Holdem

Holdem is a Headliner of the Beasts Pirates, who resides in Bakura Town. Holdem is a large man with long brown hair, a square jaw, cat-like whiskers, and a pointed nose. He does not wear a shirt, exposing tattoos on his upper arms which resemble suns that have a wrench-shaped design inside of them. He wears dark pants, boots, gloves, and a tall dark hat with an insignia on it. His most defining features are the lion head, forelegs, and tail protruding from his waist due to his SMILE fruit. He wears a belt that encases the lion's head and forelegs. Like most SMILE fruit users, Holdem possesses two black horns, though they are difficult to make out amidst his hair. Holdem is a brash and no-nonsense man who takes his job seriously and is quick to loudly rebuke his subordinates when they annoy him. He seems to have little empathy, as shown when he decided to try to use Tama's abilities by force, and he is very sadistic, as he became gleeful when threatening to tear Tama apart. Like other members of the Beasts Pirates, he looks down on the lower-class people of Wano. He is also prone to underestimating and condescending people even when he has heard about their feats of strength, as he believed that Luffy only defeated Urashima by luck.


He seems to be quick to jump to conclusions, as he believed that Luffy, Zoro, and Kikunojo were accomplices of the thief Shutenmaru after simply seeing Luffy's display of strength. He also holds grudges, as one of his main reasons for attacking Luffy was that the pirate destroyed his house. Like many One Piece characters, he has a unique laugh: Gahahaha. As a Headliner in the Beasts Pirates, Holdem holds a high position within the crew and is capable of commanding lower-ranking subordinates. In the anime, Holdem showed some physical strength. After Urashima crashed through Holdem's house and fell on him, Holdem was able to lift the huge sumo wrestler off of himself. Holdem ate a lion SMILE, giving him the ability to generate a lion's head and forelegs on his waist, as well as a tail on his back. Kamijiro possesses great strength in his paws and jaw, with Holdem stating that he could easily crush Tama with the latter.


Kamijiro also possesses the ability to breathe a large stream of fire, which Holdem calls Shishi no Hi, literally meaning "Lion Fire"). However, Kamijiro has a mind of his own, putting Holdem at risk of being attacked by him. However, damage dealt by the lion will also hurt him, as he shares the same body as Holdem. Holdem carries a long sword with a star-shaped guard, and is seemingly proficient in using it, as he was confident in its power when attacking Luffy. However, he was unable to use it before Luffy took him out. He calls his blade the "Karakuri Sword", literally meaning "Entanglement Sword"). In the anime, it was shown to be able to split itself up to function as a whip blade, which can be set on fire by Kamijiro for extra damage. Hellfire Edge: An anime only technique, Holdem coats his whip-like blade with Kamijiro's fire and attacks his opponent with it.


After Gazelleman kidnapped Tama at Okobore Town, he reported to Holdem that he had captured the girl who tamed their baboon, and Holdem ordered Gazelleman to bring Tama to him. Gazelleman brought Tama to Holdem's quarters, and Holdem was annoyed at the Gifter's exhaustion after running. He then got mad at Kamijiro for staring at him, and the defiant lion responded by striking Holdem in the groin, hurting both of them. Holdem wanted to know how Tama managed to tame their baboon, and suspected that she had a Devil Fruit power despite her denial. He ordered a subordinate to get him some pliers so he could try pulling food out of her cheek. As Holdem was pulling on Tama's cheek, he received a report that the yokozuna Urashima had been attacked, but did not care. However, Urashima was then sent flying into Holdem's house by Monkey D. Luffy, and an annoyed Holdem confronted Luffy, putting Tama into Kamijiro's mouth and threatening to crush her. After Holdem accused Luffy's group of being accomplices with the thief Shutenmaru, Luffy managed to attack Kamijiro in the blink of an eye and free Tama. Soon afterwards, Luffy turned around to attack Holdem, and Holdem had Kamijiro breathe fire at the pirate as he prepared to strike Luffy with the Karakuri Sword. However, the flames were ineffective against Luffy, who struck Holdem in the face with a powerful Red Hawk punch, defeating him. Kamijiro remained conscious as Holdem laid unconscious on the ground. When he woke up later, he saw Kaido in Kuri and shook in fear, wondering if Kaido had come to execute him. He was then stunned to see his captain destroy the ruins of Kuri Castle. Several days later, Holdem ordered his men to set Mt. Atama on fire in order to kill Shutenmaru. Holdem heard about important events happening at the Flower Capital and ordered his men to turn on the Picture Tanishi to watch a broadcast. Holdem also commented that he wished he could show Shutenmaru dying in a fire to the whole country. Holdem later watched the broadcast of Yasuie's execution. Prior to the Fire Festival, Holdem confronted the Okobore Town citizens concerning the continued thefts from Paradise Farm. Tsuru approached Holdem, claiming that she would help him, but the Okobore Town citizens took the blame for the thefts. Holdem then burned Okobore Town to the ground.