Donquixote Pirates

The Donquixote Pirates are a pirate crew led by Donquixote Doflamingo of the Shichibukai. They are also known as the Donquixote Family (ドンキホーテファミリー). They are the reincarnation of the original Donquixote Family. They used to rule the kingdom of Dressrosa as the royal family, with their captain as the king. Due to their actions, they are the main antagonists in the Dressrosa Arc.

The crew is now disbanded after Doflamingo and the executives' defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat Pirates-Heart Pirates alliance, resulting in Doflamingo's titles of king and Shichibukai being stripped. Most of the top tier members were arrested by Admiral Fujitora.

Beginnings
The Donquixote Pirates were formed by Donquixote Doflamingo, who along with his brother, Donquixote Rosinante, were originally World Nobles. They lost their statuses when their father "betrayed" his title, wishing for his family to live modestly amongst commoners, which instead brought them to poverty and persecution. Two years of suffering made Doflamingo awaken his Haoshoku Haki, gaining loyalty from four young knowledgeable people — Vergo, Trebol, Diamante and Pica — who granted him the Ito Ito no Mi and an ornate flintlock and acknowledged him as their king. Doflamingo then killed his father with the pistol, but was denied reentry to Mariejois after bringing his father's head as a tribute. He escaped from the Holy Land with knowledge of its national treasure to blackmail the Celestial Dragons for his lost rights.

Ascent to Piracy
Because he was no longer allowed to return to Mariejois for his father's irreversible choice, Doflamingo was forced to become a pirate while his younger brother, Rosinante, disappeared to become a Marine. Doflamingo swore to destroy the very world that his former fellow Celestial Dragons lord over. When Doflamingo returned to North Blue after escaping Mariejois, his four friends swore their loyalty to Doflamingo and said that no one would stand against Doflamingo, the future Pirate King, as he stood on a pile of wreckage and they bowed before him. Whatever displeased Doflamingo was swiftly and utterly destroyed by the four future top executives, whether it was someone who offended him or a town with poorly paved streets.



They then gathered a crew, with Doflamingo being the captain, while Rosinante later on became the second Corazon after Vergo retired from the position and left to join the marines as a spy for Doflamingo. Conversely, Rosinante wished to stop Doflamingo's madness, and secretly joined the Marines to spy on him. 16 years ago, with the exception of Monet, Sugar, and Violet, all the other executives had already joined Doflamingo's crew. Jora found a newborn Dellinger, a half-fishman who was abandoned at birth, and thus adopted him and raised him to be part of the crew. At this point, besides other regular pirating activities, they dealt in trade of Devil Fruits. Anyone ranked "executive or higher" were considered to be Doflamingo's family, as he lost his mother at age 8 and killed his father two years later.



Eleven years before the Battle of Marineford, Doflamingo killed Rosinante, after his younger brother had taken a young new recruit, Trafalgar Law, away from the crew to find a cure for the Amber Lead Syndrome, which also aroused the suspicion that Marines had stopped attacking the crew since Rosinante's departure. Rosinante's treachery was later confirmed by Vergo. This incident left the Heart seat, and the title Corazon, vacant. Law, who came to admire Rosinante for all the care they shared during this six months journey, swore revenge on Doflamingo for this murder, despite Doflamingo seeing Law as a brother and even reserving the title and seat Corazon for him.

In the same year of Rosinante's death and Law's defection, shortly after the event, Doflamingo came across the sisters Monet (17 years old) and Sugar (9 years old), both of whom were living in a terrible environment. He rescued them from the painful lifestyles, and gave them their respective Devil Fruits one year later. The two sisters decided to lay down their lives for the very man who rescued them from a hellish place and gave them power, swearing undying loyalty to Doflamingo.

Takeover of Dressrosa
Ten years ago, the Donquixote Family (as this pirate incarnation) returned to their kingdom of Dressrosa and drove out the family that replaced them, the Riku Family. Viola joined the crew to save her father from Doflamingo, and went under the alias Violet. With his Shichibukai title that he was granted via blackmailing the World Government, Doflamingo was allowed to stay in Dressrosa legally, and became a celebrated king due to his fraudulent heroic act. He used the location as the base of his underground brokering operations of weapons smuggling, under the codename Joker. As for Vergo, he continued to climb the ranks of the Marines to provide inside assistance for Doflamingo, which included the coverup of the Dressrosa takeover, eventually reaching the rank of Vice Admiral.

The Bellamy Pirates also swore their allegiance to the crew, and were permitted to use its Jolly Roger.

At some point in the past four years, Doflamingo formed a three-way alliance with the rogue Marine scientist Caesar Clown and Kaido, in order to create SAD and SMILE artificial Devil Fruit, to create an army of Zoan class users within the New World. However, needing Caesar for the SAD production and not trusting him, Doflamingo assigned Vergo and Monet to function as an intermediate and deep cover agent to monitor and protect him on his behalf to ensure his safety of his investment.

Long Ring Long Land Arc
After Bellamy's humiliating defeat at the hands of the Straw Hat captain, Doflamingo arrived and tortuously punished Bellamy and Sarkies, and proceeded to dismiss their crew from his command due to their captain suffering such an easy defeat, falling short of the expected standards. Doflamingo then goes on about how the world should be prepared for the New Era.

Marineford Arc
Donflamingo participated in the Battle of Marineford, notably battling Little Oars Jr. as well as Crocodile, after the latter rejected his offer of partnership. Law, having formed his own crew and become an infamous rookie, arrived at the end of the war in time to rescue the critically injured and traumatized Monkey D. Luffy. Law successfully escaped in his submarine with Luffy, while Doflamingo emerged from the war unharmed.

Post-War Arc
Following the war, Doflamingo, acting on orders of an upper-echelon World Government official and commanding a squad of Pacifistas, attempted to assassinate Gecko Moria. However, Moria managed to escape after receiving severe wounds, leaving his ultimate fate unknown. When Doflamingo reported the escape, he was berated by the government official, but responded with amused indifference, warning the official that he was a pirate and would quit being a shichibukai as soon as it stopped being interesting.

Timeskip
Later, Bellamy and his crew eventually entered Sky Island. Although he lost his crew, Bellamy survived, and brought back a giant pillar of gold to present to Doflamingo, thus giving him another chance. Since then, Bellamy has grown greatly in strength, in the hopes of redeeming himself. He was even offered a position as an officer within the crew on the condition that he win in the Corrida Colosseum, and has become very popular within Dressrosa due to his steadfast devotion to Doflamingo.

Punk Hazard Arc
Law revealed his rebellion against the Donquixote Pirates by attacking the SAD production room and attempted to kidnap Caesar by forming an alliance with the Straw Hats. Doflamingo ordered Vergo to brutally eliminate Law, but Law succeeded in defeating his senior and, indirectly, killing Monet. Doflamingo, in turn, sent Baby 5 and Buffalo to clean things up and retrieve Caesar, and, upon seeing that Monet failed to detonate the island's chemical weapon as ordered, decided to enter the island himself. However, Baby 5 and Buffalo were swiftly incapacitated by the Straw Hat Pirates, and then Caesar was also captured after his failed attempt to escape alone to Dressrosa.

Taking Caesar hostage, Law cut apart Buffalo and Baby 5, and left their heads on the SAD tanker's rescue raft to drift towards the incoming Doflamingo, with a Den Den Mushi to contact him. Law threatened his former captain to resign from his Shichibukai position to continue negotiations with Caesar as the collateral.

After his attempt to kill the G-5 Marines being thwarted by Kuzan's arrival, Doflamingo retrieved Baby 5 and Buffalo, body and head, and returned to Dressrosa.

Dressrosa Arc
In an attempt of misdirection, Doflamingo falsified his resignation from the Shichibukai, and the news printed out his supposed departure, leading to a massive uproar in the kingdom and the world beyond it. While the various members prepared in their own ways in the prospect of the Marines, Doflamingo gathered his top three subordinates to have them prepare for Luffy's arrival, with the Mera Mera no Mi to act as a deterrent.

Many members of the crew participated in the Corrida Colosseum for that deterrent, which was offered as a prize for the champion. Bellamy also participated, but not for the prize, instead for a chance to be promoted to a higher-ranking position within the crew. Bellamy ultimately lost to Elizabello II's King Punch attack, but was given one more chance by Doflamingo, if he can assassinate Luffy. However, with little faith of Bellamy's success, Doflamingo saw him as an eyesore once again, and ordered Dellinger to prepare to eliminate Bellamy upon the expected failure to occur. Dellinger did not even wait for Bellamy to at least try to assassinate Luffy before attacking him, though Bartolomeo stopped this.

Sanji was informed by Violet, who only joined Doflamingo grudgingly to save her father, about the resignation being fake. During the trade for Caesar, he reported it to Law, who was responsible for bringing the hostage. By then, it was too late, as Doflamingo arrived to Green Bit, alongside Admiral Fujitora and his battalion of Marine soldiers. In front of the Marines, Doflamingo immediately declared Caesar as his subordinate, thus drafting the rogue scientist into his crew while pardoning him of his crimes. While Caesar stood aside with the soldiers, Doflamingo and Issho partnered up (to an extent) against Law, who lost his Shichibukai status for allying with the Straw Hats as equals. Law was completely overwhelmed by Doflamingo, and was shot down after suffering a brutal beating.

As one team of Straw Hat Pirates went into pursuit for Law, the second team with Caesar on board of the Thousand Sunny was pursued by the Big Mom Pirates, who were after the scientist. The third team of the Straw Hats allied themselves with the dwarves of the Tontatta Kingdom, intending to take down Sugar and destroying the Donquixote Pirates' hold over Dressrosa. Though they met with some complications, their plan ultimately succeeded, and upon the toys returning to their true forms and memories returned to the citizens, Doflamingo was immediately ousted from the throne while the crew members failed to quell the rebelling citizens. Kyros then immediately took advantage of Doflamingo's distraction to decapitate him, much to Baby 5 and Buffalo's horror. Buffalo attacked Kyros but was defeated in an instant and was thrown out of the window. Doflamingo was still alive even after he was decapitated, turning out to be a clone made of his strings.

Having lost his grip on the country, Doflamingo decided to execute his Birdcage plan, sealing off the entire island from the outside world and rearranging the landscape with Pica's powers. He then threatened the islanders into participating a bounty hunting game, on the grounds that if they kill him or the people he listed out, he would spare their lives; otherwise, he would end up killing them all. While this was happening many of the former toys who fought as gladiators in the Corrida Colosseum engaged members of the crew in fierce battles. After losing all his forces save for Trebol, Doflamingo started to withdraw his Birdcage. Later, Trebol tried to triggered an suicide explosion on the palace after hearing Law insult him and the other elite officers leaving the captain the sole member left fighting. Law was evacuated from the battle by Monkey D. Luffy who decided to face the tyrant king on his own and end his madness. Doflamingo informed Luffy that the time for the Birdcage was depleting and he better defeat him soon with that Luffy engaged Doflamingo and activate his new technique: Gear Fourth.

With Gear Fourth activated, the battle turned to Luffy's favor who dealt several powerful blows to the Shichibukai, resorting Doflamingo to use his "Awakened" Devil Fruit powers in his Ito Ito No Mi. After Luffy sent Doflamingo rocketing into the mountain with Leo Bazooka, his Gear Fourth wore off leaving him immobile. Doflamingo was still undefeated and was confronted by several gladiators intent on stalling him long enough to let Luffy recover.

Meanwhile, the lower soldiers attempted to stall the citizens from reaching the plateau due to the cage retracting further. They were all defeated by the gladiators allied with Luffy. Doflamingo easily defeated them all and began contracting the Birdcage faster to draw Luffy out to him. He was then confronted by Viola whom he effortlessly beat and used his powers to force Viola's niece Rebecca to kill her. However, Viola was suddenly replaced with Luffy who having recovered used Busoshoku Haki to protect himself from her sword while breaking the weapon. It is then revealed that Trafalgar D. Water Law used his powers to switch Viola with Luffy. With no more distractions, Doflamingo then prepared to face off with Luffy again.



Law then uses his powers to get Rebecca out of harms way as Luffy and Doflamingo face off once again. Doflamingo uses his awakened powers and begins his brutal assault against the straw hat captain. He then uses Parasite to force Luffy to him, but the latter breaks free with Gear Fourth and they take their fight to the sky. Doflamingo mocked him stating a mere commoner cannot defeat him as he uses Spider Web and Godthread simultaneously. Luffy counters with his King Kong Gun that, despite Doflamingo trying to counter, breaks through his defenses and slammed Doflamingo into the ground. The force was so powerful that it upturned an entire section of the city in the impact and shattered his trademark sunglasses, finally defeating the Shichibukai and sent him crashing through the ground where he laid unconscious in the underground trade port. As Doflamingo's tyrannical rule came to an end, the birdcage disappeared and the citizens of Dressrosa were rejoiced with happiness as the Donquixote Pirates were finally defeated.

Later on, the Marines scoured the island searching for any member of the crew and with many of them lying unconscious, they were arrested with some being placed in seastone shackles due to many of them being Devil Fruit users (the defeated Doflamingo in this case was heavily shackled). As the Marines gathered up most of the top members of the crew, Admiral Issho apologized to the citizens for allowing Doflamingo to take power over the peaceful kingdom. Viola was pardoned as her joining was under duress, while Baby 5 and Bellamy were not seen being arrested either. Caesar, last seen on the Straw Hat's ship, remains at large, though his governmental pardon is now voided, rendering him a criminal once again.

Jolly Roger
The crew's jolly roger is a smiley being crossed out. This symbol is also used by several of Doflamingo's affiliates, such as the Human Auctioning House and the Bellamy Pirates.

Organization
The crew is divided into three subdivisions, with Doflamingo himself, as the captain, having complete dominance over everyone. Doflamingo's most powerful and/or trusted members are allowed to sit on seats represented by the four suits of cards: Heart, Club, Diamond, and Spade. The Heart seat, after the first Corazon's abdication and the second's death, was reserved for Law, though his defection and the unexpected eating of the Ope Ope no Mi made it vacant. The Club, Diamond, and Spade seats belong to Trebol, Diamante, and Pica, respectively. Below these three elite executives are ten other executives, who are divided amongst the three elites, serving them in divisions that each specialize in a certain aspect for missions. These executives are in command of over 2000 soldiers, which includes the likes of Bellamy, within Dressrosa.

Aside from the ten executives and three elites, there were two other executives abroad: Monet and Vergo. It is unknown which division (if any) Monet belonged to before her death, but Vergo was an elite officer similar to Trebol, Diamante and Pica prior to his demise, as he was the first Corazon. Bellamy had been offered a chance to become an officer should he win the Corrida Colosseum or assassinate Monkey D. Luffy, but his constant failures led to him being dismissed as a whole, with Dellinger ordered to assassinate him for his incompetence.

The five people who held the titles of Elite Executives are well aware of Doflamingo's past as a Celestial Dragon and more or less completely understand his personality, as they have the privilege of being the closest to him. Any other officers have less privilege than that, but nevertheless they have great authority and respect from their captain. Any member outside of the officer tier are treated like fodder, as Doflamingo easily discarded Bellamy and his crew for constant failure and a peon was shot down for giggling at Pica's voice.

Trebol Army
The Trebol Army (トレーボル軍) is a subdivision of the Donquixote Pirates, led by Trebol, that specializes in missions that require users with special powers. Violet, Jora, and Sugar are officers in this army. Violet eventually defected and is declared a traitor for attacking the other members when they detained Sanji. Sugar is a special officer of this army, and therefore would be ranked slightly higher than the other nine executives, as she can turn people into toys. Thus, she is the one responsible for Doflamingo being able to keep his position as king, which is why she is always protected by Trebol himself.

Diamante Army
The Diamante Army (ディアマンテ軍) is a subdivision of the Donquixote Pirates, led by Diamante, that specializes in fighting missions. Lao G, Senor Pink, Machvise, and Dellinger are officers in this army. All four officers of this division are reigning participants of the Corrida Colosseum, and is said that they have 100% victory whenever they enter. This is the only division to have four officers.

Pica Army
The Pica Army (ピーカ軍) is a subdivision of the Donquixote Pirates, led by Pica, that specializes in commando missions. Gladius, Buffalo, and Baby 5 are officers in this army.

Crew Strength
The Donquixote Pirates were a very powerful crew, as their captain was a world famous pirate, a member of the Shichibukai with a former bounty of 340,000,000 and the ruler of the kingdom Dressrosa. Doflamingo himself, along with crew members (past and present) Bellamy, Trafalgar Law, Vergo, Monet, Baby 5, Caesar Clown, Buffalo, Jora, Trebol, Senor Pink, Machvise, Violet, Diamante, Pica, Gladius, Sugar, and Corazon (in secret) were all known Devil Fruit users. In total, the number of Devil Fruit users amounted to no less than seventeen, two of which are Logia, the most of any organization besides the Marines, and the second highest confirmed number of fruits within any pirate crew, under Kaido's army of 500 artificial Zoan users. The crew numbered about 2000 members in total. Sugar's Hobi Hobi no Mi power had been used to transform many Dressrosa citizens into toys, which made her the most important member to maintain the crew's stranglehold on Dressrosa. The officers of the Diamante Army who represented the crew in the Corrida Colosseum specialized in fighting and were said to boast a 100% win percentage every time they competed, but all of the members ranked officer and above were said to be strong.

Crew member Vergo was a mole who had ascended the Marines ranks for about fifteen years, eventually becoming a vice admiral, while keeping his true identity hidden from everyone outside of his affiliates. Vergo had bouts with Law twice, a toe-to-toe bout with Sanji once, and defeated Smoker, a Logia user, with moderate difficulty. Eventually, Vergo was defeated in one shot by Law once he was no longer using his heart as a crutch.

They were heavily involved in underworld brokering (including slavery, and the production and distribution of various types of weapons) in the New World, making them both very influential and very powerful. They were known to have destroyed entire towns on a whim, as stated by Baby 5. The crew also seemed to excel in teamwork, as when Baby 5 and Buffalo fought Franky Shogun, their teamwork was near flawless and they demonstrated great skill in using each other's powers in combat. The crew also once consisted of Trafalgar Law, a powerful pirate rookie who would go on to become a Shichibukai as well, with a former bounty of 440,000,000, prior to him leaving due to the murder of Corazon. Law was considered by Doflamingo for a place among his four top subordinates, the heart chair, which, following the death of his brother Corazon, remained empty.

In the early years, the Donquixote Pirates dealt in the underworld acquisition and trade of true Devil Fruits. Later, the crew collaborated with Vegapunk's former colleague and rogue scientist Caesar Clown and had him produce Artificial Devil Fruit, SMILES, to be sold in the underworld. The scientist is the only person able to produce a substance called SAD, something which Doflamingo valued greatly. They had also formed an alliance with Kaido, one of the Yonko, having supplied him with SMILES for his Zoan army. Having powerful allies such as these prove the Donquixote Pirates were a faction to be reckoned with. During the hostage exchange situation, Doflamingo declared Caesar as his subordinate, thus recruiting the scientist as a full member of the crew.

Doflamingo was also the king of Dressrosa which gave them a lot of resources. Being a former Celestial Dragon, Doflamingo had enough connections to get a fake story printed in the newspaper, making everyone think he had abdicated his throne when in fact he was still the king. Upon his defeat and arrest, his title as king was revoked.

Prior to their downfall, the crew had been weakened with the deaths of Monet and Vergo, and the alliance with Kaido had become unstable as the Yonko had no problem with killing Doflamingo if he displeased him and Doflamingo had lost control of Caesar, the one man capable of producing SAD, the thing which was the driving force behind their alliance. Along with that, Law, Baby 5, and Viola defected, and Bellamy had been dismissed for his repeated failure, with Dellinger assigned to eliminate him for good. The crew eventually lost control over Dressrosa when Sugar fell unconscious due to Usopp.

After their captain's defeat at the hands of Monkey D. Luffy, most of the top members were arrested, thus causing the crew to disband and making their influence in the underworld null and void, making everyone who had dealings with them suffer a negative impact.

Ships
Over the course of the crew's exploits as pirates and underworld brokers, they have made use of various vessels. Amongst the known ones are:

Pirate Ship


During their voyage from the North Blue into and through the Grand Line 16 years ago, the Donquixote Pirates sailed in a standard pirate ship with a flamingo wearing Doflamingo's signature sunglasses as the figurehead, and its wings on the sides of the ship, giving an overall appearance of a giant flamingo swimming on the water surface. The sail of the front mast carries the crew's jolly roger and name. It is unknown whether that ship is still in use. It is similarly unknown if this was their main ship.

SAD Tanker


The SAD Tanker (SADのタンカー) is a tanker used for carrying SAD from Punk Hazard to Dressrosa. It first appeared in Chapter 692 and Episode 618, when Caesar smashed into it.

The tanker is a paddle-wheel driven ship with three masts. At its bow is a spherical figurehead bearing the jolly roger of the Donquixote Pirates and a safety rail. Further aft of the bow are two large domed tanks with openings at the top, radioactive symbols on the sides, and hazard stripes around their circumferences. The masts are positioned immediately in front, behind, and between the tanks. They have dark sails and at least one of them has a crow's nest with a flag at the top. On the ship's hull is the Donquixote Pirates' jolly roger, the letters SAD, and an awning that partially covers the paddle-wheels. On either side of the roof are two small spires.

The ship is partly caked with Shinokuni since it was outside at the time of the gas's release. The hull also has two holes in it due to Caesar Clown crashing through it. The bridge is a flat, multistory building with two buttress-like beams jutting out from the top. Despite its appearance, the bridge is actually quite spacious, as Law turned it into a sick bay so he could cleanse the imprisoned children of the drugs Caesar put in them.

Usage
When Vergo heard that a SAD tanker was heading to Punk Hazard from Dressrosa, he caught a ride on instinct. Upon learning about it, Smoker ordered his contingent to lead the children to safety and then commandeer the idling tanker.

Later, the tanker was covered by Shinokuni, but most of it was removed when Luffy's punch sent Caesar Clown crashing into it, which also put two holes in the hull. Franky was examining the ship in Franky Shogun, when he emerged and saw Buffalo and Baby 5 in the sky. He later engaged them from the deck of the tanker. Two of the masts were destroyed during this battle.

Once the battle was over, the G-5 Marines seized the tanker in order to transport the children as well as the subordinates they had apprehended on the island. Franky was helping them repair the damaged mast, saying they should have told him sooner that the tanker was important. He said he would have moved the fight off the tanker's deck if he had known that she would be needed. Law gave the children treatment to detoxify their bodies in the bridge, which frightened Chopper. After seeing that they were all okay, he told them they would be going home. On the bridge, the children were put in the custody of Tashigi and the Marines, the latter of whom tearfully asked Nami to leave the children under her watch. Soon after, Zoro and a child asked a Marine to get some alcohol and juice from the tanker so they could have it with the food Sanji was making. Later, the Straw Hats gave the tanker to the G-5 Marines so they could use her to take the children home.

Submarine


While assaulting the Thousand Sunny, Jora and her subordinates used a submarine. The submarine features the Donquixote Pirates' Jolly Roger and the number "08" painted on the side. It appears to be several times smaller than the Sunny. It was sunk by Nami.

Trivia

 * The card game-theme was already used by Ace and his Spade Pirates, making the pun "Ace of Spades". Pica of the Donquixote Pirates uses the spade as a symbol too. Also, the movie-only Trump Siblings share the same theme, with the five captains using the same card symbols for themselves.
 * The Donquixote Pirates is currently the pirate group with the most confirmed Devil Fruit users revealed in the series, excluding Kaido's army of 500 Artificial Devil Fruit users, possessing 17 in total. Incidentally, most of the Devil Fruit users are Paramecia, with one Logia user, and no Zoan users at all. The only three high-ranking members that lack abilities were Vergo, Lao G, and Dellinger.

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