Highlights
- Kuma’s past is filled with pain and suffering, making it one of the most tragic character histories in One Piece.
- Kuma has conflicting allegiances, aiding the Straw Hat Pirates while also doing the World Government’s bidding.
- Kuma’s story could take different trajectories, including potentially helping the Straw Hat Pirates escape or playing a larger role in the fight against the World Government.
Without any shred of uncertainty, Bartholomew Kuma’s past is up for contention among the most tragic character histories in the entirety of One Piece, where his entire life has been filled with pain and suffering to no end. This is made even worse by the fact that Kuma is one of the few genuinely benevolent and selfless people in the series, always acting in the interest of others.
Although Kuma’s past was already a sorrowful tale to begin with, his influence on the main narrative of One Piece so far, has been a bit conflicting, to say the least. On one hand, he has aided the Straw Hat Pirates in roundabout ways on two separate occasions. However, he has also done the World Government’s bidding alongside this, which raises questions about where his allegiances truly lie after giving up his free will and humanity to become a cyborg. With this in mind, what trajectory will Kuma’s story take, and how will it finally conclude?
Kuma’s Past Revealed
Right at the start of the Straw Hat Pirates’ ongoing battle against Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, the scene shifted to a flashback covering Kuma’s youth, midway through Chapter 1095. It began with his troubled childhood, where his parents were enslaved and murdered by the Celestial Dragons as a result of his father’s ties to the Buccaneer race. Soon after, Kuma was taken to God Valley, where he managed to escape captivity and save dozens of slaves from the World Nobles, with the aid of his newly acquired Devil Fruit, the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi.
After escaping to the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue with his newfound companion Ginny, Kuma became an integral member of the local community, and treated the sick and elderly with his Devil Fruit abilities. He was imprisoned for rebelling against the discriminatory policies of the nation’s ruler, King Bekori, but joined the Revolution Army when Monkey D. Dragon and Emporio Ivankov arrived in the Sorbet Kingdom and supported a coup d’état there. It was also hinted that Kuma and Ginny had become lovers by the time they reached adulthood.
Unfortunately for Kuma, Ginny was taken captive by a Celestial Dragon when they were on separate missions with the Revolutionaries. Held hostage for more than two years, Ginny was forced to marry her kidnapper, and bore a child during this time, who she christened Bonney. When cast aside after contracting a fatal illness, Ginny was able to re-establish contact with Kuma and her former allies, and informed them of the ordeal she had been through. Realizing that she was now in the church they had grown up in, Kuma rushed to the Sorbet Kingdom, but it was too late, as Ginny had succumbed to her ailment while Bonney lay crying beside her.
The Erasure Of His Will
To honor Ginny’s memory, Kuma raised Bonney as his own child, but over time, she too developed symptoms of the same disease that had taken her mother’s life. Desperate to save her, Kuma roamed the world in search of doctors who could treat her, but was informed that the disease was incurable and Bonney would die from it before her tenth birthday.
Refusing to admit defeat, Kuma continued his search, until he finally encountered Dr. Vegapunk, the world’s foremost scientist. Luckily, he managed to capitalize on Vegapunk’s scientific curiosity, and struck a deal with him to cure Bonney, in exchange for his cooperation in a research venture to create humanoid peacekeeping weapons — the original form of the Pacifista project. In a horrid twist of fate, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn intervened in the negotiations, and forced Kuma to agree to having his body turned into that of a cyborg.
In addition, Saturn also made him join the Seven Warlords of the Sea and consent to the eventual erasure of his free will and individuality, as a measure to ensure that he would not rebel against the World Government. Kuma gladly agreed to all of this, and even gave up hope of seeing Bonney recover after her surgery, as he was simply happy to be able to save her from an early death. This is around the time the main storyline of One Piece began, and Kuma developed into the stoic Warlord that was introduced at the start of the series, through his cybernetic modifications.
A Happy Ending Or A Tragic One?
On letting the Straw Hat Pirates survive their confrontations with him on Thriller Bark and the Sabaody Archipelago, Kuma’s entire personality was erased during the time skip, leaving only a paw shaped bubble of his memories in Vegapunk’s lab on Egghead Island. His final act as a human was to guard the Thousand Sunny for two years, but he was later removed from duty as a Warlord after the abolition of the system, and spent time as a slave to the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise.
At the time of the Levely, Kuma was saved from captivity by the Revolutionary Army, only to escape and go rogue once again with no explanation. He subsequently scaled the Red Line and wreaked havoc on Mary Geoise, fleeing as soon as Fleet Admiral Sakazuki arrived to confront him. Since then, his whereabouts have been unknown, but with any luck, he might be headed right to Egghead Island, where the battle against Saturn and Kizaru is currently reaching its climax.
On one hand, if Kuma does make it to Egghead, he might be the exact ace in the hole the Straw Hat Pirates need to make their escape. For starters, he could either fight Saturn head on and keep him occupied while the Thousand Sunny departs, or he may be able to extract Luffy’s fatigue and restore him to full strength, which would allow the Straw Hats’ captain to use Gear 5 once again.
This seems the likelier scenario, and Kuma’s sacrifice could allow him to meet and save his daughter one last time. It also appears as if his programming has been overridden, as seen in his actions on Mary Geoise. Alternatively, Kuma could also have a larger role to play later on in the story, in the fight to take down the World Government. Currently, there are several few death flags hanging over him, and his end may just be as tragic as his past life, but series creator Eiichiro Oda may give Kuma one final moment of closure alongside Bonney before he departs for good.
One Piece is available to stream on Prime Video.
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