Pirate King

Biodata

Power Progression

Dunn Campbell’s documented class progression establishes the route into and beyond the [Pirate King] class.

Accession and Class Requirements

Obtaining the Title

Two routes to becoming a Pirate King are identified 68:

• Discover a new sea route connecting the New and Old Continents, creating another throne.
• Defeat a reigning Pirate King and take their place.

Discovering a route is considered impractical when Dunn weighs his options: none has been discovered in nearly a century. Route discovery is also the advancement requirement for the Legendary Navigator class [Traveler] 68.

Victory alone does not guarantee an uncontested succession:

• Gannis defeats Ronald, but Ronald’s Legendary patron intervenes before Gannis can kill him. Gannis refuses the offer to become the patron’s new representative and loses his right arm as punishment 73.
• Dunn kills Ronald and receives recognition from the other Legendaries, obliging the remaining Pirate Kings to accept his succession 165.

Title Versus Class

• The title is a political position, not a shared profession. Ronald holds the title while belonging to the [Sea King] class 146.
• Dunn must obtain the title before advancing into [Pirate King]. He takes Ronald’s seat and is acknowledged as a Pirate King while still a Third-Tier Supernova 165.
• A challenger can win while below the Fourth Tier. Both Dunn and, later, Yara Moore defeat Fourth-Tier incumbents while at the Third Tier 165 390.

Fourth-Tier Advancement Requirements

Dunn’s Career Card lists the following requirements 68:

Both classes can lead toward [Emperor of the Sea]. That Legendary path requires Biological Level 19, Strength 28, Stamina 33, Perception 24, and Willpower 20, alongside founding an empire, becoming its emperor, securing the devoted support of at least one million people, and possessing Conqueror’s Color Haki 166.

Authority and Organization

Sea Routes and Bases

• Each Pirate King traditionally controls a separate route and avoids interfering in the others’ affairs 145.
• Their headquarters occupy large islands, with residences near harbors because their power remains fundamentally maritime 155.
• Directly controlled fleets are divided into subordinate pirate crews that support themselves and assemble when summoned 191.
• Before wartime recruitment, a Pirate King generally has no more than about ten Third-Tier subordinates. Most routes have practically no other Fourth-Tier pirates, helping protect the incumbent’s position 146 147.
• The title is theoretically equal in standing to a king’s, although Old World nobles often regard overseas Pirate Kings as inferior upstarts 270.

Captain’s Councils

Each Pirate King presides over a Captain’s Council of pirate captains at the Third Tier and above within their territory. By the Age of Exploration, these councils generally meet annually 30.

Their functions include:

• Settling disputes and preventing powerful pirates from killing one another.
• Dividing plundering territories and distributing profits.
• Monitoring potential rivals who might reach the Fourth Tier and challenge the Pirate King 30.

Pirate Code

After the most turbulent period of the Age of Exploration, the Nine Pirate Kings jointly issue a Pirate Code. Its first article guarantees the lives of those who surrender to pirates and limits plunder to half their cargo 1.

Legendary Patronage

The established Pirate Kings act as representatives of Legendary patrons, who stand behind their rule and take a substantial share of the proceeds 73.

• Patrons can intervene in succession disputes, as Karagon does after Gannis defeats Ronald 73.
• Pirate Kings handle negotiations and military arrangements, but can be punished if their decisions materially damage their patron’s interests or prestige 154.
• The Pirate Kings and their patrons traditionally remain neutral in the conflict between the New and Old Worlds 177.
• Dunn is an exception to the usual arrangement: after replacing Ronald, he has no actual Legendary patron and relies on the threat of a fabricated Legendary Wizard 165.

Revenue and Limits

Ronald’s position yields nearly one million gold coins annually, although he must surrender most of it to Karagon. Dunn’s lack of a patron allows him to retain that income, making the territory crucial to financing his planned nation 193.

Territorial authority is not absolute. Giant Wave Island contains numerous independent factions, some backed by Legendaries, which even its Pirate King cannot casually antagonize. Major mineral interests are negotiated at the Legendary level 181 182.

Known Titleholders

Class Abilities

The following abilities belong to Dunn’s class line, not automatically to every holder of the title.

Plunder

Successful plunder can increase class-related base attributes 7.

• Stronger opponents offer a greater chance of improvement.
• Plundering substantially weaker targets does not provide the same growth opportunity 7.

Ship Animation and Animated Fleet

Ship Animation binds and animates a vessel; its Third-Tier development, Animated Fleet, extends this power to multiple ships 7 68.

• The number of ships that can be animated depends on the class holder’s willpower.
• Dunn retains Animated Fleet after advancing to Pirate King 68 165.

Haki

Dunn’s Pirate King class retains Conqueror’s Color, Armament, and Observation Haki 165.

• Armament Haki strengthens offense and defense and can catch certain intangible beings 68.
• Ryuo, obtained at Fourth-Tier advancement, is an advanced form of Armament Haki capable of penetrating defenses 165.
• Observation Haki senses living creatures; Dunn’s perception-based feats develop it into Future Sight and later Observation Killing 68 83 299.
• Conqueror’s Color Haki awakens before Dunn reaches the Third Tier, rather than being granted by the Pirate King advancement 44 49.

Rokushiki

Dunn retains Rokushiki and its secret art, Six King Gun, upon becoming a Pirate King 165.

• Six King Gun is acquired at the Supernova stage 68.
• Life Return appears among his skills during his subsequent Fourth-Tier development 200.

History

Ancient Precedent

The title predates the current Nine Pirate Kings. The Ancient Pirate King encountered in the ruins remembers it from his lifetime and claims to have attained transcendent will while preparing to advance to Legend. His attempted possession ends when Dunn awakens Conqueror’s Color Haki and destroys his consciousness 43 44.

Alliance Against the United Navy

The Naval Joint Headquarters’ campaign against piracy forces the normally separate Pirate Kings to cooperate. After their individual counterattacks fail, they gather on Bewitching Flame Island to negotiate command, strategy, recruitment, and the division of spoils 145 146 154.

During these negotiations, Dunn challenges Ronald, kills him, and takes his place. The ensuing naval battle exposes the alliance’s weaknesses: independent pirates resist centralized command, and Lamantis cannot fully coordinate its mixed fleets. The pirates nevertheless win, with Dunn’s Legendary Battleship, the Black Pearl, making the decisive contribution 165 169 170 176.

Decline of the Original Alliance

After Dunn’s conflict with Karagon and departure into the Storm Sea, replacement figures fill the resulting Pirate King and Legendary vacancies. However, Bronn joins Atlantis while Lilith retains her seat, weakening the alliance. Renewed United Navy offensives sharply reduce pirate territory 343.

In Year 6 of the Calendar of the Gods, the reunited United Navy invades the other nine routes, kills two pirate Legendaries, drives away the remainder, and occupies the routes within a year 347.

Later Succession

The title survives these reversals. Bewitching Flame Island changes hands several times, but its rulers preserve its name out of regard for Lilith’s position as empress of Atlantis. In Year 22, Yara Moore kills Haig and is crowned Pirate King on the same island where Dunn defeated Ronald more than twenty years earlier 390.