Thunder Soldier

"Thunder Soldier of Rage" is the alias of the one-legged toy soldier who is also a wanted criminal on Dressrosa. He is a commander of the Riku Royal Army (リク王軍). He is also the father of Rebecca and part of the Riku Family.

Appearance
He is a small toy soldier whose body resembles a dark-colored uniform with four buttons. He has a block-shaped head, square eyes with two blush marks painted underneath, a rectangular nose, a small angular mustache, and a hinged mouth. He also has lanky limbs and a wind-up key on his back.

He wears a large round hat with the letters "SOL" printed on it. He has a small stub where his left leg used to be and he wears a roller skate on his right foot which he has trouble balancing on when standing still. He also carries a small toy rifle.

Personality
He seems to be defiant of authority as seen when he was yelling at some police officers. He also appears to be proud to be a toy that brings happiness to people, and gets angry when someone says he is serious, although he knows there are times when he has to be and does so without complaint.

On the other hand he is kind and helpful towards common people. While he enjoys being a toy, he is saddened by the fact that he cannot shed tears like people can.

Rebecca
Ever since she was a child, Thunder Soldier watched over and protected her. Although Rebecca initially said she hated Thunder Soldier for failing to protect her mother, she eventually came to love him since he raised her for the past 10 years and also taught her how to fight. Although he has no problem playing a prank on her by pretending to be dead and then surprising her.

She wanted to win the Mera Mera no Mi not only to defeat Doflamingo but also fulfill her wish of living together with Thunder Soldier. The soldier gave her some words of confidence to help her try and get through the tournament. Rebecca is determined to protect him just as he protected her during her childhood.

It was eventually revealed that the Thunder Soldier is in fact Rebecca's biological father. However, due to the process of being a turned into a toy seemingly wiping the toy's loved ones' memories of said toy, the Thunder Soldier hypothesized that Rebecca does not know or remember who he truly is. Thus, he vows to do whatever he can to protect her even if it costs him his life.

Scarlett
Scarlett is the Thunder Soldier's late wife, that he loved her very much. He explains that he deeply regrets not being able to save her on the day 10 years before the current storyline. It was after her death that he devoted himself to protecting their daughter Rebecca and is willing to even sacrifice himself for her safety.

Franky
The soldier has become acquainted with Franky since they share a common enemy in Doflamingo. Because the toy soldier knows about the factory that Franky was searching for, Franky agreed to travel through Dressrosa with him and help him with his plan to free the workers in the factory.

Dwarves
Thunder Soldier is also allied with the dwarves in the fight to overthrow the Donquixote Pirates.

Donquixote Doflamingo
Thunder Soldier has nothing but hatred against Donquixote Doflamingo, as he was responsible for turning him and many other citizens into toys. He assisted Franky in locating the Smiles factory since they share a common goal in taking Doflamingo down.

Abilities and Powers
He seems to be rather fast and evasive, as he managed to elude the police pursuing him every time, even with one leg. He was able to fight numerous dangers in the past and was a great teacher to Rebecca, as he trained her to be a formidable warrior, fighting without getting hurt or hurting her opponents.
 * Jet Walk (ジェットウォーク): He used this technique to dodge the police's shots.

Weapons
Thunder Soldier was seen using a rifle.

Past
Sometime in the past, he was a human. That ended when Doflamingo came to Dressrosa and had a Devil Fruit user turn him and many other citizens into living toys.



During the Donquixote Pirates' takeover of Dressrosa, Thunder Soldier saved his wife, Scarlet, and his daughter, Rebecca, from a group of armed men led by Diamante. He tried to protect Scarlet when she left Rebecca alone so she could find some food, but tragically failed. Thunder Soldier returned to Rebecca with her mother's body and the food she wanted to give to her. Thunder Soldier repented for his failure and after informing her that Doflamingo ascended the throne and was hunting down people connected with the previous king, Thunder Soldier swore to protect Rebecca and stay by her side. At first, Rebecca said that she hated Thunder Soldier for not protecting her mother, but eventually, she warmed up to him.

Thunder Soldier then became her guardian. In the following years, Thunder Soldier worked in many jobs to support Rebecca and protected her from wild dogs, bullies, and boys giving her love letters. One day, kidnappers broke into her house, but Thunder Soldier was able to fend them off. However, in doing so, he entered a human's house, breaking one of Doflamingo's laws, which turned him into a fugitive. After running away with Rebecca, he taught her how to fight so she could protect herself.

After leaving her, he became the leader of an underground movement of rebels against Doflamingo's rule.

Dressrosa Arc
When the tournament for the Mera Mera no Mi started at the Corrida Colosseum, he stood at the entrance and barred children from entering and shot at any that tried to do so. He frightened them away, claiming that blood-fights are not meant to be a show for kids.

Later, he was chased by two Dressrosa police officers, but was able to elude them by leaping into the Corrida Colosseum, where only the Donquixote Family has power and police and Marines can not act by law. The soldier then jumped down and offered Luffy and Franky, who were dressed like old men, help with their luggage.

After Luffy commented how funny he was, he started falling down comically while laughing to make Luffy laugh. When Franky complained that he was in their way, he became embarrassed. Franky then realized how serious he was, but the toy corrected him by saying that there is no such thing as a serious toy, because toys live to make people laugh.

He was later seen sitting next to Franky in the Colosseum among the spectators. When Franky was about to leave to continue with his mission to destroy the factory, the toy asked Franky if he could come along. Franky refused to take him along because he did not know where the factory was, and because he thought the soldier would get in his way. After Franky said that he would interrogate one of the Donquixote Pirate members to obtain the location of the factory, Thunder Soldier warned him that talking about the Donquixote Family like that is considered a taboo in the kingdom. He then suggested to Franky that they should discuss the matter elsewhere.

Later, in the corridors of the Colosseum, the toy soldier revealed that he himself was also planning to destroy the factory, and that he had been secretly preparing with his comrades. Franky once again asked where the factory is so he could destroy it right away. However, the toy insisted that they first rescue the people working inside the factory. He also said that their tactic is very important, since the destruction of the factory will also bring the fall of Dressrosa as well. He then told Franky that if he had the courage to oppose Donquixote Doflamingo, he would explain the history of Dressrosa.

The toy soldier and Franky then left the Colosseum and made their way to the flower field. While riding on Franky's shoulder, the toy soldier was spotted by Rebecca, who called out to him. After Rebecca tearfully expressed her determination to win the tournament and her wish to live together with him, he replied that a crying warrior would not win any tournament. With that said, the toy soldier and Franky continued on towards their destination.

He later explained to Franky about the two laws that Doflamingo enacted after becoming king ten years ago. Franky then asked him about how he and the other living toys came to be. Thunder Soldier revealed that the living toys are in fact humans who were turned into toys by a Devil Fruit user who came to Dressrosa alongside Doflamingo, and that and the human citizens have forgotten who the toys originally were. Before Franky could ask any more questions, the two saw the Flower Hill and Thunder Soldier said that they will talk more there.

The toy soldier then brought Franky to the Riku Royal Army Headquarters hidden beneath the flower field, where he introduced Franky to the dwarf army. Once Usopp, Robin, and the dwarves from Green Bit arrived at the headquarters, Thunder Soldier gave his speech about overthrowing Doflamingo.

Afterwards, Gancho explained the history of the dwarves from centuries ago, including their enslavement by the Donquixote Family and their liberation by the Riku Family after the Void Century. Once Gancho finished his story, Robin asked Thunder Soldier about Rebecca and her grandfather. Thunder Soldier explained the incident ten years ago which caused the former Riku King to lose all trust from the citizens of Dressrosa. When Usopp asked Thunder Soldier who he was, the toy soldier revealed himself to be Rebecca's father.

Trivia

 * It is possible that for the creation of this character, Oda was heavily inspired by Steadfast Tin Soldier, a Danish literary fairy tale.
 * The fighting style he taught to Rebecca resemble Akido, a real life Martial Art that revolve around not hurting their opponents.

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