Tashigi

Tashigi is a Marine officer serving under Vice Admiral Smoker in the base of G-5.

She was originally introduced as a Master Chief Petty Officer in Loguetown but was promoted to the rank of Ensign after the events in Alabasta. During the timeskip, she was promoted to the rank of Captain.

Profile and Stats

 * Origin: One Piece
 * Age: 23
 * Birthday: October 6th
 * Classification: Human, Marine Captain, G-5 Unit Officer
 * Gender: Female
 * Height: 170 cm (5'7")
 * Weight: 45 kg (100 lbs)
 * Skin Color: Light
 * Eye Color: Dark Brown
 * Hair Color: Black
 * Attire: Floral button-down shirt, blue capris, dark pink gloves with a white trim, dark pink boots, rectangular glasses with red frames, and a pink variation of the standard Marine officers' white coat
 * Alignment: Neutral
 * Status: Active
 * Powers and Abilities: Haki (Armament Haki), Six Powers (Soru), Expert Swordswoman Specialist, Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Durability, Expert Tactician
 * Standard Equipment: Shigure
 * Notable Attacks/Techniques: Kiri Shigure
 * Weaknesses: She can't keep up with Lawless Frustration.

Power Ranking

 * Class: A-Class
 * Attack Potency: City Block level
 * Speed: Hypersonic+
 * Lifting Strength: Unknown, likely Superhuman
 * Striking Strength: Class MJ
 * Durability: Possibly Multi-City Block level
 * Stamina: At least Enhanced Human
 * Range: Melee
 * Intelligence: Possibly Gifted
 * Fighting Ability: Expert

Appearance
Tashigi is a slim, curvaceous young woman of below average height. She has dark brown eyes and wears her black hair between chin- and shoulder-length with it being pinned up by a clip. She looks remarkably similar to the late Kuina, Zoro's childhood friend. She wears rectangular glasses with red frames.

She wears a floral button-down shirt, blue capris, dark pink gloves with a white trim, and dark pink boots. As a captain, she wears a pink version of the standard Marine officers' coat. As with Hina, Tashigi's subordinates tend to fawn over her, but it is clear that they also respect her as their superior.

Personality
Tashigi was first introduced when the Straw Hat Pirates docked in Loguetown, where she was stationed. Smoker, her superior officer, seems to regard her as a protege, and the two work very well together. Despite her proficiency in sword fighting, she is usually clumsy, which gets on Smoker's nerves. She is extremely interested in katanas, often identifying their names and origins on sight; even when in danger, she may be distracted by the presence of a famed blade. During the Loguetown arc, she was even shown carrying what seemed to be a pocket Meito field guide.

Tashigi is very brave and reckless when fighting her opponents, a trait typical of swordswomen and swordsmen. She will battle anyone she considers an enemy, regardless of their reputation. This fighting spirit often turns into carelessness and has led to her defeat on several occasions, much to Smoker's disdain. Two examples would be her fight against Nico Robin, during which her knee was broken, and her fight against Law, during which she was cut in half. She is also stubborn and may refuse to accept defeat if she feels she has been looked down upon, as seen when she demanded a rematch with Zoro, indignant that he didn't cut her down. She even refused to give up after Law separated her torso from her legs and chopped Shigure in half. Her endless determination could be interpreted as a "sore loser" attitude, but it seems to derive from her desire to protect what is important to her.

Like Smoker, Tashigi's definition of "justice" differs from that of the Marines as a whole, and she does not hesitate to fight in its defense. Her stated goal is to remove all Meito from the hands of those who would use them for their own selfish ambitions. Despite her distaste for pirates, Tashigi is willing to work with them and abandon her Marine pride if she deems it necessary for the greater good.

Tashigi felt that, as a swordswoman, she would be perceived as inferior to swordsmen by default, and she accused Zoro of refusing to cut her because of her gender. She also felt insulted when Law cut her without killing her. As a swordswoman, she would rather face death than be shamefully defeated. However, this does not stop her from trying hard to get stronger and achieve her dreams.

Tashigi wears her shirts buttoned up higher and shows less cleavage than many other female characters, indicating that she is somewhat reserved about her body. This was especially apparent when she was trapped in Smoker's body, as she wore his jacket fully closed and protested heavily when Smoker (trapped in her body) took off her bra and wore her shirt completely unbuttoned. To be fair, in the freezing climate of Punk Hazard, Tashigi's action made more sense. Her shyness was also shown when she screamed in embarrassment after returning to her body and finding it in that state of disrobe.

One of Tashigi's most prominent character traits is her absentmindedness. When Smoker was chasing after Luffy during the Alabasta Arc, she failed to recognize the situation until Smoker told her what to do. The most significant example of her oblivious nature was when, in the Loguetown Arc, Tashigi spent a very long time failing to realize that the three-swords-carrying, haramaki-wearing swordsman she had befriended was, in fact, the three-swords-carrying, haramaki-wearing Pirate Hunter, Roronoa Zoro.

Abilities
Haki: There are normally two types of Haki regular people can tap into: the Observation Haki which allows individuals to sense the presence of others, and Armament Haki which allows individuals to create an invisible armor around them. There is however, a third type of Haki, Conqueror's Haki, that only a few individuals can use. Tashigi is not one of these people. Six Powers: A special, superhuman martial arts style known only by the members of CP9. Kiri Shigure (Cut Autumn Rain): Tashigi swings and cuts a target while holding her sword with two hands over her back.
 * Armament Haki: A form of Haki that allows the user to create an "invisible armor" around themselves. With that, they can protect himself from attacks, and if trained well, use it to deliver stronger attacks. Besides the increase of strength, it is the only form of attack that doesn't involve Seastone that can hit any Devil Fruit user, being able to hit the user's original body even if it's a Logia user. It can also be applied to weapons to strengthen them and provide the same effects against Logia users.
 * Soru (Shave): A technique that allows the users to move at extremely high speeds in order to avoid attacks, as well as to attack at higher speeds and with greater power. It was revealed that the principle of this move was to kick off the ground at least ten times in the blink of an eye.

Trivia

 * A fan once inquired about Tashigi's glasses, as she seems nearsighted but lifts her glasses to look closely at a sword and was seen running without glasses. The reader asked if the glasses were for show. Oda stated that she does need them.
 * In Japan, the act of taking another's sword is seen as a strong statement that implies the wielder was not worthy of the blade, and Tashigi is doing this by taking the blades from criminals.
 * Tashigi was the second female Marine shown in the series, the retired and deceased Bell-mère being the first.