORD, Blackbeard confident of wanting to see Koby get disavowed due to the World Government not wanted to lose a popular Marine.

Abilities and Powers
In his first appearance, Koby lacked any fighting skills, let alone even above-average physical prowess. According to Alvida, the only reason she kept him around was because he happened to be good at navigation. He gained some fighting skills after he trained under Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp, alongside Helmeppo, learning the Rokushiki, surprising Luffy and Zoro from the amount of growth he'd undergone. After the two year timeskip, Koby reached the rank of Captain, granting him command over lower-ranked Marines and charge of his own ship. In addition to this, at some point he became a member of the covert Marine squadron SWORD, who are granted enough free reign to take on missions normal Marines could not, including challenging any of the Four Emperors.

At some point, he became regarded as a "Hero" because of the Rocky Port Incident, somehow assisting the Emperor, Blackbeard in defeating Ochoku, a former member of the Rocks Pirates and a famous pirate comparable to Shiki and Captain John. During the Marines' invasion of Amazon Lily to arrest the former Warlord, Boa Hancock, Koby was one of the few people to not get petrified by her powers: a notable feat as Yamakaji, Catarina Devon, Vasco Shot, a Vice Admiral and two of the Blackbeard Pirates' Titanic Captains were among the Marines and pirates to be petrified. After the Cross Guild placed bounties on Marines, his was 500,000,000, most notable as most Marine Captains are worth 100,000,000.

He has some knowledge of swordsmanship, as he was seen practicing with Helmeppo and Bogard.

Physical Abilities


Due to his harsh training regimen under Garp as well as further gruesome training in his spare time, Koby has developed superhuman physical prowess and attributes, such as strength and speed, capable of pulling off one of the Rokushiki techniques, Soru, momentarily surprising and kicking Luffy before he could react, as well as avoiding his punch. As with his mentor and Kuzan, to make up for his lack of talent when he was still weak, he would often use retired battleships as punching bags, often doing so every night after finishing training with Garp despite suffering the intense pain and continously bleeding his hands, all while not using Haki to build up punching power; where at some point, like those powerful Marines, he'd become capable of caving in the armored hulls. After the two-year timeskip and mastering Rokushiki, Koby displays more impressive physical prowess for a Marine Captain, showing himself to be an excellent swimmer, catching up, then redirecting a torpedo barehanded within seconds. Most notably, he has proved himself to be strong and durable enough to be the last Marine standing up against the former Warlord, Boa Hancock, and the Emperor, Marshall D. Teach, having also been involved in somehow aiding the Emperor defeat former Rocks Pirate Ochoku.

While on Hachinosu, despite still being chained to an iron ball and still recovering from the previous battle on Amazon Lily, Koby could free the captured people and escape from numerous pirates attacking him. A testament to his developing punching power, a Haki-enhanced punch was powerful enough to break apart Avalo Pizarro's island hand, a feat almost comparable to that of his mentor.

In Episode of Luffy, he shattered a gigantic metal disk with a single punch and performed Rokushiki techniques with great ease.

Techniques

 * Honesty Impact: Koby imbues his fist with Busoshoku Haki before delivering a massively powerful punch with shockwaves that project forward. This was first seen being used to destroy Avalo Pizarro's island hand.

Rokushiki
Since his training with Garp, Koby has become strong enough to use at least one of the Rokushiki, the Soru technique. He has used Soru against Luffy twice: once at Water 7 and once at the Summit War of Marineford, although the technique did not help him win either fight.

After the timeskip, Koby has mastered his Rokushiki techniques.

In One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World he is also capable of using the Geppo and Rankyaku techniques.

In Episode of Luffy, he shows to be able to use a technique similar to Rankyaku, but this was done with his arms.

Busoshoku Haki
Koby is an extremely skilled Busoshoku Haki user.

At Hachinosu, an almost exhausted Koby hardened his fist to break apart Avalo Pizarro's gigantic hand, preparing to crush their escaping battleship, which carried civilians and comrades. Furthermore, he proved skilled and powerful in the advanced application of emitting Haki without a medium, resulting in him blasting apart the Ten Titanic Captains' gigantic island hand. Such a feat of Busoshoku Haki sparked immediate astonishment from the Marines, SWORD members, and Blackbeard Pirates, some of which included Devil Fruit users and combatants who fought powerful opponents.

Kenbunshoku Haki
During the Summit War of Marineford, Koby awakened Kenbunshoku Haki. Koby was shown hunched over and crying intensely on the battlefield, saying that the voices in his head were disappearing one by one as the combatants around him were slain, much like what Aisa felt during the Skypiea Arc.

After the timeskip, Koby had developed his Kenbunshoku Haki to a very advanced level. He was able to notice a torpedo headed towards the Dressrosa-Prodence Kingdom ship underwater from his own ship a ways off, shocking Helmeppo, who did not notice it despite having Kenbunshoku Haki as well. On top of that, Koby also managed to sense Kyros's great strength despite just meeting him.

Past
Koby was born eighteen years ago in the East Blue. When Koby was 14 he had intended to board a ship for a fishing trip one day, but he got on the wrong ship and ended up with the Alvida Pirates. To stay alive, Koby put himself in servitude to the crew. He harbored dreams of escaping and becoming a Marine and worked on building an escape boat for two years. During his time on Alvida's ship she learned news that a man named Bartholomew Kuma was elected as a new Warlord of the sea. She asked Koby which of the two were stronger to which he stated Alvida was, having no other choice but to say so.

Romance Dawn Arc


Koby was onboard the Miss Love Duck as Alvida beat around her crew members for leaving the ship dirty. She kicked him around as well before telling him to go clean the washroom. Koby discovered a barrel that had washed ashore on Goat Island and rolled it to a storeroom, thinking it was full of sake. Koby, Heppoko, Peppoko and Poppoko prepared to start drinking when Monkey D. Luffy suddenly burst out of the barrel. Alvida heard the commotion and threw her mace at the storehouse, and Koby chased after Luffy as he was sent tumbling away by the impact.

Luffy asked Koby for a boat, and Koby presented him with his self-made boat, saying he did not have the courage to escape on it. Luffy was not impressed with Koby, telling him about his dream to become Pirate King and his lack of fear of dying in his quest. Koby was very impressed with Luffy's resolve and began talking about his own dream, but Alvida suddenly came in and smashed his boat with her mace. Thinking Koby had hired Luffy to capture her, Alvida gave him one last chance to say she was beautiful, only for Luffy to insult her offhandedly. As he remembered Luffy's resolve, Koby threw away his fear of death and insulted Alvida as well. He stood firm as the enraged Alvida prepared to kill him, but Luffy suddenly jumped in front of Koby as he took Alvida's mace without being harmed and defeated her with a single punch. Luffy then told the Alvida Pirates to get him and Koby a boat, to which they complied.



As they set off to sea, Koby was concerned about what Luffy's fate in the Grand Line would be, and Luffy said he would recruit a strong crew starting with the bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro. This shocked Koby, who believed Zoro was a bloodthirsty criminal. The duo reached the Marine base where Zoro was being held prisoner, and prepared to part ways after eating at a restaurant. The other customers recoiled in shock when Luffy mentioned Zoro, but to Koby's surprise, they also recoiled after he had mentioned Morgan, the captain of the Marine base. The two then went to the Shells Town's Marine base and looked for Zoro, and Koby became fearful upon finding him. When Zoro asked for Luffy to free him, Koby discouraged Luffy out of fear for his safety, but Luffy ignored him. However, a girl named Rika suddenly climbed up next to Koby and Luffy, and the two watched as she tried feeding Zoro some rice balls, only to be caught by Morgan's son, Helmeppo, and thrown out. Koby tended to Rika while Luffy went to Zoro, and after Luffy had returned, they went into the village and Rika told them about how Zoro was unjustly imprisoned by Helmeppo and Morgan.

Helmeppo then came into the village, mentioning to Luffy how he planned to execute Zoro in three days despite giving Zoro a chance at freedom, and Koby watched as Luffy punched him for dishonestly imprisoning Zoro. Koby held Luffy back from attacking Helmeppo further, and grew worried as Helmeppo went away and promised revenge. Luffy went to go recruit Zoro, and a little while later, Koby went to free Zoro because he wanted to uphold real justice as a Marine. He was shot in the shoulder by a Marine, but decided to stay and continue freeing Zoro. Koby revealed Helmeppo's deception to Zoro and said that Luffy had attacked Helmeppo because of this. Suddenly, the two of them were surrounded by Marines.



The Marines shot at Koby and Zoro, but they were suddenly shielded by Luffy, whose rubber body shot the bullets back, and Koby fainted after seeing this. He came too soon afterward, only to see the Marines charging at them with swords. However, Luffy freed Zoro and the two pirates took out the Marines. As Luffy fought Morgan, Koby called for him to defeat the Marines, and was shocked as Morgan sliced an entire fence in two with his axe hand. Koby watched as Luffy overwhelmed Morgan, but he was held at gunpoint by Helmeppo in an attempt to stop Luffy. Koby said he was not afraid of death and watched as Luffy punched Helmeppo while Zoro struck Morgan down. To Koby's surprise, the Marines then celebrated their captain's defeat.



Koby, Luffy, and Zoro then went to Rika's mother's restaurant, and Koby reflected that Luffy and Zoro were the first friends he made. The Marines then came in and asked Luffy and Zoro to leave the island since they were pirates, and they asked if Koby was with them. Koby denied it, but Luffy started telling the Marines about his past with Alvida. This caused Koby to punch Luffy and the two to get into a fight, but as they were broken up, Koby knew that Luffy did that to distance the two of them and allow him to join the Marines. He then asked to join the Marines, and although they were aware of his past, they agreed to his request. As Luffy and Zoro prepared to sail away, Koby came and saluted them in thanks, and to his surprise he was joined by the rest of the Marines as they thanked Luffy and Zoro for their actions.

Diary of Koby-Meppo


After joining the Marines, Koby and Helmeppo started out as Marine chore boys at the 153rd Branch in Shells Town. The two were later tasked with chore duty on a ship transferring the prisoner Morgan. As Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp was taking Morgan into his custody, Morgan caught Garp off-guard and slashed him before taking Helmeppo hostage. Morgan fled on a small boat with his hostage and the Marines prepared to fire on the small vessel. However, Koby, not willing to let them kill his friend, scared them away with a gun. Bogard sliced Koby's guns into pieces, but Garp stepped in before the two could continue fighting. Though Morgan escaped, the bravery shown by the two earned them the attention of Garp, who took the two under his wing as pupils. Koby and Helmeppo accompanied the vice admiral to Marineford to train under him. Despite the harsh training under Garp, Koby continued to force himself to trained even harder in his spare time by punching retired battleships non-stop due to acknowledging his complete lack of talent in fighting. He would persist in this brutal training method despite the intense pain and bleeding.

Jango's Dance Paradise
Garp's training made Koby and Helmeppo physically fitter. While taking a break, they walked past Hina's subordinates who were dancing and cleaning.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc


Koby went to Water 7 alongside Helmeppo when Garp paid Luffy a visit. On the vice admiral's order, Helmeppo charged at Zoro while Koby attacked Luffy. Both he and Helmeppo were easily beaten after a brief skirmish. Koby cheerfully admitted defeat and reintroduced himself to Luffy and Zoro, asking if they remembered him. Although the Straw Hat captain initially had trouble recognizing Koby due to his growth spurt, the trio were happily reunited. Koby, like the Straw Hat crew and the rest of Garp's men, was shocked when the vice admiral revealed that the revolutionary Dragon is his son and Luffy's father.

After some time, Zoro went back inside with the other Straw Hats, leaving Luffy, Koby, and Helmeppo to sit outside and reminisce about their first meeting and the young Marine's journey to the Grand Line. Luffy insisted that the two Marines come in and share a meal with his crew, but Koby declined the invitation, saying that he and Luffy were members of opposing factions and that they should not be too friendly with one another. Before he left, Koby asked Luffy what he knew about the latter half of the Grand Line, which Marines and pirates call "the New World." He requested to meet the Straw Hat captain again in that sea, promising to be strong enough to fight and capture him.



He became so worked up that he accidentally blurted out his dream of becoming an admiral before immediately collapsing in embarrassment. Luffy accepted Koby's ambitious proclamation as a certainty, saying that if the Marine wanted to fight with him in the New World, then he could not be anything other than an admiral. Koby was moved to tears by Luffy's unshakable faith in him and was teased by Zoro for still being a crybaby. Koby and Helmeppo departed, repeating their challenge to the Straw Hats to meet again in the New World.

Koby saw Luffy one more time as he left Water 7 when Garp attacked. He was afraid the vice admiral would sink the Thousand Sunny and its crew but was relieved when the Straw Hats managed to escape.

Marineford Arc


Koby and Helmeppo reported to Marineford to participate in the war against the Whitebeard Pirates, and they were present for Sengoku's speech about Portgas D. Ace's past. After hearing that Ace was Gol D. Roger's son, the two came to a conclusion that Ace and Luffy were not biological brothers.

Frightened by the display of power from both sides and the ensuing bloodshed as the Marines and Whitebeard's forces clash, Koby and Helmeppo ran away. By chance, they crossed paths with Akainu and, from their hiding place behind a wall, witnessed the admiral brutally punishing another Marine for deserting. They later overheard Sengoku's communication with Akainu through the admiral's Den Den Mushi, which revealed the fleet admiral's plan to ignore the schedule and execute Ace right away. It was then that they noticed Luffy's ship falling from the sky. Upon seeing Luffy, Koby was utterly surprised. When Sengoku announced that Luffy is Dragon's son, Koby was shocked that the Fleet Admiral decided to reveal such information.



When Luffy was charging to the execution stand to rescue Ace, Koby blocked his path, determined to fight him. He told himself that, if he cowered away from the situation, he would not be able to improve. His resolve, however, was not enough as Koby was no match for Luffy and was defeated with a single punch. Luffy moved on, leaving Koby unconscious in the middle of the battlefield.

Eventually, Koby woke up, distressed that the war was still raging despite the fact that Ace had been killed by Akainu. The trauma of the battle triggered his own Haki, allowing him to involuntarily sense every human presence nearby on the battlefield (described by Koby as voices inside his head). He was reduced to tears as he listened to the voices of the combatants disappearing one by one as they were killed. As the violence rose to a fever pitch, Koby screamed at the top of his lungs, begging both sides to stop throwing lives away for a war that no longer had any purpose.

Let's stop this already! No more fighting! Let's end this! This is a waste of lives! Each one of these Marines has a family waiting for them at home! We've already completed our goal! Chasing after pirates who have no will to fight, desiring for wars that could be prevented, abandoning Marines that could be saved if attended to, and just piling more sacrifices on top of them! Every Marine that falls from here on out...don't you think they'll look like complete idiots?"



The young Marine's cry caused a moment's pause in the battle and inadvertently saved Luffy's life. Kizaru, who was seconds away from destroying Trafalgar Law's submarine, stopped to look at Koby, which gave the Heart Pirates the time needed to submerge and flee from the battlefield with Luffy on board. Akainu, unimpressed, prepared to kill Koby for wasting "precious seconds" of the battle. The young Marine fearfully steeled himself for death, reassuring himself that he said what he had to say and that he had no regrets.

His life was saved by the sudden arrival of Shanks, who commended the young Marine for his actions, explaining that his few seconds of courage had drastically changed the future of the world. Koby immediately fell unconscious after his timely rescue from an otherwise certain demise.

Post-War Arc


At Marine Headquarters healing center, Koby rested with other injured soldiers and Helmeppo at his bedside. He was still clearly traumatized by the events, saying that he had felt human presences too strongly and that he could not calm down. Doctor Fishbonen told him that what he was feeling was Haki and that all Marines ranked vice admiral and above have Haki. The doctor suggested that Garp should be able to help Koby. Helmeppo was envious that Koby seemed to have advanced in skill, though Koby claimed to not have known about the ability in the first place.

During the Timeskip
During the Rocky Port Incident, Koby saved civilian lives, so he came to be regarded as a hero. His involvement also enabled Blackbeard to overthrow Ochoku and take over Hachinosu.

One Piece Film: Z
After Firs Island was destroyed by Z, Koby appeared on a Marine battle ship along with Helmeppo and Garp, who revealed to him the existence of Z. Later, after the destruction of Secon Island, Garp and Sengoku explained to him and Helmeppo about Z's past.

Marine Rookie Arc
Koby was with Garp in his office when the latter received a call from Vice Admiral Prodi, who was angry about the new transfer Grount's actions in his base on Fron Island. After the call, Koby wondered why Grount wanted to be transferred to such a remote area.

Levely Arc


When a pirate crew shot a torpedo at the Dressrosa-Prodence Kingdom convoy to the Levely, Koby swam up to it and redirected its path before jumping on deck and greeting the Riku Family on board. He contacted Helmeppo, who took out the pirates, before talking with Kyros, who commended his actions during the Rocky Port Incident. Koby denied his heroism before Rebecca came bearing news of Luffy. Koby read the news of Luffy's exploits at Totto Land with delight, and tried to mask his admiration of Luffy to Rebecca, but she told him they could talk about it in secret.

One Piece: Stampede


He is one of the Marines who arrived at Delta Island to capture the pirates, where he faced several alongside Helmeppo.

Afterward, he was impressed when Douglas Bullet merged with several ships. During a Buster Call on the island, despite Smoker asking him and his companions to withdraw, he offered to fight Bullet, but was restrained by Hina and forced to leave the island.

Wano Country Arc


After the abolishment of the Seven Warlords of the Sea system, Koby headed for Amazon Lily to capture Boa Hancock. On the way, he contacted X Drake via Den Den Mushi and was informed of Kaidou and Big Mom's newly formed alliance and CP0's arrival in Wano Country.

Employing the new Seraphim, the Marines fought their way into Amazon Lily. When the Blackbeard Pirates invaded, Koby requested that Hancock hand herself into Marine custody, but the Empress refused and attacked the invaders, petrifying most of the Marines and pirates. Koby ordered S-Hawk to stop attacking because it risked damaging the Marines. Before Hancock could attack the distracted Koby, Teach grabbed Hancock and held her by the throat, nullifying her power. When she revealed that killing her would make the petrification permanent, Koby tried to negotiate Hancock's release so she could free everyone but Teach refused to trust Hancock. Before Teach could kill her though, Silvers Rayleigh arrived, much to Koby's shock and awe, and acted as mediator for the situation. Hancock was freed and restored the petrified people. In the aftermath of the battle, when the Blackbeard Pirates attempted to abduct 800 Marine soldiers and one battleship, Koby offered up his life instead, leading to them taking him in the soldiers' place.

One Piece Film: Red
Uta organized a concert on Elegia in order to realize her dream of performing for the whole world. Koby was present during the concert.

Egghead Arc


Upon being taken to Hachinosu, Teach informs Koby that he plans to use the Marine's life as ransom for turning Hachinosu into a World Government-affiliated nation. Koby was disgusted by the idea of a country of criminals and pointed out that Marines would not give in since he was a member of SWORD. After listening to Kuzan's explanation of the organization, Teach still intended to continue with his plan, doubting that the World Government would give up on such a popular Marine as Koby, so Koby was imprisoned on Hachinosu.



A few weeks after the assault on Amazon Lily, Perona brought the keys to Koby in exchange for him freeing Gecko Moria, who had also imprisoned on the island. Koby agreed and, after freeing other prisoners as well, led an escape across the island. Once Avalo Pizarro noticed the breakout and alerted the island, Koby acted as a decoy in order to distract the pirates from pursuing the other escapees. Shortly after, SWORD began attacking the island and pirates. When Koby ended up encircled by pirates, Hibari used Flower Rounds to turn all their ammunition into GP Flowers, saving Koby. He was then shocked to see a battleship launched into the air toward the island, and stared in disbelief that Garp was among the Marines who had come to save him. Relieved to see Garp, Koby rushed to the battleship alongside Hibari and was surprised to see so many Marines coming to save him, including non-SWORD members like Tashigi. However, his joy was then disrupted when he saw Hibari being frozen by Kuzan, who stated he could not let Koby escape. Koby begged Kuzan to unfreeze Hibari, but Kuzan ignored him while fighting Garp.

After all of the prisoners are rescued and everyone except himself, Helmeppo, Prince Grus, and Garp board Garp's ship, Koby prepares to retreat only to be distracted by a woman calling for help. He rushes to her aid, only to discover that she was luring him into a trap. All of a sudden, he gets pushed to the ground by Garp, who ends up getting stabbed by Shiryu. Koby apologizes for needing to be saved by Garp, but the latter explains he was Shiryu's real target. After Garp himself gets knocked down, Koby sees Pizarro threaten to crush everyone on Garp's ship with a giant hand made from the island, but Garp calms him down and confidently tells him that he can stop Pizarro. Sure enough, Koby does so by using his phenomenal strength to destroy Pizarro's hand while at the same time board the ship along with Grus and Helmeppo. However, when he learns that he wants them to abandon him and save themselves, Koby immediately says to Grus to turn back for him, but he is ultimately forced to leave with the rest of his crew.

Major Battles

 * Koby and Helmeppo vs. Bogard
 * Koby and Helmeppo vs. Luffy and Zoro (Water 7)
 * Koby vs. Luffy (Marineford)
 * Koby, Vasco Shot, Catarina Devon, Yamakaji and Helmeppo vs. Boa Hancock
 * Koby and Garp vs. Avalo Pizarro

Filler Battles

 * Koby and Helmeppo vs. Morgan
 * Koby and Helmeppo vs. Monkey D. Garp

Romance Dawn Arc
The anime rewrites the initial meeting between Luffy and Koby (and the rest of the Alvida Pirates) to be more dynamic, with Alvida forcing Koby to participate in a raid on a civilian ship, where he discovers Luffy's barrel; the Alvida Pirates' base island is completely removed, and with it the crude escape boat that Koby built during his captivity.

In addition, the anime does not depict Koby being shot when he tries to free Zoro but this is kept in the special.

Finally, the anime has Koby explain the world's basic geography—information the manga originally delivered through Nami, on the Island of Rare Animals—to Luffy, Zoro, and Rika shortly before the Straw Hats leave Shells Town.

Diary of Koby-Meppo
Due to the compressed storytelling of the original cover arc, the anime creates several new scenes for Koby, such as a brawl with Helmeppo that accidentally sets off a cannon and destroys part of the 153rd Branch. Notable changes are also made to his actions during Morgan's abduction of Helmeppo: instead of using pistols to stall Bogard's cannoneers, he convinces them to hold fire with a promise of capturing Morgan himself, and swims out to Morgan's escape boat alone. This inspires Helmeppo to similar defiance, and though Morgan easily overpowers both boys, he leaves them alive, claiming they are not worth killing.

Several more expansions are made for the pair's tutelage under Vice Admiral Garp, including a newspaper article stating they had taken the standard Reverse Mountain route into the Grand Line (a conflict with later revelations in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc that Marine Headquarters ships can effortlessly cross the Calm Belt). More significantly, their physical training is punctuated by an incident where Garp goads them into a direct fight, under guise of punishing them for their "relations" with Luffy.

Live-Action Differences
In the live-action series, Koby's role expands during the events in the East Blue, being a central character in the subplot of said events, which focus on his relationship with Garp, and his doubts regarding the actions of the Marines and the World Government.

As in the anime, Koby's encounter with Luffy on Goat Island is replaced by an encounter at sea, while aboard the Miss Love Duck.

Contrary to the original story, Koby does not go directly with Luffy to the base of the 153rd Branch, and at no point does he go there while Luffy is in Shells Town. Upon arriving in the town, Koby and Luffy see several reward posters on the street, and later visit the bar where they witness Zoro's meeting with Helmeppo. He and Luffy also spend the night on the ship that docked in the port, where they talk about what to do. Later, when Luffy leaves the town, Koby hits Helmeppo, who intended to attack Luffy.

Later, Garp visits the 153rd Branch, where he meets Koby, whom he questions about his relationship with Luffy because people saw them together at the bar.

Koby has a significant role during the events in the Syrup Village, where after encountering Usopp, who was trying to warn about a pirate attack, he accompanies him along with Helmeppo and other Marines to Kaya's mansion, where Kuro denies Usopp's accusations, and gives them Luffy, who was unconscious. Later, Zoro manages to rescue Luffy from the Marines, to which Koby later apologizes to Garp for not having captured him, but Garp tells him that at least they have gotten them off the island.

Koby overhears Garp's conversation with Dracule Mihawk, and upon asking Helmeppo about the latter, his companion explains that Mihawk is part of a group of pirates that works for the government, which surprises Koby because they have criminals on their side.

Later, they visit the Baratie, where Koby and Helmeppo acquire information relating to Luffy's whereabouts from one of the employees.

In the Cocoyasi Village, Koby gives Luffy his first reward poster, telling him that it was Captain Nezumi. After that, they both say goodbye to each other.

Translation and Dub Issues
Many early fan translations—as well as Funimation—romanized his name Coby, while 4Kids and VIZ generally favored Koby. The latter was eventually confirmed canon by his personal sail design in the Levely Arc.

The 4Kids anime removes Luffy punching him during their first meeting, rewriting the scene to state that he expected a blow and flinched accordingly; however, the general overtones of the Alvida Pirates' abuse are unchanged. The Pistol that Helmeppo points at his head has also been replaced by the incredible machine that it is not known what it is for.

Playable Appearances

 * Birth of Luffy's Dream Pirate Crew!
 * One Piece: Going Baseball
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World
 * One Piece Treasure Cruise
 * One Piece Thousand Storm
 * One Piece Bounty Rush
 * One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!!

Support Appearances

 * One Piece: Gear Spirit
 * One Piece: Gigant Battle
 * One Piece: Dance Battle
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Burning Blood
 * One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Non-Playable Appearances

 * One Piece: Become the Pirate King!
 * Grand Battle! 2
 * Grand Battle! Swan Colosseum
 * Aim! The King of Belly
 * One Piece
 * One Piece: Pirates Carnival
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Trivia



 * In the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th fan polls of most popular characters, Koby was ranked 18th, 54th, 54th, 37th, 58th, and 42nd respectively. He was not part of the 2nd fan poll.
 * The Shonen Jump magazine version of Chapter 956 erroneously listed Koby as a Rear Admiral. The Volume 95 version corrected that Koby's rank was still Captain.
 * In the spin-off manga One Piece: Kobiyama Who Looks Like Koby - Two Piece in a Pod, the titular character, Kobiyama, is a boy who resembles Koby before Garp's training.
 * Koby's favorite foods are Rika's onigiri and buttered potatoes, and his least favorite food is black coffee.
 * Koby's animal resemblance is a dolphin.
 * Koby's hobby is sea fishing.
 * Koby's hair is a shade of pink called Kobi Pink.

SBS-Based Trivia

 * Koby's birthday, May 13, comes from his name since 5-13 can be derived from Ko-bī.
 * A fan once asked why Koby looked so different from his first appearance. According to Oda, Koby just went through a growth spurt and tightened his muscles with discipline (due to Garp's training).

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