Hepoko is a minor antagonist from the early chapters of the manga, serving as a member of the Alvida Pirates. He is one of three triplet brothers in the crew, alongside his siblings Peppoko and Poppoko, and the three are often referred to collectively.

In terms of appearance, Hepoko is a man with tanned skin, a notably large forehead, and short black hair. He also has a black mustache and a small goatee, and typically wears a green or yellow short-sleeved shirt. His personality reflects his thuggish role within the crew. Like his brothers, he enjoys intimidating Koby, who held a low status as a cabin boy and was known for his timid nature. Despite this bullying demeanor toward those weaker than himself, Hepoko is completely subservient and fearful of his captain, Alvida. He is careful not to be caught slacking off, as she despises laziness, and he readily calls her beautiful, a tactic used by the whole crew to avoid her violent temper and the swing of her iron mace.

Hepoko’s role in the story is confined to the Romance Dawn arc. He is present when the crew discovers Monkey D. Luffy, who had been drifting at sea inside a small barrel. Upon opening the barrel, Luffy punches Hepoko as he emerges. When Hepoko and his brothers attempt to attack the newcomer, they are easily thwarted, and their swords are broken by Luffy. Their primary function in the narrative is to serve as early obstacles that highlight Luffy's emerging strength before his first major confrontation with Alvida. Following Alvida’s defeat by Luffy, Hepoko and his brothers comply with Luffy’s order to provide a boat and do not appear again in the main storyline.

There are minor differences between the manga and the anime adaptation. While the three brothers appear together in the manga, the anime replaces Hepoko with a different, unnamed crew member during the scene where Luffy’s barrel is opened. In video game adaptations, particularly in One Piece King Battle, Hepoko is depicted as proficient with a sword, possessing techniques such as the Jumping Chop and the Hundred Consecutive Cuts, though these abilities are considered non-canon to the original story.