“Devil Bamboo” Vergo (jap. 鬼竹のヴェルゴ, Kichiku no Verugo) was a naval vice admiral and head of Naval Base G-5 in the New World. In truth, however, he is a high-ranking gang member of Donquixote Doflamingo and infiltrated the Navy 15 years ago on his orders. Within the Donquixote pirate gang, Vergo held the highest rank alongside Pica, Diamante, and Trébol. He went by the alias Corazón. However, because he was on a secret mission, Donquixote Doflamingo’s brother Rosinante took over his post until he was murdered by his brother.
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Appearance
Vergo is a middle-aged man who wears his hair short and black. His sideburns go jaggedly down to his cheeks. He wears a beard that runs along his chin, going down the middle to his mouth. He also has a straight mustache to go with it, which is connected at its ends to the rest of his beard. He always wears dark sunglasses. His clothes consist of a beige coat that reaches his knees, under which you can see a light blue shirt with a black tie decorated with a purple jewel, as well as white trousers tied with a dark belt. He also wears brown gloves. He often has remnants of previously eaten food or things he used during the meal stuck to his cheek. Under his clothes he is very muscular. During his time as Vice Admiral of Base G-5, he also wore the typical navy coat.
Personality
Vergo is described by the civilian population as well as by some marines as a polite and kind man, which is in stark contrast to the otherwise rough and heartless nature that prevails on G-5. However, this is only an appearance. In fact, Vergo is extremely cold-hearted and brutal, which is why he even condoned the death of his own men at the hands of Caesar Clown’s pet Smiley in order to accomplish his mission. He also beat Law mercilessly for addressing him with the wrong title. In general, Vergo gives himself mostly emotionless, whether in conversation or in battle. He is also very forgetful; for example, he wanted to attack his enemies with his sword, even though he neither owned a sword nor was a swordsman.
He is a very faithful persecutor of Donquixote Doflamingo, and smiled thus when the latter thanked him for his efforts.
Skills and strength
Being both a Vice Admiral and a long-time member of Donquixote Doflamingo’s band of pirates, Vergo can be credited with a certain amount of combat experience and strength. Doflamingo placed a great deal of faith in him, and therefore thought Law should be inferior to him in terms of stamina. His fighting repertoire includes the Rokushiki, of which he can at least use Shigan, Geppou and Tekkai. Besides that, he is also able to use Busoushoku Haki to harden his body as well as his bamboo stick, for example when he knocked Law unconscious with it or broke Smoker’s jitte with it. His Busoushoku is also strong enough to deflect a sword blow from Tashigi with only one arm. Further, his stick can also be used as a blowpipe, as he did in the fight against Smoker. Even without Haki, he has great physical fitness and abilities. For example, he was able to inflict cracks on Sanji’s lower leg bone with a kick severe enough to make Sanji worry about his leg.
Past
Vergo, Doflamingo, Rosinante, Pica, Diamante and Trébol knew each other when they were all children or teenagers. He was also present when Doflamingo shot his father, Donquixote Homing.
Until 15 years ago, Vergo was a pirate in the pirate gang of Donquixote Doflamingo. Within the gang, he held the alias “Corazón”. But before Vergo could make a name for himself as a pirate, his captain Doflamingo infiltrated him into the navy. There, he quickly rose to the rank of vice admiral. One day, he reported to then Admiral Sengoku to be transferred to Naval Base G-5 because he wanted to be in charge. Three weeks later, Vergo traveled to Minion with Vice Admiral Crane to finalize the Devil Fruit deal. While there, Vergo met young Law, who handed them a letter for the Navy and told them that his friend was badly injured. Vergo went along with Law, only to find out that the friend was Donquixote Rosinante aka the current Corazón. When Vergo then read the letter, he now understood that Rosinante was a Navy spy. He used his haki and punched the already badly wounded Rosinante. Law begged Vergo to stop, whereupon he also punched Law, which Doflamingo said traumatized Law. Afterwards, when Vergo told Doflamingo about Rosinante’s betrayal via Den-den Mushi, Rosinante took the opportunity to escape with Law.
As a marine, Vergo saved a village from pirates, among other things. He was still in touch with his former captain, however, covering up Caesar Clown’s child abductions, for example. However, since Smoker had been transferred to his naval base two years ago, he had to be more careful.
Present
Punk Hazard
As Law tried to lure Mone to a certain location, the two were suddenly stopped by Vergo, who had recently arrived from Dress Rosa on a SAD tanker. The latter greeted his old comrade, who suddenly collapsed, and told him that Mone was working for Flamingo to keep an eye on Caesar Clown. As Law was about to go on the attack, Vergo knocked him unconscious with a hooked bamboo stick.
Some time later, Vergo greeted Smoker and Tashigi, who were locked in a cage along with Law, Luffy, Franky, and Robin. In the process, Law revealed Vergo’s true identity as a pirate and who he was working for. Vergo in turn stated that he would have to kill them all and make it look like an accident. He also wanted to observe Caesar Clown’s upcoming experiment.
When Luffy, Law & Co. still managed to escape and return to the lab with the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates and the G5 unit, Vergo set out to eliminate the troublemakers. As Caesar slowly filled the lab with the poison gas Shinokuni, Vergo appeared in the midst of the fleeing G5 troops. These rejoiced, thinking he was coming as reinforcements, until Vergo began slaughtering soldier after soldier with Shigan. When he also attacked Tashigi, the soldiers thought they were looking at a fake Vergo.
At the last second, Sanji saved the marine, mainly because of Tashigi, and stood in Vergo’s way, resulting in a fight. In the process, Vergo managed to crack Sanji’s bones in his leg. When word went out that Law had been spotted in the SAD room, Vergo broke off the fight early to look for Law, now knowing of Law’s plans. On the way, he contacted Donquixote Doflamingo via Den-den Mushi, explaining the new situation and asking for new instructions. After a brief conversation, the Don Vergo finally gave the order to stop Law and kill him as mercilessly as possible.
In the duel with Law, Vergo quickly gained the upper hand, as he was still in possession of Law’s heart. However, when Vergo wanted to finish Law off for good, Smoker interfered. The two marines fought, and Smoker managed to steal Law’s heart and return it to him. Now that he was no longer at a disadvantage, Law fought Vergo again with all his strength.
This time, Vergo succumbed to Law’s devilish powers and was cut into pieces by him. Later still, he was split into several pieces that were hung on a grate. Vergo warned Law not to incur Flamingo’s wrath, but the latter took no interest in Vergo’s words of warning. Since the room would soon fill with Caesar’s poison gas, Law finally left Vergo to his fate, referring to him as “Pirate Vergo”. A short time later, he and Donquixote Doflamingo said goodbye to each other over the Den-den Mushi. Vergo’s boss thanked him for his efforts, and he smiled in satisfaction. Afterwards, the room finally exploded due to the fragmented SAD container. Vergo’s whereabouts are uncertain.
Miscellaneous
- He has a habit of having food scraps or half his meal stuck to the corners of his mouth.
- According to his own statement, a hamburger is his favorite dish. He likes to eat fries and a strawberry milkshake with it.
- Although his epithet Devil Bamboo was not revealed in the story itself, it was mentioned in the title of the 680th chapter.
- He is the only one besides Diamante and Trébol who calls his captain Doffy in addition to Young Master/YoungLord.
- He is the only one of the elite officers of the Donquixote Pirates who has not eaten a devil fruit.
