TV-Series
Description
Burgomaestre Wetton is a character who appears in the anime-only Ruluka Island arc of One Piece. He is a former pirate captain who later assumes the political leadership of Ruluka Island, though his methods of governance are highly suspect. In the past, he was the leader of the Wetton Pirates, a crew that attempted to sack and burn the town of Ruluka. However, during that raid fifty years before the main storyline, his ship was lost along with a group of local children, leaving him stranded. With his primary means of departure gone, Wetton chose to remain on the island and eventually became its mayor, or burgomaestre, likely through force or by rigging the local election.
Wetton is an elderly man with a wrinkled face, red hair, and a distinctive chin curtain beard, a style he has maintained for decades. He typically wears a purple military-style uniform that matches those of his soldiers and relatives. In his younger days, he was a more physically imposing figure, going shirtless with a cape, sporting long wild hair, a nose ring, and blue tattoos across his chest. In his old age, he relies on a cane topped with a red bull's head, a decorative piece that resembles the figurehead of his old pirate ship.
As a personality, Wetton is defined by a contradictory mix of desires and actions. He claims to yearn for peace and security, which was his stated reason for retiring from piracy to become a mayor. Despite this wish for a stable life, he never truly abandoned his ruthless pirate nature. He rules the island as a petty tyrant, imposing ridiculous and exorbitant taxes on the citizens, such as charging them for eating food they had already purchased. His rule is enforced by his own Ruluka Government forces, making him a comedic but nonetheless oppressive dictator. He is driven primarily by greed and a deep-seated cowardice. His ultimate motivation is to access the legendary treasures of the Rainbow Mist, a mysterious dimension where lost ships accumulate. To this end, he funds the research of the alchemist Henzo, forcing him to design a massive structure called the Rainbow Tower, which Wetton plans to knock over to create a passage into the mist. If citizens cannot pay his unfair taxes, they are sent to hard labor camps to help construct this tower.
Wetton's key relationships are largely antagonistic and transactional. His most significant connection is with Henzo, a man who was once a child in Ruluka. Wetton exploits Henzo's scientific expertise to build the Rainbow Tower, a relationship described as a negative reflection of the bond between Sanji and Zeff. Unlike the nurturing mentorship of Zeff, Wetton's dynamic with Henzo is one of manipulation and coercion. Wetton also has a family legacy that continues his tyrannical work; he has a son named Flip and a grandson named Lake, both of whom share his physical features and assist in his schemes, such as using nets to capture targets for Wetton to attack.
Throughout the Ruluka Island arc, Wetton serves as the primary obstacle for the Straw Hat Pirates. In his old age, he has lost much of his physical strength. While he once fought with considerable power using a large single-edged axe as a young pirate, he now relies on technology to fight. His primary ability in the present day comes from a mechanical contraption known as the Flame Suit, which is equipped with two powerful flamethrowers on its arms. The suit requires a support team to pump fuel, and his signature attack is named Silver Barbecue, where he blasts flames at a target after they have been ensnared by his son's net. When he confronts Monkey D. Luffy inside the Rainbow Mist, he attempts to use this suit but is swiftly and effortlessly overpowered by the young pirate. In a final act of cowardice and spite after his defeat, Wetton panics and throws bombs into the tower, his own son and grandson still inside, in an attempt to destroy it and trap Luffy and his friends in the mist forever. He then tries to flee but is confronted by Sanji and ultimately finished off by a grown-up version of Rapanui Pasqua, one of the children who had vanished fifty years prior. Wetton is subsequently arrested for his crimes as a pirate and a corrupt ruler.
Wetton is an elderly man with a wrinkled face, red hair, and a distinctive chin curtain beard, a style he has maintained for decades. He typically wears a purple military-style uniform that matches those of his soldiers and relatives. In his younger days, he was a more physically imposing figure, going shirtless with a cape, sporting long wild hair, a nose ring, and blue tattoos across his chest. In his old age, he relies on a cane topped with a red bull's head, a decorative piece that resembles the figurehead of his old pirate ship.
As a personality, Wetton is defined by a contradictory mix of desires and actions. He claims to yearn for peace and security, which was his stated reason for retiring from piracy to become a mayor. Despite this wish for a stable life, he never truly abandoned his ruthless pirate nature. He rules the island as a petty tyrant, imposing ridiculous and exorbitant taxes on the citizens, such as charging them for eating food they had already purchased. His rule is enforced by his own Ruluka Government forces, making him a comedic but nonetheless oppressive dictator. He is driven primarily by greed and a deep-seated cowardice. His ultimate motivation is to access the legendary treasures of the Rainbow Mist, a mysterious dimension where lost ships accumulate. To this end, he funds the research of the alchemist Henzo, forcing him to design a massive structure called the Rainbow Tower, which Wetton plans to knock over to create a passage into the mist. If citizens cannot pay his unfair taxes, they are sent to hard labor camps to help construct this tower.
Wetton's key relationships are largely antagonistic and transactional. His most significant connection is with Henzo, a man who was once a child in Ruluka. Wetton exploits Henzo's scientific expertise to build the Rainbow Tower, a relationship described as a negative reflection of the bond between Sanji and Zeff. Unlike the nurturing mentorship of Zeff, Wetton's dynamic with Henzo is one of manipulation and coercion. Wetton also has a family legacy that continues his tyrannical work; he has a son named Flip and a grandson named Lake, both of whom share his physical features and assist in his schemes, such as using nets to capture targets for Wetton to attack.
Throughout the Ruluka Island arc, Wetton serves as the primary obstacle for the Straw Hat Pirates. In his old age, he has lost much of his physical strength. While he once fought with considerable power using a large single-edged axe as a young pirate, he now relies on technology to fight. His primary ability in the present day comes from a mechanical contraption known as the Flame Suit, which is equipped with two powerful flamethrowers on its arms. The suit requires a support team to pump fuel, and his signature attack is named Silver Barbecue, where he blasts flames at a target after they have been ensnared by his son's net. When he confronts Monkey D. Luffy inside the Rainbow Mist, he attempts to use this suit but is swiftly and effortlessly overpowered by the young pirate. In a final act of cowardice and spite after his defeat, Wetton panics and throws bombs into the tower, his own son and grandson still inside, in an attempt to destroy it and trap Luffy and his friends in the mist forever. He then tries to flee but is confronted by Sanji and ultimately finished off by a grown-up version of Rapanui Pasqua, one of the children who had vanished fifty years prior. Wetton is subsequently arrested for his crimes as a pirate and a corrupt ruler.