Summary
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InOne Piece,the captains of pirate crewsoften get the most attention. The likes of Luffy, Kidd, and Law are the ones in the spotlight, remembered as icons of freedom, ambition, and legacy. However, the people who stand solidly behind them to ensure their dreams become a reality are often overlooked: the Vice-Captains. While Oda may not have given most of them the official title, he portrays them as the foundation the captain builds his crew on and can rely on when things get rough. From setting their captain straight to protecting and leading the crew in their absence, theseOne Piececharacters embody true loyalty and commitment.
Duty Without Glory
The Hidden Backbone Of The Crew
While captains are often fueled by lofty dreams that manage to draw in the people who become their crewmates, the vice-captains arethe ones who stabilize the ship, sometimes literally. They are like the mainspring in a clock that ensures the gears that tell the time are always turning. Questions? They do not ask. Doubt? Never in their minds. They just do what their captain says or believe their captain would want them to do, even if it goes against their wishes. As exemplary as they are, Oda often downplays these moments, deliberately keeping them in the background as the shadow that makes the captain appear brighter.
Now, listen, you guys. He might be an idiot, but he’s still our captain.- Zoro
Nevertheless, their importance to the crew can not be undermined. They are the ones who act when the captain falters—not to overthrow, but to keep things in order until the captain gets their head back in the game. Zoro is the perfect example.When Usopp wanted to leave the crewafter challenging Luffy’s authority in the Water 7 arc, Zoro stood his ground, saying anyone who does not respect the captain is not fit to be a part of the crew. Not many captains are capable of holding their crew together without their vice.
Silent Sacrifices
Placing Their Captain’s Dream First
Many of the vice-captains are capable of leading a crew of their own. They have the strength, the level-headedness, the ambition, and other qualities. So why do they not? That is because they sacrifice their dreams for their captains. They see a quality in these captains that makes them wait around, walking behind these reckless visionaries to see how far they can go. Rayleigh could have easilybeen a Pirate Kingcandidate, but instead chose to support Roger. He did not even create a new crew after Roger’s death, displaying how tightly his dreams were tied to his captain’s.
Nothing Happened.- Zoro
These two words, a highly famous Zoro quote, embody the nature of a Vice-Captain’s sacrifice. In Thriller Bark, where Zoro was the only thing standing between Luffy and death, he absorbed all of Luffy’s pain and injuries to ensure Luffy’s dream remained. Furthermore, to maintain Luffy’s pride and respect as captain, he told no one of this incident. A silent sacrifice so noble that it is not so silent among fans of the series, this is one of the clearest expressions of a Vice-captain putting their captain’s dream and well-being before their own.
Holding The Line
The Emotional And Mental Toll
Vulnerability? That is a trait vice-captains avoid expressing. Not because they are incapable of emotions, but because they are the emotional anchor of the crew. In times when things seem to be going south, morale drops, or tragedy strikes, they are the ones who absorb the crew’s fear and stress, standing stoic in the face of everything. At least one person is needed to keep the crew together through thick and thin, and the vice-captain takes on that role when there is no one else.
Katakuri embodies this theme to the core. Despite his insecurities and doubts about himself and his appearance, he portrays a perfect persona as a son to Big Mom, a brother to his siblings, and whatever he thought was required to keep his family together. Post-Whitebeard’s death, Marco led the broken crew while grieving, maintaining the dream of a man who no longer exists. Killer never gave up on Kidd, even after being stripped of his voiceand smile by the SMILE fruit. They all carried their pain slightly, doing what they were supposed to. Vice-captains do not get to break because they are the ones the crew leans on, even if the crew themselves do not know it.
Loyalty Beyond Words
The Unbreakable Bond
The captain may share bonds with all members of his crew, but none of them is as strong and unbreakable as the one with their vice-captain. Their bond has passed the test of hardship and fire,a bond fueled by loyalty. Bordering blind obedience, vice captains will forever defend and help their captain, even if it is against the world. They can neither be bought over nor coerced to do otherwise.
At this point, it does not matter what you do… I owe you my life.- King to Kaido
Despite his proud nature as a Lunarian, King stayed by Kaido’s side no matter what happened, a debt of belief to the man who gave him a reason to live. He trusted Kaido to achieve his dream, and his loyalty never wavered, even after his defeat at Wano. Beckman also showed this silent bond. It takes massive audacity to point a gun at an admiral for your captain’s sake,a Logia-type user no less. This type of loyalty is not bought or demanded; it is earned. Vice-captains follow their leaders not because they must, but because they choose to. It takes a lot to be a vice-captain, and while the series may not give them their due recognition and flowers, they do it anyway.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
