Kong
- For the Marine with a similar name, see Boo Kong.
Kong is the World Government Commander-in-Chief. He was a Fleet Admiral of the Marines at the time of the Battle in Edd War twenty-seven years ago. Some time after, he was promoted while Sengoku eventually became the new Fleet Admiral.
Appearance
Kong is an extremely muscular, broad-chested, tan-skinned, strong-shouldered elderly man who has his whitened hair and beard arranged in an array of spikes, and some fuzz on both sides of his face, similar to a lizard’s spine. He also has a stitched scar under his left eye.
He wears a sleeveless dark shirt adorned with medals, revealing his muscular arms, dark green armbands, a light yellow scarf around his neck, and a white and dark grey Marine coat draped over his shoulders. The epaulettes are similar to those worn by an Admiral and Fleet Admiral, fully covered in yellow as a standard color.
38 years before the present, Kong was noticeably younger, as well as lacking both his beard and scar.
Personality
Not much is known about Kong’s personality but as a former Marine and a high ranking World Government official, he has a strong sense of justice (though it is unknown if it is moral or absolute).
He also has a large amount of pride for his position and the Marines overall, since he left Garp and Sengoku’s records untouched to prevent the Marine name from being hurt and felt rather disappointed that they would resign.
Relationships
Monkey D. Garp
Kong respected Garp as he offered him the promotion to Admiral multiple times during the age of Gol D. Roger but was always rejected, something that frustrated him. He also respected Garp’s decision to retire from the Marines and reassigned him as an instructor of training new recruits of young Marines, while keeping the records intact.
Sengoku
Kong and Sengoku are well acquainted as Sengoku once worked under him when Kong was Fleet Admiral. Following Garp’s resignation, he also allowed Sengoku to retire before reassigning him to General Inspector. Both are on friendly terms as they were seen having a pleasant talk at Mary Geoise upon Sengoku’s retirement.
Abilities and Powers
Overview
While he was the fleet admiral of the Marines, he had absolute control of the organization, under the World Government. Now, as World Government Commander-in-Chief, he works for the World Government, and possesses not only power over the Marines, but also authority over the Government’s espionage agents, the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Enies Lobby, and the Cipher Pols. According to the World Government hierarchy, his authority is second only to the Five Elders and Imu. His political powers enable him to revoke any Warlord of the Sea title at any time, as well as being able to declare a Buster Call on any island he deems to be a threat.
Aside from his political powers, his muscles and numerous scars suggest that he is physically strong and proficient in combat. However, he has yet to reveal his powers in the series.
Haki
It was stated that all marines ranked vice admiral and above possess Haki, so with a rank above that, Kong can also use the ability.
History
Past
Thirty-eight years ago, Kong notified Monkey D. Garp of an incident occurring on God Valley with the World Nobles and Rocks Pirates. Garp, who was on vacation, initially brushed off his concerns as the World Nobles already had protection until Kong informed him that Gol D. Roger was also there, causing Garp to take this concern seriously and head over.
Battle of the Edd War
Not much is known about Kong’s past, other than by the time of the Edd War, he held the rank of Fleet Admiral of the Marines. Kong received a report about Shiki fighting Roger, and when Vice Admiral Garp charged into the battle, Kong was seen shouting about the fact that their conversation was not yet over, despite Garp claiming it was.
Promotion
Kong eventually was promoted from fleet admiral to World Government Commander-in-Chief, thus working directly for the World Government and leaving the position vacant.
Summit War Saga
Post-War Arc
After the Summit War of Marineford, Garp approached Kong and resigned from the Marines despite the latter’s attempts to persuade him otherwise. Three weeks after the war at Mary Geoise, Sengoku did the same thing. Kong was somewhat disappointed by these resignations, as both of them had been top Marines since Roger’s time but allowed them to leave on the condition that their records and titles remain untouched in order to retain their influences and legacies in order to successfully recruit new Marines in the future and also to train the next generation of young Marines. Prior to leaving, Sengoku suggested to Kong that Admiral Aokiji should be the succeeding Fleet Admiral.
Translation and Dub Issues
Kong’s title is “World Government Commander-in-Chief“ (世界政府全軍総帥, Sekai Seifu Zengun Sōsui?). However, some scanlation groups on the internet originally and incorrectly translated Kong’s rank as “Pan Fleet Admiral”.
Trivia
- Kong is currently the only Admiral who has not been confirmed to have eaten a Devil Fruit.
- Kong’s name is mentioned as the one who commissioned the map of the East Blue in the ending credits of the eighth episode of the One Piece live-action series.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 0 Chapter 0 (p. 3) and Episode 0, Fleet Admiral Kong receives a report in Marineford.
- ↑ One Piece Blue Deep: Characters World (p. 64), Kong’s birthday is revealed.
- ↑ One Piece Green: Secret Pieces, Kong’s name is romanized.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 594 (p. 2-3) and Episode 511, Kong speaks about Sengoku’s terms of resignation.
- ↑ One Piece Yellow: Grand Elements (p. 171), A hierarchy chart of the World Government shows Kong’s position.
- ↑ One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 60 Chapter 594 (p. 7) and Episode 511, Fishbonen states Haki is a power all the vice admirals and above use.
- ↑ One Piece Manga — Chapter 1096.
External Links
- Commander-in-chief – Wikipedia article about Commander-in-chiefs.