Marines

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Marines
Original Name	海軍
Affiliation	World Government
Occupation/Role	Global maritime military and law-enforcement force
Status	Active; internally divided between New World Marines and Mary Geoise loyalists 412 430
First Appearance	Chapter 13

Background / History

The Marines have maintained their position as the dominant military force on the seas for more than eight centuries, wielding violence in the name of justice. Despite the rise of pirate crews, the Shichibukai, and the Revolutionary Army, they are regarded as the sea's ruling force due to their longevity and global reach 39.

Marine Headquarters is based at Marineford, whose Fortress of Justice serves as the core of the organization. The fortress bears the word “Justice” on its rear and “Marines” on its front; Headquarters officers of Captain rank and above move freely within it 39 40.

The Marines operate under the World Government, which controls their weapons and funding allocations. Although the Science Unit gained research-and-development authority, the World Government did not grant the Marines independent production rights, leaving the institution dependent on outside supply channels 120.

By Marine Era 1501, Vice Admiral Bane Ortolan's G-5 command had built an extensive off-the-books force in the New World with Sengoku's tacit approval. This network later expanded beyond G-5 and became known as the New World Marines 154 347.

Following Ortolan's victory over the Whitebeard Pirates, the New World Marines emerged as a highly autonomous force. Mary Geoise viewed Ortolan's influence as a threat and sought to remove him from his New World position 361 388.

Organization

Headquarters

Marine Headquarters at Marineford is the command center of the wider Marine system. It maintains a standing strength of roughly 100,000 personnel, from ordinary Marines to the Fleet Admiral 310.

• Fleet Admiral — highest Marine command position; oversees Headquarters and major administrative decisions.
• Admirals — the Marines' supreme combat power and senior field commanders.
• Vice Admirals — senior commanders who lead bases, fleets, and large operations.
• Rear Admirals, Commodores, Captains, and lower ranks — command subordinate units and bases.
• Chief Staff Officer — intelligence and staff leadership role held by Tsuru during the period covered 21 46.

Officer Training Camp

Marine Headquarters' Officer Training Camp trains elite recruits and is intended to develop into the official Marine Headquarters Advanced Military Academy 43.

• Exceptional entrants can begin at Captain rank and graduate as Rear Admirals 43 54.
• The curriculum includes academics, geography, Marine administration, combat training, Haki, Body Techniques, and Devil Fruit development 45 53.
• Zephyr teaches the camp's combat philosophy and oversees many of its elite students 45 54.

Science Unit

The Marines approved the creation of a Science Unit under Dr. Vegapunk, with Borsalino recommended as its commander 70.

• Develops and evaluates technologies for practical military use.
• Possesses research records on prior users of known Devil Fruits, including the Goro Goro no Mi 45.
• Operates from Punk Hazard and provides technology and materials to Marine commanders 309 310.

Factions

Faction	Alignment and known figures	Notes
Hawk Faction	Associated with Sakazuki and formerly Fleet Admiral Kong	A hardline faction; many of its members later overlapped with the New World Marines 43 46 414
Dove Faction	Favored by Momonga	One of the recognized internal political blocs at Headquarters 43
Neutral Faction	Ortolan did not formally align with any faction during training	Defined by nonalignment in Headquarters factional politics 43 54
New World Marines	Led by Ortolan; includes officers such as Momonga, Hoshigaki, Strawberry, Kaisa, and Stainless	Originated from G-5 and developed into a community of interests bound by Ortolan's authority 347
Mary Geoise loyalists	Marine personnel loyal to the World Government's direct authority	Clashed with New World Marine supporters during the Marineford mutiny 412

Training & Doctrine

Marine Six Powers

The Marine Six Powers are treated as a basic Marine training method rather than merely a set of combat techniques 45.

• Includes techniques such as Soru, Geppo, and Shigan.
• Its central purpose is complete bodily control rather than the individual moves themselves.
• Advanced mastery leads toward Life Return, which integrates mind, body, and technique to control even functions such as hair and blood 45.
• The techniques are widespread enough that some pirates know portions of them, though the Marines retain the deeper training principles 45.

Haki and Devil Fruit Development

The Marines train Haki alongside conventional combat skills and maintain extensive historical records on Devil Fruit development 45.

• Their archives contain development notes for recorded Devil Fruits and prior users.
• Zephyr stated that two earlier Goro Goro no Mi users had left training records; the latest was former Marine Admiral White Night Yaksha, active two centuries earlier 45.
• Logia users are especially valued within the organization, creating a period of “Logia worship” around prominent users such as Ortolan, Sakazuki, Kuzan, Borsalino, and Smoker 53 171.

Combined-Arms Warfare

The Marines rely on formal command structures, signals, artillery, warships, logistics, and coordinated formations 354.

• Experienced officers can interpret signals and react without needing detailed battlefield instructions.
• Their weaponry, discipline, and combined tactics give them an advantage over pirate forces in direct large-scale combat 354 365.
• Marine forces must also retain personnel for base defense and regional security, limiting how much of their total manpower can be deployed to a single campaign 345.

Personnel & Deployment

Region	Documented strength / deployment
Entire Marine force	Approximately 3,720,000 Marines 310
Marine Headquarters, Marineford	Approximately 100,000 personnel 310
Paradise	Approximately 560,000 Marines across 28 bases; four bases guard each of the seven routes 310
Grand Line total	Approximately 770,000 Marines, including Headquarters, Paradise, and New World deployments 310
New World registered force	Approximately 100,000 Marines at the time of Ortolan's assessment; projected to reach 160,000 registered personnel within two years 310
East Blue	Approximately 900,000 Marines across nearly 150 scattered bases 310
G-5	Officially recorded as 25,000 personnel and 15 warships; Ortolan's actual command had reached 70,000, with the excess unregistered 154
New World Marines under Ortolan	Visible force of 276,726; Ortolan could support roughly 200,000 elite frontline Marines 344 345

Major Bases

• Marineford — Headquarters and location of the Fortress of Justice 39 40.
• G-5 — Ortolan's former New World base command; became the foundation of the New World Marines 121 154 347.
• G-1 — A New World base with approximately 20,000 personnel; later receives supplies for operations against Mary Geoise 310 431.
• G-12 — Commanded by Vice Admiral Momonga; its forces suppress Abaro Pizarro's rebellion in the Romerik Kingdom 315.
• G-3 — Used as a gathering point for New World Marine leadership before the campaign against Whitebeard 339.
• G-8 — Kuzan's base, stated to have roughly 25,000 personnel 154.
• Sabaody Archipelago base — A relatively neglected post commanded by Rear Admiral Strawberry; the Marines have limited authority there due to Celestial Dragon control 145.

Relationships

• World Government — The Marines serve under its authority but remain financially and militarily constrained by its control of funding and production 120.
• Five Elders — Regard Ortolan's influence and the rise of Marine Liberalism as threats to Mary Geoise's authority 361 388.
• Fleet Admiral Kong — Led Marine Headquarters during the Roger era and directed high-level responses to pirate threats 21 46.
• Fleet Admiral Sengoku — Supports the expansion of Marine strength and covertly backs Ortolan's reforms in the New World 261 388.
• Garp — A Marine hero whose reputation carries exceptional weight within the ranks; he also accepts that Marines can have complicated connections with pirates 38 40.
• Zephyr — Former Admiral and Officer Training Camp instructor who trains elite Marines and later rejoins the struggle against Mary Geoise 45 442.
• Shichibukai — Used as auxiliary partners and political tools; New World Marine summons are influential even when not formally mandatory 164 350.
• Revolutionary Army — Initially an opposing force, but later cooperates with Ortolan's coalition during the campaign against Mary Geoise 430 445.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Roger Era and Headquarters Politics

Marine Headquarters tracks Roger, Shiki, Whitebeard, and the Poneglyph-related activities of the major pirate crews. The leadership raises the Roger Pirates' threat assessment after learning of their Poneglyph collection and Kozuki Oden's connection to the stonemason clan 21 46.

G-5 Expansion

Under Ortolan, G-5 develops from a frontier base into a powerful New World command. It recruits aggressively, acquires shipwrights and warships, trades with pirate-aligned forces, and builds hidden manpower beyond official records 120 124 154.

Rise of the New World Marines

After Ortolan becomes an Admiral, he reorganizes New World bases and brings senior officers into his command. G-5's original faction expands into the New World Marines, which gains influence comparable to a separate military system 261 347.

War Against the Whitebeard Pirates

The New World Marines mobilize for a decisive war against Whitebeard. They establish Archino Island as a fortified battlefield, deploy nearly 100,000 elite Marines, publicly execute Kozuki Momonosuke and his retainers, and challenge Whitebeard for the title of Strongest Man 354 357 360.

The campaign demonstrates the Marines' advantages in weapons, discipline, formation fighting, and command coordination. The victory shifts the New World's balance of power and attracts support from underworld figures and former Whitebeard-protected kingdoms 365 385.

Marine Liberalism and Mutiny

The Five Elders attempt to curb Ortolan's power through corruption allegations and reassignment plans. Their actions trigger open conflict at Marineford between New World Marine supporters and Mary Geoise loyalists, escalating into a mutiny involving thousands of personnel 388 412.

When Ortolan resumes his post as acting Fleet Admiral, the New World and North Blue forces obey his orders, while the East Blue rejects his authority and the South Blue splits 430.

Assault on Mary Geoise

The New World Marines prepare logistics and forces for an assault on Mary Geoise well before open hostilities begin 431. Their battlefield experience and command structure allow them to breach the Holy Land Guard's defensive line, creating a route toward Pangaea Castle 443 445.

Trivia

• Marine officers receive substantial privileges; Vice Admirals, Admiral candidates, Admirals, and Fleet Admirals receive increasingly lavish treatment 40.
• The Marines operate an internal monthly bulletin that circulates non-classified information and data between bases 171.
• Desertion, defection, and the recruitment of former pirates are recurring realities within the Marine system 200.
• The New World Marines considered awarding hereditary noble status to personnel with exceptional merit, framing it as a military-based meritocracy 430.