Summary
Criminals by name, and oftentimes by nature, pirates inOne Piecetend more often than not to be deceitful in a variety of ways. Some pirates show their deceit by lying or conducting a betrayal when they deem it convenient. That said, other pirates will go a step further. With a lot of powerful pirates focused on collecting intelligence on prospective enemies, there are a handful of them that will infiltrate crews for the sake of this tactic.
Sometimes the pirate in question won’t even be conducting the operation on behalf of another pirate. Here are some examples of pirates who were actually double agents, always intending to betray an organization they joined.
5Nefertari D. Vivi
Princess Turned Pirate
Although Vivi’s stint in piracy was ultimately an accident, she nonetheless had no loyalty to the crime syndicate known as Baroque Works. This organization sought to gain control of Alabasta, with its members being promised power depending on how highly ranked they were within it. Alabasta’s princess, alongside the captain of its royal guard, Igaram, infiltrated the organization and managed to gain fairly high-ranking positions within the enterprise, as well as more intimate knowledge of its operations. When their true allegiances were discovered, Igaram begged theStraw Hat Piratesto protect Vivi for the sake of Alabasta.
Ultimately, Vivi was a temporary member of the crew, only becoming a pirate after her double agent status was revealed. She resumed her royal duties after the influence of Baroque Works had been purged from Alabasta. Nonetheless, the death of her father Cobra, as well as the fact that she has been on the run since its occurrence, leads some fans to speculate she may once again make a return to piracy.
4Donquixote Rosinante
Mole for the Marines
Rosinante was a member of the Donquixote Family, specifically the branch of said family who revoked their World Noble status by choice. This decision was ultimately catastrophic for the family, as they lived in squalor, were despised by their neighbors, and were disconnected from the wealth and excess of their past lives. Although Rosinante and his parents were fundamentally better people than most World Nobles, his brother Doflamingo was far more distraught by his birthright being ripped away from him. After being enabled by a group of criminals who discovered his Conqueror’s Haki, Doflamingo killed his father and gained the resolve to form theDonquixote Pirates, a new family of his own choosing, with said criminals becoming its leaders.
Rosinante was horrified by his brother’s actions and left him shortly after their father was killed. He was taken in by Admiral Sengoku and later enlisted in the marines, reaching the rank of Commander. He was given a special assignment by Sengoku to infiltrate his brother’s crew and give reports on their actions. He became a pirate in order to act as a double agent. He managed to successfully fool the crew for a while. Doflamingo was happy to accept his brother, and even gave him the codename/rank of Corazon, essentially placing him near the top of the chain of command.
Unfortunately, he eventually ran afoul of Vergo, Doflamingo’s own mole within the marines, and his status as a double agent was eventually discovered. Before his death, Rosinante bonded with a young boy known as Trafalgar D. Water Law, a prospect for the Donquixote Pirates who was dying of amber lead syndrome. In part due to the marine’s efforts to find a cure, Law eventually befriended Rosinante. It was this friendship that motivated Law to take down Doflamingo.
3Vergo
Mole for the Donquixote Pirates
An inverse to his successor, the original Corazon was a longtime supporter/enabler of Doflamingo and his criminal activity. He was known for both his expertise in Armament Haki, notably being able to coat his entire body in Haki, and constantly getting food stuck to his face.
Alongside the likes of Pica, Diamante, and Trebol, he too was a top officer of the crew. However, Vergo’s expertise was used outside the crew, with him joiningthe marinesas a spy. It was thanks to his intervention that Rosinante’s own actions were discovered, and he remained a marine long after the fact, eventually working his way up toVice Admiral. Despite or perhaps even because of their vested interest in him, Doflamingo wanted to keep tabs on the marines.
Perhaps emboldened by the success of his long con, Vergo voluntarily offered up his true allegiance to the likes of Smoker and Tashigi, once they were imprisoned alongside the various pirates on Punk Hazard. Unfortunately, this backfired once the marine-pirate alliance managed to escape. Vergo was eventually killed in the SAD Production Room, which Doflamingo appeared to have remotely ordered the destruction of, apologizing to his longtime ally for what was to come.
2Scratchmen Apoo
Kaido’s Informant
There were many struggles between the Worst Generation and various Emperors. Perhaps one of the most botched alliances born from these struggles was the one between the Kid Pirates, theOn Air Pirates, and the Hawkins Pirates. The goal of this three-crew alliance was to take on the Beasts Pirates, a crew that had taken up residency in Wano Country. Although its captain/governor general, Kaido’s power should’ve been enough to deter most pirates, the alliance had fundamentally worse issues that led to its failure.
The primary problem is the alliance was compromised from the beginning. Apoo had secretly joined theBeasts Piratessometime before the alliance was formed and intended to make use of it so Kaido could deputize the other crews involved. This was only somewhat successful, as while Hawkins joined Kaido’s crew, and Killer (Kid’s crewmate) became aligned with Wano’s shogun to protect his own crew, Kid himself was defiant until the end. Ultimately, Kid joined an alliance with the likes of Luffy and Law, which successfully deposed both Kaido and Big Mom for the time being. Apoo himself proved to be a cowardly opportunist with no true loyalty to Kaido.
1X Drake
Black Ops Unit
X Drake was groomed into piracy by his father, a former marine. Drake abandoned this path and instead resolved to become a marine himself. He worked his way up to the rank of Rear Admiral before quitting and returning to piracy for reasons unknown. Drake’s previous status as a marine gave him knowledge of the Pacifista project and other intricacies not commonly known to pirates. The bounty he acquired was high enough to allow him to become a member of the Worst Generation. Drake eventually saw fit to pick a fight with Kaido, attacking an island that would get the Emperor’s attention. While the exact exchange with the Emperor was unclear, it ended with Drake and his crew being absorbed into the Beasts Pirates.
Sometime after, Drake gained a high rank within the Beasts Pirates, becoming a member ofthe Flying Six, the second-highest administrative rank, only below the captain and his All-Stars. Nonetheless, during the Raid on Onigashima, Drake began to step out of line with Kaido’s vision, notably apprehending one of his fellow officers to help an enemy escape. He was eventually suspected of treason and decided to ally with Luffy outright. In truth, Drake’s piracy efforts were conducted on behalf of SWORD, a marine organization made up of formally resigned members who are far less restricted in their conduct than most marines. It is not clear if Drake’s own crew, the Drake Pirates, were in on the ruse, but since his recovery in a marine hospital, his next steps remain to be seen.
