Thanks to the One Piece manga, Koby, the young boy Luffy saved from Alvida and who later became a respectable Marine, has become popular again in recent months. Thanks to the live-action series, Helmep has also become a topic of interest on the web. In light of this, we're going to talk about Koby and Helmep in this article, as you'll discover what exactly the nature of their relationship means.

Koby and Helmep are not a couple, as far as One Piece canon is concerned. At first, they were enemies, as Helmep, being the narcissistic jerk that he is, had absolutely no respect for Koby, but when they started working together in the Marines, they actually became close friends, as they spent a lot of time together and came to know each other better in that regard. Helmep also seems to care about Koby, as he is willing to risk his own well-being later in the story to protect him. But no, as far as canon is concerned, there is absolutely no indication that there is anything else between them, and they are just really good friends.

The rest of this article will explore the relationship between Koby and Helmep while focusing on the very nature of their relationship and its evolution, which is also the main question of this article. If you are not fully aware of the events of One Piece, this article may contain significant spoilers, but we must clarify that no new information will be presented here, as we will focus on old and well-known facts about the two of them.

Helmep and Koby are – canon-wise – simply good friends.

Koby is the first person Luffy befriends during his journey. A polite and kind boy, he was once kidnapped by Alvida while fishing, and from then on, he was forced to do more menial jobs for her. Luffy, however, urges him to pursue his dream of becoming an admiral and helps him escape.

After helping him free Zoro from Captain Morgan's base, Koby joins the Navy and, after initial reluctance, befriends Morgan's son, Helmep, and together they become students of Luffy's grandfather, Garp. Of course, Koby's story is much bigger than that. We need to confirm it, but since this is about his early life, we won't divulge too many details here.

Helmep, on the other hand, is the son of Captain Morgan. Spoiled and fearful, he behaves with cruelty and arrogance, aware that the citizens' fear of his father would have prevented him from facing consequences. After losing the support of his father's authority with Morgan's defeat by Luffy, Helmep decides to join the Navy and finds himself performing menial tasks as a servant boy alongside Koby.

Both are assigned to Vice Admiral Garp. However, during the transfer operation, Morgan escapes on a lifeboat, protecting himself and his son. However, the boy rebels against his father, who allows him to return to his companions and resume training under Garp. During his training, Helmep undergoes a complete transformation, acquiring a strong sense of justice and honor.

As you can see, the two have a shared history, and they appeared early in the story, during Luffy's early adventures and as he was gathering his crew. Luffy helped Koby join the Marines, while Helmeppo eventually managed to come out of his shell and become a much better person than he was, especially when he escaped his father's shadow. There was a small segment called Koby-Meppo's Journal, which best illustrates how much he has changed, especially regarding Koby, whom he has grown to respect greatly.

When they both started in the Navy, Helmep began doing menial work inside the base with Koby, whom he refused to befriend. He was also furious at the loss of privileges and blamed Luffy so much that he placed a nail on a totem pole, taking on the pirate's appearance during a picnic with Rica and Koby. After the initial hatred, he and Koby became friends. Later, when Morgan was taken and handcuffed to the ship the two served on, Helmep was stunned and believed his father was about to be executed.

When Garp is handed over to him, Helmep cries and tries to reach him, but Koby holds him back. When his father takes advantage of the Vice Admiral nodding off in front of him to injure him, Helmep is stunned. Shortly after, Morgan breaks the chains and takes his son hostage, fleeing on a lifeboat. He is left speechless when Koby stands in front of the cannon pointed at the boat, fearing that Helmep is also involved.

This gives him the strength to rebel, and though his legs tremble with fear, he points at his father, who throws him into the sea. Aboard the Vice Admiral's ship, Helmep kneels in tears with Koby, apologizing for what happened. Garp decides to take the two boys with him to headquarters.

Here, the two men first wash floors, then are promoted to recruits and undergo night training: Helmep does sit-ups on a bar and then fights Koby with two shinai, covered in bruises and bumps. Later, the two confront Bogard, who is experiencing the worst. Helmep then stops being arrogant.

During a class for new recruits, Garp asks them what they would do if they found a child and an old man stranded on an island full of wild beasts, but there was only room for two on the boat. Koby replies that he would go down to save them both, but Garp calls him an idiot and hits him over the head with an object, explaining that the old man's days are now numbered and that he should abandon him. He then points out that they became Marines to protect the future of humanity, so it must be them and the children who survive because they have a future to write.

Later, Koby decides to train every night by throwing punches at the ship Garp uses daily as a punching bag. So he continues every day until his hands bleed. One night, while wrapping them, he reveals to Helmep that he knows very well that he is not fit for combat; therefore, he should have trained two hundred times harder because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to protect people or become a great Marine. He tries to stop him, but his friend doesn't give up and asks him to promise not to reveal this to Garp.

The latter tells him one day that Koby is feeling better, asking him why he always has his arms wrapped around him and thinks he is injured. Helmep regrets having promised his friend not to tell him anything, but he tells him everything. As you can see, Helmep has changed a lot and has finally become a better person; As for Koby, they have both become incredible friends, great friends, so great that they are willing to risk their own lives to save the other, as Helmep later did.

But no, they are not a couple and there is no indication that there is anything other than friendship between the two.