- For the chapter of the same name, see Chapter 1140.
Scopper Gaban, also known as the "Mountain-Eater",[4] is a former member of the Roger Pirates.[1] He is a legendary pirate whose fame is said to rival that of his crewmates Gol D. Roger and Silvers Rayleigh, enough that Gaban was nicknamed the "Left Hand of the Pirate King" (just as Rayleigh was Roger's "Right Hand"). Since the crew's disbandment and Roger's execution, Gaban has come to live out his retirement on Elbaph, alongside his partner Ripley and their son Colon, being known to the giant locals as Ya-san.[3]
First introduced in Buggy's flashback sequence in the Orange Town Arc and later seen in Kouzuki Oden's flashbacks during his time with the Roger Pirates, Gaban made his present-day debut in the series through the "From the Decks of the World" cover story,[6] before eventually playing an active role in the main storyline during the Elbaph Arc.
Quick Answers
What role did Scopper Gaban play in the Roger Pirates?
What is the significance of Scopper Gaban's sunglasses in One Piece?
What is the story behind Scopper Gaban's unique outfit in One Piece?
What happened to Scopper Gaban after the disbandment of the Roger Pirates?
How does Scopper Gaban's appearance reflect his character in One Piece?
Appearance
Gaban is a man with wild grey hair tied in a bushy ponytail and a wrinkled face, as a result of his advanced age. He sports a long beard that is braided at the chin, a scar over his right eye and a pair of round, black sunglasses. His outfit consists of a flower-patterned Hawaiian shirt, shorts and dark boots, which are complemented by a kasa and a striped coat whenever he is on the move.[3]
In the past, Gaban was a tall, well-built man with long black hair, with two thin strands of hair falling over his face (which he no longer has in the present).[1] 27 years ago, he wore a long-sleeved blue shirt with white stripes on each sleeve, which was only held closed at the middle with one button.[2] In the anime, he was initially depicted in this outfit with lighter colored hair, silver sunglasses and a purple shirt with a yellow stripe on the collar and down each arm.[7]
26 years ago, he initially wore a yellow t-shirt with two orange blotch-like patterns on the right side, blue pants, and a purple sash. He then wore a purple shirt, orange pants, and a pale-yellow sash.
Gallery
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Personality
Gaban can be very quick to get to the point, as he proposed stopping the rampaging Kouzuki Oden early on before the samurai could cause more damage to the crew.[8] He was also the first to voice the crew's dissatisfaction towards Oden after the latter joined the Roger Pirates. Gaban does not seem to care for small talk, cutting Neptune off when he started talking about Shyarly's popularity across Fish-Man Island.[9]
In his older years, Gaban has shown an amorous side, declaring that "love is free" and introducing himself as the "Preacher of Love" (愛の伝導師, Ai no Dendōshi?) to the Straw Hat Pirates.[10] He is also highly mischievous, showing great excitement at other people causing trouble and insisting that secrets should be spread instead of being kept.
Relationships
Roger Pirates
Gaban's relationship with most of the Roger Pirates is unknown. However it is stated that he was very close with his captain, Gol D. Roger, as well as his crewmate Silvers Rayleigh, as Rayleigh is always stated to be the Right Hand of the Pirate King, and Gaban is stated to be the Left Hand of the Pirate King. Gaban has been shown to keep in touch with various members of the crew from time to time despite the crew's disbandment, as he is seen visiting Crocus at the Twin Cape and is on good terms with Shanks.
Gol D. Roger
As a long-time member of the Roger Pirates, Gaban understands Roger better than most and knows it is pointless to convince him to run from an enemy.[2] He would often act as the voice of reason for the more impulsive and headstrong Roger, who would argue back by provoking Gaban.
Gaban seems to hold his captain to a high standard, even trying to stop him from bowing his head to Whitebeard so he would not look weak in front of his rival.[11] In fact, Gaban earned his epithet after protecting his captain during a massive pirate attack, as a testament to his loyalty.
Shanks
Even decades later, both are still on friendly terms, with Shanks visiting Gaban on Elbaph.
Even decades after the disbandment of the Roger Pirates, Gaban and Shanks seem to be on friendly terms, as Shanks was visiting Gaban on Elbaph and tried to persuade Gaban into putting his faith into Luffy, though Gaban was initially reserved about meeting Luffy.[12]
Crocus
Even decades after the disbandment of the Roger Pirates, Gaban and Crocus seem to be on friendly terms, as Gaban went all the way to the Twin Cape just to visit Crocus.
Silvers Rayleigh
While its currently unknown how close the two actually are in the present, Gaban and Rayleigh are shown in the past to be on well enough terms. Despite being the First Mate, Rayleigh had no qualms whatsoever about Gaban's ability to defend their captain from a massive pirate attack by himself when he was taken to be treated on top of a mountain.
Family
Ripley
Gaban is held by Ripley.
Ripley is Gaban's common-law wife. Although the two have been together for at least 20 years, Gaban refuses to formally marry her because he ages so much faster than her and their son.[3][13]
Colon
Colon is Gaban's son with Ripley. Gaban has remarked that even as a baby, Colon was too big for him to hold in his arms.[3] Colon seems proud of his father as he eagerly told others about Gaban's strength and past as a pirate.[13] Gaban, in turn, loves his son; he expressed pride when he learned that Colon tried to save his kidnapped friends, and immediately ran to his son's rescue when he learned Colon was captured as well.[14]
Other
Monkey D. Luffy
Gaban toys with Luffy on their first encounter, not taking him seriously.
Like Rayleigh, Gaban too reminisced about Roger when meeting Monkey D. Luffy, whose carefree attitude towards going into danger was a character trait of his late captain.[15] Gaban did recognize his late captain's signature Straw Hat and teased Luffy about safeguarding the Straw Hat only for Shanks, knowing badmouthing Shanks would upset Luffy. Gaban was later impressed by Luffy and his crew after Zoro defended Luffy from Gaban's attacks and insisted on them to pay him a visit as soon as they would leave Elbaph. Gaban was also seemingly aware of Luffy's awakening as "Nika" and was thrilled to see Luffy enter his Gear 5 form.[12]
Abilities and Powers
Considered the "Left Hand of the Pirate King", Gaban is an extremely legendary and powerful fighter and one of the strongest pirates in the world, comparable to his late captain Roger and the former first mate Rayleigh.[4] In terms of authority, he was shown leading the charge alongside Rayleigh during the crew's last battle with the Whitebeard Pirates.[8][16] In his young days, Gaban fought alongside his crew against several powerful and dangerous adversaries, including Marines, the Rocks Pirates, and the Whitebeard Pirates, making him a true veteran and one of the most experienced pirates in the world. While it is unknown how much Gaban's power has declined from age, he still remains a immensely powerful warrior capable of forcing a Emperor of the Sea like Luffy to get serious without appearing to get serious himself.[12]
In the anime, Gaban was shown to be strong enough to clash on even terms with soon-to-be crewmate Kouzuki Oden, one of the strongest-ever samurai from Wano.[17]
Having arrived at Laugh Tale along with the rest of the Roger Pirates, Gaban also knows the truth about the Void Century. However, as stated by Rayleigh, it is likely that he and the rest of the crew could have interpreted that information differently by lacking the archaeological knowledge of scholars of Ohara's caliber.[18]
Gaban is capable of bypassing the God's Knights immortality and inflict serious injuries on them, as evidenced when Shepherd Sommers' arm did not regenerate after Gaban severed it. How he does this is currently unknown.[19]
Physical Abilities
In his youth, Gaban was one of the strongest members of the Roger Pirates, being on par with Rayleigh.[4]
Gaban's strength is still monstrous in old age, being immensely fast and agile (enough to keep up with the much younger Luffy) while also extremely strong, having enough power to destroy a whole castle tower (built to accomodate Giants) in a single move.[12]
Haki
- Further information: Haki
Armament Haki
Gaban coating a giant key in Armament Haki.
Gaban is able to use Armament Haki. He has shown the ability to coat objects in it, allowing him to use them as an improvised weapon.[12]
Observation Haki
Gaban is skilled in the Observation Haki technique of presence sensing. He was able to sense, from a great distance, the abnormal Haki that accompanied the arrival of the God's Knights on Elbaph, with many other giants and pirates on the island still being unaware of it.[20] He could later tell there are three of them on Elbaph, despite their effort to hide their presence.[21]
Axemanship
Gaban wielding his axes.
During his career as a pirate, Gaban favored a pair of single-edged axes as his weapons of choice, which he was extremely skilled at using.[8][16] One of his legendary feats was defeating hundreds of enemy pirates by himself with his two axes, to protect Roger as he was recovering from his injuries. By the end of that fight, a whole mountain range had been wiped clean of vegetation, earning Gaban the nickname "Mountain Eater".[4]
Even as an old man in the present, Gaban still shows great axemanship and can effortlessly throw a gigantic one around simply as a manner of alerting others of his presence.[22] He still wields his dual axes to this day, taking them out when getting serious. From the sheer damage he caused to the Aurust Castle, it is safe to assume that age has not significantly weakened Gaban's axemanship.[12] He can preform flying slash attacks faster than his enemies can react to.
Techniques
Gaban using Yasotakeru.
- Yasotakeru (
八十梟帥 , Yasotakeru?, lit. "Eighty Tribal Leaders"): Gaban swings both of his axes, creating a whirlwind of slashes. This was first used against Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro, who both immediately sensed the danger it posed. The technique was powerful enough to destroy one of Aurust Castle's giant-sized towers.[12] Takeru (梟帥?) is an archaic term referring to the leader of a fearless tribe.
History
Past
Gaban partaking in raiding God Valley with the Roger Pirates.
38 years ago, Scopper Gaban was already a member of the Roger Pirates and was present during the God Valley Incident alongside his captain Gol D. Roger and fellow subordinate Silvers Rayleigh excitedly ready to engage in combat.[23] After leaving God Valley the Roger pirates were partying over the treasures which they stole when they discovered a baby inside one of the treasure chests.[24] At some point when, Roger needed to recover at a hospital in the mountains, he and Gaban were surrounded by enemy pirates. Gaban proceeded to defeat them all his two axes, and cut down every tree on the mountain, which earned him the epithet "Mountain-Eater".[4] Over 27 years ago, Gaban and the Roger Pirates took part in a battle against an unnamed enemy ship, happily fighting off the enemies.[1]
Gaban was present with the rest of the Roger Pirates in the sea known as Edd War, where they were confronted by Shiki, the captain of the Golden Lion Pirates. Shiki demanded to form an alliance with the Roger Pirates in hopes of taking over the world and if they did not agree, Shiki would destroy them with his armada. While this event occurred, Gaban tried his best to calm down Buggy, who was hoping to surrender to Shiki, but in the end, Roger refused the alliance thus resulting in an epic battle where the entire crew, including Gaban fought it out. Luckily, fate was on the Roger Pirates' side as during the battle, a massive storm formed and sunk half of Shiki's armada, resulting in the Roger Pirates' victory. This event was forever known as the Battle of Edd War.[2]
Around 26 years ago, the Roger Pirates were causing a ruckus on an island. After defeating a group of Marines, they learned that the Whitebeard Pirates had docked on the other side of the island.[25] The Roger Pirates were then confronted by Kouzuki Oden. Gaban and Silvers Rayleigh prepared to fight him, but Gol D. Roger charged in and blew Oden away with a single slash. The Roger Pirates clashed with the Whitebeard Pirates for three days and three nights before the skirmish turned into a gift exchange. The Roger Pirates were later joined by Oden and his family as well as Inuarashi and Nekomamushi. At some point, the Roger Pirates visited Skypiea.[26]
Gaban and the Roger Pirates celebrate after reaching Laugh Tale.
After leaving Skypiea, the crew's voyage took them to Water 7, Tequila Wolf, Sabaody Archipelago, and Fish-Man Island. Sometime later, they left Toki, Momonosuke, Hiyori, Inuarashi, and Nekomamushi in Wano Country. Sometime after the visit to Zou, the Roger Pirates finally reached Laugh Tale. When the crew discovered Joy Boy's treasure, they responded with a burst of laughter.[27]
Sometime after Roger became Pirate King, Roger decided to disband the crew. Roger was the first to leave and the crew tearfully parted ways with him. They later returned Oden to Wano Country, and they tearfully bid farewell to him as well.[28]
Over 20 years ago, Gaban started living in Elbaph, where he met Ripley and eventually had a child with her, although the two never married.[3]
Fish-Man Island Saga
From the Decks of the World
Gaban visited his former crewmate Crocus at Twin Cape.[6]
Final Saga
Egghead Arc
Gaban sat on the shore of Elbaph, drinking and waiting for someone's arrival.[29] Sometime before Shanks left Elbaph, he and Gaban met to discuss Luffy.[12]
Elbaph Arc
Sometime after the Straw Hat Pirates arrival, Gaban proceeded across Elbaph,[30] to Aurust Castle, with the intent of investigating a "strange" Haki he had sensed there.[31]
Gaban meets the Straw Hats.
Upon entering the castle, Gaban spotted the Straw Hats, who had been brought there by Road with the objective of finding the keys to Loki's restraints. Due to their spotting of a Magic Circle (which Nami had stated to have been used to summon demons), the Straw Hats' guide was naturally terrified when Gaban's voice sounded out through the abandoned castle. Road attempted to flee in fear, however Gaban flung an axe at the door, causing the giant to fall back and remain. When Gaban was spotted and gave a proper introduction, Road recognized him as "Ya-san", and all previous fears were dispelled. Road introduced Gaban as Ripley's lover and the father of Colon, to their surprise. Gaban naturally followed along, proclaiming himself to be the "preacher of love". Upon being told about the Straw Hats objective to free Loki, Gaban was surprised, concerned, but most importantly, excited at the prospect of troublemaking. However, before he could even finish issuing his warning about freeing Loki, Luffy and Zoro got bored and attempted to leave. In order to keep them interested, Gaban had Road reveal the hidden chamber with Loki's key in it. Before the Straw Hats could take the key, Gaban grabbed it and challenged Luffy to a fight, with the key being the prize.[3]
Gaban keeping Loki's key away from Luffy.
Although Luffy begged for Gaban to simply hand the key over, Gaban responded by taunting Luffy into trying to take it by force. Luffy tried multiple times to grab it, but Gaban was too quick, easily avoiding each one. When Luffy finally went for an attack, Gaban coated the key in haki and used it as a weapon, forcing Luffy to dodge. He then proceeded to taunt Luffy further by accusing Shanks of being a cheapskates for "loaning" Luffy his Straw Hat, rather than giving it to him. This led to Luffy becoming outraged, although Gaban easily put him down once more. Gaban then proceeded to equip a pair of axes, before unleashing a devastating attacked he termed Yasotakeru, forcing Zoro to intervene on Luffy's behalf. As Luffy entered Gear 5 and Zoro readied his swords, Gaban peacefully surrendered, causing the pair to lose their tempers at Gaban's apparent joke of a fight. After placing the key in Luffy's possession, Gaban took his leave, and requested that the Straw Hats find him before they left Elbaph, should they survive freeing Loki.[12]
Gaban takes down a Loki MMA.
Sometime later, during an attack on the Western Village by various MMA, Gaban made his appearance on the Giant Warrior Pirates ship, the Great Eirik, where he was greeted warmly.[32] Gaban fought the numerous MMA alongside the Giant Warrior Pirates, easily taking down a cartoonish version of Loki on his own. After getting back onto the ship, Gaban searched the surrounding area, attempting to visually locate the God's Knights he had felt prior, as well as the new ones. Gaban grimly mentioned that if even Elbaph was no longer safe, then the end of the current world was not far.[33] Unfortunately, the Giant Warrior Pirates eventually found themselves overwhelmed with MMA, especially after MMA versions of their wives and mothers appeared. As a result, the svarr crashed into the forest below. By happenstance, Gaban's wife Ripley and a few of her allies were running by, allowing for a short reunion. Simultaneously, an island-wide announcement was being given by Shepherd Sommers, who gave the giants an ultimatum of joining the World Government, or having their children (including Colon) killed. Gaban refused to let harm befall his son, and at the request of his wife, broke off from the group to save him.[14]
Gaban manages to wound Sommers.
Due to his great speed, Gaban was able to arrive at the branch just in time to witness Sommers about to unleash a finishing blow on Nico Robin. Using an air slash, Gaban sliced one of Sommers' hands clean off, confusing the God's Knight at his inability to regenerate it. Gaban then confronted Sommers personally, causing him to panic as Gaban unleashed a direct slash across his chest.[34]
Major Battles
- Roger Pirates and Monkey D. Garp vs. Rocks Pirates (unseen)
- Roger Pirates vs. Whitebeard Pirates (several off-screen)
- Roger Pirates vs. Golden Lion Pirates (Edd War)
- Gaban vs. several mountain range enemy pirates (unseen)
- Gaban vs Monkey D. Luffy & Roronoa Zoro
- Gaban & Giant Warrior Pirates vs. MMA
- Gaban vs. Shepherd Sommers
Filler Battles
- Scopper Gaban vs. Kouzuki Oden
Anime and Manga Differences
Gaban debuts in the manga during Buggy's flashback in Chapter 19, but does not appear in the anime adaptation of the chapter.[1]
In the manga, Gaban's outfit inexplicably changes in the span of a few pages during the conflict with the Whitebeard Pirates. This is corrected in the anime, where he maintains the same outfit until the story skips four days to the end of the conflict.[8][16] However, this correction was seemingly made at the last minute, because the preview in the previous episode still showed him in a different outfit.
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While the manga did not show any details of the battle with the Whitebeard Pirates, the anime depicts Gaban clashing with Kouzuki Oden. Later, the anime expands on the events at Mock Town, showing Gaban enter the town with Shanks and Buggy to purchase supplies. The trio then notice Oden causing a ruckus and chase after him to stop him from stealing food from ordinary citizens. However, after being attacked by a group of thugs and realizing the town is lawless, Gaban allows Oden to run wild.[17]
Merchandise
Video Games
Playable Appearances
Trivia
Gaban with blond hair in the Digitally Colored Manga.
- The name "Scopper" references the metal copper, a component of bronze, which follows the metal naming theme of the three leading members of the Roger Pirates.
- Gaban's name was first revealed in One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World in 2012, long before he was fully introduced in the story.[35]
- Before Gaban was revealed to be the man drinking with Crocus in From the Decks of the World, the Digitally Colored Manga colored the man's hair blond. This contradicts Gaban's hair color, which was black in his youth and now seemingly white with age (barring him dyeing his hair).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 One Piece Manga — Vol. 3 Chapter 19 (p. 10), Gaban appears in Buggy's flashback.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 0 Chapter 0 (p. 5) and Episode 0, Gaban at the Battle of Edd War.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 6-13), Scopper Gaban is introduced in the present day.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 11).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 7), Gaban reveals Ripley and Colon to be his (older) wife and son.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 One Piece Manga — Vol. 64 Chapter 631, cover story: From the Decks of the World Vol. 16, Scopper Gaban, seen from the back, visiting Crocus.
- ↑ One Piece Anime — Episode 505, Gaban's initial anime color scheme.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 3) and Episode 965, Gaban and Rayleigh prepare to fight Oden.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 967 (p. 9) and Episode 967, Gaban cuts Neptune off.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 8), Gaban calls himself the "Preacher of Love".
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 11) and Episode 966, Gaban tells Roger not to bow his head to Whitebeard.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1140 (p. 2-11).
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1135 (p. 8), Ripley explains her family.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 One Piece Manga — Chapter 1147 (p. 10-13, 15-17).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 10), Gaban reminisces about Roger.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 7) and Episode 966, Gaban and Rayleigh take charge of the crew.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 One Piece Anime — Episode 966.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 52 Chapter 507 (p. 3-6) and Episode 400.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1148 (p. 13-14).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 6).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1145 (p. 11).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1139 (p. 5-6).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 108 Chapter 1096 (p. 10), Gaban present alongside the other Roger Pirates.
- ↑ Volume 4000000000 "RED".
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 965 (p. 16) and Episode 965, Roger Pirates defeat a group of Marines.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 966 (p. 2-17) and Episodes 965–967.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 967 and Episodes 967–968.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 96 Chapter 968 and Episode 969.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 111 Chapter 1124 (p. 12-13).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Vol. 111 Chapter 1132 (p. 17).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1138 (p. 11).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1144 (p. 14-15).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1145 (p. 10-12).
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1148 (p. 14-15).
- ↑ One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World (p. 212), His name is revealed.
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