Jozu


 * The subject of this article is sometimes known by various other spellings of his name.

"Diamond" Jozu is the commander of the Whitebeard Pirates' 3rd division.

Appearance
Jozu is a big, very muscular, broad-chested, heavily-armored and dark-skinned man. Even when standing in a hunched position, he is roughly twice Crocodile's height. He has a long face with stripe-like patterns for a beard and hairstyle. His legs are relatively thin in comparison to his muscular arms. He appears battle-hardened and has a perpetual scowl on his face. The dark armor he wears and his hair style are very similar to that of an Aztec warrior, with red-bolted darl shoulder pads (the bolts were later changed to gray). On his chest he has a green cuirass, whose front and back portions are connected by metal straps that go over both his collarbones. The cuirass' color was later changed to a rusty red color. Around his waist there is a big, elaborated golden belt, worn over what looks like a green skirt similar to the ones worn by Aztecs, with golden decorations near the edge. He also wears what look like studded, large-buckled shoes or boots and matching studded pants.

Twenty two years ago, Jozu wore an A-shirt instead of armor, but otherwise looked the same as he is today.

Personality
Jozu is a gruff, fairly quiet individual who tends to point out info to his crewmates. He appears to be quite unrelenting to his enemies as he had no qualms in attempting to strike an almost-downed Crocodile a second time immediately after a first hit. He is loyal to Whitebeard and his crew, having protected them in at least three instances. His favourite food is fried seagull with white wine.

Abilities and Powers
As the commander of the 3rd division of the Whitebeard Pirates, Jozu has authority over the lower-ranking subordinates. He was one of the few men unaffected by the powerful Haki released by the Yonkou Shanks. He is a very experienced veteran, as he was shown as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates from the times of Gol D. Roger.



He is one of the strongest members of the Whitebeard Pirates, as shown by his position as the 3rd division commander. During the Marineford war, Jozu was powerful enough to fight on par against the Shichibukai and the Marine Admirals.

Jozu has outstanding brute strength, comparable to that of the Giant Squad Marines, if not greater. He picked up and hurled an immense iceberg at a great distance at the giants protecting Marineford. The iceberg was so enormous that it was at least ten times as big as any of the Giant Squad's giants. Thus, Jozu has demonstrated one of the greatest strength feats seen in the series.

And, despite his massive body, his speed and reflexes are on par with his brute force; when he attacked Crocodile after the latter attempted to take Whitebeard's life, Crocodile commented on both the great speed and strength of the attack and was unable to recover in time to avoid a second attack (though he was saved by Doflamingo's intervention).

Devil Fruit
Jozu has eaten a currently unnamed Devil Fruit that allows him to transform, parts and most likely all of his body, into diamond. This power has earned him the nickname "Diamond Jozu". It is currently unknown if this is a Paramecia, like the Supa Supa no Mi.

Jozu's powers give him the ability to greatly increase his offensive and defensive powers. His already strong physical attacks are enhanced by the density of his diamond body. His defenses seem to enhance exponentially, and he is able to block the strongest slash in the world from the world's greatest swordsman, Shichibukai Juracule Mihawk, with no visible damage to himself.

However, when his whole body is not in full diamond form, he is still vulnerable to Aokiji's freezing abilities. Other than that, Jozu is weak against the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses.

The named Devil Fruit techniques used by Jozu are as follows:


 * Brilliant Punk (ブリリアント・パンク, Buririanto Panku): Jozu rushes towards an enemy at high speed and slams the person with his diamond-transformed forearm, dealing damage and launching the target a fair distance back. This was first seen being used against Crocodile. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, its name is the same.

Haki
Jozu proved himself a proficient user of Busōshoku Haki when he successfully attacked and harmed Logia users in two separate instances. He launched a devastating surprise attack against Crocodile that knocked him a great distance back and that also caused him to bleed immensely. Later, he launched another surprise attack, this time against Admiral Aokiji, which shattered his ice form and caused Aokiji to bleed from the mouth. While it can be argued that Jozu's attacks merely caught the Logia users off guard and that therefore he may not possess Haki, the fact that Crocodile and Aokiji have already demonstrated their ability to reflexively turn into their respective sand and ice forms as a mean of defense confirms Jozu's possession of Haki.

Shiki's Visit
When Shiki dropped by Whitebeard's ship after escaping from Impel Down two years after Gol D. Roger's execution, Jozu was seen in the background.

Murder of Thatch
After the murder of Thatch at the hands of Teach, Ace decided to search for Blackbeard and make him pay for what he did. However, Whitebeard, who was feeling uneasy, told Ace not to go, something that Ace didn't want to hear. Jozu was one of the crew members who protested to Ace leaving the ship and going after Teach, but this was in vain.

Jaya Arc
Like Marco, Jozu first appeared as a background character, but unlike Marco, he did not get any dialogue. It wasn't until later that he was identified by name and role in Whitebeard's crew.

Post Enies Lobby Arc
Like Marco, Jozu displayed a knowledge of what would happen when Shanks boarded their ship and commented on how Shanks' spirit was as strong as ever.

Marineford Arc
Jozu showed up at Marineford with the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies from the New World, in order to save Portgas D. Ace from execution. Including him and Marco, all the division commanders were ready to battle. When Mihawk, the greatest swordsman in the world, sent the strongest slash in the world towards the Moby Dick and Whitebeard, Jozu intercepted the attack, and was able to effectively stop it in its tracks by becoming diamond. Shortly afterwards, he destroyed a section of ice, picked up an enormous iceberg, and hurled it at the Marineford giants, but this was in turn nullified by Akainu's magma Devil Fruit powers. However, this failed assault proved to be indirectly useful shortly afterwards, when Luffy and the Impel Down prisoners arrived and were able to land safely in the water instead of the ice.



He then launched a surprise assault at Crocodile after the latter's attempt to kill Whitebeard, and landed a devastating hit, thereby demonstrating his ability to use Haki. Moments before he was able to land a second blow on Crocodile, Donquixote Doflamingo, who had jumped on Jozu's back, stopped him in his tracks with his puppeteer power, and asked Crocodile if the two could team up.

Because of his pride, Crocodile refused and sent both Jozu and Doflamingo (along with several Marines and pirates, Buggy included) flying with a massive sandstorm. Unharmed by Crocodile's attack, Jozu was then seen shocked when Squardo stabbed Whitebeard. Later, Whitebeard told him to get ready for their trump card, in which Oars Jr. was to smash one of their ships through the opening of the Encircling Wall and into the plaza; after its success, Jozu was seen with his crewmates.

When Admiral Aokiji attempted to halt Whitebeard's advance, Jozu intervened in the battle and smashed Aokiji into pieces, telling his captain to press on. As Aokiji reformed, all the while bleeding from the mouth, he murmured Jozu's epithet, and the two resumed their fight, which appeared to be evenly matched.



When Jozu witnessed Marco getting struck by Kizaru's lasers, he called out Marco's name; Aokiji then took advantage of Jozu's distraction and froze over his arm. Soon afterward, he was shown entirely frozen, with his right arm cracking off as he fell to the ground.

Sometime after Ace had been freed, Jozu was carried away to the escape ship by his comrades, specifically by Blenheim, another division commander, where he was eventually thawed out; he was not present during both Ace's and Whitebeard's deaths.

Post-War Arc
Jozu was seen alongside all of the other Whitebeard Pirates at Ace and Whitebeard's funeral. He was wrapped in bandages, and his right arm was still strangely intact or had somehow been reattached.

Major Battles

 * Whitebeard Pirates and their allies vs. the Marines and Shichibukai
 * Jozu vs. Juracule Mihawk
 * Jozu vs. Giant Squad (intercepted by Akainu)
 * Jozu vs. Crocodile vs. Donquixote Doflamingo
 * Jozu vs. Admiral Aokiji

Anime and Manga Differences
In his first appearance in the anime, it was not known yet that he would later be revealed as a commander, and as such, he had a generic and vastly different appearance than from now.

After the correction, Jozu was shown wearing a green cuirass that had red bolts on its shoulder pads. In Opening 13, however, the color scheme had been changed: his cuirass is red, and the bolts gray.

In the manga Jozu blocked the attack from Mihawk with his body. In the anime he was forced back and then directed it into the sky.

In the anime, he was seen smirking when he blocked Mihawk's strike and after he hurled the iceberg; in the manga, he has never once been depicted smiling.

Translation and Dub issues
Before no official romanization of his name being revealed, Jozu's name is often spelled differently amongst different translations. These include Joss, Jaws, and Jose to name a few. In One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, his name is confirmed to be Jozu.

Trivia

 * He has been under Whitebeard's service for at least 20 years.