While the Marines are the One Piece World Government’s most forward-facing element in the fight to control piracy, they are not its only iron in the fire. There’s also the shadowy governmental organization known as Cipher Pol (CP). Moreover, like a mystery wrapped in an enigma, two divisions within CP operate outside the knowledge or understanding of most regular CP personnel.
At their most basic, CP-0 and CP-9 are the World Government’s “off-the-record” special ops teams. In this capacity, they work in the background and on the sidelines to assist the World Government achieve their goals. While CP-0 and CP-9’s missions – to protect and serve the World Government – are the same, their means, methods, and principles are different. Indeed, while fans often conflate the two divisions, they are separate and distinct from one another. To better understand that there is more to the difference than CP-0 wearing white uniforms and CP-9 wearing black uniforms, it’s important needs to understand the roles of both.
CP-0: They Know the Shadows That Lurk In the Hearts Of Man
One of the strongest – and more mysterious – groups in One Piece
One of the fundamental duties of any government is to protect itself from its enemies. With its history of repression and authoritarianism, the World Government has a long list of enemies who range from pirates looking to capitalize on the global “mafia state”, to rebels scheming to overthrow the powers that be. In response to this environment, the World Government established CP-0 as its top-tier intelligence and protection division. To take on these duties effectively, CP-0 is staffed with the best of the best agents from CP’s other divisions. Its membership includes such heavyweights as Rob Lucci, Kaku, Gismonda, and Blueno.
CP-0 collects and analyzes information, identifies threats, and shares its analysis with the leadership. Due to this, CP-0 has four basic duties. Its first duty is to seek out any information, news, or data on any person or organization that opposes the power and authority of the World Government or holds views contrary to their principles or policies. CP-0 is tasked with infiltrating and disrupting the operations of the World Government’s enemies, and they protect the World Nobles from injury or harm. They also take on any operation that the World Nobles, who have direct control over them, deem necessary – including assassinations.
CP-0’s direct link to the World Nobles makes it the most powerful of all CP divisions. For most activities, it has the power to take over and command authority. Naturally, CP-0 has access to some of the most important secrets and information in the world of One Piece. This gives it the potential to bring down the government. CP-0 is the target of outside infiltration, as evidenced by the presence of Dr. Vegapunk’s agent Stussy on the team. Because they “know so much”, the World Government will take drastic measures to ensure that they never divulge state secrets.
CP-9: Semper Occultus
The undercover assassin team are completely off the record
If CP-0 is the World Government’s spy and protection service, CP-9 is its undercover assassin team. A smaller but no less effective division than their CP-0 colleagues, CP-9 is the only CP division that is completely “off the record”. This gives them tremendous power to operate independently. CP-9’s secrecy is necessary due to the covert nature of their duties and responsibilities. Depending on the “totality of circumstances” that confront an agent in performing his/her duties, they have discretion to eliminate threats to the World Government’s authority if it presents a clear and present danger. This is best demonstrated in their authorization to order a “buster call” on Enies Lobby.
The first and only duty of CP-9 is to kill whoever the World Government targets for elimination. However, while some assassination targets, such as the known leader of an island nation, are clear-cut and obvious, others require some groundwork preparation before an assassination op can be put into play. CP-9 also has intelligence and infiltration responsibilities like CP-0. The difference is that CP-9 performs these tasks for their own use rather than to inform the World Government and the Marines. For example, to kill an underworld boss, CP-9 might first use undercover agents to infiltrate the crime gang as a means of gaining intel on the boss that will be used by other CP-9 agents to conduct the assassination.
Killing comes easy to CP-9 agents. Chosen as children to enter into the Division, CP-9 agents go through a years-long training regimen that includes martial arts, weapons mastery, and stealth techniques. By the time they are ready for deployment, all CP-9 members are masters of a special martial art known as Rokushiki. Rokushiki, in effect, gives agents superpowers. Specifically, it trains agents in six deadly techniques, including Tekkai (Iron Body), Kami-e (Extreme Body Flexibility and Lightness), Soru (Super Quickness), Geppo (Air Walking), Rankyaku (Tempest Kick), Shigan (Finger Pistol). An agent can unlock Rokuogun (Six King Gun) which allows them to generate a powerful force blast that they can shoot at an opponent to inflict maximum hit damage. For all their abilities, like their CP-0 colleagues, the World Government has ways to ensure that they never defect or otherwise leave the service of the government.
All For One, And One For All
As with any organization dealing with a government’s “dirty work”, their jobs include taking on some particularly unsavory activities, but CP-0 and CP-9 have elevated them to a whole other level. They have both been responsible for or played a role in some of the most heinous crimes against humanity ever perpetrated. To their agents, however, nothing is a crime if done in the interest of the World Government. Despite their secret and covert nature, their involvement in nearly all the most important events in the story makes them two of the most active and dangerous groups in One Piece, and two of the Straw Hat Pirates’ main antagonists. With the threats to the World Government increasing as the One Piece saga winds down, CP-0 and CP-9’s role will only increase.
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One Piece
Created by Eiichiro Oda, One Piece is a multimedia franchise that began as a manga series and follows the adventures of the Straw Hat Pirates as led by Monkey D. Luffy. Luffy, an enthusiastic pirate with a thirst for adventure, is afflicted by a mysterious curse that gives him various powers he uses to protect himself and his friends. The manga eventually gave way to the anime series, with the two being some of history’s longest-running anime and manga series. Along with over fifty video games made over the years, the series entered the live-action world with Netflix’s 2023 adaptation.
