Koby

Coby is a Marine captain who trained together with Helmeppo under Vice Admiral Garp's supervision. He was formerly a cabin boy for the Alvida Pirates until he was liberated by Luffy, and was one of the first people Luffy befriended on his travels.

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

Due to the passage of time and Garp's training, Coby 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 pink color.

Coby wears a standard-issue Marine jacket, pants, and neckerchief as well as a brightly patterned bandanna worn tied across his forehead. Coby's glasses are still present, but he has adopted the habit of wearing them pushed up on his forehead and has not been seen using them since his appearance in the Post-Enies Lobby Arc.

After the timeskip, Coby has grown even taller, reaching Garp's shoulders, and now looks older than Luffy. 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
Coby was first introduced as the Alvida Pirates' hapless chore boy 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 Coby'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 cabin boy, 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, Coby 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". Coby'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, Coby'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. He was jokingly referred to as a "crybaby" by Zoro during their reunion at Water 7.

Coby 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 Battle of Marineford where he brought fighting to a standstill by facing down Admiral Akainu and bought the precious seconds needed for Luffy to escape.

Marines
Garp is the mentor of Coby 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. Coby 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 Coby shouted out to stop the massacre at Marineford during the Whitebeard War.

After his father was kicked out of 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 Coby and despite Coby'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, Coby and Helmeppo become good friends. Now they are working together. In addition Helmeppo seems to care for Coby and he rushed to help him after being defeated by Luffy.

Coby seems to have a great fear of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. He and Helmeppo were stunned to see him execute a fellow marine. Also, after Coby’s speech, Sakazuki tried to kill him, which caused Coby to fear him even more. This incident did not affect Coby's standing in the Marines, since he was promoted to the rank of Captain after Akainu became Fleet Admiral.

Straw Hat Pirates
Coby was the first person Luffy met on his journey. He traveled briefly with Luffy, acting as a temporary navigator, after Luffy helped him escape from his servitude to Alvida. He later joined the Marines after the incident with Captain Morgan. Although they are now on opposite sides and will inevitably have to fight, Coby and Luffy still consider each other friends, since Luffy helped Coby master the courage to become a Marine. They were both happy to see each other again at Water 7. However, during the Battle at Marineford, Luffy had to punch Coby in order to go save his brother Ace.

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

Alvida Pirates
Coby was forced to serve as a chore boy under Alvida and her crew for two years, after he 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 Coby who was the most beautiful woman in the world and, if he didn’t reply that she was, he would be punished. When Luffy showed up, he explained to Coby that he was willing to die for his dream. After Coby 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 Coby but Luffy stepped in and quickly defeated her.

Abilities and Powers
In his first appearance, Coby lacked any fighting skills. According to Alvida, the only reason she kept him around was because he happened to be good at navigation. During his mini-arc he is seen training alongside Helmeppo and Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp. He has some knowledge of swordsmanship, as he was seen practicing with Helmeppo and Bogart. He has shown great growth as he started out with no fighting abilities to being able to handle the dangers of the Grand Line particularly the New World.

After two years, he reached the rank of Captain; it was revealed he has become more powerful as shown in Episode of Luffy, when he shattered a gigantic metal disk with a single punch.

Kenbunshoku Haki
During the Whitebeard War, Coby awakened an ability known as Kenbunshoku Haki. Coby was shown hunched over and crying on the battlefield, saying 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, Coby has developed his Kenbunshoku Haki to the point that it is on a very advanced level.

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

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

After the timeskip, Coby has mastered his Rokushiki techniques. In Episode of Luffy, he shows to be able to use a technique similar to Rankyaku, but done with his arms.

Past
Coby had intended to board a ship for a fishing trip one day, but he found himself amid the dangerous crew of the pirate Alvida by mistake. To stay alive, he 'volunteered' to become a slave for this band of pirates, but secretly fostered hopes of escape and eventually joining the Marines.

Romance Dawn Arc
Coby sneaks into the kitchen and notices the barrel. As he is rolling it away, several pirates come in and ask why he's sneaking around. They then proclaim that they are thirsty and just as one of the pirates is about to smash open the barrel with his fist, it bursts open and out jumps Monkey D. Luffy, shocking everybody. The pirates try to attack him, but they are easily defeated and flee, and Coby is intrigued by Luffy. Luffy and Coby head to the storage cellar of the ship and Luffy starts eating apples out of a crate.

While in the cellar, Luffy asks if they are on a pirate ship. Coby replies that they are not, but rather on a cruise ship being attacked by pirates. Luffy then explains how his ship got destroyed in a whirlpool and how he barely survived by jumping into the barrel. Then, Coby explains how he ended up getting picked up by Alvida's pirates and how he has been their slave ever since. Luffy then mentions his dream, how he wants to become the Pirate King, which causes Coby to lose it, realizing that Luffy is a pirate. While this conversation is being held, Alvida's pirates tell their captain that there is a barrel monster aboard the ship, and are all oblivious to the fact that Nami is robbing them blind.

If I succeed, that's fine. If I die, that's fine also.

Alvida bursts through the ceiling of the cellar and sees Luffy, mentioning how he actually is not Roronoa Zoro. Luffy then asks who the fat lady is, infuriating Alvida. Alvida attacks but Luffy picks up Coby and launches himself out of the cellar, and onto the deck. He is attacked by Alvida's pirates but knocks them all out using a Gomu Gomu no Rocket attack. When everyone is shocked by this, Luffy explains that he is a rubber man who ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi. He says he wants to find One Piece and that he is currently looking for a crew, thinking that ten people is a good amount. Alvida asks Coby who the most beautiful woman in the world is. Alvida, who had trained Coby to stay by her side, was shocked when Coby, inspired by Luffy, stands up for himself and yells that Alvida is a smelly, fat, old hag.

Alvida becomes livid and attacks. Her mace strikes Luffy right on the head, but he stays standing. Luffy then winds back and uses a Gomu Gomu no Pistol attack to send Alvida flying, defeating her with one hit. Luffy orders Alvida's remaining pirates to get a boat ready for him and Coby, and they jump into the boat and sail away, briefly seeing Nami in her boat as they head off. Sailing out into the great blue sea, Luffy asks about the pirate hunter Coby mentioned. Coby says that he was captured by the Marines, and Luffy announces his intention of asking him to join his crew. This causes Coby to lose it again. Luffy makes up his mind, saying that he will recruit Roronoa Zoro as his next member. While they are speaking, the scene changes to a nearby Marine base where there is a man with a green bandanna tied to a cross looking up.

Out at sea, Coby and Luffy are discussing Luffy's decision to recruit Zoro. Sometime later, they arrive at the Marine base Zoro is being held at. Luffy is surprised that they actually arrived, Coby points out that this is the basics of navigation. Coby points out that Luffy cannot just float around out at sea and that he must find a navigator soon. Luffy then says they should go eat.

At a restaurant, when Coby and Luffy discuss parting ways, Luffy mentions Zoro's name with shocking results from the other customers. When Coby mentions the name of the Marine in charge of the base, Morgan, the same effect occurs. In the street Coby comments on the reactions for the villagers here in the town, understanding why they reacted out of fear for Zoro due to his reputation, but not Morgan's name.

Luffy and Coby then arrive at the Marine base, where Coby thinks it will be his goodbye, as he plans on enrolling in the Marines, but Luffy climbs over the wall and spots Zoro tied to a cross. Coby loses it, and as the two look at Zoro a little girl named Rika climbs over the wall with a ladder. She offers some rice balls to Zoro that she made herself, using her whole heart.

At that moment, the snobbish Helmeppo, son of Captain Morgan, arrives with several Marine soldiers. He eats one of Rika's rice balls and says it's disgusting, since she used sugar instead of salt, and he stomps on them and has her thrown out. When he leaves, Luffy goes up to Zoro and asks him to join the crew. Zoro refuses, and refuses to be freed from his bindings since he plans on surviving just to spite Helmeppo. He then eats the flattened rice balls. Luffy and Coby then meet with Rika in the town and Luffy mentions how Zoro loved the rice balls. Luffy asks if Zoro actually is evil, but Rika replies that he is really a good guy. One day, Helmeppo brought a vicious wolf into the town bar, but Zoro knocked it out to protect everyone inside. He then knocked down Helmeppo, but Helmeppo had Zoro arrested in an exchange that the people in the bar not be executed.

Luffy, Coby, and Rika walk into a restaurant, and find Helmeppo, talking about how he's going to execute Zoro the next day. Luffy punches him, and Helmeppo runs off to tell his father. Captain Morgan, at that time, is having a statue of himself erected on top of the Marine base, and he punches his son and calls him worthless after Helmeppo tells him what happened. Luffy, meanwhile, goes to untie Zoro, but Zoro mentions how his swords were taken away. Luffy says he will go get them, so he uses Gomu Gomu no Rocket to launch himself up to the roof of the Marine base. In doing so, he knocks over the statue and causes it to break. Morgan orders Luffy to be executed, so Luffy grabs Helmeppo and runs into the base, searching for Zoro's swords. Outside, Coby is trying to untie Zoro and explains the situation to him.

Helmeppo is angry at Luffy for hitting him. Coby can barely hold Luffy back and the townsfolk are in awe at Luffy's actions. Helmeppo is dragged away by two Marines, claiming Luffy will die for hitting him. Rika is pulled away by Ririka, her mother, but Rika defends Luffy and Zoro as good men. Luffy tells Coby he is going to speak to Zoro again.

Luffy reappears to talk to Zoro about joining his crew. He makes a deal with Zoro that if he gets him his swords, he must join his crew. Luffy drags Helmeppo into the base building to find Zoro's swords, while one of the Marines spots Coby untying Zoro. Morgan becomes paranoid because he thinks the townsfolk are turning on him, and Coby is suddenly shot.

Coby realizes that he has been shot and that he had started bleeding. Zoro tells Coby to run, but Coby will not go until Zoro is untied. He tells Zoro that Helmeppo never planned to keep his word. Zoro cannot believe what he is hearing, and Coby tells Zoro how Luffy punched Helmeppo because of what they overheard him say. Coby asks Zoro to help Luffy. Suddenly, some Marines approach Zoro and Coby and declare them traitors.Morgan proves to have high endurance as neither man manages to knock the other to the ground. As Morgan is knocked around by Luffy, Morgan's son Helmeppo holds a gun to Coby's head and threatens to kill him. Coby tells Luffy to continue on. Morgan approaches Luffy from behind, the latter stretching his arm and knocking out Helmeppo, while Zoro in the same instance takes out Morgan.



At Zoro questions why Coby is worried since he is not going with them. He replies that it is because they are friends. Zoro points out to Coby that his past with Alvida makes joining the Marines difficult as he has association with pirates. Coby is left standing there alone; and the Marines question whether he is with the pirates. Coby claims otherwise. As Luffy is asked if he knows Coby, Luffy goes on about how Coby used to be with Alvida. Angry that Luffy is telling the Marines what he does not want them to know, he hits him. With everyone watching in awe, Luffy begins to punch Coby for hitting him. After the Marines stop Luffy from fighting, Coby is declared not to be with Luffy and Zoro and the two are ordered to leave.

Laying on the ground, Coby brings his nerves together and declares he wants to join the Marines, even if it's just to do chores. The Marine in charge of the scene asks Coby if he really wants to join, the Marine acknowledges his past with pirates and agrees that Coby can join.

On the outskirts of town, Zoro and Luffy are leaving. Coby suddenly catches their attention. Coby salutes the pirates; suddenly he becomes aware that the other Marines are also saluting the pirates. As the two sail away in a small boat, the Marine in charge declares that they violated the Marine code of conduct and now must go one week without food, but not before commenting to Coby on how he has a good friend in Luffy.

Diary of Coby-Meppo
In his and Helmeppo's title page mini-arc, the two start out as Marine chore boys at the 153rd Branch in Shells Town. They become unwillingly involved in an escape attempt by Morgan the prisoner (Morgan takes his son hostage and steals a ship). Though Morgan escapes, the bravery shown by the two earns them the respect of their superiors and the attention of Vice Admiral Garp, who takes the two under his wing as pupils. Coby and Helmeppo accompanied the vice admiral to Marineford to train under him.

Post-Enies Lobby Arc
Coby appears at Water 7 alongside Helmeppo when Garp pays Luffy a visit. On the vice admiral's order, Helmeppo charges Zoro while Luffy is attacked by the then-unknown Coby. Both he and Helmeppo are easily beaten after a brief skirmish. Coby cheerfully admits defeat and reintroduces himself to Luffy and Zoro, asking if they remember him. Although the Straw Hat captain initially has trouble recognizing Coby due to his growth spurt, the trio are happily reunited (Helmeppo is hardly remembered at all, much to his chagrin). Coby, like the Straw Hat crew and the rest of Garp's men, is shocked when the vice admiral reveals that the revolutionary Dragon is his son and Luffy's father.

After some time, Zoro goes back inside with the other Straw Hats, leaving Luffy, Coby and Helmeppo to sit outside and reminisce about their first meeting and the young marine's journey to the Grand Line. Luffy insists that the two marines come in and share a meal with his crew, but Coby declines the invitation, saying that he and Luffy are members of opposing factions and that they "shouldn't be too friendly with one another". Before he leaves, Coby asks Luffy what he knows about latter half of the Grand Line, which marines and pirates call "the New World". He requests to meet the Straw Hat captain again in that ocean, promising to be strong enough to fight and capture him.

He becomes so worked up that he accidentally blurts out his dream of becoming an admiral before immediately collapsing in embarrassment. Luffy accepts Coby's ambitious proclamation as a certainty, saying that, if the marine wanted to fight with him the New World, then he could not be anything other than an admiral. Coby is moved to tears by Luffy's unshakable faith in him and is teased by Zoro for "still" being a crybaby. Coby and Helmeppo depart, repeating their challenge to the Straw Hats to meet them again in the New World. Zoro smiles and observes that Luffy has "just creat[ed] another great enemy", noting that "Coby is a man of his word".

Coby sees Luffy one more time as he leaves Water 7, when Garp attacks. He is afraid the vice admiral will sink the Thousand Sunny and her crew, but is relieved when the Straw Hats manage to escape.

Marineford Arc
Coby, along with Helmeppo, reported to Marine Headquarters as part of the fight against the Whitebeard Pirates, and is present for Sengoku's speech about Ace's past. After hearing that Ace is Gol D. Roger's son, the two men come to a conclusion that Ace and Luffy aren't biological brothers.

Frightened by the display of power from both sides and the ensuing bloodshed as the Marines and Whitebeard's forces clash, Coby and Helmeppo run away. By chance, they cross paths with Akainu and, from their hiding place behind a wall, witness the admiral brutally punishing another Marine for deserting. They overhear Sengoku's communication with Akainu through the admiral's Den Den Mushi, which reveals the fleet admiral's plan to ignore the schedule and execute Ace right away. It is then that they notice Luffy's ship falling from the sky.



When Luffy attempts to charge the execution stand to rescue Ace, Coby blocks his path, determined to defend the Marines' objective even if it means the execution of his friend's brother. He tells himself that, if he cowers away from the situation, he will not be able to grow up. His resolve, however, is not enough: the Chief Petty Officer is no match for the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates and is defeated with a single punch. Luffy moves on, leaving Coby unconscious in the middle of the battlefield.

Eventually, Coby wakes up, distressed that the war is still raging despite the fact that Portgas D. Ace has been executed. The trauma of the battle triggers his own Haki which comes on him in full force, allowing him to involuntarily sense every human presence nearby on the battlefield (described by Coby as voices "inside my head"). He is reduced to tears as he listens to the voices of the combatants disappearing one by one as they are killed. As the violence rises to a fever pitch, Coby screams at the top of his lungs, begging both sides to stop throwing lives away for a war that no longer has 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 causes a moment's pause in the battle and inadvertently saves Luffy's life. Kizaru, who was seconds away from destroying Trafalgar Law's submarine, stops to look at Coby, which gives the Heart Pirates the time needed to submerge and flee from the battlefield with Luffy on board. Akainu, unimpressed, prepares to kill Coby for wasting precious seconds of the battle. The young Marine fearfully steels himself for death, reassuring himself that he said what he had to say and that he has no regrets.

His life is saved by the sudden arrival of Shanks, who commends the young Marine for his actions, explaining that his few seconds of courage have drastically changed the future of the world. Coby immediately falls unconscious after his timely rescue from an otherwise certain demise.

Post-War Arc
Coby is seen at Marine Headquarters healing center, surrounded by other injured soldiers, and a healthy Helmeppo at his bedside. He is still clearly traumatized by the events, saying that he's "felt human presences too strongly" and that he "cannot calm down". Doctor Fishbonen tells him that what he is feeling is Haki.

Doctor Fishbonen informs Coby that all Marines ranked vice admiral and above have Haki control, and that Garp should be able to help him. Helmeppo feels jealous that Coby seems to have advanced in skill, though Coby claims to not have known about the ability in the first place. The particular type of Haki Coby has gained is Kenbunshoku Haki.

One Piece Film: Z
After Firs Island got destroyed by Zephyr, Coby appears on a Marine battle ship along with Helmeppo and Garp, who reveals to him the existence of Zephyr. Later, after the destruction of Secon Island, Garp and Sengoku explain to him and Helmeppo about Zephyr's past.

Major Battles

 * Coby vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Shells Town, to let the Marines see he is not a pirate)
 * Coby and Helmeppo vs. Bogart
 * Coby vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Water 7)
 * Coby vs. Monkey D. Luffy (Marineford)

Anime Only Battles

 * Coby and Helmeppo vs. Morgan
 * Coby and Helmeppo vs. Monkey D. Garp (training)

Anime and Manga Differences

 * In the anime, a report was published in a newspaper stating that Garp, Coby, and Helmeppo had traversed Reverse Mountain in order to enter the Grand Line. This report was later brought up before Coby by Luffy in a later episode. Upon hearing this report, Coby explained to Luffy that the report was just a cover story in order to hide the secret of how the Marines are able to pass directly through the Calm Belt.


 * Despite this rewrite of the anime's initial mistake, two errors remain;
 * Coby and Helmeppo had passed a few sentences about the Reverse Mountain during the adaptation of their mini-series and commented how frightening it had been for them.
 * Zoro was also surprised by Coby's presence in the Grand Line though he saw the article along with Luffy and the present crew members in the newspaper.


 * Also in the manga, Coby got shot in his left shoulder, however, in the anime, it was left out.


 * In the manga version of Diary of Coby-Meppo, Coby was seen holding guns to keep Marines from shooting Morgan while he was holding Helmeppo hostage right before Bogart sliced the guns into pieces. In the anime version, Coby did not hold any guns and only persuaded the Marines to not shoot Morgan.

Trivia

 * Coby was the first person that Luffy met and befriended on his journey.
 * A fan once asked why Coby looked so different from his first appearance. According to Oda, Coby just went through a growth spurt and tightened his muscles with discipline (due to Garp's training).
 * Coby appears as a support character in One Piece: Gigant Battle and as a playable character in One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World.
 * Twice Coby has been in a situation where he emphasizes his feelings towards a much superior, leading figure and then saved for doing so. This first happened in the second chapter when Coby rebutted against Alvida then saved by Luffy and then in the Battle of Marineford when Coby was attacked by Akainu for wanting the war to end then saved by Shanks. Interestingly on both occasions Coby declares that he does not regret his action and both his saviors compliment Coby by saying, "Well said."

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