[b]Name:[/b] Ryu Saitou
[b]Gender:[/b] Male
[b]Age:[/b] 18, almost 19
[b]Species:[/b] Human
[b]Height:[/b] 5'4"
[b]Weight:[/b] 122 lbs
[b]Position:[/b] Doctor (Possible Captain)
[b]Bounty[/b] 0 
[b]Appearance: [/b][hider=Human form]This is his face, but he will have the clothing that's depicted in his hybrid form: 
[img]http://i44.tinypic.com/w7ikvd.jpg[/img][/hider]
[hider=Hybrid form (Unrevealed)]Without the weapon: 
[img]http://i.imgur.com/xky8tx2.jpg[/img][/hider]
[hider=Full form (Unrevealed)][img]http://www.tattoo.com/sites/default/files/helpfulphotos/red-1023x672.jpg[/img][/hider]
[b]Personality:[/b] Ryu is a rather reserved individual. He keeps mostly to himself, preferring to spend his downtime reading and learning as much as he can about humans, since he had been away from human civilization for ten whole years. As such, he has developed a fondness for reading and learning new things. He almost always has a book on him that he can read through when he has down time. However, he is still more than willing to cooperate and communicate effectively with crewmates. However, he does still try to keep his past and powers secret.

Due to his upbringing during those critical stages of development, he has discovered a very strong moral compass and appreciation for life. He does not enjoy seeing lives end, no matter how insignificant it may seem. In his mind, there are only two times when it is okay to kill another life form: for sustenance or to protect other life. He has also decided that, if he is going to live with humans again, he will do it saving life if he can do so. He was raised to respect life and was taught medical knowledge by the one who raised him. And he has decided that he will NOT let that go to waste.
[b]Abilities-[/b]
[i] Ryu Ryu no Mi, Model: Kaeru-[/i] Draco-Draco Fruit, Model: Flame; Ryu is a Flame Dragon Human, wielder of the Flame Dragon Fruit, one of six natural Dragon Fruits in the world (each of a different elemental focus). However, it is very untrained. Presently, he can only utilize partial transformations of a single, limited section of his body. He cannot yet attain the two basic Zoan forms of Dragon and Dragon Man hybrid. He also cannot yet fly or breathe fire.
[i]Medicinal Knowledge-[/i] Having been raised and taught by the elder in a land with little to no technology, he has learned about all kinds of medication most take for granted that can be found in nature: both ancient and modern. He has a grasp on a wide range of diseases that plague all forms of life, including many plants and knows the symptoms and remedies by heart. He is still only vaguely familiar with medical technology, however, as he is still new to the modern world. Though in his bid to preserve all forms of life, he has spent a fair amount of time studying up modern medicinal practices and techniques as well since his departure of the Isle of Dragons.
[i]Memory-[/i] Memory: While not perfect, Ryu's memory is practically photographic. This allows him to memorize just about anything he looks at...however, he must actively commit something to memory in order for it to stay with him for an extended period of time.
[i]General Knowledge-[/i] Due to the aforementioned memory, as well as his ten long years devoted to his studies, he has the ability to retain a vast amount of information. While not exactly a walking encyclopedia, he does have a large amount of general knowledge about the world, and anything he doesn't know about, he will typically strive to learn.
 [b]Weapons:[/b]
[i]Claws, Talons and Fangs[/i]- When utilizing the ability of his Devil's Fruit, he gains access to dragon claws, talons and fangs. These result in attacks much stronger than his human form.
[b]Techniques[/b]
[i]Akaryu no Tsume/Kagizume[/i]- Claw/Talon of the Red Dragon;  Transforms one arm/leg into a dragon's claw/talon and attacks with it, be it through thrusting or slashing. Hits much harder than a normal strike.
[i]Akaryu no Kiba[/i]- Fang of the Red Dragon; Transforms his head into a dragon skull, allowing him to bite down with great force. Provides the greatest damage output of all of his techniques, but avoids using it on living things and prefers to use it when needed to destroy objects like chains.
[i]Akaryu no Wingusu[/i]- Wings of the Red Dragon; Transforms his back to form dragon wings. Can use these to give himself extra jump height, to attack an enemy behind him, etc.
[i]Akaryu no O[/i]- Tail of the Red Dragon; Transforms the base of his tailbone into a dragon tail approximately 1.5 meters long (~66 inches)
[i]Akaryu no Sukerusu[/i]- Scales of the Red Dragon; Transforms a part of his body into dragon scale, hardening it and protecting it, though a strong enough blow can still be felt. Piercing attacks will be more effective than blunt attacks, as they may potentially completely puncture the layer of scales.
[i]Akaryu no Yoroi[/i]- Armor of the Red Dragon; A purely defensive technique similar to "Akaryu no Sukerusu" that transforms his skin layer into dragon scale, protecting him from harm. In this form, however, he covers the entirely of his skin, protecting him in all areas except for his dragon form's natural weak spots. He cannot move of his own volition while using this ability, due to the sheer amount of concentration it takes to transform the entirety of his skin. His weight doesn't change while applying this technique, so he's just as capable of being pushed back or thrown around as usual.
[b]Background:[/b]
[hider=The Dragon Noble (Unrevealed)]Ryu was originally a World Noble's son. He was a Tenryubito. However, one day, his family was on a cruise and the ship was destroyed. As far as the world knows, all of the marines on that ship and that family were killed in a storm. However, Ryu soon woke up in the care of a large dragon that could speak telepathically to him. He soon came to realize that he had been saved by a dragon. He'd been saved out of pity due to the fact that he was a young child of 8 years. The dragon in that cavern, the elder, soon revealed that where he found himself was an island completely unknown to humans. They called it simply the Island of Dragons, where dragons lived a life not unlike human life, though naturally without technology.

At first, Ryu was angry and suffered withdrawal from his privileged lifestyle. One day, however, this dragon, the elder, took him to a large tree they called Yggdrasil that gave life to the entire island. This area of the island was considered sacred to the dragons. The giant tree bore six large fruits. The dragon revealed that these fruits are what the humans called "Devil's Fruits" and that these specific fruits are unique to this island, and each fruit is considered as sacred as the tree itself. From that day forward, Ryu began to learn from the dragons. And over a period of ten years, he has undergone a dramatic personality shift and studied underneath the elder.

One day, ten years later, however...everything changed. The government discovered this island's existence when a routine hunt by the dragons accidentally comes across a Shichibukai...and they are killed by that Warlord. They then discover where that dragon came from, and eventually, an Admiral is brought alongside that Warlord to the island. They soon discover the existence of this mysterious tree that grows Devil's Fruits...and they attempt to strike a deal with the dragons: hand over the fruits and allow them to study the tree...or the entire island is destroyed. The elder, about to accept the offer, is interrupted by another dragon, who attacks the Admiral, believing that the dragons should prefer to die than to lose their sacred fruits and allow humans to invade such sacred ground. The Admiral kills that dragon, and the dragons rally behind the now-dead dragon. The elder, now backed into a corner, makes a choice. He flies up, protected by his kin, and remove the fruits from the tree and escapes.

In the end, the dragons realize that they cannot defeat these two humans, even if they all fought together. As such, they decide what they will do: they burn the tree down completely. They would notallow these humans, so evil in their eyes, who would kill their entire species, to gain something so precious as knowledge from their tree. They would rather destroy it and bring the fruits away from the island and scatter. In the end, five dragons meet with the elder. They each take a fruit and leave the island, leaving just the red fruit with the elder. The elder urges Ryu to climb onto his back so that they can fly away. Unfortunately, they are cut off by the Shichibukai while the Admiral deals with the rest of the attacking dragons. The elder, the strongest dragon on the island, gives the fruit to Ryu and insists that he flees while he fights the Shichibukai. Ryu does leave, but is forced to hide when the Admiral shows himself. Knowing that there is no way he would escape with the fruit, he does the only thing he can think of to get it off of the island: he eats it.

He is then found and detained by the Admiral. The next day, he is placed into the Shichibukai's custody to be taken to the Marine's top scientist to study the effects of the fruit and find a way to track down the other dragon fruits. However, when they next arrive at a port for supplies...Ryu finds that a key has been left behind. Whether it was a goof of the Marine on duty or intentionally left by somebody, he didn't care. He just used the key to escape his seastone cuffs and fled the boat, commandeering another ship, and setting sail into the seas. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched the entire time....

The story picks up several months after his escape into the world. He has attempted to master the power of his fruit, and since escaped the Grand Line by bartering passage on sailor's ships in exchange for labor...to whichever sea we decide to start in. Once he arrives, he leaves that crew and seeks to start his own. He believes that he has acquired enough skills with his fruit to either gather a crew of his own (a crew comprised ONLY of individuals that he finds to be trustworthy of knowing the power he possesses)...or join a crew that already exists that he feels he can trust.[/hider]