Monkey D. Dragon is the father of Monkey D. Luffy. Furthermore, he is the son of Monkey D. Garp. As the commander-in-chief (Jap. 総司令官, Sōshireikan) of the revolutionaries who want to overthrow the world government, he is the most wanted man in the entire world.
Contents
Appearance
Dragon is a tall, middle-aged man. He has long black hair and striking facial features. The most notable thing about him, however, is a large, blood-red tattoo that runs across the entire left side of his face. It is composed of three overlapping, checkered patterns that intersect at the corners. In the center of each is a filled in red check.
During his first appearances, he wears a dark hooded cloak and dark boots. The former is dark green in the anime. Underneath, as can be seen in a photo of him at the Conference of Kings six years before the storyline, he is probably wearing middle-class clothes.
Personality
Dragon is a very mysterious man and no one knows anything specific about him. Even his subordinates were unaware of his familial relationship with Garp and Luffy until the summit battle in Marine Ford. However, even though he didn’t show himself as a family man and Luffy wasn’t even aware that he had a father, Dragon kept turning his gaze towards East Blue in the fresh air.
Dragon and the revolutionaries set their sights on overthrowing the world government and changing the world. According to Dragon, the events in the Kingdom of Goa, where the nobles burned down the Gray Terminal and with it many innocent people just to spare the heralded World Aristocrat the sight of that dump, are the same all over the world.
Skills and Strength
As the leader of the Revolutionaries and the most wanted man in the world, his bounty is also likely to be the current highest of any living person. The governments became aware of his activities as a revolutionary six years ago, as they convened a conference of kings because of him, attended by Wapol and Nefertari Kobra, among others.
To the displeasure of the world government, his revolutionary ideology found many followers who put their lives on the line to carry out his plans. With this power behind him, he is able to storm entire kingdoms. He views revolution as a war in which several kingdoms have already been overthrown. Robin mentioned that the revolutionaries pose a greater threat to the government than the pirates, as a revolution can directly attack the government.
Nothing is known about his strength yet. However, when he saved his son from Smoker in Loguetown and at the same moment a storm gathered the dispersed Straw Hat Pirates, carried Smoker and Buggy away, he himself uttered the word storm in the manga and remained unaffected by it, one might think Dragon had let this storm arise. However, this is not confirmed. Furthermore, during the Gray Terminal fire more than ten years ago, a massive road was created in the middle of the sea of flames, which ran directly towards Dragon’s ship. These circumstances again point to a Devil’s Fruit, but this is also unconfirmed.
Past
Not much is known about Dragon’s past so far. His reasons for becoming a rebel or giving his son to his father are unknown so far. What is known, however, is that Luffy never knew his father at all and didn’t even know he had one until recently. So he must have gone to sea at a very early age.
Gol D. Roger’s Execution
Dragon was also present at Gol D. Roger’s execution. At the time, however, he did not yet possess a tattoo on his face.
Mission to the Kingdom of Goa
About ten years ago, Dragon was present in the kingdom of Goa when the king wanted to burn down the Gray Terminal. By doing so, he wanted to remove the eyesore, as a world aristocrat would be arriving in a short time. At this, Sabo turned to the rebel leader and someone approached him and announced that the preparations for his plan would be complete. Later, he and his revolutionaries were seen riding a ship toward the burning Gray Terminal. As they did so, it seemed as if someone had shot a road into the sea of flames, so that even those caught in the fire saw the ship, and with it their last salvation. All those who were able to reach the ship were hired by Dragon as a revolutionary army and from then on fought on his side for freedom.
The World Conference 1516
Eight years before the current plot, a world conference was held in the Holy Land of Mary Geoise. One item on the agenda was the rebel leader that King Tarassa warned Luke of Ilisia about. Wapol saw no danger in Dragon and was visibly annoyed by what he saw as an unnecessary conference. The exact outcome, however, is unknown.
Dragon and Ivankov
At some point, Dragon was able to recruit some trannies, including the transgender queen Ivankov and Inazuma, to join the Revolutionaries.
In the Impel Down, when Luffy revealed that he was Dragon’s son, Ivankov recalled that Dragon always looked in the direction of the East Blues when he was out in the fresh air, as if he had left something there. Dragon himself didn’t notice his behavior.
Present
The world waits for an answer
When the Straw Hat Pirates was on their way to the Grand Line and made a stop in Loguetown, Dragon was there as well. He was walking through the streets of Loguetown quoting words from Gol D. Roger, which definitely suggests a connection between Dragon and Roger. There he saved Luffy from Smoker, who was about to arrest him. In the conversation that followed, Smoker did nothing against Dragon, which could show the possible strength of the Revolutionary. When Smoker asked why he was helping the pirate, he simply replied, “The world awaits our answer!” Luffy himself didn’t see who saved him or what even happened because his face was pressed to the ground by Smoker.
Dragon talking
As the Straw Hat Pirates was resting on Water 7 after a tough fight on Enie’s lobby, they ran into Garp. The latter was having a conversation with Luffy about Dragon. He had learned that he met Luffy in Loguetown. Where Garp got this information is unknown. But this leads to the assumption that he is still in contact with Dragon. Since Luffy did not know his father and Garp had trained him, it can be assumed that he was not in Foosha Village during his son’s childhood. Unlike Luffy, however, everyone present, including Koby and Helmeppo, as well as the Straw Hat crew, knew the name “Dragon” and more or less panicked.
The prophecy
When the new wanted posters of the Straw Hat Pirates went around the world after the events surrounding Enie’s Lobby, Dragon was on Baltigo, which was also the location of the Revolutionaries’ headquarters. There, after seeing a wanted poster of Luffy, he mentioned that the day would come when father and son would meet.
In Thoughts on Dragon
After the events on Thriller Bark, Bartholomew Kuma, one of The Seven Warlords of the Seas, mentioned that Luffy had good friends who would stand up for each other and that Dragon could be proud of such a son.
Meeting Robin and talking to Ivankov
After Nico Robin was thrown onto the slave bridge Tequila Wolf by Bartholomew Kuma and forced to do hard labor, slavery was abruptly interrupted by arriving Revolutionary troops. They freed all the prisoners, including Robin, taking a special interest in the young woman. Therefore Robin was brought to Dragon, who was surprised to find his son’s comrade-in-arms and the only survivor of Ohara here. He himself described Robin as extremely important and the “light of the revolution”, which is why she was sought out on his orders to be protected.
Immediately following this encounter, Dragon Emporio contacted Ivankov via Den-den Mushi to speak with him about the latest events. Thus, he said that his son Luffy was now no longer a child and that Ivankov must finally learn all the background surrounding Bartholomew Kuma.
The Fall of Doflamingo
After Donquixote Doflamingo was defeated by Luffy and subsequently captured by the Navy, the revolutionaries involved on Dress Rosa traveled back to their headquarters in Baltigo. There, Koala reported to their leader that the Revolutionary forces were on a victory march around the world, illustrating how many of the countries the Revolutionaries were targeting had formerly benefited from Doflamingo’s dealings. Furthermore, she informed Dragon that the weapons they seized in Dress Rosa contained a certain mineral that could only be found in a few countries around the world, possibly allowing conclusions to be drawn about their origin. In turn, Dragon instructed Koala to summon all the leaders of the Revolutionary Army, which rather horrified them.
The Destruction of Baltigo
Shortly after the conversation between Dragon and Koala, the newspaper reported that the headquarters of the revolutionaries had been destroyed by an attack of the Blackbeard pirate gang. This news also reached the Straw Hats along with their new companions from Zou, leaving everyone quite stunned. Even though Luffy was already informed about his father, he sees his father’s face in the newspaper article for the first time, but he was only worried about his brother, Sabo. The Navy as well as the Cipher Pol also reached Baltigo, but by that time the headquarters had been destroyed and the pirates were already on the run. If something had happened to a high-ranking revolutionary, it would surely be in the papers, Pedro thought, so it was safe to assume that they were safe for the time being.
The Assembly of the Revolutionary Army
After the destruction of Baltigo, the revolutionaries moved their headquarters to the Kingdom of Kamabakka, ruled by Emporio Ivankov. Dragon had summoned all the leaders of the Revolutionary Army here to hold an important meeting, as they wanted to officially declare war on the World Government at the upcoming Levely. While waiting for everyone to arrive, Dragon discussed this plan with his second-in-command, Sabo.
A headline about Sabo
However, an article published after the Levely by the World Economic Newspaper about Sabo, put the revolutionary army in turmoil. Dragon also expressed concern and said that the next objective of the revolutionaries must be to find out the truth as he could not give unqualified credence to the report.
Miscellaneous
- As Dragon is considered the most wanted man in the world, he will likely have the highest current bounty on his head. This means that only characters who are already dead, such as Gol D. Roger or a samurai can have an even higher bounty.
- Several people in the world of One Piece know him and/or are connected to him, such as Smoker.
- It seems he knew Gol D. Roger.
- It is speculated that he gained some sort of air power or weather control from a devil fruit.
- In volume 39, the CP9 reports a failed attempt on the Revolutionary Leader’s life. However, whether they are talking about Dragon here remains uncertain, as they don’t mention a name and there are other leaders in the world.
- Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma were imprisoned because they both served under Dragon in the Revolutionary army.
- Dragon’s favorite dish is bocadito.
