Granny Kokoro is the station attendant of Shift station off Water 7, and is always accompanied by her granddaughter Chimney and Gonbe.
Contents
Appearance
Grandma Kokoro is an older woman with green, long curly hair, a triangular nose, an elongated face with a mouth and round teeth. In terms of figure, she is somewhat corpulent in design. Her hair is pinned into two braids with two hair ties. Typical of her profession, she wore a large keeper’s or conductor’s cap, where the initials of Water 7 are engraved in the middle, and a coat that is sometimes red, sometimes blue. Earlier, she also had the braids in her hair, but no curls yet. Also, she looked quite young there and wore a white shirt. Due to the fact that she is a mermaid, she possessed a split fin.
Personality
Kokoro was once a loyal supporter of Tom and his work. She admired her employer at the time and even then supported those who aspired to achieve their dreams. She also had a very good relationship with the still young Franky and Iceberg. By the time Luffy and co. meet Grandma Kokoro, however, she has aged and become a heavy drinker. Still, she hasn’t lost the joy in her life, and seems to be thoroughly cheerful and calm at almost any given moment, and able to wring something funny out of any situation, no matter how hopeless. Her voice, on the other hand, is a bit scratchy, which makes her seem a bit strange at first glance. In addition, Kokoro, like many other characters, has a very distinctive laugh that starts with a “na” followed by several “gas”. (nagagaga) Kokoro was immediately a big fan of Luffy, as she really liked his positive attitude. Because of this, she always supports the Straw Hat Pirates as much as she can and firmly believes that Luffy has what it takes to be a pirate king. She even said that if Tom were still alive, he would have built him a ship like he once did for Gol D. Roger.
Past
Grandma Kokoro once came to Water 7 from Fish Man Island because Tom lived there, whom she had always admired very much. In Water 7 she met a young man, whom she then married. From this marriage a son was born, namely Chimney’s father. Formerly, Grandma Kokoro was employed by Tom’s Workers, where she was responsible for the organization as well as catering, among other things. She had known Tom well as well as Iceburg and Franky since they were children. When the Roger Pirates made their last trip, they also stopped at Water 7, where they met Tom, Grandma Kokoro, and the two boys Iceburg and Franky. At this time, Tom’s sea train was still in the process of being drafted. Kokoro had met the pirates before, as she mentioned that they were acting conspicuous as always.
After Roger’s execution, Kokoro told a dinner that pirates had attacked another ship, with wood and iron on board. Because of the many pirates since the execution of Gold Roger, but also because of the Aqua Laguna, they could not get wood and iron, so the other shipyards started to fight. Thus, the city was finished and in danger of falling apart. For building the Oro Jackson and selling it to the pirate king, Tom was sentenced to death on a justice ship. Kokoro was not present at the trial, but learned of the sentence later. Tom, however, was able to convince Judge Jorge of his plans for a so-called sea train and get him to rescind his sentence and commission Tom to build it. If the lake train was operational within ten years, Tom would be pardoned.
When the people had long since given up hope, the construction was finally completed and the maiden voyage of the Puffing Tom was the event of the town. From that moment on, Kokoro took on the job of station attendant and train conductor. Kokoro learned from Franky and Iceburg that Spandam had shown up to seize the plans for the warship Pluton. A short time later, the Justice ship showed up. She sent Franky shopping and woke up Tom and Iceburg because the big day had finally arrived. She was also there when the World Government used the Battle Frankys to attack the Justice Ship. She affirmed that it couldn’t have been Franky since he was shopping. Before Tom’s sentencing, Grandma Kokoro didn’t drink either. She only started doing so after Tom was convicted.
Present
Meeting with the Straw Hat Pirates
By chasing the frog Yokuzuna, which Luffy wanted to catch and eat, they did not notice the departure of the Puffing Tom from the station Shift. They narrowly escaped a collision and were now standing in front of the station. Chimney began to watch them and, because they were pirates, fetched Granny Kokoro, who immediately wanted to stop them and demanded a Den-den Mushi to call someone, however she forgot what what going to say. She thought they were trying to rob the trains, so after a brief explanation from Chimney about the sea train, she asked where the Straw Hats were even going, explaining that the sea train could take them anywhere.
She listed a few islands that the train would go to. However, the Straw Hat gang didn’t want to go to those islands, they wanted to use the ship and the log port so they could get to the next island. It turned out that the next island was Water 7, where the train was headed, and she also began to tell them about Water 7 and said what all there was there. When asked if there were any shipwrights there, she replied that the best in the world resided there. She then handed the Straw Hats a map of Water 7 and a letter of recommendation, however, they should be careful as they could quickly get lost. While the Straw Hat Pirates was in Water 7 to have their ship repaired, or rather to hire a shipwright to repair their ship, an assassination attempt occurred on Iceburg. A short time later, they were accused of committing the assassination, at which time Chimney, Gonbe, and Kokoro themselves were still at the Shift station. With Aqua Laguna soon to fall, the three of them wanted to return to Water 7.
The real assassins and the night attack
Grandma Kokoro was sitting in Blueno’s bar drinking a bottle of wine, where she was supposed to meet Iceburg and have a drink, but he got shot. At that moment, Franky entered the bar with the Mozu and Kiwi and wanted three bottles of Coke refilled, but didn’t have that much money, only 1 million berry change left, with which he invited all the guests.
The two had a conversation, where it came out that Kokoro had sought shelter in Water 7 because of Aqua Laguna. Franky learned about the assassination attempt on Iceburg and suspected that the pirates were behind it. She also asked him if he had already secured his house because of the Aqua Laguna, but he only said that it was destroyed and that he didn’t need to worry about it now. She interjected that she didn’t believe it, but suspected the world government, or more specifically the CP9, a secret organization, was behind it.
For some reason Franky started to boil with rage, probably because of her assumption. Now she wanted to know why he was so angry, but all he did was leave Blueno’s bar with the Mozu and Kiwi in a loud rage. On the roof of Blueno’s bar, she watched as the fire had broken out in the Galley-La and now a rescue operation was underway. In her mind, she hoped Iceburg would be okay. Secretly, she already knew about the construction plans.
Just before Aqua Laguna came crashing into Water 7, first Chimney and then Granny Kokoro spotted Luffy trapped between the houses. When Nami saw and noticed him, she immediately set out to rescue him. Both the workmen and Kokoro tried to stop her, saying that the Aqua Laguna wasn’t even there yet and would wash her away if she tried to rescue him. However, Nami continued the action, which was successful, however Paulie had to pull the straw hats out of the water. A discussion broke out about how the straw hat gang was going to get to Enie’s lobby. Grandma Kokoro could no longer listen to this discussion and interfered. The only lake train that could survive the Aqua Laguna unscathed is the Rocketman.
Rocketman
Behind a dump behind the warehouse, Luffy and co. were led there by Granny Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe the cat because that’s where Rocketman was supposed to be. The group ran into Iceburg, who wanted to know what they were doing here. He then explained to the others what the Rocketman even was and why they had built it. Kokoro then climbed into the cab, where she got final instructions from Iceburg. Now ready to depart for Enie’s lobby, the Straw Hat Pirates, the Franky family, the Galley-Las, Chimney, and Gonbe set out to catch up with the Puffing Tom so they could rescue Robin and Franky. Granny Kokoro managed to set the sea train Rocketman perfectly on the rails that were below the water. She was not at all pleased by Chimney and Gonbe, who had sneaked aboard the train, since Iceburg was supposed to be watching them. She also followed the conversations between Luffy, Zambai, and Paulie, but in the process was asked by Nami what she was doing here, since she had to pilot the sea train after all. To that, Kokoro objected that she was only planning on getting the train on the tracks. According to her, the brakes would be broken, so there was no way to control the train anyway. The sea train race began.
The Sea Train Race
The rails of the lake train would never get up high enough to cross the giant wave of Aqua Laguna, and the wave would also be too strong for the train. So they had to come up with something else. Using Luffy and Zoro’s Gomu Gomu no Sanbyaku Pound Cannon, they managed to carve a hole in the wave, sending Rocketman hurtling right through it. After Sanji and the others on the Puffing Tom heard via Den-den Mushi what happened to Robin, they tried to free her. In this situation, Luffy asked if the sea train could go any faster, but she denied it, as it had already reached its full speed. The sea train race was in full swing. Suddenly, Yokuzuna stepped in front of Rocketman and tried to stop him. A collision ensued. Yokuzuna thought Kokoro and the Galley-La people had been kidnapped by the Straw Hat Pirates, but she enlightened him, also indirectly asking him to fight and come along to rescue Franky, who was on his way to Enie’s lobby. A brief explanation from Kokoro about the Gate of Justice followed. Luffy rappelled down from the Rocketman during the ride and attempted to single-handedly storm the justice island of Enie’s lobby. Thus, he stormed the island and caused the first chaos. The rest of the crew on the train noticed the fence that surrounded the entire island. Zoro was one of the first to recognize the fence. Immediately he relayed it to everyone and ordered Yokuzuna to push the fence down as far as he could. Thus, the fence acted as a launching pad and made Rocketman “fly”. The Rocketman flew over the fence and landed directly on the island.
Enies Lobby
After landing, the Straw Hats and their allies were surrounded by marines. In the process, Granny Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe posed as hostages of these to prevent further damage to the sea train. The Straw Hats and the Franky family, followed by the Galley-Las and the King Bulls, fought their way through the marines to the courthouse. In the process, they first lost Sogeking, who ran into the giants Oimo and Kashii, and then another of the King Bulls was hit hard and went down injured. Through a Den-den Mushi, Kokoro reported that there is no road behind the courthouse, just a drawbridge that comes down once you flip the levers in the courthouse’s two towers. She also said that she saw Luffy on the roof just starting to fight, and when it came to the showdown in the courthouse and Luffy’s victory over Blueno, and the Straw Hats met on the roof of the building, she said that the world would be surprised because there hadn’t been anything like that in hundreds of years and no one would have dared.
On the roof, the Straw Hats and the CP9 faced each other, with Franky and Robin also present. Luffy ordered Sogeking to destroy the World Government flag, the equivalent of a declaration of war. Once again, Kokoro contacted Nami via Den-den Mushi and said that the half-open drawbridge would do. The Straw Hats should just jump into the waterfall, where they will be caught by Rocketman as the train breaks through the courthouse gate. Luffy grabbed his friends and pulled them down with him. Rocketman flew over the sea and crashed into the judicial tower. With that, the battle of pirates vs CP9 could begin. Franky was worried about Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe, but they had merely gotten nosebleeds from the fall. The fight against CP9 turned into a huge slugfest. While the Straw Hat Pirates was giving their all to free Robin, and Spandam had accidentally triggered the Buster Call, Granny Kokoro was standing on the parapet of the Justice Tower drinking a bottle of wine. It was probably going to be exciting again, in her opinion, as things were starting to come full circle. Chopper fell into the water, but was rescued by Franky.
The Straw Hats’ destination was now the Gate of Justice, where they were all to meet. Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe were to take care of Chopper until Franky left him there. Franky possessed two keys and so hoped to free Robin, which was why he, Granny Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe ran to the bridge pillar. Granny Kokoro also made her way to the Bridge of Hesitation, but she was not alone. Following her were Chimney, Gonbe, Chopper, and Nami, the latter feeling the first tremors. They were in the secret tunnel to the Gate of Justice. The secret tunnel they were still in was so slowly filling with water. They were trying to escape the masses of water that had almost caught up with them. To the bridge of hesitation, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp also wanted to go. Because Usopp heard water, he imagined a terrible scenario. In front of the three of them, the rest of the gang including Kokoro, Chimney and Gonbe suddenly appeared, still fleeing from the waters. Zoro’s sword thrust to the rescue failed because of the thickness of the walls and so they were swept away by the water.
Straw Hat Pirates Are being rescued by Granny Kokoro
After the secret tunnel was completely flooded by the water masses and with her also the Straw Hat Pirates, Chimney and Gonbe, they already closed with life and faced death. Granny Kokoro, however, turned out to be a mermaid and pulled them all along with her. Sanji was the first to recognize the mermaid. Shocked, everyone involved realized that it wasn’t a beautiful mermaid, but Grandma Kokoro. In front of the escape ship that Franky liberated from marines and where he and Robin waited for the rest, Kokoro appeared and jumped out of the water. The shock of seeing Kokoro as a mermaid had made them swallow less water. Kokoro put on her pants and told Robin that they had already seen each other at the Shift station. After that, Kokoro explained everything to the straw hats. She was an ice mermaid, she said. Since no one could explain why a mermaid had two legs, she pointed out that once you turned 30, the fin split, making it possible to walk on two legs and walk on land. Usopp’s comparison to a cat that could do similar things pissed her off and she demanded a thank you, which she subsequently got. Now Chimney also noticed that Kokoro was a mermaid. That would answer her question as to why there were scales on Kokoro’s legs. A little while later, when the Buster Call was at its peak, Kokoro, Chimney, and Gonbe landed on a convoy ship and screamed that they were hostages. On the Bridge of Hesitation, the battle against the naval captains began. The Straw Hat Pirates tried to get to the convoy ship, but at that moment it was fired upon and burst into flames. It was completely destroyed. However, Sanji was faster and was able to save Kokoro, Chimney, Gonbe and Chopper. The bridge was now the next target of the Buster Call, while the captains were still trying to rescue the supposed hostages. The Going Merry appeared in Enie’s lobby to take her home. Kokoro ferried the Devil Fruit users onto the Lamb while the others boarded the ship on foot.
After the events in Enie’s lobby.
Back in Water 7, everyone started to recover, which took two days. Kokoro visited the Straw Hats when they were fit again. While there, Yokuzuna was sent out by her, which was due to the size. So they got some of the belongings of the residents of Water 7, as the Aqua Laguna washed some away. She probably didn’t get anything from Vice Admiral Garp’s visit. Kokoro appeared just before the Thousand Sunny was finished. There, she explained to Nami and company that their next destination was Fish Man Island, because their log port was pointing slightly downward, as this island was deep under the sea. However, on the way to Fishmen Island, there would be quite a few dangers they would have to contend with, such as the mysterious triangle. She watched, just like other residents, as Franky became the “Straw Hat”. Just as the Straw Hat Pirates was about to leave Water 7 again, Vice Admiral Garp showed up to arrest them. A fight ensued, with Usopp being welcomed back into the gang. Kokoro was also present here.
After the departure of the SHB
After the Straw Hat Pirates left and Yokuzuna stopped fighting the Sea Train, Grandma Kokoro and he were seen playing Shift with Chimney and Gonbe at the station.
Two years later, Grandma Kokoro took a vacation in the ocean. While she was riding a shark underwater and holding a newspaper that reported the return of the Straw Hat Pirates, Yokuzuna swam after her.
After the events on Dress Rosa, Kokoro, along with her granddaughter, Iceburg, and others, saw the new profile of Franky and the rest of the Straw Hats in the newspaper.
Miscellaneous
- Grandma Kokoro is an Bovichtidae or a European sprat.
- In the SBS to Volume 66, Oda drew Grandma Kokoro in her younger years.(Show / Hide Image)
- Their favorite foods are seaweed salad and all kinds of alcoholic drinks.
