Meriden (メリデン "Meriden") is the captain of the Plague Pirates and a former captain of the Marines. He was sentenced to death for an attempted assasination of a fleet admiral, but was spared the ultimate penalty by Zira Tristar and other rebels. He is a cruel and manipulative man of few words and a powerful disposition, and has a large bounty, larger than all other characters seen so far. As such, he wields fear as his greatest weapon. He is one of a few pirates immune to seastone due to his Devil Fruit ability, and thus makes him very dangerous to friend and foe alike.