Summary
Bounties are monetary rewards, typically for the capture or execution of criminals. InOne Piece, they often serve informally as a measure of the strength and reputation of the figure attached to them. This is due to the notoriety an individual needs for the government to justify paying a hefty sum for them.
Criminals with low bounties are ostensibly weak, or at least insignificant enough not to justify a high sum of belly for their capture. In general, this is less a proper estimate of strength and more the government’s perception of an individual criminal. Judging by their bounties, the government did not think much of the following criminals at all.
7The Nyaban Brothers
Collectively Worth 7,000,000 Belly
Buchi and Sham, collectively known as the Nyaban Brothers, are officers of the Black Cat Pirates. While they do not appear to be biologically related, they are grouped together due to their might. They were assigned to guard the crew’s vessel, the Bezan Black, when it was docked and other members were absent. The pair’s preferred tactic is faking cowardice when confronted. After lulling their victims into a false sense of security, they ambush them. The two are said to be stronger than Jango, the former first mate of the Black Cat Pirates, when attacking together, despite him having a higher bounty.
The brothers used a combination of tactics, emphasizing Buchi’s strength and Sham’s stealth. Jango’s hypnosis was also able to enhance the pair’s physical strength. However, the two were still no match forRoronoa Zoro, who ended up being able to defeat them when allowed access to his three swords. The brothers do not seem to have individual bounties, appearing to be a package deal. This is likely part of the reason why it is on the higher end of lower bounties. While they are both distinguished members of their crew, they rank below their captain, Kuro, and formerly Jango, who both have higher bounties. Their crew is also active in the East Blue, where most of the active pirate crews are considered weak.
6Chew
Formerly Worth 5,500,000 Belly
Chew is Smelt-Whiting Fish-Man and a member of the Arlong Pirates, whose first taste of serious piracy came as a member of theSun Pirates. Jinbe’s succession of their former captain, Fisher Tiger, proved controversial, and Arlong was one of two pirates to take his friends and splinter from the crew in light of this change. After the split, the newly reformed Arlong Pirates took residency in East Blue, building Arlong Park and taking over the surrounding domain.
Chew was one of Arlong’s top officers, who made use of his physiology to rapidly blast jets of water at his opponents. However, Usopp defeated Chew by dousing him in sake, setting him on fire, and then beating him repeatedly until he fell unconscious. His bounty is significantly lower than both Arlong’s and his fellow officers' bounties. It is unclear why it is so much lower, but it likely coincides with both his subordinate status and his being significantly weaker than his crewmates. Further speculation about the low bounty has arisen, as Arlong has been seen paying off corrupt marines to downplay their activity, likely meaning none of the Arlong Pirates have bounties that accurately reflect how threatening the crew ultimately was. Regardless, as Chew, along with most of his crewmates, was arrested, his bounty is likely ineligible to claim.
5Alvida
Formerly (?) Worth 5,000,000 Belly
Alvida was the first antagonist Monkey D. Luffy faced as a proper pirate. She ended up developing a crush on him due to him striking her in the face, and later formed an alliance with Buggy to track him down. Despite this event failing, she has remained a longtime member of Buggy’s entourage, having been in every incarnation of his crew in the series, save for the very first. Her Sube Sube no Mi gives her smooth, slippery skin, which causes everything from potentially damaging objects to freckles to bounce harmlessly off of her.
Alvida’s bounty was revealed in the companion bookOne Piece Red: Grand Characters. The said book was released after Alvida aligned herself with Buggy, but long before his crew gained further significance in the narrative. It is possible her earlier bounty was frozen during Buggy’s time as a Shichibukai, but since her membership in theCross Guild, any increase in her bounty has not been noted, despite it being one of the most threatening organizations to the World Government at present. Her initial low bounty, as well as lack of identified increase, is likely due to her minor presence in the story. Seeing as she is initially an East Blue Pirate Captain of little renown, her own somewhat lower bounty makes sense.
4Porchemy
Formerly Worth 3,400,000 Belly
Porchemy was a member of the Bluejam Pirates, a crew that previously operated out of the East Blue’s Goa Kingdom, whereLuffyand his sworn brothers, Portgas D. Ace and Sabo, grew up. He was active twelve years before the start of the series, and came into confrontation with Luffy and his brothers due to Ace stealing treasure from the Bluejam Pirates. Porchemy attempted to torture and intimidate Luffy into telling him where Ace hid the treasure, but was unsuccessful.
Porchemy was later defeated by Ace and Sabo, who wanted to rescue Luffy. Porchemy’s failure to deal with the boys led to his being shot to death by his captain, Bluejam, rendering his bounty unclaimable. Even by East Blue standards, Porchemy has a fairly low bounty. This is likely due to a level of insignificance in an already insignificant crew. While he is shown to not be above intimidating, hurting, and even seemingly killing children, he is also physically weak enough to get beaten by two admittedly fairly strong children, suggesting he was not that remarkable of a pirate.
3Babe (Mr. 4)
Currently Worth 3,200,000 Belly
Babe was considered one of the strongest members ofBaroque Works, with him and his partner, Drophy (Miss Merry Christmas), being among the organization’s top ten members, theoretically having high authority in their leader, Crocodile’s planned regime of Alabasta. He is a hulking individual who is strong enough to wield a four-ton baseball bat, using it in combination with his dog-gun, Lassoo’s own explosive baseballs for maximum damage. Despite his fairly high authority in the organization, he has the lowest known bounties in the organization, along with one of the lowest known bounties in the series.
For further context, Mikita (Miss Valentine) has a lower rank than Babe, but would still have a higher bounty than his, even if it was doubled, resting at 7,500,000 belly. This makes his the lowest bounty a human has had in the series. The reason for this likely ties into Babe’s low intelligence. It is mentioned that Drophy is the brains of the duo, and the much more intelligent Galdino (Mr. 3) was given a higher rank on account of his brains, despite being physically weaker than Babe. Likely, whatever crime he committed to earn the bounty was not particularly offensive by government standards.
2Bepo
Currently Worth 1,500 Belly
Bepo is the navigator of theHeart Pirates, and, alongside his captain, Trafalgar D. Water Law, one of two members of the crew confirmed to have survived their clash with the Blackbeard Pirates. He is also a Polar Bear Mink, a born warrior, capable of using Electro and gaining a Sulong Form. He is shown to be physically strong, skilled at swimming, and has enough willpower to remain conscious after a blast of Conqueror’s Haki. However, he has two of the lowest known bounties in the series. He was first given a bounty of 500 belly; the insultingly low sum was due to the World Government presuming he was merely a crew pet. However, this amount tripled after the Raid on Onigashima, due to the Heart Pirates' increased notoriety.
One may think the confusion is the result of the government’s limited knowledge of minks. That said, the government was aware enough of them to have issued a bounty on the Nox Pirates, a defunct all-Mink crew in search of the poneglyphs. This very same crew included Bepo’s older brother, Zepo. They are also aware enough to identify minks as a category of slave, apparently commonplace enough to purchase them for 700,000+ belly. It seems as though the confusion is more focused on Bepo himself rather than the mink tribe as a whole.
1Tony Tony Chopper
Currently Worth 1,000 Belly
Tony Tony Chopper is a reindeer affiliated with theStraw Hat Pirates, becoming their first permanent crewmate in the Grand Line. He ate the Hito Hito no Mi, which allows him to transform into a humanoid with the capabilities of intelligence and human speech. He is a trained medical professional and is also capable of translating animal language into human language, due to technically being a part of both species. Chopper is also capable of transforming into a variety of beneficial forms, most of which he cultivated himself, with emphasis on various attributes, such as strength, speed, or defense.
Yet his own bounties are also significantly low, once again due to the presumption of him being a pet. This is apparently a common misconception, as the Fake Straw Hat Crew replaced him with a non-anthropomorphic stray fox. However, there may be a more sinister implication at play. The World Government previously covered up the capabilities of Luffy’s Devil Fruit, which, like Chopper’s, belonged to the Hito Hito no Mi variant. Except for Chopper’s own Devil Fruit, all known Hito Hito no Mi are Mythical Zoan. Rather than classify it as a Mythical Zoan, the World Government mislabeled the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika as a mere Paramecia, known as the Gomu Gomu no Mi. It is equally possible that they are downplaying Chopper and his capabilities by wrongly classifying him and his Devil Fruit.
