Among the Headliners, the six strongest are referred to as the Tobiroppo (lit. “Flying Six“). Directly below the All-Stars in terms of hierarchy, the six have been indicated to be next in line to become an All-Star should a current one die, with a few of them wishing to kill an All-Star themselves to take their spot.
X Drake, Who’s Who, and Sasaki are all former pirate captains (and with Drake, seemingly unbenownst to anyone in the crew, being an undercover Marine not truly loyal to the crew). Drake and Page One are also known to possess powerful Ancient Zoan abilities similar to the All-Stars.
What are the qualifications to join the Tobiroppo?
The current members are largely mysteries. The fact that they were captains prior to joining Kaido’s crew and that they all are aiming to become All-Stars indicates that they are all strong.
My question is: Why aren’t Hawkins and Apoo members of the Tobiroppo?
I don’t believe that the Tobiroppo are all stronger than Apoo and Hawkins since the Supernovas as a group have significant feats and have been proven to be real powerhouses in the New World. Law was a Warlord, Kid has Conqueror’s Haki and survived encounters with multiple Emperors, Hawkins pressured Zoro with his strawman, Urouge took down one of Big Mom’s commanders, Bege held off Big Mom when he used the Big Father, and Apoo managed to stun Luffy and slash Zoro.
At the bare minimum, I believe the Supernovas have proven to be roughly 3rd-4th Yonko Commander level. So why wouldn’t they be part of the Tobiroppo? I believe it’s one of these reasons:
- It’s simple seniority. While this isn’t the most exciting reason, it makes sense. They’ve been with Kaido’s crew the longest, so they had first dibs.
- Ambition. Hawkins and Apoo might not want to be members. The current Flying Six might have fought for their spots, as that seems to be the method of advancement in Kaido’s crew. I could kinda see Hawkins and Apoo just not being interested in becoming Tobiroppo, and later All-Stars like the current members.
- It could be preferential treatment given to Zoan users. Hawkins and Apoo both have Paramecia devil fruits, while X Drake has a powerful ancient Zoan. Given that the three Calamities all have Ancient Zoan devil fruits, I think it would make perfect sense that the only crew members able to challenge for the seats also have strong Zoan devil fruits.
*by grandslam950
