Dwarves

Dwarves are a tribe in the One Piece world. They were first mentioned on a list of slave prices that Duval gave to Sanji. They sell for 700,000 as slaves.

They were first seen in Green Bit when Robin and Usopp were exploring the forest at the northern part of the island off the coast of Dressrosa, they discovered a tribe of dwarves living on the island.

Appearance
Dwarves are an extremely small sentient race. In comparison to an average sized human, their difference in height is approximately the same as that between a normal-sized human and an average-sized giant. They are mostly human in shape, apart from having a thick fluffy tail and chibi-like proportions.

Abilities
Despite their small size, dwarves possess great strength, with a single dwarf being able to easily destroy a building. They are very fast, enough for them to disappear in a blink of a second, making it nearly impossible for a normal person to see them. They are known as great cultivators as they stated that they can cultivate any plant, as evidenced by the abundance of plant life on Green Bit. However, they have trouble growing SMILE correctly, as it is artificial in nature. Dwarves are shown to be extremely gullible and trusting.

A Century of Slavery
Over 900 years ago, the dwarves set out to sea in search of resources. The Donquixote Family proposed a treaty in which they would provide shelter and resources in exchange for manual labor. As Gancho puts it, this was the darkest period of the Tontatta tribe. The Donquixote Family enslaved the dwarves and the humans of Dressrosa prospered from their labor.

Liberation by the Riku Family
After the Void Century, the Riku family became the rulers of Dressrosa. King Riku at the time was saddened by the mistreatment the dwarves suffered and liberated them. After forming a bond with the Riku family, the dwarves covered Dressrosa with luscious greens and blooming flowers. The dwarves were also allowed, as part of their compensation, to take anything they wanted from the country, no questions asked. To cover for them, King Riku created the legend about fairies and firmly implanted it into his people as a means of covering for the dwarves' actions.

Fight against a Return to Slavery
After Donquixote Doflamingo overthrew the Riku Royal family and ascended to the throne, the Donquixote Family kidnapped 500 dwarves and put them to work in the SMILE Factory of Dressrosa. Some of the dwarves formed an anti-Doflamingo army, the Riku Royal Army, led by Thunder Soldier.

Dressrosa Arc
When Doflamingo falsified the news of his resignation, the rebels decided to end his rule once and for all. The dwarves and Thunder Soldier planned a decisive attack against him which involves destroying the facilities in the underground world and liberating the prisoners as well as defeating one of Doflamingo's most important subordinates, Sugar.

After infiltrating the underground world, the dwarves split into two groups. One group went with Thunder Soldier to the royal palace while the other group went with Usopp and Robin to the executive tower. The operation went awry as the dwarves with Thunder Soldier encountered Lao G inside the lift to the royal palace while the dwarves with Usopp and Robin had a major setback during their confrontation with Sugar.

Interspecies Relationships
The dwarves are valued as slaves by normal humans considering the standard price for a dwarves is 700,000.

Dwarves refer to humans as "Big Humans" (大人間) and casually ask them whether they are good or bad and as a tradition a good human can prove him/herself by either giving up their weapons or being stripped of all their possessions. Dwarves are very careful not to be seen by any humans as they will try to kill anyone who sees them unless they promise not to tell anyone of their existence. They are also gullible to anything humans say to them, making them easily fooled.

They are behind Dressrosa's belief in fairies and accept the country's offerings to them.

According to Wicca, they only show themselves to the Riku royal family, but they make an exception for Usopp and his friends.

Trivia

 * In real world folklore (especially in Scandinavian and other Germanic cultures), dwarves are a race of beings usually depicted as having some sort of supernatural powers and being skilled in crafting and metalworking.
 * The tribe is foreshadowed in the flashback of Noland's past. During one of his sessions recalling his adventures in the Grand Line, he mentions visiting a land of dwarves.
 * The tribe has the ability to hunt fighting fish, which are described as related to giant goldfish. Incidentally, in Chapter 24, Usopp lies to Kaya about hunting a giant goldfish and giving the meat to dwarves.
 * The first encounter between the dwarves and Nico Robin resembles the first encounter between Lemuel Gulliver and the Lilliputians in Gulliver's Travels.

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