Dama

"God-Speaker" Dama, born and more commonly known as Shin Sei, is a self-proclaimed mercenary who will kill or fight anything if paid enough. He is known for his very steep prices. He can't really be classified as a mercenary, however, as he also takes hitman jobs. He is a prominent character in Flee, Dear Shining Moon and the main protagonist of Toss a Coin, Oh Valley of Plenty.

Background
He was born Shin Sei to a family of poor thieves. He accidentally ate the Speak-Speak Fruit they intended to sell at the age of 10, and at age 12 was taken from his abusive household by Tsuru, who raised him. He was originally to become a Marine, until he saw corrupt the World Government is and decided to simply "do [his] own thing." Tsuru allowed it, but only if he promised never to become a pirate or part of the Revolutionary Army, a promise he made easily. He had no intention of joining any particular side.

Very quickly, Sei made a name for himself as an extremely expensive but very reliable hire. He was never given a bounty because the World Government didn't want him to feel he had to fight against them or the Marines, though that was never something he cared about in the first place. He is known for being a talented fighter, fighting more so with his fists and body than his Devil Fruit. Because the effects of the Speak-Speak Fruit are difficult to limit and target, he usually uses it as a last resort.

He encountered and befriended one of his targets when he was 25, who, after learning of his mission to kill him, offered Sei "immortality," or at least immunity to aging. Sei is, by all technicalities, 68 years old, but at the hands of the Op-Op Fruit, he has gained eternal youth. The same year, he met Gol D. Roger, who took a liking to him very quickly and kept asking him to join his crew despite no one else being particularly fond of the hitman and his psychopathic tendencies. He introduced himself to the crew as "Dama," which is now both what the Roger Pirates call him, and his preferred name.

After the execution of Gol D. Roger, but unknown means, the Pirate King's head came into his possession, and he now owns Roger's preserved skull. It is his only "true possession."

Appearance
Dama has messy blond hair, drooped dark gold eyes with heavy eye bags, very pale skin, and a muscular form. He almost always wears a grey button-up with messily rolled up sleeves and vest over it tucked into brown pants. He can only be rarely seen with anything on him aside from money sacks, severed heads or some other trophy from a fight he just won.

Personality
Dama is level-headed and calm and is, by all appearances, immune to the feelings of stress and pressure. He never shows any sense of urgency and tends to act, move and even speak rather slowly. This is all for appearances, however, as he has proven himself to be shrewd, observant and quick on his feet when the situation calls for it. As observed, he is very cautious, flirting and joking to distract from his attempts to gather information. He is very self-assured and confident, something nobody can call him out on because it is entirely founded and a realistic amount considering his skill.

Dama generally disregards the importance of human life, and claims to feel no need to care to preserve anyone's life except his own. He has said he understands in the abstract why people are selfless and like to help others, but he is not like that. But this is yet another ruse, as Luffy realizes, when he helps the Straw Hats set off to Fishman Island, having arrived with Robin and protected her over the course of the timeskip.

He is capable of growing fond of others, as can be seen with how he tells a confused Robin, "Well, you paid me a few million, didn't you?" When they both knew she hadn't paid him a thing to protect her on the way back to Sabaody. This does not mean he wouldn't kill her as she told the Straw Hats after they asked if she was on his whitelist, however. Before encountering Robin, people were nothing but toys and sources of entertainment to Dama. He had detached himself from life and acted like some kind of otherworldly spectator. Though he may favor one toy at any given time, if it burns, he'll just find another.

He introduced himself to Red Beast as "Dama" for reasons he didn't know but eventually realized how much freer he felt as "Dama" compared to "Shin Sei." Though much of his so-called callous nature has carried over, as Dama he feels more free to be himself. As of the end of the timeskip, Dama has become a much more easygoing, carefree and cool-headed than before. It looks to almost anyone as if his behavior has not changed at all, but Red Beast and the Straw Hats know better.

Toss a Coin, Oh Valley of Plenty
The name "Dama" is mentioned at no point in the story until the very end, when he meets Red Beast formally on Rusukaina, having been called in by Rayleigh for a favor.

Tsuru
Dama has said he would kill even his own mother if paid enough money, but this is a questionable statement, seeing as he hates his biological mother, and he has yet to in any context call Tsuru his mother. That being said, he is still willing to hurt Tsuru, but he would never kill her nor draw her blood. She is the one person who can live without any fear he would touch her unless she challenges him to a duel or spar. Her name is the only one Dama says with the "-san" honorific, or any polite honorific for that matter, implying he holds great respect for her. The way he acts around her is akin to a puppy with its master.

Sengoku
Sengoku was a fairly prominent character in Dama's childhood and early life, and hid away the corrupt parts of the Marines and World Government, knowing he was too young to understand it well enough. However this would lead to later tensions. When Dama tried to join, he would have been "old enough" to understand the corruption. Sengoku saw him as a child for too long and he was angry with Sengoku for not showing him how corrupt the Marines were and that maybe he would have spent all this time thinking of ways to help the situation. In a broader sense, Sengoku is why Dama never joined the Marines.

Monkey D. Garp
To Garp, Dama is yet another grandson he failed to bring into the Marines, but the tensions between them are much lighter because he did not become a pirate. He was pleased to hear that even if Dama didn't want to become a Marine, he also didn't want to become a pirate. Garp was concerned about Dama and Red Beast's relationship and if Dama would become a pirate, but Dama brushed it off, explaining that he merely finds Red Beast amusing and isn't actually partaking in any of his activities, merely following him around.

Nami
They met for the first time on Jaya when Nami tried to warn Dama about a pick pocketer, only for Dama to kill the thief by slamming them into the ground hard enough to crack the stone. She was terrified of him and when he looked at her, it was like he recognized her. But he just turned away, not caring, and tossed the corpse into a garbage pile. She encountered Dama again when he walked in on Luffy and Zoro being mocked in the bar. Nami was instantly on guard and the whole bar fell silent. He glanced over the trio before telling Bellamy to loosen up. The three left soon after and Nami's fear was slowly replaced by curiosity.

When she sees him again on Sabaody, Nami almost walks past until Dama is suddenly next to her, Chopper and Usopp, asking if they've seen Robin. Though Nami was wary at first, she just told him to follow them. He shrugged and complied. He reached the ship, and Robin was happy to see him, engaging in friendly conversation until Sanji, Zoro and Luffy came hurtling. Zoro and Luffy recognized Dama, asking why he was there, and he explains he took Robin to Sabaody, something the woman confirmed. Luffy was about to thank him when Dama suddenly turned around, telling them he has a few bugs to pick off before launching back onto the island to help engage the Marines. Nami doesn't necessarily like Dama, but she respects him.

Nico Robin
They first met on Tequila Wolf, where he was just wandering around aimlessly. He recognized her and she panicked, but he just nodded in greeting before continuing on his way. Flabbergasted, she tried to call after him, but was hit. Later that night, her "dorm" was visited by Dama, who just tore the door off. They had a small chat before he broke off her chains with ease and guided her away. When she questioned their destination, he merely said: "Somewhere you'll have people you can rely on." He dropped her off in front of the Revolutionary Army base, knocking on the door before telling her to stay and wait. Dama was about to leave himself but was stopped by one of the revolutionaries, telling him to "actually earn all that money [he] charge[s]" and to come inside. So he does, looking tired. He introduces himself to Robin and she is surprised the supposedly ruthless mercenary-slash-hitman rescued her. Dama just shrugged, not explaining himself.

Over the course of the timeskip, Dama and Robin are around each other a lot. Supposedly Dragon had paid him to take care of her, and she found out only as he took her back to Sabaody that he did it for free. Robin looks up to Dama to a decent extent for his straightforward, blunt and generally no-nonsense attitude, and the power he possesses that can back up the amount of self-confidence he has. When she hears he's taking part in the Corrida Colosseum, she very seriously warns Luffy against aggravating or provoking him because "He could easily get a bounty of over one billion if he was to become a criminal. Don't anger him if you have the option not to." All of that being said, Dama has openly stated he respects Robin for her perseverance.

Calogero Grindel
He and Grindel have known each other for a very long time, since she began to sail with the Whitebeard Pirates 13 years before the end of the timeskip. They have a friendly sibling-like relationship that developed over those many years. She commented: "He looks exactly the same as the day I first met the bastard."

Overview
As someone known across the world for his power and wildcard-nature, he is both feared and respected. His name is known, thought not many know his face. Being the honorary son of Vice-Admiral Tsuru has given him even more notoriety within the Marine ranks, who know just how strong he is better than the public. It has been said this lack of knowledge may be for the greater good. Because most don't know his face and he looks very lazy and relaxed, he is almost always underestimated, or assumed to be trying to provoke others. In all reality that's just how he usually acts.

Physical
In terms of fighting, Dama is known for his proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. He has displayed Herculean strength, superhuman stamina and impressive speed. Having grown up in a Marine-heavy environment, he had to learn to use a blade, and as a result, the power in his swings, both armed and unarmed, are capable of shattering huge chunks of pure metal. He is also capable of moving and fighting well enough while being exposed to Seastone.

Speed and Agility
Dama possesses tremendous speed, agility and reflexes, all a necessity to gain as a direct result of his Devil Fruit's nature. He is able to keep up with Luffy when he tries to attack him from behind, dodging with the bare minimum of movement necessary.

Durability/Endurance
Being at the level of a Big Mom Ambassador, Dama is capable of taking massive amounts of physical damage but remain standing, conscious and able. Not much is known about his durability or endurance yet.

Observation

 * Observation Haki allows Dama to sense the presence, emotion, and intent of others and greatly aid his reflexes to dodge attacks. He is just reaching the point where he can predict moves in the future, but isn't quite there yet.

Armament

 * Dama uses Armament Haki as his primary means of combat, as someone who fights bare-handed. He can apply Armament Haki to nearly his whole body but needs to focus it in the given half of the body if he's about to project his Haki through his legs or arms. Dama's aura takes the form of a liquid seeming to swirl and flow around him, and is a green-blue color.

Devil Fruit
He ate the Speak-Speak Fruit (Koto Koto no Mi) to escape starvation when he was 5 years old, and eventually cast out at 6 because he couldn't control his powers and was becoming a liability to his family and the other locals. It gives him the ability to manipulate his surroundings through speech, whether that be physical manipulation, healing injuries or psychological effects. Like all Devil Fruit users, Dama was unable to control or effectively use his powers for a while until beginning to train under Tsuru at 7 to learn how to use it effectively.

Dama is capable of manipulating the physical space around him as long as he says the right command, but smaller objects like coffee cups or knives, he can manipulate without speaking and merely thinking the command instead. The main downside to this is that if he gives a command to living beings, all living beings who hear the command will also carry out the action. For example, to eliminate an entire ship, Dama said: "Kill yourself" to only the captain, but everyone in the room also committed suicide. Commands must be specific, however: for example, telling a commander to "end the conflict" will do nothing. Dama must instead say "surrender." He must be very specific, or his commands may either not activate, or not do what he wants.

He has since created an amplifier around his neck to make his voice louder, but it is very difficult to aim the fruit's powers at a single individual as it requires a huge amount of focus.

Trivia

 * The name "Shin Sei" comes from what would be the Japanese spelling of his epithet "Shinsei" (神声, lit. "Holy Voice"), which is translated as "God-Speaker."