G-5

Officially the Marine Grand Line Fifth Branch, G-5 holds a position in the New World not far from the Red Line, a stretch of sea so harsh that most crews are ground down by its climate and its pirates. Aokiji first brought up the branch after the clash at Marineford, describing it as a place riddled with problems. Smoker deliberately asked to be reassigned there, reasoning that the posting would keep him near the targets he wanted to chase. The headquarters itself looks battered, its structures patched up only roughly after taking damage, giving the impression of a half-ruined compound.

The branch fields roughly 300 personnel divided into six divisions. It was formed on the fifth of May. Initially set against Luffy's crew, members of Unit 01 came around and joined forces with both the Straw Hats and the Heart Pirates, becoming significant allies during the Punk Hazard Arc.

G-5's sailors carry a fearsome word-of-mouth reputation. They are rumored to skewer pirates with needles, throw them to sharks, or burn captives as kindling, and several of these horrors proved real when soldiers set one prisoner alight and stabbed another as he hung. The branch routinely ignores commands from above, obeying Smoker mainly out of fear and grudging respect for his power. Many skip the formal uniform entirely, dressing in slacks and bucket hats, and they flirt brazenly with their captain, Tashigi, while still respecting her enough to shield her in danger.

For all their savagery, they spook easily around notorious figures such as the Warlord Trafalgar Law, and they panicked at natural threats like drifting ice. Underneath the cruelty runs a strong bond of loyalty, as they consistently risk themselves to drag wounded comrades to safety. During the Punk Hazard ordeal they came to admire the Straw Hats for rescuing the kidnapped children.

In the anime, the depictions of G-5 torturing prisoners were softened for broadcast, replacing the burning scene with sailors merely brandishing torches and spears in a threatening way.

The branch was originally commanded by Vergo, a Vice Admiral who behaved warmly toward his subordinates yet was secretly a deep-cover operative planted by Doflamingo under the alias Joker. Smoker and Tashigi uncovered his treachery but kept it quiet for the sake of the troops who looked up to him. After Vergo turned on his own men and was beaten by Law and Smoker, then left to die in the collapsing SAD room, Smoker took over as Base Commander.

Smoker, promoted to Vice Admiral, leads Unit 01, while Yarisugi, a Commodore, heads Unit 06. Tashigi serves in Unit 01 as a Captain alongside named sailors such as Pike, Bomba, Bakezo, Jero, and Gal. Yarisugi later repelled an attack by Coribou and the Caribou Pirates who tried to free the captured Caribou from a burning stake, though Caribou slipped away on his own ship and abandoned his crew.