The Donquixote Family might be one of the more unhinged pirate crews on the Grand Line, but there was once good in them. Namely, their first Corazon, Donquixote Rochinante who was the brother of Captain Donquixote Doflamingo. Rochinante was a different type of person than his violent little brother, though it could be attributed to their different paths as children. This quiet guardian did more for anyone than the world will ever know though, desperately trying to save others until the very end. Who was he really though, and why did Rochinante risk it all?
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Who is Donquixote Rochinante?
While he goes by Rochinante, he prefers the name Corazon, his status in his brother Doflamingo’s crew. When Rochinante first appears in the series, he’s portrayed as a totally silent klutz, often falling over himself or lighting himself on fire by accident. However, once he meets a young Trafalgar D Water Law, things change for the normally closed-off Cora. When he eventually opens up to Law, there’s even more to him under the surface as he’s hiding a whole other persona.
Unbeknownst to his brother Doflamingo, Corazon is a SWORD agent for the Marines. He’s undercover, by all means never associated with the Marines. Instead he’s meant to be an informant on the inside to keep his brother in line. Even then, he abandons his mission thanks to his selfless nature. All in favor of doing everything in his power to help the young Law. Through this assistance, he meets his unfortunate end at the hands of his own family. Although he dies protecting the family he makes by bonds instead of blood.
Muffle-Muffle Fruit
A Paramecia Type, the Muffle-Muffle Fruit is certainly one of the least powerful Devil Fruits in the series. The only ability is blocking sound for anyone but the user, making them completely unheard if they need to. They’re able to completely cut off any sounds that they make, or the sound around anything they touch. Rochinante uses this to keep himself a secret from most of the Donquixote Family. In turn ensuring nobody catches on to him being a double agent.
Although the ability is mainly used for covering up his own sounds, Rochinante eventually uses his power to save Trafalgar D Law. When Law takes the Op-Op Fruit for himself, Rochinante covers him in the chest with the Muffle-Muffle Fruit’s’ power. As Rochinante dies, Law cries at the top of his lungs for his lost brother, unheard by anyone around.
Donquixote Family
One of the most terrifying Warlord crews set up in the New World, Donquixote Rochinante is just one of the many Donquixote families. That said, he is one of the only two bearing the namesake, being the brother of Captain Donquixote Doflamingo. Rochinante is the polar opposite of his maniacal, homicidal brother, with a more caring nature than most others in the Donquixote Pirates. However, the Donquixote Pirates are formed without Rochinante, beginning during his absence after the Donquixote Family is murdered.
The original Donquixote Family were Celestial Dragons from the Holy City Mary Geoise. Their father, Donquixote Homing, was different from the other Celestials though, realizing that they were the same as regular humans. Forsaking the entire family’s status as Saints, he moves them down to the seas below. Only hoping to forge a new life among the people instead of a spoiled Celestial. Naturally, his spoiled son Doflamingo doesn’t take too well to that.
Separation From Doflamingo
When they move down to the sea below them, their former subjects don’t take too kindly to it. That’s when their home gets invaded during the night, angry townspeople dragging them from their beds. All four family members are hung up outside the windows of the home as if they are crucified, with the home set on fire as they hang there. Somehow, Doffy and Rochinante end up living, but are separated in the process. In that time, Doffy comes under the guidance of Trebol, who cultivates him into the monster he is today.
Rochinante goes a different route, instead taken in by Fleet Admiral Sengoku who raises him as a son. Through training, he works his way through the ranks quickly before becoming a member of the covert ops unit SWORD. With top secret orders from Sengoku, he eventually leaves the Marines, defecting and striking himself from ever being there. Now, he returns to his brother, now making a name for himself in the Grand Line as a Warlord of the Sea.
Brother’s Reunite
Donquixote Rochinante takes up the position of Corazon in the Donquixote Family, becoming one of Doffy’s top commanders. He now appears mute though, never speaking to anyone on the crew, even his brother. To keep heat off of himself, he adopts the manners of a cruel individual much like his brother. In turn bullying anybody he chooses while keeping tabs on everyone in secret. Along with that, he’s incredibly accident-prone. Whether it’s an intentional act or he really is just that clumsy is never made clear.
It’s only through Cora that many of Doflamingo’s worst schemes are foiled. He’s able to inform the Marines ahead of time to tell them what he’s planning, saving countless in the process. Even before his unfortunate death, he tried to pass off the news of Dressrosa’s impending coup. He pleads with Law to hand a message over to Sengoku, desperately trying to save others until death. Rochinante’s reunion with his brother Doffy signs his death warrant, ensuring his death by blood.
Law’s White Lead Disease
When a young Trafalgar D Water Law ends up as part of the Donquixote Pirates, he doesn’t have very long to live. The White Lead Disease he got from his home country of Flevance is wreaking havoc on his system, leading the young man to lash out with no fear of death. Rochinante sees something in the young Law though, and decides to take him on, becoming the older brother he was never able to be to Doflamingo. Law and Rochinante leave the Donquixote Pirates with only a note, saying they’re going to cure Law’s disease.
The two journey far and wide across the seas, even in and out of the Grand Line just to try and find a cure. It’s useless though, and they’re beginning to run out of hope after multiple hospitals run them off. Despite White Lead Disease not being contagious, the World Government has spread the fear that it is, meaning Law isn’t welcome anywhere as long as the symptoms of the disease show. Just when things begin to look bleak, a new hope emerges.
How Does Donquixote Rochinante Die?
When they get news that Donquixote Doflamingo is negotiating a deal for the Op-Op Fruit, that means it’s time to head home. They plan to take the Op-Op Fruit and have Law eat it, using the powers to cure his White Lead Disease. At the same time, the Marines are bearing down on the Donquixote Pirates, making the situation much more perilous. Although they manage to get the Op-Op Fruit and Law eats it, Rochinante is not as lucky.
Doflamingo finds out about his brother’s deception, and shoots him as punishment. Although he’s bleeding out, Rochinante makes sure to stay alive, keeping his Devil Fruit active to hide Law’s presence. After the boy is safely away, Rochinante dies a hero, having helped save the one he loved and looked at as a younger brother.
While his life seems small in retrospect, Donquixote Rochinante is essential to the current plot of One Piece. He helped to save the life of young Law, giving him a real chance. In that way, he’s also responsible for the takedown of Big Mom and the liberation of Wano. While he may have been a Celestial Dragon at one time, Donquixote Rochinante is best known for being one of the most loving characters in One Piece, facing down death to help others.
