- Crocodile was the founder and head of a criminal organization called Baroque Works, made up of bounty hunters, mercenaries, and other criminals.
- Baroque Works' primary objective was to depose the Nefertari family and install Crocodile as the new ruler of a whole new, superior nation in Arabasta.
- Crocodile also desired to get the ancient weapon called Pluton, which would enable him to take on the World Government.
One of the most cunning and criminally minded organizations we have ever seen in the One Piece universe is Baroque Works. Crocodile, a former warlord, founded this criminal organization. As we witnessed in the Arabasta Saga, its main purpose in being founded was to defeat and subjugate the Arabasta Kingdom. Even Netflix’s One Piece live-action series has hinted at this organization for its upcoming second season. So, it’s likely that many of you might want to learn about the ins and outs of the Baroque Works organization. Keep reading as we discuss the Baroque Works members, their roles, and much more.
Spoilers Warning: This article has spoilers about the Baroque Works Organization and its members, along with events in the Arabasata arc in One Piece. So, watch the anime or read the manga to avoid ruining the intended experience.
What is the Baroque Works Organization?
Baroque Works is a vicious crime syndicate founded and run by Sir Crocodile. It is an organization made up of delinquents, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and others. Over the years, they engaged in infiltration, assassination operations, and abduction under the pretense of creating a supreme new country in the One Piece universe.
The Baroque Works’ primary operation was known as “Operation Utopia”. Crocodile sneaked in as the hero of the Arabasta who saved their country from the pirates. But in truth, he was using this undercover organization to incite civil war in Arabasta by blaming the Nefertari family for the chaos caused by them.
Operation Utopia was conceived to overthrow the current ruler of the Arabasta Kingdom (Nefertari family) and elect Crocodile as the new ruler. Crocodile also wanted to get his hands on the ancient weapon, Pluton, thus, becoming a superpower that can even challenge the World Government.
Jolly Roger
Even though they aren’t a pirate crew, this organization has its own Jolly Roger. It follows the usual Jolly Rogers style, with a skull surrounded by crossed rapiers and a purple wing at its back.
This Jolly Roger was also teased in the first season of the One Piece live-action series (read the One Piece live-action review). Moreover, this Jolly Roger can be reportedly seen in the flags, sails, shirts, and tattoos of the members.
Rules of the Baroque Works in One Piece
There are certain rules and orders followed by this crime syndicate from the underworld. They are as follows:
- All the members of the organization are given a codename for secrecy and to make it easier to run things.
- Numbered codenames were assigned to the male members such as Mr. 1, Mr. 2, etc.
- Meanwhile, female members were assigned codenames based on weekdays and holidays. For example — Miss Wednesday, Miss Goldenweek, etc.
- Every male member was paired up with a female member, and they worked together as a team to carry out the missions. This excludes Mr.2, as he is an Okama.
- Baroque Works members were not allowed to meet their higher-ranked officers as everyone’s identity had been kept secret.
- They were solely instructed to follow and carry out the orders given by their higher officials.
- All agents can expect promotions in case of brilliant achievements in their roles, much like the real world.
Ranking System of the Baroque Works
There were a total of approximately 2,000 members in the Baroque Works organization. Therefore, like all the other organizations in the realm of One Piece, Baroque Works had a ranking system of its own. It was neatly explained by Vivi in manga chapter 155, as you can see above. I will list them out in order (high to low) below:
- President and Vice President: Crocodile (Mr. 0) served as the founder and president of the Baroque Works organization. He was at the top of the control line. The new Straw Hats Pirates member Nico Robin (Miss All Sunday) worked as the vice president to Mr. 0, so both had the utmost control in this organization.
- Officer Agents: The next-in-command agents were known as the Officer Agents. This tier of agents is made up of Mr. 1’s team to Mr. 5’s team. They were the strongest and most important agents with great devil fruit powers.
- Frontier Agents: Next up, we have the Frontier Agents consisting of Mr. 6’s team to Mr. 12’s team. These are agents who are a little less important than officer agents. They carry out duties such as leading the subordinates, fund collection, etc. at the entrance of the grand line.
- Punishers (Unluckies): Mr. 13’s team is referred to as the Punishers and is responsible for communications as well as handling executions/ punishments.
- Billions: These are the 200 subordinates that directly work under the Officer Agents and carry out the duties.
- Millions: They are similar to billions as these 1800 Million work under Frontier Agents. These millions and billions are considered disposable agents.
Members of Baroque Works in One Piece
As mentioned earlier, there are around 2000 members in the Baroque Works. However, we will only include the members that went up against the Straw Hats or played a major role in the Arabasta arc in One Piece:
- Crocodile (Mr. 0)
- Nico Robin (Miss All Sunday)
- Daz Bonez (Mr. 1)
- Zala (Miss Doublefinger)
- Bentham (Mr. 2 Bon Kurei)
- Galdino (Mr. 3)
- Marianne (Miss Goldenweek)
- Babe (Mr. 4)
- Drophy (Miss Merry Christmas)
- Gem (Mr. 5)
- Mikita (Miss Valentine)
- Mr. 7
- Miss Father’s Day
- Mr. 9
- Nefertari Vivi (Miss Wednesday)
Current Status of Baroque Works
After the combined efforts of the Straw Hat Pirates and Princess Vivi, the civil war was brought to an end and Operation Utopia was a failure. Thus, the Baroque Works organization along with its founder, Crocodile was exposed to the public.
Consequently, the organization disbanded after trouncing against the Straw Hats. Furthermore, many of its members were arrested by the Marines later on. Some were also able to escape from them and continue their journey in the main story.
That’s everything you need to know about the Baroque Works organization. We hope we were able to explain to you the rankings, members/ agents, plans and operations, etc in lucid terms. If you’re a manga reader or anime viewer, you already know about Crocodile and his plans. However, Baroque Works is yet to be explored in the live-action series on Netflix.
We will update this article in case there is new information about the organization or changes that are incorporated in the live-action series. Until then, let us know who was your favorite member of the Baroque Works in the comments below.
