Sarahebi is a supporting character, but her actions and presence give her greater significance than the other Beast Pirates.
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· A minor character within the Wano Country Saga is Sarahebi. The level of focus and development she received over the arc made her stand out among the background Beast Pirates.
· Sarahebi distinguished herself from other Beast Pirates of her calibre by participating in the fight with the Straw Hats despite only being a Gifter.
· The role of Sarahebi sheds light on the Beast Pirates’ rule over Wano Country and raises the possibility that lower-level pirates may have assimilated into society by pursuing careers and activities unrelated to their conventional pirate tasks.
Many new characters were introduced in One Piece’s Wano arc, however the most are probably only important for this particular storyline. Naturally, the biggest draw for many admirers was Kaido and his Beast Pirates. Only a small portion of the 20,000 pirates who were connected to the Emperor, nevertheless, were assigned specific responsibilities throughout the storyline.
A few Shinuchi and Gifters are among them, along with the All-Stars, the Tobi-Roppo, and the King of the Beasts. Fans are left with a few supporting characters, some of whose names may not even be relevant to this arc, after Wano’s new characters have been divided apart this many times. This is the way that a person encounters a Sarahebi-like Gifter.
Sarahebi’s visage should have disappeared into the mass of other background Beast Pirates, by all rights. But there was something about her face that stood out, and it had nothing to do with her neck’s length. For whatever reason, during the storyline, this little-known character was given surprisingly much to do, and she made a legacy that was unmatched by anything other Beast Pirates of her calibre could muster. She participates in the conflict with the Straw Hats, leads a life apart from her pirate crew, and her name is mentioned repeatedly even after her leader is vanquished. She is essential to the overall plot as a meme, akin to a fan-made character who people would want to believe actually exists.
This disproportionate attention could have resulted from One Piece’s sprawling narrative, but it’s almost as if there was something special about Sarahebi.
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When And Where Was Sarahebi?
In Chapter 919, The Ruins of Oden Castle (corresponding with Episode 919 of the anime), Sarahebi made her debut as a teacher. She disseminated false information to her students, portraying Orochi as a hero for isolating Wano and demonising Oden for attempting to open the borders. When she stretches her neck, the children enjoy bouncing back.
When the anime adapted this scene, her identity wasn’t confirmed, therefore “Rokuro-sensei” (ろくろ先生) was put in the credits. This alludes to the Rokurokubi (ろくろ首), a yokai with the ability to extend its neck. Another name for the Nure-Onna, a yokai with a snake’s body and a woman’s head (and another Gifter under Black Maria), is Sara-Hebi. Regardless, the fact that this Beast Pirate has gone so long without a name should be enough to convey just how significant she is meant to be.
In chapter 943, “Smile” (anime episode 941), Sarahebi made a brief appearance. A few Beast Pirates were shown changing to acquire animalistic traits while Shinobu described the consequences of eating SMILE Devil Fruits. Although this was supposed to be a mass of anonymous thugs who wouldn’t reappear in the narrative, Sarahebi and Pandaman are clearly seen among the throng. It’s yet another contrasting portrayal of the character that highlights how unimportant she ought to be while also making her stand out.
Finally, on the island of Onigashima, the stories of the Gifter and the Straw Hats collided. She and another Beast Pirate tricked Sanji into their third-floor Naughty Trap in Chapter 997 (Episode 1011), where they momentarily rendered him unconscious. She then demonstrated her power by trampling on the restrained corpse of the Straw Hat cook. You might almost make the ludicrous claim that Sanji was harmed more by this little Beast Pirate than by Queen herself.
After catching Sanji, the anime gave Sarahebi a bit more work to do. She chased Sanji around the Third Floor of the Skull Dome with the rest of Black Maria’s henchmen, beating him up. Sanji made an effort to flee, but he was unable to effectively defend himself because all of his opponents were female. At this point, Sarahebi begins to merge in with the other background characters.
Following this, Sarahebi participated in her superior Black Maria’s engagements as a supporting character for the remainder of the raid.
When the Tobi Roppo was vanquished, Brook’s Phrase d’armes: Orchestra swiftly dispatched her, the other underlings, and Kunyun. One would never assume she was any more relevant than her fellow victims if it weren’t for all of her earlier scenes. There was one more appearance by Sarahebi in Chapter 1052 (Episode 1079). Her students wanted to know where their teacher had disappeared to. They were a little reluctant to replace an Oden loyalist with her because of their admiration.
Is Sarahebi's Role Really That Important?
Anyone could easily memorise the names of merely ten Beast Pirates. It was Tobbi Roppo, Kaido, and the All-Stars. Things went a little differently, but these ten would have been enough to give each Straw Hat a one-on-one match. There were more Beast Pirates, but their major purpose was to provide context for the Wano Arc, opponents for the remaining allies of the Straw Hats, and a few jokes on the Gifter mutations. Sarahebi was not one of the Shinuchi who had separate roles—at least not overtly. As a mere Gifter, Sarahebi was inferior to all of these Beast Pirates. Among the Pleasures and Waiters without Devil Fruit powers, she was the sole elite.
As a bystander in one of the Straw Hats’s more heated bouts, Sarahebi’s only role was spectator by rights. As far back as the East Blue Saga, anonymous foot troops in any hostile pirate gang are assigned this task. In these situations, she was just as useful as any other spectator during the Tobi Roppo fights. She isn’t even large enough to qualify as a supporting character. She is merely a supporting figure. The sole distinction is that, thanks to her earlier moments, fans are much more familiar with her. She gained nothing but advantages from having an excessive amount of screen time and character development for the supporting role.
The fact that not much attention was paid to the other Gifters at Sarahebi’s level highlights how much attention was paid to her. A fan would probably need to check the One Piece character guide or Wiki to even know the names of the Gifters, including Sarahebi, if they were asked to name any of them while they were watching the Tobi Roppo fight.
None of these other pirates were depicted in their day-to-day activities away from Onigashima, nor did they have any influence on the conflict with the Straw Hats or the fallout from their disappearance. Sarahebi is unique in comparison to her contemporaries, not only by Beast Pirate standards but also by general One Piece background character standards.
What Other Significance Did Sarahebi Have?
A tiny role may first appear for Sarahebi. But it provides a wealth of information on the Beast Pirates and their rule over Wano Country. The supplementary material that fans are already receiving from One Piece’s plot is her story. Her function as a teacher is an especially odd one. It suggests that, rather than carrying out their customary pirate tasks, other low-ranking Beast Pirates have established themselves among the Wano people and are working for the community. In Wano, there might be more Gifters working in a variety of occupations and fields, such as actuarial science, medicine, brewing, carpentry, etc.
These lower-ranking Beast Pirates may propagate anti-Kozuki propaganda, but at least they’re contributing members of society—something most One Piece pirates can’t say they’ve done. It was easy enough to replace Sarahebi’s lost teaching position, but how other areas of Wano coped with so many pirates working as employees going missing so quickly is a mystery; judging from the pupils’ responses, these Gifters would be missed.
The Gifter also explains to devotees the origins of the Beast Pirates’ horns. It was unclear for a time whether they were all wearing horns that just so happened to seem like they were coming out of their heads, or if, like Kaido and Yamato, they all organically acquired horns. Viewers can use Sarahebi as a point of reference because she is the only member of her crew who is seen as both a civilian and a pirate. She demonstrates that the majority of Beast Pirates are only horn-wearers, yet oddly, her horns appear to protrude from her skull. She suggests that the horns can be taken off at will, whether she does so with makeup or her snake-smile.
It’s also interesting to observe how Sarahebi employs her Artificial Zoan abilities. The regrettable inability to return to human form affects the majority of Gifters and Shinuchi. Animal body parts are stuck with them, sometimes in awkward ways. When her snake-like features appear, the Flower Capital teacher, however, has complete control. This indicates that she is one of the few Gifters who is not affected by the mutation of her Artificial Devil Fruit, albeit it is probably done to emphasise the resemblance to Rokurokubi.
Even though Sarahebi plays a small part in One Piece’s overall plot, her significance during the Wano Arc cannot be overlooked. In this arc, she didn’t have to accomplish as much as she did. Beyond witnessing Black Maria’s fights, everything that occurred to her was a gift from Eiichiro Oda. She’s among the most important characters to come out of this franchise, even if she’s only recognised as a supporting role.