A pirate's impressiveness and first-impression strength is usually dictated by the bounty the pirate earns. Therefore, the higher the number, the more fame and respect said pirate receives.[4] Any rookie pirate who manages to receive a bounty of over 100,000,000 before they enter the New World is considered to be impressive, as it marks that said rookie has committed criminal acts of catastrophic degrees.[5][1] However, once past the "Paradise" half of the Grand Line, even bounties of around 100,000,000 are considered common and even weak.
While bounties of 300,000,000 are highly impressive, a pirate with one can still be considered a rookie. A pirate may ultimately shed their rookie status after several years of regular pirating activity.
One year before the start of the series, Cavendish gained a high reputation among the rookies, with a bounty of 280,000,000. A year after he earned his bounty, the Worst Generation's arrival overshadowed him, causing him to develop a grudge against them.[7]Captain of the Beautiful Pirates, he was forced to flee to sea and become a pirate after inadvertently causing several incidents in the Rommel Kingdom.
Two years before the current storyline, eleven Super Rookies arrived at Sabaody Archipelago almost simultaneously. Collectively, they are known as the "Eleven Supernovas" (11人の超新星,Jūichinin no Chōshinsei?).[1] These eleven, alongside Blackbeard, were considered to be the Worst Generation (最悪の世代,Saiaku no Sedai?) to ever come to existence, due to their individual actions bringing great (or terrible) changes to the world, leaving deep and lasting impacts.[8]
One year after the Worst Generation's rise, at least another Super Rookie earned his fame: Bartolomeo the Cannibal, wanted for attacking innocent civilians. He is hated and despised by many people, pirates and citizens alike.[9] Captain of the Barto Club, he was inspired to go to sea after witnessing Luffy's actions.
In the current timeline, at least two more Super Rookies came: Caribou and his brother Coribou, who are both well known for killing Marines.[2] Though both brothers were impressive in their own rights, neither of them were comparable to the Worst Generation.[10] They are co-captains of the Caribou Pirates.
Almost every Super Rookie had a name that is based off of a famous real-life pirate.
Bellamy once held a similar title: he was known as the "Big-Time Rookie" (大型ルーキー,Ōgata Rūkī?), due to his bounty being at a moderately high 55,000,000, something his crew and Mock Town found impressive and noteworthy.[4]
It should be noted that after the two-year timeskip, his bounty indeed went over 100,000,000.[9] However, by that time, it is unknown if he was still considered a rookie or attained his bounty before entering the New World.
Rockstar, a member the Red Hair Pirates, was still considered a rookie pirate even though he was already in the New World, meaning that the term is not limited only for those who have not entered the New World yet.
Pedro received a starting bounty of 382,000,000, which is currently the highest known starting bounty so far. However, it is dubious as to whether or not he was ever considered a Super Rookie, given that he did not view himself as a pirate and it is unknown at what point in his voyage he received his bounty.[11]
Most are crew captains, with the exception of Zoro, Killer, and Coribou (although the latter has the title of "co-captain").
Also, along with Cavendish, they are the only known ones without the power of a Devil Fruit, though Killer later ate a defective SMILE.
Among the Devil Fruit users, X Drake and Luffy are the only ones with Zoan-type abilities (Drake's is an Ancient Zoan and Luffy's is a Mythical Zoan, with the latter's abilities having been reclassified as Paramecia), while Ace and Caribou are the only ones with Logia-type abilities; the rest have Paramecia-type abilities.
Eight of the nine remaining Super Rookies of the Worst Generation have already acted as antagonists or allies of the Straw Hats when they sailed through the New World.
Capone Bege was the secondary antagonist of the Zou Arc, at the time acting as Big Mom's subordinate. Later, Bege formed a temporary alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates in order to kill Big Mom during the Whole Cake Island Arc.
Killer was a minor antagonist in the Wano Country Arc, under the alias of Kamazo the Manslayer, an assassin working for the shogun, Kurozumi Orochi. However, he later reunites with his crew and captain, Kid, and becomes an ally of the Straw Hats.
X Drake initially acted as a minor antagonist in the Wano Country Arc, being one of the six Tobiroppo in Kaidou's service, however he ended up betraying Kaidou and allying himself with the Straw Hats.
In the anime, Shanks called Ace a Super Rookie during their meeting.[12] Ace's bounty was over 100,000,000 when he reached the New World in One Piece novel A.[6]
References[]
↑ 1.01.11.2One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 51Chapter 498 and Episode 392, the Eleven Supernovas make their collective introductions, and Shakky talks about bounties.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 71Chapter 705 and Episode 634, Cavendish gets angry at the Worst Generation for overshadowing him.
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 67Chapter 664 and Episode 589, Brownbeard explains to the Straw Hats that the Eleven Supernovas and Blackbeard are called the "Worst Generation".
↑One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 61Chapter 598 and Episode 517, Customers at Sabaody Archipelago made the Caribou brothers pale in comparison to the Worst Generation.