Benn Beckman

Beckman appears to be a lot less fun-loving and a lot more relaxed than the other members of the crew are, acting as the level-headed member. He, Lucky Roux, and Yasopp are some of Shanks' most trusted crew members, as they are always seen when the Red Hair Pirates are featured, usually when something crucial happens.[1] He is a well-deserved vice-captain who silently supports the crew with a deep attitude despite their liveliness.[9]

At times, Beckman seems amused at the actions of his captain, such as panicking when Luffy is taken[10] or getting even more drunk when he has already drunk a lot before and when Dracule Mihawk brought the news of Luffy's first bounty. He is the first to speak out among the crew whenever they appear. He also seems to be the first to ask questions about the crew's situation, such as whether the World Government would try to stop them from seeing Whitebeard.

He is a playboy and loves women.

Beckman is a tall man, standing at a height of 206cm.[4] Twelve years ago, in Foosha Village, his hair was long, light brown (black in the anime) and pulled back in a ponytail.[1] In the current storyline, his hair is now gray, medium-length, and slicked-back. He also now has a large, X-shaped scar on his left temple.[8] He is never seen without his rifle nearby or a cigarette in his mouth.[1]

His outfit has changed very little over the years since his first appearance; he now wears a black, v-neck shirt with three quarter sleeves (whereas he is previously seen wearing a short-sleeved shirt of a similar color and design) along with loose pants (originally of a dark green color, but presently gray) with numerous pockets on them, tucked inside his buckled boots. Like most of the other Red Hair Pirates, he wears a sash around his waist, to which he attaches his rifle in a pistol-like fashion. The only thing added to his attire is his spiral-patterned cloak.

As the first mate of the Red Hair Pirates,[2][7] Beckman is the crew's second highest authority behind Shanks himself. He holds a great deal of experience as the eldest of the crew's core members.

As a combatant, Beckman is very powerful[4] with superb combat effectiveness and agility.[9] At the end of the Summit War of Marineford, Admiral Kizaru chose not to engage with Beckman when the latter had him held at gunpoint, even though Kizaru had fought Marco earlier and even Whitebeard himself.

Beckman is especially known for his advanced intellect, having the highest IQ of any character introduced during the East Blue Saga (above the master strategist Kuro's and Nami's).

Beckman has demonstrated some stealth ability when the Red Hair Pirates arrived at Marineford to stop the war, able to climb up and sit on a Marine ship's mast to point his flintlock at nearby Kizaru, a Kenbunshoku Haki user, without the latter noticing until Beckman made his presence known

Beckman possesses impressive physical strength. Twelve years ago, he easily defeated Higuma's crew of mountain bandits using only a cigarette and his rifle as a club.[14] Beckman is also extremely fast, as shown when he climbed up and sat on a Marine ship's mast to intercept Kizaru before he could attack the Polar Tang, despite having just arrived at the scene.[12] Another showing of his strength is when he managed to take the arm clean off of the Worst Generation pirate Eustass Kid.

Beckman is a skilled user of Busoshoku Haki.[9] He is able to imbue his rifle's bullets with this type of Haki, allowing him to hold a Logia-type Devil Fruit user like Kizaru at gunpoint.[12]

Non-canonically, in One Piece Film: Red, Beckman hardened his hands to stop bullets from hitting civilians

Beckman carries a flintlock rifle with him, but he has yet to be seen firing it, instead having used it as a club on Higuma's men twelve years ago,and as a threat against Kizaru.

Haki is a mysterious power that allows individuals to harness their own spiritual energy for various superhuman feats. As this energy manifests from willpower, it is theoretically open to all of the world's living creatures; the vast majority, however, are either ignorant or unable to achieve mastery. Haki users are common in the New World, rare in Paradise, and basically non-existent in the Four Blues.

Current understandings of Haki define three distinct types, each tied to a different ability: sensing others' spiritual energy to anticipate their movements, producing a protective coating of energy from one's own body, and—for a certain group of "chosen ones"—overwhelming the willpower of others.[2][3]

Haki and its users have underpinned many significant events throughout the series—notably, Shanks used it to drive off the Lord of the Coast and save a young Monkey D. Luffy's life.[1] The term "Haki" was first coined and used much later when Blackbeard was commenting on Luffy's bounty in Jaya,[4] and was hinted at during Shanks' visit with Whitebeard.[5] The underlying concepts of Haki were introduced during the Sabaody Archipelago and Amazon Lily Arcs.[6][7] The concept was clearly explained later on by Rayleigh to Luffy at the start of the latter's training on Rusukaina Island.

Haki is dormant in every living person, but most people around the world never even learn about the existence of Haki, let alone how to utilize it. The people who do usually awaken it through proper instruction and intense training. Haki is apparently quite difficult to master, as Rayleigh stated that two years was not enough time to learn the basics,[8] though several characters managed to master it within the span of the two year timeskip, including Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Tashigi, Smoker, Koby, and Bellamy. In very rare instances, a person can awaken their Haki on their own due to an experience of extreme stress or shock, such was the case with Koby during the Summit War of Marineford,[9] and Ace during his battle against Vice Admiral Draw. Some people (such as Aisa and Otohime) are actually born with awakened Kenbunshoku Haki, and are able to use it with no known training.[10][11]

A person can also make their Haki become stronger, especially when they push themselves and their Haki to the limit and beyond in battles against far stronger opponents.[12] A person's Haki can even grow stronger before that person actually learns to be a Haki user and even before they find out that Haki exists; for example, Blackbeard noted that Luffy's Haki had grown stronger by the time of the mass breakout in Impel Down compared to their first meeting on Jaya.[13]

It is even possible to maintain and use Haki while unconscious, as seen when Newgate used Kenbunshoku Haki in his sleep to defend himself from Ace;[14] when Chinjao was defeated, and he still maintained Busoshoku Haki on his head after he fainted;[15] and when Luffy released a burst of Haoshoku Haki after being knocked unconscious by Kaidou.

According to Kaidou, Haki is the true defining factor that determines whether or not someone can conquer the sea, because only Haki transcends all, unlike Devil Fruit powers, no matter how powerful they may be. A clear and notable example of this rule was Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate; Newgate was considered the "Strongest Man in the World" and he possessed the power of the Gura Gura no Mi, the Devil Fruit called the "Strongest Paramecia" which granted him the power to generate powerful quakes and shockwaves and could potentially destroy the world.[17] However, even when Newgate was in his prime, he was still matched and bested by Roger, who did not have a Devil Fruit.[18] Roger conquered the Grand Line with the power of Haki alone, achieving a feat that multiple powerful Devil Fruit users, including Newgate, Big Mom, Kaidou, and Shiki, all failed to accomplish, even decades after Roger's death.

Furthermore, Haki also has the unique capability to reverse/nullify the effects of other people's Devil Fruit powers.[19][20] In order to accomplish this, the user must possess a very powerful level of Haki. This application has only been displayed by individuals whose bounties are well above 1,000,000,000 beri.[21][22]

Despite its great capabilities, the Haki in a person's body is not limitless and it can be depleted from overuse, rendering the user unable to use it for a set period of time while it regenerates.[23][24][25]

Notably, Haki originates from an individual's spirit and not their physical body, so even if a person's mind is transferred into another body, they would still be capable of using their Haki to the same degree that they normally can, even if the body they transferred into is not a Haki user.