Will of D.

Inherited will, the swelling of the changing times, And the dreams of people. These are things that cannot be stopped. As long as people seek the answer to freedom, these will never stop! -One Piece, second intro and words heard in Logue Town.

What is the D?
In the One Piece fictional universe, many characters have the middle initial "D". This mysterious middle initial has been called "the will of the D" or "D's will" by several characters in One Piece. Some translations refer to it as "Gol D's will" in reference to Gol D. Roger, the late pirate king. The English dub by 4Kids chooses to refer to the D as the "the Spirit of Gol. D". In the recap supplement Grand Line Times, they were refered to those who carry it as "The man of D."

It is not clear what the significance of the shared middle initial is, but it appears that all share a similar faith in their own (and others') dreams and/or destiny. Furthermore, they seem to be able to withstand incredible punishment in battle and only surrender to death when they know there truly is no way of avoiding it.

In Oda's SBS questions and answers corner, he was asked what the D in Luffy's name stood for. Oda just replied to read it as a D for now and that he would reveal the truth behind it in time. This was the first time Luffy's 'D' was brought up, as well as Oda's first hint towards a bigger mystery.

In the storyline, Dr. Kureha is the first to mention The Will Of D and it was revealed by her that Gold Roger's (the late pirate king) true name was Gol D. Roger. She tells Dalton that Chopper has joined up with a very dangerous man.

So it still lives... The will of D. - Dr. Kureha speaks to Dalton about Luffy

Recently, Robin tried to ask Silvers Rayleigh about the significance of The Will Of D, but the focus of the conversation changed before she got her answer.

Personality
One of the most common reference made about the Ds are the constant remarks on how similar they are to each other. Although their overall personalities vary between each D, they are typically simple-minded people who see the simple solutions to things, however do not always act stupid as a result of it. They display fun-loving traits and are able to make friends or get along with most people without there seeming to be any cause for alarm. They are also highly competitive (especially with each other) often aiming their ambitions at high targets (with people generally regarding them as crazy and laughing at them), but unlike normal people, they seem to have the determination, strength and willpower to carry out their ambitions. Several of these ambitions have something to do with the King Of The Pirates either being the King or helping a leader achieve that.

Nico Robin states that she has met at least one other D over the years and knows that those with D as their middle initial are incredibly strong and equally just as stubborn, she also notes that it seems like there are no average people with the initial D. Other references come from various characters:
 * Gan Fall who seemed to have known Gol D. Roger and found similarities between Luffy and the former pirate king.
 * Admiral Aokiji equally noted the similarity between Luffy and his Grandfather, although he wasn't sure if it was stupidity they shared in common or simple-mindedness.
 * Sea Train engineer Kokoro mentioned that if the legendary shipwright Tom, who built Gol D Roger's ship, were still alive, he would have helped Luffy with the raid on Enies Lobby because of the similarities between Luffy and Roger's personalities and saying Gol D Roger was also an idiot like Luffy.

Initially, thus far none of the Ds have done anything truly worthy of being called "evil" (except for Blackbeard, who killed his friend to obtain power), despite everything that has happened in the storyline. For the most part, they don't seem to take sides with anyone, appearing "neutral" until a situation calls into effect their strong sense of "personal justice". This individualistic trait makes them drawn to the pirate lifestyle, however they are also drawn to become Marines and Revolutionaries for the same reason.

Family
One clue about those who carry the "D" was left by Saul who specifically said that while he didn't know the meaning of the initial, he did know everyone in his family carried it in their names. .

So far, its seems that the Ds all may indeed be related to each other. Luffy does have a grandfather, who was revealed to be Vice-Admiral Garp recently, whose full name is Monkey D Garp. Luffy is also the son of the revolutionary Monkey D. Dragon.

However, despite this evidence, this does not thus far rule out the initial existing in other family lines as well this is supported by Luffy and his brother Ace who are both carriers of the D and share no other part of their name with each other. Since family may also be regarded as the status of close group of people (especially in the world of One Piece) the Ds may not be directly related to each other at all, but rather a group individuals who have come to accept each other as if they were a close family.

Known Surnames that have been used by D carriers:
 * Monkey
 * Gol
 * Portgas
 * Marshall
 * Jaguar

Destiny
Another odd thing about the Ds is that they appear to encourage or ignite change whenever they appear somewhere, sometimes it seems as if they are drawn to fate that is playing out. For example, Blackbeard's raid is the turning point for the Drum Kingdom and their selfish and corrupt King was made to flee the kingdom, freeing the citizens from his corrupt reign. Later when he returns to Drum Kingdom, Luffy's intervention stops Wapol from taking his throne back. Luffy was not only able to defeat Sir Crocodile, but he prevented him from conquering Alabasta, ending the civil war there, as well as unbalancing the 3 Great Powers when Crocodile was stripped of his titles as a Shichibukai. Luffy was also able to stop the 400-year war between Skypeians and Shandians by knocking Eneru through the Golden Belfry. Jaguar D. Saul also ended up on Ohara island before the Buster Call was due to arrive and was there when it came to help Robin escape, thus allowing the only reader of the ancient language to continue to live. Robin states she is convinced Luffy will play an important role in the events of the world after seeing a note left by Gol D. Roger in Skypiea near its sacred bell.

How fate reacts to the Ds cannot be fully explained, but an example of fate openly effecting a D comes from Blackbeard after leaving a bar in Mocktown on the island of Jaya. Blackbeard encountered Bellamy who was entering at that moment, while they did not say anything to each other, Blackbeard seemed to sense something was about to happen and hung around outside. Also, fight between Blackbeard and Ace in Banaro Island (The first shown fight between two Ds), was said to be the trigger of a major event in the Grand Line to come. This event is implied to be the public execution of Portgas D. Ace, which will trigger a war between the Whitebeard Pirates and the World Government, with the Shichibukai as World Government's infantry.

Dreams
They seem also drawn to dreams, for example the places Luffy visits usually result in him ending the dreams of the many One Piece villians, including Captain Kuro, Arlong and Sir Crocodile. In the outcome of every battle, he leaves them alive to see their failed dreams fall apart, in the process, the victims of these villians have their dreams and hopes renewed. Every member of Luffy's crew also have a dream they are trying to succeed with. Blackbeard also encourages Luffy to ignore Bellamy's talks about the end of the dreams of pirates, giving Luffy a speech about how a pirate's dream never ends.

The concept of death
An odd trait of the Ds is related to death. Often they are seen laughing or smiling greatly when they are about to die, as if they seem to accept their death when they cannot escape it and display no apparent fear toward death. The reactions of many characters who witness this is often shock or disbelief because it is hard to imagine anyone not being afraid of dying at all. So far this strange habit has been shown 3 times:
 * Witnesses claim Gold Roger died smiling during his execution.
 * 22 years later one of those witnesses, Captain Smoker, witnessed Luffy smiling in the same manner as Gold Roger when Buggy was about to kill him.
 * Nico Robin also witnessed Saul laughing and smiling as he was frozen by Aokiji.

There was almost a fourth instance which was the duel between Ace and Blackbeard, in which Ace smiles before his final attack against Blackbeard. He did not die and was only defeated and sent to Impel Down but probably thought he would either win or die. Blackbeard was also smiling and even laughing. In recent chapters it was revealed that Ace's lifeforce was fading and that he's scheduled to be publicly executed by the world government.

Their knowledge on themselves
The biggest mystery with the Ds is that those that carry the D. themselves do not know fully what it means either. When asked by Nico Robin why those that carry the D. fight, Monkey D. Luffy was completely clueless about what she was talking about. Jaguar D. Saul also displayed an absence of knowledge on the subject of the D when she asked him what it meant.

Alive
At 17 Luffy is the youngest pictured D. carrier thus far in the story. Monkey D. Garp appears to be the oldest known living carrier of the D. Thus far in the story, there have been no female Ds.


 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Portgas D. Ace Luffy's Brother
 * Marshall D. Teach
 * Monkey D. Dragon Luffy's Father
 * Monkey D. Garp Luffy's Grandfather, Dragon's Father

Deceased
In the present storyline, Roger has been dead for 22 years. Saul has been dead for twenty years. Saul was a giant, making him the only apparent non-human "man of D" in the storyline. As a giant, his age may have been anywhere up to 300 years (the normal lifespan of a giant).


 * Gol D. Roger
 * Jaguar D. Saul