Jinbe

Jinbei (ジンベエ) is a whale shark Fishman who was the second captain of the Sunny Pirates after Fisher Tiger, and who became a Shichibukai eight years ago after disbanding his crew. He renounced his Shichibukai title at the Battle of Marineford, allying himself with the Whitebeard Pirates.
 * The subject of this article is sometimes called Jimbei.

Appearance
Jinbei is a large blue whale shark Fishman with a face that is commonly associated with various Japanese demons such as Oni. His yellow eyebrows and sideburns are distinctly shaped like those found on such demons, in addition to a bulb-like nose and an angular lower lip pointing upwards; a lightning-shaped scar can be seen from his left side burn and reaching over his left eye. He also possesses two tusk-like conical lower fangs associated with Oni as well; the rest of his teeth from the upper and lower rows are pretty much the same, albeit much smaller. His lower lip also juts out more forward than the upper lip, to make room for the excess size of his aforementioned fangs. He has long, two-toned black hair, with two long white stripes coming from the roots over his forehead and trailing down the back, a topknot, and tuft of hair on his chin with a slight green hue. His hands and feet are also webbed, as typical as can be for a Fishman, and limbs that are somewhat thin in comparison with his enormous girth. His gills are in between his shoulders and neck.

Under his pale-red coat, he appears to be wearing an orange colored traditional Japanese clothing called a Jinbei covered all over with black and white square-shaped patterns with the black and white layers alternating each other (beginning with the black outline from the edge) and ending with a dark square at the middle of each and every one of them. He also ties this attire up with a purple scarf like a ribbon around his waist. For footwear, he appears to wear simple sandals on his webbed feet. His Sunny Pirates tattoo is on the center of his chest.

Personality
Jinbei is a Fishman with great pride and honor. He is known to the World Government as a pirate-hating pirate, possibly due to the actions of the pirates in Fishman Island, kidnapping Fishmen and Merfolks to sell them as slaves. However, he has a soft spot for Whitebeard and his crew as he sees them as a completely different story. Because of what Whitebeard had done for his homeland, Fishman Island, he understands the damage a war between the World Government and Whitebeard would cause. He knows that places like his home, which are protected by simply belonging to Whitebeard's territory, would suffer the most from the war should Whitebeard lose.

Despite being proud, Jinbei appears to put his priorities and principles over his honor, and is not above retreating from an otherwise unfinished battle (even being shamed or openly mocked by an opponent) if it meant for the sake of the greater good. He also doesn't seem to hesitate from the idea of encouraging others to do likewise for a similar cause, as seen when he pleaded and managed to convince Luffy to prioritize Ace's safety first over avenging his brother's loss against Blackbeard. Jinbei has also displayed great humility regarding his personal strength and status; a trait most unique among the Shichibukai. This was made apparent by his willingness to even lose the said status for his refusal to fight against the Whitebeard Pirates. Also unlike his former subordinate Arlong, the fact that he is willing to aid a human (Whitebeard) as well as team up with others separates him from the other fishman. Wherein Arlong would never dream of such a thing (even Nami's recruitment into his crew was near enough slavery), Jinbei proves to be able to at least respect some humans and also acknowledge when he owes one a debt.

Portgas D. Ace
Jinbei and Ace were once enemies (since the latter wanted to kill Whitebeard), and nearly killed each other in a fight that lasted five days. Despite this, the two respect each other deeply and Jinbei is determined to help Ace's brother Luffy rescue him. He also has a high respect for Ace's captain, Whitebeard. Whitebeard claimed Fishman Island as his territory and, in doing so, saved it from the World Government and other pirate attacks. For this, Jinbei refused to participate in the war against Whitebeard, even if it meant losing his Shichibukai title and being imprisoned in Impel Down. Upon witnessing Ace's death at the hands of Admiral Akainu, Jinbei was fully prepared to give up his life in revenge and to buy even the smallest amount of time.

Monkey D. Luffy
He seems to be quite impressed by Luffy's recklessness of breaking into Impel Down in an attempt to save just one life (Ace's), a feat that not even Whitebeard has done. This makes him one of the very few pirates outside of Whitebeard's crew whom Jinbei respects. His respect for Luffy grew as they made their way out of Impel Down to save Ace in Marineford. He also seems to feel gratitude and guilt for Luffy's defeat of Arlong, (possibly because he was the one who dispatched Arlong into the East Blue in the first place). Upon learning that Luffy is Revolutionary Dragon's son, Jinbei didn't show much surprise. During the battle of Marineford, Jinbei has shown to be dedicated to Luffy's well-being and safety as he was to Ace's. This is shown in a flashback where Ace asks Jinbei to watch over Luffy if he were to die, and Jinbei responds by stating he will only protect those he cares for. He is later seen saving Luffy from Akainu's magma attack, and escaping with Luffy and Buggy from Marineford.

Whitebeard
Though no interaction has been shown between the two, Jinbei has expressed many times that he owes a great deal of gratitude to the Yonkou for his protection of Fishman Island. As for Whitebeard himself, the Yonkou appears to have developed a sense of tolerance towards Jinbei, despite the fishman's Shichibukai status (Jinbei has even implied that he visits Whitebeard and his crew from time to time). Over the years, Jinbei's respect has grown to the point where he will readily declare himself as adversary to anyone or anything with ill intent upon the Yonkou's life, which is why he immediately engaged in battle against Ace on their first encounter, since Ace was out to assassinate Whitebeard at that time.

Shichibukai
Among his fellow Shichibukai, Jinbei seems to have some sort of history with his former peer Crocodile and is noticeably upset upon realizing Crocodile is incarcerated in the cell adjacent his own. He also appears to be familiar enough with Gecko Moria to be aware of his zombies' weakness to salt water, and used it to his advantage during their battle.

According to Hannyabal, despite the title of Shichibukai bestowed upon them, Jinbei had never personally met Boa Hancock prior to her visiting him and Ace at Impel Down. He was rather displeased with her at first, thinking she came to mock Ace, and that he distrusted her when she told them that Luffy was in the prison to save Ace. It is unknown what he thinks of her after realizing that she told the truth and in heat of battle, she attacked Commodore Smoker to protect Luffy and openly stating that Luffy is her beloved.

He also seems to be familiar with the newest Shichibukai, Blackbeard, probably back in the days when Blackbeard, as Marshall D. Teach (as he was then known), was still a member of Whitebeard's crew under 2nd Division Commander Ace. Currently, Jinbei is furious with Blackbeard for Ace's incarceration and impending execution. At the same time, Jinbei seems to respect Blackbeard as a formidable opponent. He briefly warned Luffy of Teach's history when he was still part of Whitebeard's crew, saying he was an individual who must not be antagonized recklessly.

Sunny Pirates
It is unknown what his relationship with the Sunny Pirates was like, but upon his entrance to the ranks of Shichibukai, the crew was disbanded and split into smaller factions. It is also unknown what his former subordinate, Arlong, thought of him. However, Jinbei seemed to feel guilty of releasing Arlong into the East Blue, showing that he objected of Arlong's treatment towards the people.

Abilities and Powers
It is stated that Jinbei was able to battle Portgas D. Ace as his equal. They both nearly killed each other in a five-day long fight just before Ace was taken in by Whitebeard. It is unknown if they're still equal in power. This means he has the ability to damage Logia Fruit users, though if this ability stems from Haki or another power is unknown. In Impel Down, he shared the same cell as Ace, who was considered one of the most important prisoners in the world at that moment.

Being a fishman, Jinbei possesses super-strength. In fact, he is stronger than all the rest of fishmen seen until the moment. He also appears to be quite swift, even on dry land, in contrast to his large size. He could intercept an enraged Luffy (in Gear Second mode) and prevent him from further assaulting Blackbeard.

Though strong, he admitted himself that he is of no use on land battles, implying he is much stronger at sea. Jinbei stands up to this claim when he lifted one of Impel Down's massive entrance doors and used it as a raft to provide passage over the sea for Crocodile, Mr. 1, and Buggy (all Devil Fruit users), with himself acting as the raft's propeller underneath. He not only managed to pursue the fleeing battleships, but even outmaneuvered the incoming cannonballs fired at them by the Marines with relative ease, all the while bypassing the Sea Kings that infested the surrounding waters of the Calm Belt.

From his demonstration of underwater activity, it is obvious that he does not have the powers of a Devil Fruit, even at one point cursing the weakness of Devil Fruit users as he saved them from drowning. His power over sea water may very well make Jinbei a natural enemy of all Devil Fruit users, as seen against his fight against Gecko Moria in Marineford, where the fishman rendered Moria's ability to summon his zombies useless by splashing them with sea water.

Also, Jinbei has a huge tolerance for pain: not only he was one of the few people to be able to take a "baptizing" in boiling water in Impel Down without flinching, which is considered an impressive feat, but he could stop a direct magma punch from Akainu with his bare hands, unperturbed despite being burned.

Jinbei also has a knack for discerning enemy military strategies after witnessing any subtle change in enemy formations, as seen when he quickly guessed that Magellan dispatched the order to the battleships outside the Great Gaol to flee during the Impel Down mass breakout, and during the battle in Marineford where he surmises that the Marines were plotting something after Ivankov informs him the the enemy is retreating further into the plaza.

As a fishman who is familiar with the sea as much as the back of his hand, he is a capable helmsman, shown when he steered the stolen Marines battleship.

Fishman Karate
Jinbei is a master of Fishman Karate, which he can use to knock away many guards at once. His strikes are so strong that he doesn't even need to make physical contact with an enemy as the very air will blow them away. Another example of his strength and Fishman Karate level is that he defeated Minorhinoceros, one of the four Demon Guards, with a single uppercut, while Luffy used his Gear Third to defeat another Demon Guard. He also displays being able to manipulate water as if it were a tangible cloth through Fishman Karate, even using it to attack from a distance. He can cause devastating damages with this kind of techniques, both to people and ships.

Thanks to his mastery on Fishman Karate, Jinbei can perform blocking moves which are able to stop attacks as powerful as the thrusts from a shadow-strengthened Gecko Moria, a member of the Shichibukai.

Interactions with Fish
Among fishmen, Jinbei has shown the unique ability to communicate with fish, even at a long distance. He summoned a large school of whale sharks to the Calm Belt (which was usually too dangerous, with the Sea Kings infesting it) to assist him in a mass-breakout of Impel Down. He can give the whale sharks precise orders, so they understand and obey him. The ability to speak with fish is usually unique to merfolks, so Jinbei's ability to do so is considered noteworthy by Crocodile.

Past
After the original captain of the Sunny Pirates, Fisher Tiger died, Jinbei took over his legacy and became the new captain of the crew. However, when Jinbei joined the Shichibukai eight years ago, the crew was disbanded. At some point, he fought equally with Portgas D. Ace, nearly killing each other, but then rekindled their relationship.

Held in Impel Down
Jinbei was previously imprisoned in Impel Down headed by Sengoku, the only member of the Shichibukai who has chosen not to follow with the World Government on their summons to face against the Whitebeard Pirates. He has decided to fight the Marines and is prepared to lose his status as a Shichibukai in the process.

He was held in the same cell as Portgas D. Ace. There he complained about the fact that he could not scratch himself where he wanted to and that he would gladly give his life to end the fighting.

He is later seen talking with Ace about how Whitebeard saved Fishman Island and the reasons he's prepared to die to stop the fighting. Apparently, being in the same cell with the imprisoned Whitebeard Division commander allowed Jinbei to provide Ace with company down in Level 6,and Ace would then pass the time prior to his death sentence by sharing the fishman tales of his younger brother, Monkey D. Luffy, who (ironically enough) will later infiltrate Impel Down and, in the process of attempting to reach Ace, will ultimately release Jinbei from his incarceration. Knowing that Ace's captivity, as well as his impending execution are being used to incur Whitebeard's wrath, Jinbei further states that he wants to break his cellmate out of the Great Gaol, despite being chained himself, as he's yet to give up on hope, and still believing for a "chance" or "miracle" that will turn the tides. This however brings out a reaction from Crocodile, who explains to Jinbei and Ace that there are many pirates who have a grudge against Whitebeard.

Jinbei and Ace are visited by another Shichibukai, Boa Hancock who wanted to see Ace. Hancock claimed that she simply wanted to see the prisoner triggering the war against Whitebeard which she will be joining. Jinbei, apparently under the impression that the female Shichibukai was only there to gloat at his and Ace' imprisonment, remarks that even the "idle empress" would go to war to save her Shichibukai status, seeing this as a low point for Hancock. Hancock tells Jinbei she means no harm to them and cryptically reveals to Ace that his brother is trying to rescue him before leaving. When Ace tells Jinbei this, he describes Luffy's behavior as "reckless". Jinbei also points out that although he doesn't personally know Hancock, there's a possibility that she was lying. However, Ace countered that Hancock would not go out her way to lie to him, and knowing Luffy, his breaking into Impel Down after hearing Ace' incarceration down there is exactly the sort of crazy thing Luffy would do.

About 6 hours before Ace's execution, when Magellan came to Level 6 to escort Ace to his transfer to Marineford, Jinbei could do nothing but sit in his cell and watch.

Hope Finally Arrives
When Luffy, Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma reach Level 6, Jinbei immediately recognizes Luffy as Ace's brother due to the straw hat Luffy wears, and wasted no time yelling to the Straw Hat that the prison staff extracted Ace from his cell only moments ago and that there's still a chance to catch up to him. After Ivankov convinced Luffy into releasing Crocodile from his cell after the former Shichibukai offered assistance in providing a means to save the trio from their current predicament, Jinbei pleads that they release him as well, as he wants to save Ace too. Luffy, realizing Jinbei's honesty, agrees to do so, earning him the Fishman Shichibukai's gratitude. Upon his release, Jinbei immediately glowered menacingly at Crocodile (who was also simultaneously released by Inazuma) whom he makes it clear that he's not going to let him kill Whitebeard. Crocodile, unfazed, asked Jinbei if he wanted to fight to the death right then and there.

Afterward, he and the others headed up through Level 5 to Level 4, where Jinbei re-evaluates the designated time for Ace' execution, which will occur at 3 o'clock sharp. He also concludes that if Whitebeard and his crew made preparations beforehand, with Ace being escorted out in the open sea, the battle between the World Government and the Whitebeard Pirates could break out any time. After Crocodile reduced the gateway between Levels 5 and 4 to dust, Jinbei demonstrated his Fishman Karate by punching the jailers and launching a shock wave that wiped out the line of Gaolers descending upon him and his comrades. When the three remaining Demon Guards, led by Sadi-chan, suddenly appeared, Jinbei urges Luffy to move further ahead and let him and the others worry about the three beasts; further adding that the fishman is apparently not as powerful on dry land as he is if he's out in the open sea. Despite this claim, Jinbei further showed his strength by taking out one of the Demon Guards (the Minorhinoceros) with one powerful blow along side Crocodile and Luffy, both of whom took out the other two.



Jinbei continues in aiding the rebelling inmates as they rioted further up to Level 4, where they were momentarily halted at the entrance to Level 3 by Hannyabal (backed by a large platoon of bazooka-wielding jailers stationed at the other side of the entrance), whom Luffy made short work out of. But it was the unexpected arrival of Marshall D. Teach that truly finished the Vice-Warden off. Jinbei recognizes the interloper as the one responsible for Ace's capture and is immediately angered, and asks what Teach is doing in Impel Down, immediately followed by asking if Teach ought to be called Blackbeard now. To which Blackbeard only replied that the fishman should not get worked up too soon, apparently aware that he and Ace were friends, and that he (Blackbeard) was only partly responsible for Ace's current predicament. As Luffy then starts to attack Blackbeard giving him significant injury, Jinbei was the one to stop Luffy from wasting his time fighting Blackbeard, telling him to consider the rescue of Ace as priority.

The breakout army eventually reached Level 1, and they united their forces with Buggy and Mr. 3's rioting squad. Jinbei then noticed that Magellan has ordered the guards to do something with the ships outside of the fortress, and Jinbei informed that they need to hurry out of the prison. Jinbei then leads the assault on the retreating warships as Luffy stays to fight Magellan. Jinbei, along with Crocodile, Buggy, and Mr. 1 went to steal one of the battleships that was sailing off, with Jinbei carrying the rest of them on a makeshift raft. Jinbei then fiercely attacks the battleships, destroying half of one with a Spear Wave without much effort before being scolded by Crocodile. When the battleships near the one attacked by Crocodile, Buggy and Mr. 1 tries to sink them with the whole ship, Jinbei protects them by watering the cannons and making them useless. Later, he helps Luffy, Mr. 3, Inazuma and Ivankov escape from Magellan, calling a school of giant whale sharks as backup.

As the survivors were transferred onto the ship, Jinbei began to steer the ship towards the Gates of Justice. From an earlier conversation, Mr. 2 Bon Kurei revealed that he intended to stay behind, so he could disguise himself as Magellan and sneak back into the prison to open the Gates for everyone else. Mr. 2 has requested that Jinbei not to tell Luffy until they passed through the Gates, so the Baby Den Den Mushi's signal would be cut off, preventing any tearful goodbyes.

However, when confronted by Luffy, Jinbei told what happened before they passed the Gates, and protested Luffy's desire to go back to rescue Mr. 2, and that returning would only throw away what Mr. 2 sacrificed for. However, Jinbei gave Luffy a Baby Den Den Mushi to have one final talk with Mr. 2 before the signal would be severed.

Current Events
Jinbei is seen to have a certain amount of gratitude and guilt toward Luffy. He meant on Luffy defeating Arlong. But he decided that it is better to put this aside from now, and that they need to focus on their goal(saving Ace) and that they will talk about this later. After the successful escape through the Gates of Justice, Jinbei finally introduces himself to Luffy, revealing he is a Shichibukai (to Luffy's surprise), or former one since he escaped Impel Down with intent to save Ace.

As the crew come into sight of the Gates of Justice, Jinbei tells Luffy that, if it had not been for the wind not blowing in their direction, they would've arrived sooner and then asks the latter how are they going to open the gates. Later, when Whitebeard's fleet finally arrives, the Gates of Justice open for them. After landing at Marineford, Jinbei retrieves all the Devil Fruit users who fell into the water and then shouts to Fleet Admiral Sengoku that he resigns from the Shichibukai.

When Moria creates an army of zombies, Jinbei splashes them all with saltwater, causing the shadows to leave the reanimated bodies. Sengoku's revelation, that Dragon is Luffy's father, seems to have spurred Jinbei into making some kind of connection. But what exactly that connection is has yet to be seen. He then does battle with Moria who is after his shadow. Despite being augmented with shadows, Moria is sent reeling after one of Jinbei's punches.

Upon seeing Squad stabbing Whitebeard due to Sengoku's plan, Jinbei expressed his shock. When the Marines then raised the seige wall to trap all the pirates and to burn them to death with Akainu's Meteor Volcano, Jinbei launched Luffy over the wall with one of his water streams, per Luffy's request. Later he is seen together with Ivankov on top of the siege wall. He was then seen asking a pirate doctor to attend Luffy's injuries before declaring that he would die in Marineford in the war. However, thanks to Ivankov Luffy did not require any help. When Whitebeard was badly injured, as high ranked marine officers attacked him Jinbei was among the pirates who formed a formation behind Whitebeard in order to protect him.

He then watched Luffy makes his way to the execution platform and is very glad that Luffy freed Ace. Jinbei is then seen accompaning Ace and Luffy as they make their escape. After Akainu deals the fatal blow to Ace, he looks on in horror, but then defends Ace from a second attack, and declaring that he does not value his life and if he can do even a little to help Ace, it will be worth it.

Unfortunately, it is already too late for Ace and Jinbei is then seen mourning Ace's loss. Marco then tell Jinbei to grab Luffy and run and Jinbei complies.

Jinbei continues to run with Luffy, not looking back as Whitebeard speaks his last words. After Whitebeard's death, Akainu appears in front of Jinbei and once again tells him to give Luffy to him, in which Jinbei replies back that he rather dies than giving up on Luffy. In a brief flashback, it is revealed that while imprisoned together with Ace in Impel down, the 2nd Division Commander had personally asked the Shichibukai to take care of Luffy for him once he's gone, to which Jinbei apparently declined, saying that though it was Ace who asked, in the Pirate-infested world they are in, he has no obligation to look after someone he considers a complete stranger. As Akainu prepares himself to attack, Ivankov appears and attacks Akainu with a Hell Wink. That attack did not stop Akainu however. Jinbei is hoping to jump into the sea to gain the upper hand but finds the sea to be frozen. Akainu manages to strike Jinbei and harm Luffy at the same time. Jinbei apologizes to Luffy for letting him get injured.

When Akainu is about to finish off Jinbei and Luffy, Crocodile comes and repels the admiral and then summoned a sandstorm to launch Jinbei and Luffy into the air to get them out of the admiral's reach. Jinbei, while carrying Luffy, is then caught (unintentionally) by Buggy, who was floating high in the air also trying to escape (made possible by the once-again frozen sea, allowing him a decent foothold). After barely maneuvering out of the way of Akainu's colossal magma fist, Buggy then carries Jinbei (who appears to have lapsed into unconsciousness) and Luffy to the just submerged ship from the Heart Pirates.

He is seen getting thrown at Law's Submarine with Luffy by Buggy. They have both been transported and successfully entering the submarine. It was last seen departing with half of the submarine in the open and the other in the water. He was later seen lying next to Luffy in Law's sick bay, with Law standing over next to them and instructing his crew to ready the Shichibukai and Supernova's treatment.

Jinbei later wakes up and thanks Law for saving him. Jinbei also comments that he is worried about Luffy.

Major Battles

 * Jinbei vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Jinbei, Monkey D. Luffy, and Crocodile vs. Minorhinoceros, Minokoala, and Minozebra
 * Jinbei and Monkey D. Luffy vs. Demon Guards
 * Jinbei vs. Gecko Moria
 * Jinbei vs. Admiral Akainu (Defending Ace)
 * Jinbei vs. Admiral Akainu (Being Chased)
 * Jinbei vs. Admiral Akainu
 * Jinbei, Monkey D. Luffy and Heart Pirates vs. Akainu, Kizaru, and Aokiji

Translation and Dub Issues
His name comes from jinbei-zame (甚平鮫), which means "whale shark" in Japanese. It could also mean the type of clothing worn by Japanese during the summer, which Jinbei himself does wear.

Jinbei's name is sometimes spelled as Jimbei because when pronouncing it, the n of the name often sounds like a m to some. While these two forms of can be used interchangeable for the moment, there is currently no way to tell which way is correct as Oda has yet to write the name in plain Romaji. The English versions spell his name as Jimbei.

His epithet, Kaikyou, would normally translate into "Strait" or "Channel". However since the kanji for it is written as (海侠) and not (海峡), the kyou part (侠) of it comes from (任侠), a honorific used when addressing a high ranking yakuza member, thus making his epithet a Japanese pun. and the honorific used for addressing high ranking yakuza members, it doesn't have a literal English translation. The closest translations used of the epithet that can be interpreted into English are made up based on the pun's meaning. These include "Yakuza of the Sea" and "Knight of the Sea" among others. These however are not literal translations, but titles made to convey the idea behind the original Japanese term used. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, his epithet is translated as "First Son of the Sea".

Trivia

 * After his initial silhouette in Chapter 523, at the JUMP Festa 2009 Oda decided to a show a preview of Jinbei and drew a rough sketch of what he looked like.