Exuberant Sasaki (jap. 盛っ切りのササキ, Mokkiri no Sasaki) is a star of the Beasts Pirates. Within this grouping, he is among the strongest, known as the “flying six”.
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Appearance
Sasaki is a broadly built man with long, fair hair that runs wildly like a mane down to his back. He wears a sort of sailor’s cap, and there are two upward-pointing horns on his forehead. His long, pointed teeth are especially noticeable. He wears earrings and covers his torso only with a flame-patterned cloak thrown over his shoulders. On his chest he has a tattoo on the right and left side, which runs over his upper arms and shoulders to his back. Furthermore he wears a kind of trouser skirt, also with flame pattern, which is fastened by a dark belt. On his feet he wears Geta sandals.
Personality
Sasaki does not seem to be averse to parties, often having a bottle of alcohol in his hand, and Denjiro aka Kyoshiro noted that it is uncharacteristic to encounter him away from the festivities. He only seems to have respect for Kaidou and is single-mindedly pursuing his plan to rise to a main representative within the gang.
Skills and Strength
Due to his position as a member of the Flying Six within the Beasts Pirates, he must have high combat strength. Furthermore, he has authority over lower-ranking members, and he is in charge of the “armored unit” (Jap. 装甲部隊, Sōkō Butai), which consists only of Smile users.
Furthermore, Sasaki ate from an Ancient Dinosaur Fruit, model: triceratops. Due to the neck shield on his neck, he is able to fly in the air like a helicopter.
He was easily tricked and tied up by Denjiro, but was able to prove his strength against Franky. He is proficient in armor and observation shaki.
He also carries a long sword called the “mechanical spiral sword” (jap. Karakuri Rasento, 絡繰螺旋刀). Wrapped around the blade is a spiral that can rotate and do great damage. This is how Sasaki managed to cut Franky’s Fran sword in half.
Past
Sasaki was once the captain of his own gang called the Sasaki Pirates (jap. ササキ海賊団, Sasaki Kaizokudan), but he subordinated himself to Emperor Kaidou at an unknown time.
Present
Sasaki and his fellow members of the Flying Six were cited by Kaidou to his fortress without giving more specific details. However, when they got there, they had to wait for their captain and chatted about who would probably be next in rank in case of a sudden demise of a main representative. Afterwards, the meeting with Kaidou took place, with King and Jack also present. It turned out that King was in fact summoning them, but Kaidou continued that they were to find his son Yamato and a battle against one of the main representatives for their position would be the reward. While searching for Yamato, he encountered Denjiro, but his treachery was not yet known, so he mistook him for an ally. Denjiro took advantage of this, overpowering and tying him up.
When the chaos really started, triggered by the enemy alliance, the tree Sasaki was tied to was knocked down by a Big Mom attack, allowing him to break free. Angered at the betrayal of a “friend”, he then noticed Kaidou on the roof. A short time later, he and the rest of the flying six were informed via Den-den Mushi that the search for Yamato had been called off, and that they should instead keep the enemies from reaching the roof. Shortly after, however, they received new orders. The task was to kill Momonosuke, whom Sasaki had already spotted. Sasaki and his subordinates attacked him and Shinobu, but Yamato stood in front of them. Before the fight could really get started, however, Franky and Hatcha appeared, allowing Momonosuke, Yamato, and Shinobu to escape while Franky took over the fight against Sasaki. Sasaki revealed his devil powers in the process. As his subordinates intervened and held Franky after a fierce exchange of blows, Tama, Nami, and Usopp appeared on Komachiyo.
Tama had already drawn quite a few Gifters to her side with her Kibi Dangos, and with Usopp’s help, she then did the same to Sasaki’s subordinates. Distracted by this, Franky was able to hit him and the fight then continued only between the two of them. In the duel, they also heard Sanji’s cries for help, which astonished Sasaki. Shocked, he also heard that Ulti and Page One were defeated. He then defeated his former subordinates with his attack “Heliceratops” and then went after Franky again, but the Straw Hat Pirate was able to counter. However, the Zoan Devil Power User was able to rise again and subsequently sliced Franky’s Fran Sword. Almost pushed back to the concert hall, Franky reached for his Radical Beam and hit Sasaki in his weak spot, his stomach. Sasaki went down defeated.
Various
- His name may derive from the Japanese card game 44A, which is also called Sasaki.
- His favorite dish is asparagus.
- His nickname Exuberant Sasaki refers to a particular way of drinking sake called mokkiri. It involves placing a small glass in a square wooden vessel (the Masu (measurement)). You then fill the glass up to the rim with sake, or let it spill over the rim. The masu then serves as a catch-all for the spilled sake.
- In the special chapter Road to Laugh Tale, Part 2, Oda’s earlier design sketches for the flying six were published. From these, it appears that Sasaki was initially planned as a younger version called “Faro”/”Falo”.( hideimage )
