One Piece: Kuma's Self Destruct Button

Bartholomew Kuma is one of the most well-known characters in One Piece. In a very short time, he has managed to change the opinion of One Piece fans with his extremely impressive backstory. As a member of the Buccaneer race, Kuma was subjected to an insane amount of torture. He and his parents were taken to Marijoa, where they were kept as slaves.

Not long after, Kuma's mother died, and she was followed by her husband, who was shot by the Celestial Dragons. Kuma had to live all by himself in a place where he was hated by everyone. It is safe to say that he was in a terrible headspace, as there was no one who would help him. But that changed when he was selected to be one of the targets for the Hunting Competition of the Celestial Dragons.

A New Beginning For Kuma

During the Hunting Competition, Kuma managed to run away and meet Ivankov and Ginny. The three of them were able to get off the island amid the confusion caused by the arrival of the Rocks Pirates. Ginny and Kuma went to the Sorbet Kingdom and settled down. As they grew up, Kuma started to treat the old people with the help of his Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. He would carefully take out the pain inside their body, which would then appear as a paw-shaped bubble. When everyone left, Kuma would touch these pain bubbles and take in all of their pain. Aside from being a great healer, he also defended the people of the Sorbet Kingdom, which resulted in his capture at the hands of the army.

Luckily, he was rescued by Dragon and Ivankov, who were probably aware of Bekori's reputation. After leaving the kingdom, Kuma joined the Revolutionary Army. They had a lot of success, and things were going well. Unfortunately, Ginny was kidnapped by a Celestial Dragon who wanted to marry her. The Revolutionary Army couldn't do anything about it, so all they could do was wait.

After a few years, Jenny called them out of the blue. Everyone was overjoyed to learn that she was alive. Kuma, in particular, was very jumpy, and he couldn't wait to go and see her. Despite his incredible speed, Ginny was dead by the time Kuma arrived. Her death shattered him, but he found a new purpose in Bonney, with whom he decided to raise the baby on his own.

The Best Father In The World

Kuma did an excellent job raising Bonney. Sadly, she also began to exhibit the same symptoms of illness as her late mother. This sent Kuma into panic mode, and he tried his best to learn what the disease was. After tirelessly searching for clues, he learned that it was called the Sapphire Scale disease and that any exposure to natural light would be fatal for the patient. When a doctor gave Bonney a few years at best, Kuma decided to quit the Revolutionary Army and solely focus on his daughter. Although he was initially met with disappointment, he did not give up. Kuma kept hoping and continued to look for a cure.

At one point, he was contacted by Dragon, who told him that Vegapunk could possibly help. Bonney. Kuma wasted no time and headed towards the scientist's laboratory. After talking to Vegapunk, Kuma learned that he could save Bonney. In exchange for the surgery, Vegapunk wanted Kuma to become a test subject for a while. Kuma was more than happy to help the scientist for the sake of his daughter.

But this is when things became worse as Saturn found out about this deal. He hijacked it by adding three stipulations that would not only separate Kuma from Bonney but would also lead the former revolutionary to become a mindless cyborg. Kuma knew that he could not bargain, so he accepted most of the conditions. In a private conversation with the Vegapunk, Saturn ordered him to put a self-destruct button inside Kuma. Vegapunk protested, but Saturn was completely unfazed. Given the fact that the Celestial Dragon was taking so many precautions, it seems that he was extremely scared of Kuma.

​​​​​​What This Means For The Story

In the recent chapter, Kuma arrived at Egghead Island and protected Bonney from being hurt. He put his own body on the line to save his daughter. In addition, he imbued his right hand with Busoshoku Haki with the intention of punching him. There is a very small probability of the punch missing Saturn's face, so for the first time, the Celestial Dragon will actually be hurt in the arc. It is unclear how Kuma managed to use Haki despite having no sense of individuality. Since willpower is needed to use Haki, it is possible that he may still have some humanity left in him.

Luffy is also eating food, so he might recover soon, after which Saturn will be outnumbered. In order to shift the pendulum back in his own favor, Saturn might decide to use the self-destruct button. If that happens, Bonney will lose her father and fans an incredible character. It would be rather cruel on Oda's part to take away Bonney's father after they had just seen each other. The next few chapters will definitely reveal what is going to happen to Bartholomew Kuma.

One Piece manga is available to read on Viz Media.