3- PORTGAS D. ACE
Portgas D. Ace was the adopted older brother of Luffy and Sabo, and son of the late Pirate King, Gol D. Roger and his lover, Portgas D. Rouge.
Hunted by the World Government for his lineage, Ace was captured and sentenced to death, which resulted in the Battle of Marineford in an all out clash of powers. Ace was freed, but he sacrificed his life to protect his younger brother from Akainu.
His death ultimately proved to be the catalyst leading to Luffy to train for two years to become strong enough to protect his friends, paving the way for the second half of the series.
2- KOZUKI ODEN
Kozuki Oden was the daimyo of Kuri in Wano Country.
For 5 years of his life, Oden set out to sea and became a pirate, serving as the 2nd division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates and later becoming a member of the Roger Pirates. After finding Joy Boy’s treasure on Laugh Tale, Oden journeyed home and made it his goal to open Wano’s borders to the world by finally taking his father’s place as Shogun. However, he met opposition from his usurper Kurozumi Orochi and pirate Kaido.
Orochi threatened to deliver hundreds of kidnapped citizens to Kaido as a tribute, giving Oden an ultimatum provided that he humiliated himself in front of everyone every week to spare a hundred lives with each dance as per his reparations to the Kurozumi Family. With little choice, Oden started to follow Orochi’s terms. Not knowing the truth, the citizens were shocked and disappointed and their opinion of Oden started to degrade.
Kaido heavily respected Oden’s strength, and so used trickery and deception to overcome him, first by having him follow a deal with Orochi that would not be honored, then striking him from behind during their battle while he was distracted.
Oden and the Scabbards were then imprisoned in the Flower Capital and sentenced to be boiled to death in the public square of the capital.
During Oden’s execution, the citizens initially mocked him until Shinobu revealed the reason for Oden’s actions during the past five years. Afterwards, the citizens became remorseful for treating Oden poorly and cheered for Oden to survive. The spectators grieved when Oden ultimately died.
Oden died a legendary death and you can see just how hard this hit the Scabbards in particular. To them, he was more than just a leader, he was like a father figure who protected them to the bitter end, much like Whitebeard. The symbolic imagery of carrying all his retainers while being boiled alive is one of the saddest ones in the whole series.
1- GOING MERRY
The Going Merry was the first ship of the Straw Hat Pirates that they used as their main mode of transportation through the East Blue all the way to Water 7.
Over time, the ship came to be loved by the crew as a home and as a friend, so much so that she literally took on a life of her own and became just as much a part of the crew as any of them. Unfortunately, the Going Merry took an inordinate amount of damage during her “lifetime”, being blown up, impaled, sliced up multiple times, and partially eaten by Wapol. Eventually, the Going Merry could no longer continue and after helping the Straw Hats escape Enies Lobby, it received a Viking funeral.
