Johnny's partner and fellow pirate bounty hunter, Yosaku, wields a sword but rarely has the chance to display his skills due to the low-level pirates he encounters after meeting Luffy. He and Johnny first encounter Luffy and his crew right after the "Black Cat Pirates" arc when the Going Merry, while testing its new cannons, blasts their tiny island. After being brought aboard, Yosaku's scurvy is cured, and they stay on the Going Merry for some time since their boat was destroyed in the cannon blast.
They accompany the Straw Hats through the "Don Krieg" and "Arlong Park" arcs, eventually deciding to stay behind at Cocoyashi Village to assist the villagers. Both Yosaku and Johnny are acquainted with Zoro from several years before he joined the Straw Hats. In the anime, their meeting with Zoro is depicted in a dream sequence that Zoro experiences.
