Dracule Sakura

"Yes, I may be a pirate, but I shall never allow myself to blemish my integrity with heinous deeds. To others, piracy is the embodiment of sin, but when I think of piracy, I can hear the word "freedom" accompanying it. And I shall use that freedom to pursue and accomplish my dreams without restrictions nor limitations. I shall strive to become the most honorable pirate in history; one whom others can look up to and rally behind. If you still do not understand this, then look to the sun and moon. Life is contradiction, and there is meaning behind that."

Dracule Sakura (ジュラキュール・桜 Jurakyūru Sakura) is a former pirate captain of The Storm Pirates and the current swordsman for The Jolly Pirates. She is also highly recognized for being the younger sister of Dracule Mihawk, the "Greatest Swordsman in the World." Due to Sakura's relationship with her brother, it has become her dream to defeat him in battle, and claim the title of greatest swordsman for herself.

As the sixth member of The Jolly Pirates and the fifth to join, she makes up a part of the crew's group of strongest fighters, known as the Supreme Six. And her actions in the past as The Storm Pirates' former captain have earned her a hefty bounty of 99,000,000. Being a swordsman, Sakura relies solely on Ittoryu (lit. One Sword Style) as her preferred form of combat, due to her desire to rely on quality and not quantity. Thus, she has become one of the world's greatest Ittoryu users.

Pre-Time Skip
Sakura is a young, thin woman with jet black hair. Her hair falls down somewhere near her lower waist area, but is usually kept tied back in a ponytail (see picture to the right.) Sakura has blue eyes. She wears on an often basis a black band around her neck and a black, open vest that has a white interior (see picture.) Underneath is a sarashi wrapped up to her breasts, and on her arms, she wears red, fingerless, shoulder length gloves wrapped up in white gauze. Sakura wears white gauntlets on both her hands adorned with a blue design. She also wears red, samurai style pants, black tabi, and straw zori.

Personality
Sakura is known for her quiet and subdued nature. Summed up in one word, it would be "stoic." Sakura rarely, if EVER, shows her emotions, though she still has them. She prefers to sit quietly and contemplate on anything of interest, as opposed to Chris and Wyatt who are more outgoing. When socializing, Sakura has a quiet, almost whisper-like voice when talking. She's still clearly audible to others, but it sounds as if her pitch is lowered, or if she has a frog in her throat. Sakura is passionate about swords, and treats them with the utter most respect, whether they're weak blades or strong ones. Sakura prefers the Ittoryuu style, believing that truly great swordsmen only need one sword to win a fight. Thus, she practices daily to perfect her Ittoryuu techniques.

Sakura is a truly dedicated individual, willing to go to extremes to reach her desired goals, whether it be diving off a steep cliff or spending hours in a sauna. If Sakura believes the end result is worth the hard work, she goes for it without any complaining. Because of her years of learning how to wield a sword, Sakura has developed a willingness to fight whenever necessary, and as a result, she gets along well with Spike, since the two enjoy sparring with each other on a daily basis (much to Glory's chagrin.)

Despite the strict warrior code atmosphere that surrounds Sakura, she genuinely cares and loves her crewmates, believing strongly in the power of loyalty. She has ended up treating her crewmates in a manner similiar to a motherly fashion (except Bach, who seems to act more like a father figure to the crew.) Additionally, Sakura believes in doing her best, giving it her all in anything she does. She naturally expects others to follow her lead, of course.

Abilities and Powers
"In order to reach the height of one's potential, a warrior must improve all aspects of their being. A strong mind with a weak body can never move a pebble, and a strong body with a weak mind will never grasp its true strength. And both with a weak spirit will never live long enough to enjoy victory."

Swordmanship
Obviously, being a Swordsman, Sakura is an elite sword fighter, capable of clearing forests and mountains alike in a few strikes. Sakura has displayed an ability to create wind slices by cutting the air with her sword, Momoran (similiar to Zoro's technique.) Additionally, Sakura has shown the advanced sword wielding ability to learn how to cut through steel, while being unable to cut anything as soft as paper; thanks to the training she received, in order to learn to "hear the rhythm that things have." This has further allowed Sakura to use Momoran in order to bludgeon her foe(s) instead of cutting or slicing them, whenever she so pleases.

Hand to Hand Combat
Sakura prefers not to use melee combat, seeing it as indignified fighting for a swordsman. She prefers the romantic ideal behind defeating opponents with swords. However, Sakura is not fully opposed to fist fighting, and will incorporate a few minor punches and kicks every once and a while. However, the difference in her swordmanship and combat abilities are staggering, meaning that Sakura relies on her sword more than her arms and legs.

Physical Strength
Having trained with her uncle, Dracule Mihawk, since she was a little girl, Sakura developed an overwhelming sense of strength, capable of matching Zoro's to a degree. Obviously, this makes her sword's strength that much greater.

Agility
Like her strength, Sakura's speed is nothing to laugh at. An idea as to how fast she is would be her Epithet, "Swift Demon." Sakura had once been called "a graceful blur, dancing in the air." What's more, is that after the 2 year Time Skip, Sakura displayed the potential to create afterimages, by running or moving at a fast enough speed. She has made excellent usage of this technique in battle.

Endurance
Sakura's endurance is amazing as well. In order to become the greatest swordsman in the world, Sakura realized that she needed to keep her stamina and defensive strength in prime form. She has now reached a level of super human endurance.

Weapons
The only weapon Sakura carries is her sword, Momoran. She refuses to use anything else, as "that would make Momoran jealous, and she would then refuse my orders."

Haki
Kenbunshoku Haki: Color of Observation: Sakura has shown some skill in using Haki, though she had no idea what it was, or why she was able to use it. Sometime during her journey with The Jolly Pirates, some of the more Haki-enabled crew members taught Sakura how to wield her Kenbunshoku Haki, and is now able to use it with true precision and effective skill. It seems that it is this type of Haki that Sakura shows the most proficeincy in using. With it, Sakura is now capable of "seeing" her enemies' attacks before they even use them. Sakura seems to have learned how to use this type of Haki as a way to make up for her lack of additional swords in combat, by swiftly dodging, blocking, and parrying her opponent's attacks as if they were nothing to her.

Busōshoku Haki: Color of Armaments: Sakura has shown some skill in using Haki, though she had no idea what it was, or why she was able to use it. Sometime during her journey with The Jolly Pirates, some of the more Haki-enabled crew members taught Sakura how to wield her Busoshoku Haki, and is now able to use it with true precision and effective skill. With Busoshoku Haki, Sakura can create an invisible armor around her body to protect herself with, as well as use to enhance her physical attacks (as well as increase the power of her sword's blows and strikes.) This also allows Sakura to fight on a more even playing field with Logia Devil Fruit users (such as her captain,) by letting her attack "the substantial body beneath." Despite being more skilled in Kenbunshoku Haki, Sakura has still shown great performance in using Busoshoku Haki as well.

Ittoryu

 * Ittoryu: Eagle Strike - One of Sakura's stronger techniques. Sakura will cock her arm back (with sword in the appropriate hand,) and then release a massive, horizontal air slice in the shape of an eagle with its wings spread out. This technique is similiar to Zoro's long range attacks, only that the Eagle Strike covers a wider range. This is used for when Sakura needs to fight from long range.
 * Ittoryu: One Inch Slash - This is one of Sakura's oldest known techniques, making its first debut during the same arc in which Sakura was introduced. Because of this, it's not really as powerful as some of her later developed techniques, but is just as reliable as always. The attack is very straight up in behavior. First, Sakura will grab her still sheathed sword, Momoran by the hilt, then proceed to dash quickly towards her intended target. Once there, with blinding swiftness, Sakura will withdraw her sword and make a quick slice, only revealing one inch of her blade as she does so (thus, this is how the attack's name came to be.) Once done, Sakura will usually resheathe the sword, allowing the damage to be done. Appearance-wise, this attack is comparable in speed to Zoro's Ittoryu: Lion's Strike. It's implied among other techniques used, that this was one of the Ittoryu techniques Sakura used to cut apart 10 Marine battleships prior to her debut in One Dream.
 * Ittoryu: Swift Demon - This is the technique which gave Sakura her infamous title, "Swift Demon" (Jinsoku Oni.) It's first performed with a dash from Sakura, as she lunges quickly into her opponent head on. Afterward, it will be followed up by one of two variations. The most common being used against a swarm of opponents. As Sakura runs into her foes, she performs quick, precise and powerful blows from her sword as she weaves through the crowd; making this a "hit and run" technique. It's most efficeint against a large group of opponents, as it allows Sakura to use her immense speed to quickly dispatch them with the least amount of effort. When used against a single opponent, which happens less frequently, Sakura tends to use her massive burst of speed to attempt to plow through her opponent in one go; making for a difficult technique to fully block. It's implied among other techniques used, that this was one of the Ittoryu techniques Sakura used to cut apart 10 Marine battleships prior to her debut in One Dream.
 * Ittoryu: Whirlwind Shield - Unlike most of Sakura's techniques, where the attack is meant for offensive purposes, this technique is quite clearly defensive in nature. In fact, this is one of Sakura's better defensive techniques, due to the fact that it's almost impenetrable in design. What Sakura will do is hold her Momoran horizontally, and then begin spinning around in place at a rapid pace. The result of this creates a dome of air around her, with cutting properties that are similiar to an air slice if ever made contact with. This technique is so useful, in that it can protect Sakura from all directions, including her blind spot, and from above when on the ground. When done in midair, the dome around Sakura will fully encompass her being, making for an unbeatable armor while in the air. The only downside to this is that unless Sakura can remain aloft on her own indefinately, she will have to land on the ground again, thus creating an opening for a counter-attack below her.
 * Ittoryu: Eagle Flock - In her later adventures, Sakura developed an evolved version of her traditional Ittoryu: Eagle Strike technique. By repeatedly performing the Ittoryu: Eagle Strike consecutively, Sakura can create what appears to be a large flock of compressed air blades in the shape of flying eagles. The technique performs similiarly to its predecessor, but as it creates even more air blades, it's much more difficult to block. Evasion tends to be a good way to survive the technique, but Sakura has also learned to aim where she swings her sword, so as to increase the range of the flock for wider sweeping slashes.
 * Ittoryu: Swift Devil - Considered an upgraded version of the Ittoryu: Swift Demon, the Ittoryu: Swift Devil (Jinsoku Majin) first appeared sometime after the time skip as a display of how fast Sakura had become in two years. The technique's movement speed is so extreme, that no one is clearly able to watch every detail to its fullest. By drawing and striking at her enemy at inconceivable speeds which the human eye cannot follow, Sakura can perform simultaneous strikes from her blade within seconds and sheathe her Momoran before anyone can notice she moved her arm. Sakura typically tends to walk casually past her opponent and declare the technique's name, right before her numerous delayed slashes appear and slice apart the enemy. Due to the nature of the technique, it's mostly used as a finishing move in her fights, when victory is all but certain.
 * Ittoryu Ougi: Kirikirimai - This is one of Sakura's strongest techniques. Sakura positions Momoran in a position so as to drive it donwards in a diagonal cut. This is another long range attack that Sakura uses. This attack has enough force put behind it, so that it can create an almost hurricane-like gale of wind in front of Sakura, blowing away houses and the like as if they were leaves. Within the wind, there are multiple, tiny sword slices flying about at random, cutting and cleaving anything that gets in the way. This attack is so powerful, because the wind that Sakura makes can immobilize weaker foes, or hinder the movement of opponents around the same level of strength as her; while the wind will slice them to pieces, if it doesn't simply leave horrible cuts instead.
 * Ittoryu Ougi: Susano'o - Like the Ittoryu Ougi: Kirikirimai, this is one of Sakura's strongest techniques, as identified by the word, Ougi/Secret Technique. Unlike Kirikirimai, Susano'o is a close-range technique, meant to obliterate the intended target into dust, rather than to cut. This technique is performed as a vertical chop from above the target, leaving onlookers to think as if the attack truly came down from the heavens by Susano'o himself. Being an Ougi, Susano'o requires a tremendous amount of strength and stamina to perform, leaving Sakura exhausted after using it.

Afterimages
Not really so much of a named technique, as it is an ability in and of itself. By moving at a speed faster than the human eye can react towards, Sakura has now shown the capability to create illusional copies of herself when she feels it is necessary. The most common form of this technique is to run off into one direction in a short burst of intense speed, thus leaving behind a still copy of herself in the process. By doing this multiple times, Sakura can create a large number of immovable copies in order to deceive her opponent(s.) Afterward, this can allow Sakura to attack an opening created by the enemy once s/he falls for the trick and attacks. Also, this can allow Sakura to make a hasty retreat instead, if she feels that she is in danger somehow.

By creating several afterimage copies, Sakura can overwhelm weaker foes. by making it appear as if she can clone herself (possibly by a Devil Fruit power.) Another variation to the technique is the ability to perform her Juutoryuu technique, in order to make it appear as if she's wielding ten swords at once; when in reality, Sakura would be wielding Momoran at extreme speeds.

Despite being a useful combat maneuver, Sakura's afterimages aren't without their flaws. The biggest problem is that Sakura's afterimages CANNOT move on their own, and will dissipate if they come into contact with anything else, or if a certain amount of time has passed. Analytical, and very sharp-minded individuals will realize this, and instantly see through the illusion. What's more, is that the afterimages do not produce any sound or scent, thus making it easier to pinpoint who the real Sakura is. Regardless of these flaws though, unless the opponent is able to identify where Sakura is within a matter of moments, or unless the opponent is incredible crafty or powerful, Sakura will waste no time in making her next move, and will take the offensive right after creating an afterimage. Therefor, only truly skilled individuals have proven themselves capable of seeing through Sakura's afterimages, thus adding to the afterimage's reputation for being one of Sakura's greater abilities.


 * Ittoryu: Mirror Circle Trap - One of the earliest afterimage techniques revealed upon learning Sakura was capable of harnessing such a power. By moving at lightning speeds around her opponent(s) endlessly, Sakura creates the illusion of a ring of doppelgangers surrounding and blockading the foe(s.) Afterward, the afterimages will begin to dash toward the opponent(s) one at a time, and phase through them. In between the confusion and chaos, the real Sakura will dash around the foe(s) and deliver quick and accurate slashes from her sword; thus causing the technique to live up to its name. Once Sakura has stopped moving, whether on her own or forced to do so, the afterimages will fade away.

Juutoryu
Juutoryu (lit. Ten Sword Style) is one of Sakura's stronger techniques in her arsenal, just below her Ittoryu Ougi, and a notch above her afterimages. Despite going against her own wishes to rely solely on Ittoryu alone and to use only Momoran, Sakura has invented a way to use this style of swordplay without fully going back on her word. To use Juutoryu, Sakura will rapidly move her arms with great speed, creating a large number of arms in the process (each holding Momoran.) This is done, thanks to the use of Sakura's afterimage technique. As a result, it will appear as if Sakura grew eight more arms, and produced nine identical copies of Momoran (in order to do this, Sakura routinely swaps Momoran from hand to hand.) However, unlike her traditional afterimages, which will remain stationary after creation, due to Sakura's arms being constantly in motion, these afterimages will be capable of appearing as if they were moving on their own. This allows Sakura even more versatility and assistance in combat, as it means she will have "more blades" to strike her foe(s) with.

However, like with anything else, this technique has a drawback. Due to the amounts of energy required to keep her arms in such a constant pace of motion, and because of the careful hand-eye coordination that's required (so as to not cut herself by accident while performing Juutoryu,) Sakura will often feel prolonged bouts of exhaustion and fatigue afterwards, which will require a decent amount of time in order to recover from. But like with any powerful fighting style or technique, such high stakes are worth the equally high amounts of power and skill. Since its debut, albeit she feels disgusted with herself whenever she's forced to rely on it, Sakura has used Juutoryu as her ace-in-the-hole whenever she's up against a more powerful swordsman (or opponent in general) than herself.
 * Juutoryu: Bushido - The first seen Juutoryu technique Sakura unveiled. Upon creating her illusionary arms and swords, Sakura will rush forward towards her opponent, and fan her arms outward to the side. As she comes within striking distance of the foe, Sakura will pull her arms inward with a powerful swing, and perform ten simultaneous slashes, which will tear apart the enemy's upper torso, stomach and waist. The damage seems to be brutal and effective, as it was first used to defeat the squid fishman swordsman of the Phantom Corporation's Ghoul Branch, after being put on the defensive by him. The name of the technique means "way of the warrior," and refers to the feudal Japanese moral code in which samurai were meant to live by and uphold. Before delivering the finishing blow, Sakura demonstrated the name of the technique's origin, by berating her opponent and enforcing her ideology on him with references to the seven virtues of bushido, as well as the three associated virtues (making for what Sakura referred to as the "Ten Sacred Virtues;") these being "righteousness," "bravery," "benevolence," "respect," "honesty," "honor," "loyalty," "filial piety" (a respect and obedience towards parents and ancestors,) "wisdom," and "care for the elderly." She then went on to dictate that a true warrior who follows these moral codes will be as strong on the inside as they are on the outside, leading to victory. With this, she broke apart all eight of the fishman's swords, and proceeded to easily defeat him in one strike.

Team Combinations
A known list of Ittoryu, afterimage and Juutoryu techniques used in combination with Sakura's allies and crewmates alike.
 * Ittoryu: Air Strike - A technique used by Sakura, in which she holds her sword horizontally, in a way that allows someone to crouch upon the flat of the blade. Due to Sakura's tremendous strength, she's been shown being capable of lifting someone as big as Hanuman with one arm alone. Afterward, Sakura will swing her sword forward, and propel her teammate through the air at blinding speed. The technique's name changes depending on the partner Sakura aligns herself with.
 * Ittoryu: Clay Air Strike -
 * Ittoryu: Ancient Air Strike -
 * Ittoryu: Melee Air Strike -
 * Ittoryu: Okama Air Strike -
 * Ittoryu: Big Air Strike -
 * Ittoryu: Hell Air Strike -

Character Design
So how did you come up with your character? Inspiration? Creativity? How did you develop even further?

Trivia

 * Sakura's name was inspired by the Japanese word for cherry blossoms. In Japan, cherry blossoms are related to samurai, because of the brief time span the cherry blossoms have before falling off the trees and dying. This was chosen as Sakura's name, due to her samurai oriented appearance.
 * Sakura's birthday falls on May 1st. The date was chosen, due to it coinciding with the Japanese cherry blossom festival (which makes a reference to Sakura's name,) as well as the fact that by being born on the 1st, it makes a slight reference to Sakura's adept skill with Ittoryu.
 * Sakura's sword, Momoran, is also a reference to cherry blossoms, since when a large mass of them would fall, it would look like a pink storm.
 * Inspired by Oda's answers to an SBS question regarding what the Straw Hat Pirates would be if they lived in our world, Wyvern 0m3g4 decided to take on the challenge of doing the same for The Jolly Pirates. In Sakura's case, Wyvern stated that she would be Japanese.
 * Sakura's favorite color is pink.
 * Sakura seems to be reminiscent of the character Shigure, from History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi, due to the fact that both are masters of wielding weapons (Shigure can use anything as a weapon, Sakura is an elite swordsman,) and that both talk in the same manner with the same expression. One notable difference seems to be that while Sakura dresses like a samurai, Shigure dresses like a ninja.
 * Sakura's Ittoryu: Whirlwind Shield was inspired by the Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven technique from Naruto, which was used by Neji Hyūga.
 * If Sakura were to be in an anime, Wyvern would choose Trina Nishimura as her English version Voice Actress. Trina has played roles such as (but not limited to) Shigure Kosaka from History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi, Sherry Blendi from Fairy Tail, and Lily and Rasa from One Piece.
 * Wyvern thought it'd be cool to give Sakura her own unofficial instrumental theme. Sakura's unoficial instrumental Densetsu no Juutoushi is "Densetsu no Juutoshi," a track from the Digimon: Frontier anime series.