Summary
The recent premiere and huge success of theOne Piecelive-action adaptation has reminded a lot of fans of the humble start of the series' protagonists. Among those first characters that shaped the entire story ofOne Piecewas Koby, initially just a skinny and short boy unwillingly working as a ship caretaker for the Alvida Pirates. Fast-forward to present times, he is now known as the Hero and the most promising captain in the Marine as a member of the special forces unit SWORD.
Luffy’s friend (former) and rival has carried this fame for quite some time, but even the most recent events portrayed in the manga keep boosting his image. Apart from his 500 million bounty set by the Cross Guild, his demonstration of power during his escape from Pirate Island proves once again he isworthy to be Garps’s successorand become one the strongest fighters in the world. But how did he go this far? How was he able to undergo such a massive glow-up?
RELATED:Netflix’s One Piece Live-Action: Every Villain In The First Season
Innate Talent Always Needs To Be There
From the looks of it, it was impossible forthe early version of Kobyto actually become one of the strongest and most influential marines. At the same time, Koby always had a latent potential waiting to be unlocked. In a certain way, all he needs is a little push that points him in the right direction. Hiding his true self under Alvida’s wing he unconsciously stopped himself from progressing in terms of strength and sheer power.
Meeting Luffy was the best that could have happened to him in this regard. Helping him break his own chains, Luffy allowed Koby to show his true colors and intentions. Someone with such strong principles and ambitions couldn’t just be anyone. In the world of One Piece, precisely people like him are more prone to later developing a powerful Haki,even unlocking Conqueror’s Hakiwhich already sets him apart from your everyday marine. He later showed to possess both Observation and Armament Haki, so if he later discovers the Conqueror’s Haki, it’s game over.
Overcoming Pain
If meeting Luffy was important, even more crucial was meeting his grandfather and Vice Admiral, Monkey D. Garp. A few conversations with Koby convinced the legendary Vice Admiral to become his mentor. However, not everyone is prepared to be his apprentice. As shown a thousand times just by his personality or flashbacks about trying to train Luffy to become a marine, Garp’s training sessions are completely wild. What did he put Koby through? The limit is only your imagination.
Thanks to this, Koby was able to build a much bigger and stronger body, and more than likely grow thanks to Garp’s also crazy diet. Furthermore, the resistance and pain tolerance of working out daily for years with Garp is greater than the one-of-a-thousand battles. Other marines would have to depend on real experiences and missions to surpass their limits. Koby had to do it just to survive his mentor’s training.
Another key part of the Garp-style workouts is developing a unique fight style. The old Vice Admiral always relied on power and strength. He would overwhelm his opponents with his deadly punches, which along with a pretty amazing natural strength, neededone of the strongest Armament Hakiever known in the One Piece world. Capable of going toe to toe with Gold Roger in his prime, surely a great example to follow for perfecting your own Armament Haki and developing that overwhelming force that was once feared by everyone across the seas. It that wasn’t enough he also learned Rokushiki with Garp, a great weapon to use before refining the Haki.
Becoming The Hero
Of course, to be that strong it’s necessary to add a little on your own. Koby did so very early on becoming the most famous Captain in the world after proving his power during the Rocky Port Incident. Althoughthe details of this event are still unknown, it was said that Koby protected all the citizens in Pirate Island as well as fought against Ochoku in a battle that destroyed most of the island to the point of taking years to fully repair the damage.
Since then, he acquired the nickname of Hero, joined SWORD, an organization where he can actually follow his own principles and sense of justice, and gained combat experience. This does help in getting stronger,as he recently showedby showing the world the power of his Honesty Impact, unlocked during a desperate situation. Koby might not bet on Luffy’s level yet, but if his progress keeps up, fans ofOne Piecewill enjoy a truly frenetic battle between the two of them not that far in the future.
