Aramaki

Aramaki, better known by his alias Ryokugyu, is an admiral in the Marines. He attained his rank during the two-year timeskip, along with Fujitora, both filling the two admiral vacancies left by Kuzan, who had resigned from the Marines, and Sakazuki, who had been promoted to fleet admiral.

Ryokugyu was first mentioned by Donquixote Doflamingo in the Dressrosa Arc, and debuted in the Levely Arc. His full appearance and real name were revealed near the end of the Wano Country Arc, in which he serves as a supporting antagonist.

Appearance


Ryokugyu is a muscular man with thick and wild dark hair which reaches to his neck. He appears to be quite tall, as he looked comparable to fellow admiral Fujitora who stands at 2.7 meters. On his face, he has a somewhat pronounced nose and lips as well as a light goatee and sideburns; he has been shown smoking a cigarette.

Ryokugyu does not wear a shirt, whereby exposing a large kanji tattoo "死川心中" (meaning "double suicide at death river") running down the left side of his chest. He wears a pair of dark-colored pants with light flower designs on the left leg, whereas the right leg has a few small tears. Additionally, he wears the standard Marine cloak which covers his otherwise bare back as well as a pair of sunglasses over his eyes.

Personality
Ryokugyu is shown to act in a casual and uncouth manner, being unafraid of expressing his mind. With friends and allies, he has been shown to act quite jovial and conversational, as seen by his talk with fellow admiral Fujitora. With enemies, however, Ryokugyu has expressed open contempt much like his direct superior Sakazuki, whom he wishes to emulate out of admiration. Ryokugyu agrees with Sakazuki's principle of never holding back when battling enemies, and is very much a follower of Absolute Justice.

Humankind has lasted through the ages by creating and defining the inferior!! All the rest of us can look down our noses at you unaffiliated countries!!! Discrimination creates solace!!!

Ryokugyu has shown to be far more fanatical in his devotion to the World Government compared to the other admirals and even Sakazuki, believing that the World Nobles are gods. His worldview is that society functions best with a strict hierarchy system where those in power can act however they please against those deemed inferior. Thus, he believes he can do whatever he wants against countries unaffiliated with the World Government, up to and including genocide to fulfill its purpose. He has been seen expressing anger at people who unleash chaos in the world and make life difficult for the Marines, which led him to develop a grudge against Monkey D. Luffy.

Despite his loyalty, however, Ryokugyu is also extremely self-willed and will disregard or outright defy orders from his superiors in favor of doing what he feels is best. Although he admires Sakazuki, he did not follow the fleet admiral's order to remove Fujitora from Mary Geoise, seeing no point in the two of them doing battle. Later, despite Sakazuki telling the Marines to avoid Wano following Kaidou and Big Mom's downfall, Ryokugyu went to the country anyway in order to take down Luffy because he believed he could accomplish this and that he would gain Sakazuki's approval by killing the pirate. Ryokugyu even personally called in a battleship to aid him in his unapproved attack on Wano, an action which no other admiral has been shown doing for a personal mission. If he is doing something he should not be and is questioned about it, he has been shown to give vague answers to avoid being reprimanded, and when talking to subordinates he will order them to not inform his superiors about what he is doing.

In combat, he is ruthless with great confidence in his own abilities, taking pride in his title of admiral and his Devil Fruit, to the point of despising those he easily defeats and believing himself to be invincible for being "nature itself". This is shown when he impaled many of the Beasts Pirates in a gruesome manner during his attack on them and kicked Queen several times after impaling him, while taunting King and Queen that it would be a heavy blow to his reputation to have fought with him. "simple" commanders of an emperor. During his battle against the Red Scabbards, he pretended to feel pain from Raizo's attack only to taunt him and dehydrate him. This led to Momonosuke destroying his body shortly after, though he continued to taunt him.

Ryokugyu does at least acknowledge the strength of his enemies (albeit in a begrudging fashion). Stating that Kaidou's mere presence alone was enough to keep him and other enemies from attacking Wano, as well as stopping his assault on Momonosuke's group and leaving Wano after Shanks had attacked him with a burst of Haoshoku Haki from outside of Wano.

Ryokugyu has abstained from eating for the last three years for unknown reasons. He also enjoys being around beautiful women and remarked to Fujitora that he would consider breaking his fast if an attractive woman were to feed him.

Like many other characters, Ryokugyu laughs in a unique fashion: "Rahaha" (らはは).

Sakazuki
Ryokugyu greatly admires his direct superior, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, expressing approval of the latter's personal motto of "Thorough Justice" and seeking the fleet admiral's approval for himself, showing an even more radical vision of Justice bordering on totalitarian fanaticism. However, this has not prevented Ryokugyu from disregarding Sakazuki's orders to do what he wants, and he takes steps to prevent the fleet admiral from learning about his rogue actions. With that said, though, Ryokugyu made the decision to go to Wano against orders because he believed that Sakazuki would appreciate him for killing Luffy. When Ryokugyu went to Wano, Sakazuki appeared to be very displeased and exasperated at the admiral going missing and giving vague answers about his location, though upon learning of Ryokugyu's destination, he was seemingly resigned to the fact his subordinate would go there no matter what and simply ordered him to not do anything unnecessary.

Issho
Fujitora and Ryokugyu appear to be on good terms despite Fujitora's immense respect for human rights, as Ryokugyu disregarded Sakazuki's orders to drive Fujitora out of Mary Geoise in favor of having a friendly chat with his fellow admiral.

Straw Hat Pirates
Ryokugyu dislikes the Straw Hat Pirates, namely Monkey D. Luffy, for their involvement in the downfalls of Kaidou and Big Mom and throwing the world into chaos as a result. He decided to go on a rogue mission to Wano in order to kill Luffy as he believes he would gain approval from Sakazuki for doing this.

Beasts Pirates
As part of his unauthorized mission to Wano, Ryokugyu sought out many of the imprisoned Beasts Pirates and brutally attacked them, including the All-Stars King and Queen in their weakest state, saying he would lose face if he let them get the better of him.

Despite Kaidou being his enemy, Ryokugyu begrudgingly admits that Kaidou's mere presence alone was enough to keep him out of Wano.

Revolutionary Army
Given his standing, Ryokugyu is an enemy of the Revolutionary Army. As such, he and Fujitora engaged their chief of staff Sabo and his subordinates when they tried to rescue their former comrade Bartholomew Kuma.

Edward Weevil
After the Seven Warlord's dissolution, Ryokugyu was sent to Sphinx of capturing Weevil. He managed to defeat Weevil and arrested him.

Abilities and Powers
As an admiral, Ryokugyu's authority in the Marines is directly below the fleet admiral's, commanding authority over all lower-ranked personnel. He can command whole fleets, has a say in the overall strategy of the organization, and possesses the ability to issue special orders, like enacting a Buster Call at any time, while also granting those of lower status such an ability. In general, Ryokugyu can be assumed to hold a great deal of military leadership/coordination skills to be seen as qualified for his rank and the responsibilities that come with it.

In battle, Ryokugyu, along with the other admirals, are thought to constitute the World Government's "Greatest Military Power" (i.e., the strongest individual fighters that the government can bring into action), making Ryokugyu one of the world's most powerful combatants. Both he and Fujitora were stated by Doflamingo to be known as powerful monsters among the Marines.

During the latest Levely, Ryokugyu together with Fujitora, engaged in battle with the Revolutionary Army's chief of staff and "No. 2" in strength, Sabo, as well as the Commanders Morley, Lindbergh, and Karasu. Ryokugyu effortlessly defeated King and Queen, two All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates with bounties of over 1,000,000,000, and several of their subordinates. However, it is possible that the pirates had not fully recovered from the injuries they sustained during the Udon prison breakout and the Raid on Onigashima that had happened days earlier. Ryokugyu was able to single-handedly contend with a group consisting of Raizo, Shinobu, Inuarashi, Denjiro, Nekomamushi, Kawamatsu, Yamato, and Kozuki Momonosuke and held the advantage over them until the latter gained better control of his Devil Fruit powers. Another testament of Ryokugyu's power is that he defeated and arrest Edward Weevil, a powerful former Warlord.

Ryokugyu possesses a strong will, being able to remain conscious after taking a powerful burst of Shanks' Haoshoku Haki from outside of Wano.

Physical Abilities
Ryokugyu's physical prowess are immense, befitting his position as a marine admiral. Despite having not eaten in three years, he has remained completely healthy and not lacking in energy. It should be noted that he has been shown absorbing liquid into his body via his Devil Fruit, with water being a key source of nutrients for plants; however, it has not been officially stated or indicated that this is the reason he has been able to fast for so long. He was able to defeat Edward Weevil (the former Warlord who has a bounty of 480 million berries).

Ryokugyu is an extremely resilient man, capable of taking an advanced Haoshoku Haki attack from Yamato directly to the head, and while he confessed the attack hurt and was impressed with Yamato's level of Haki, he was unphased by the attack.

Devil Fruit


Ryokugyu ate the Mori Mori no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to create, control, and transform his body into plant life. The plants he creates can be grown rapidly and moved around freely, seemingly not being limited by any rigidity that some plants, such as trees, normally possess. Notably, as plants are a solid element, he cannot turn intangible, though non-Haki attacks are still harmless to him, and he will regenerate from any damage. Interestingly, he regenerates by sprouting out of the ground and growing back into his normal self.

Ryokugyu can generate large quantities of plants to unleash overwhelming large-scale attacks; when attacking the Beasts Pirates, he turned his fingers into sharpened tree branches and freely grew them to impale dozens of enemies over a large area with ease. Additionally, his plants can rapidly absorb any liquid they touch, which includes dehydrating living creatures after impaling them, leaving them as shriveled husks. He appears to be able to taste the liquid he absorbs, as shown when he impaled a barrel of alcohol with a branch and remarked on its flavor. Ryokugyu can also perform highly unorthodox feats with the plants he generates, such as growing a giant flower on his back and using it to fly by spinning it rapidly like a propeller.

It has also been shown that ordinary grass, trees and flowers grow in Ryokugyu's wake, on any surface he touches, resulting in him leaving behind a trail of plants wherever he walks. This was shown when Udon, which is known to be a barren and desolate area was shown with greenery for the first time in many years. It is currently unknown if this is passively active or something he does on purpose.

Haki
As a marine admiral, Ryokugyu is a highly skilled Haki user.

Busoshoku Haki
Ryokugyu possesses the ability to use Busoshoku Haki. He is able to harden the tips of the branches he creates with his devil fruit powers.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Ryokugyu possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki. He was able to sense the Red Hair Pirates miles outside of Wano Country after Shanks used his Haoshoku Haki.

Weapons
Ryokugyu carries around a shirasaya-like katana on his hip that does not appear to be in a sheath.

Past
Not much is known about Ryokugyu's past, but he claims during the past three years to have completely abstained from eating. Sometime during the two years after the Summit War, via the World Military Draft, Ryokugyu was appointed to the rank of admiral alongside Fujitora, to make up for the two vacancies among the three admiral spots left by Kuzan's resignation and Sakazuki's promotion.

Levely Arc


Ryokugyu was present on the grounds of Mary Geoise's Pangaea Castle as royals from throughout the world arrived to attend the latest Levely. Despite having received orders from Sakazuki to make Fujitora leave, Ryokugyu instead had a friendly conversation with Fujitora concerning Vegapunk and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

Wano Country Arc


On the fourth day of the Levely, Ryokugyu and Fujitora battled against Sabo and his group composed of three of the Revolutionary Army's commanders, who had infiltrated Mary Geoise. The admirals failed, as the Revolutionaries succeeded in rescuing their enslaved comrade and escaping the holy land.

While Marco was away from Sphinx to support the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai Alliance in Wano Country, Ryokugyu was sent to support the Marines attacking the island. He battled the former warlord Edward Weevil and defeated him, taking him prisoner.

A week after the Raid on Onigashima and the fall of Kaidou and Big Mom, Ryokugyu flew to Wano Country, and Sakazuki, upon interrogating him and learning of his location via Den Den Mushi, warned him via Den Den Mushi not make the situation worse. Ryokugyu headed to the Prisoner Mine in Udon, where he attacked the Beasts Pirates who were being held there including All-Stars King and Queen. Ryokugyu dispatched these opponents with ease, leaving them impaled on tree branches. He then started walking toward the Flower Capital to kill Luffy, which he wished to do in order to gain Sakazuki's approval.

Denjiro, Raizo, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, and Shinobu went to intercept Ryokugyu, and the Admiral showcased his forest body transformation as he unleashed a large-scale attack on them. Ryokugyu was knocked to the ground and injured by Yamato's Haoshoku Haki-infused attack. Kozuki Momonosuke then arrived in his dragon transformation, piquing Ryokugyu's interest; however, Momonosuke was unable to breathe fire and Ryokugyu quickly immobilized him with tree branches, demanding that he stay out of his way. Using his vines, Ryokugyu quickly overpowered the Red Scabbards who attacked him, dehydrating Raizo in the process. He ordered those present to bring Luffy to him and started mocking Momonosuke after he refused.



Ryokugyu stated while he was sure living under Kaidou's regime was miserable his presence kept other powerful individuals like himself from attacking the county. Momonosuke eventually succeeded in breathing fire at Ryokugyu, destroying his enlarged plant-based body. Ryokugyu regrew his body from a sapling, announcing it was time he got serious. Though before he could do anything, he got paralyzed by the sudden Haki blasts from Shanks on a ship miles away. Shanks telepathically spoke to Ryokugyu through his Haki and warned him to leave this new era of pirates alone. Ryokugyu, not wanting to fight Shanks and his crew, grudgingly adhered to the warning and retreated.

Major Battles

 * Aramaki and Issho vs. Sabo, Morley, Lindbergh, and Karasu (unseen)
 * Aramaki vs. Edward Weevil
 * Aramaki vs. King, Queen, Babanuki, and many other Beasts Pirates
 * Aramaki vs. Denjiro, Raizo, Kawamatsu, Inuarashi, Nekomamushi, Shinobu, Yamato, and Kozuki Momonosuke

Translation and Dub Issues
The Japanese kanji "牛" in Ryokugyu's alias has various bovine-related translations, e.g. "bull", "cow", "cattle", "ox"; given the basis for said alias (see the Trivia section below), "bull" is the most apt translation.

Trivia



 * In the SBS Volume 73, a fan provided a joke rendering of Ryokugyu's appearance. Oda found it quite bizarre and noted he had already designed the admiral, mentioning he was "super-duper cool" and that he could not wait to draw him.
 * Ryokugyu's and Fujitora's animal motifs that are contained in their aliases (bull and tiger respectively) can be interpreted as being based off the Japanese legend of Momotarō, similar to the animal aliases of the original admiral trio. The tiger and bull (ushitora ("ox-tiger") as per the cosmology of onmyōdō) can be seen as representing the northeastern cardinal direction, which is where, in the aforesaid tale, the oni ("ogres") that Momotarō must kill live.
 * Ryokugyu's name and appearance are likely based on the late Japanese actor Yoshio Harada. Harada portrayed a character named Aramaki in the film Ronin-gai, which also starred Kunie Tanaka and Shintaro Katsu whom fellow admirals Kizaru and Fujitora were respectively based on.
 * Ryokugyu's tattoos may be a reference to Harada's song "Shinjuku Shinju".
 * Ironically, Harada is most well-known for playing rebels whereas Aramaki is the most conformist of the admirals.

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