Excite Bullets

Excite Bullets
Statistics
Japanese Name:	疫災弾（エキサイトだん）
Romanized Name:	Ekisaito Dan
Official English Name:	Plague Rounds
Meaning:	Plague Bullets
First Appearance:	Chapter 948; Episode 947
Owner:	Beasts Pirates
Type:	Infectious ammunition

Excite Bullets are a type of disease carrying ammunition invented by "Queen the Plague" and used by members of the Beasts Pirates.

Overview

Excite Bullets

Each bullet appears as a small ball that can be loaded into and fired normally from a flintlock. Each Excite Bullet contains an artificial disease that will infect a victim upon being hit by one of the bullets. Apart from the effect of the virus, a hit from an Excite Bullet seems to be non-lethal.

Those who receive the infection from an Excite Shot are left with a small skull-shaped mark on their skin in the place they were hit.

In the anime, the bullets containing the Mummy Virus are dark red, and the ones containing the Ice Oni are blue.

Excite Shot

An Excite Shot (疫災散弾（エキサイトショット）, Ekisaito Shotto^?, literally meaning "Plague Shot") is a cannonball-sized variation of the Excite Bullet which contains 200 doses worth of virus, as indicated by the number written on it in light text. In the VIZ manga, these are called Plague Shots.

Babanuki attempted to use one against a crowd surrounding Luffy's group inside of the Prisoner Mine by shooting it out of his elephant's trunk. However, the effects remain unseen as Luffy tangled the trunk, causing the shot to explode in Babanuki's chest.

Gallery

Skull mark left by an Excite Bullet wound.

Babanuki holding an Excite Shot.

Known Diseases

So far, all of the artificial diseases used in the Excite Bullets have been of a highly contagious nature; a victim will spread it to others upon contact, thus allowing for a wider range of effect and an increased number of casualties while also using up fewer Bullets. This means that the shooter does not necessarily have to hit the intended target, but can instead simply choose to shoot those around the target and use the victims as living weapons, a strategy Daifugo attempted to use against Monkey D. Luffy by infecting nearby prisoners instead.

Mummy

Further information: Mummy (Virus)

Prisoners infected with the Mummy virus.

The Mummy virus is a fast-acting, highly contagious virus that initially causes the victim to suffer a high fever and excessive bleeding. Not long afterward, upon reaching its final stage, the virus causes the victim to become severely dehydrated and shriveled, giving them an appearance similar to that of a mummy. This virus is non-fatal, instead causing the victim to become like a zombie and suffer in everlasting pain.

Ice Oni

Further information: Ice Oni

Rebels infected with the Ice Oni virus.

The Ice Oni virus is a contagious virus that causes the victim to suffer a severe decrease in their bodily temperature and form a demon-shaped coating of ice over their body. It also enhances a victim's physical abilities. Once their body is covered in ice, a victim appears to lose their reasoning, becoming highly aggressive and attacking anyone in their surroundings indiscriminately. It is considered the "Shining Jewel" of Queen's viruses. Additionally, the combined strain of the frost and physical enhancement will cause the victim to die after about an hour.

Trivia

• The "Excite" part of the Excite Bullets' name is a pun based on the words "ekisai" (疫災^?, literally "plague") and "excite" (エキサイト, ekisaito^?). The Viz translation attempts to retain this pun by calling them "Plague Rounds", which sounds like "playgrounds".
  • This matches their creator's epithet: Queen the Plague (疫災のクイーン, Ekisai no Kuīn^?)
• The Excite Shot is likely based upon similar anti-personnel artillery ammunition, such as Canister Shot, which frequently saw use in naval battles including even by some pirates.