Bartholomew Kuma

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Japanese Name

Nikyu Nikyu no Mi

Romanized Name

Bāsoromyū Kuma

Official English Name

Bartholomew Kuma

Debut

Chapter 233; Episode 151

Affiliations

Revolutionary Army;Freedom Fighters (former);Seven Warlords of the Sea (former); Sorbet Kingdom (former)

Occupations

Army Commander of the Revolutionary Army; Slave (former); Warlord of the Sea (former); King of Sorbet Kingdom (former); Pastor (former)

Origin

South Blue (Sorbet Kingdom)

Residence

Sorbet Kingdom (former); Baltigo (former); Egghead (former, temporary); Mary Geoise (former); Sabaody Archipelago (former, temporary)

Alias

PX-0 (PX-0, Pīekkusu Zero?) "Kumachi" (くまちー, Kuma-chī?)

Epithet

"Tyrant" (暴君, Bōkun?) "Pacifist" (平和主義者, Heiwashugi-sha?) "Hero" (ヒーロー, Hīrō?)

Status

Alive

Age

45 (debut) 47 (after timeskip)

Birthday

February 9th

Height

689 cm (22'7")

Blood Type

X

Bounty

296,000,000

Japanese Voice

Hideyuki Hori (adult);Nobuhiko Okamoto (young)

English Voice

Funimation:Joel McDonald;Zeno Robinson (young)

English Name

Paw-Paw Fruit

Meaning

Paw

Type

Paramecia

Introduction

Bartholomew Kuma is a former Warlord of the Sea, the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, and most notably an officer, as well as founding member of the Revolutionary Army with a bounty of 296,000,000. As a pirate, Kuma sailed the seas as a single-person pirate crew. He is also the adoptive father of Jewelry Bonney, daughter of his late friend and fellow revolutionary Ginny. Kuma is a member of the near-extinct special race known as the Buccaneers, inherited from his late father Clapp. Because of the lies told to the public by the World Government, Kuma became feared as an extremely vicious pirate, earning himself the title "Tyrant". In exchange for curing Bonney of the deadly Sapphire Scales disease, Kuma became a special type of cyborg known as a "Pacifista", developed by the world renowned scientist Vegapunk. Once Vegapunk finished his modifications on Kuma, the Warlord was converted into the first complete Pacifista cyborg, with the serial PX-0, and mentally died in the process. Vegapunk also cloned Kuma as S-Bear, one of the Seraphim that were designed to replace the Warlords. Kuma has been enslaved by the World Nobles twice in his lifetime: The first time was in his infancy until he escaped during the God Valley Incident and the second time in adulthood as punishment for the two years he spent protecting the Thousand Sunny and lasted until his fellow revolutionaries freed him during the most recent Levely. While Kuma was presented as a major antagonist during the Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago Arcs, he was secretly an ally. His action of separating the Straw Hat Pirates was ultimately done in their best interest, as it saved them from Admiral Kizaru and helped the crew's captain Monkey D. Luffy realize that his crew was too weak to survive in the New World; thus, Kuma played a key role in the subsequent timeskip. In his mindless state, Kuma is a major antagonist in the Marineford Arc where he took part in the Summit War of Marineford and sided with the Marines, along with most of the other Warlords, but he later becomes a major ally during the Egghead Arc and an important figure behind its ongoings.Bartholomew Kuma is a former Warlord of the Sea, the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, and most notably an officer, as well as founding member of the Revolutionary Army with a bounty of 296,000,000. As a pirate, Kuma sailed the seas as a single-person pirate crew. He is also the adoptive father of Jewelry Bonney, daughter of his late friend and fellow revolutionary Ginny. Kuma is a member of the near-extinct special race known as the Buccaneers, inherited from his late father Clapp. Because of the lies told to the public by the World Government, Kuma became feared as an extremely vicious pirate, earning himself the title "Tyrant". In exchange for curing Bonney of the deadly Sapphire Scales disease, Kuma became a special type of cyborg known as a "Pacifista", developed by the world renowned scientist Vegapunk. Once Vegapunk finished his modifications on Kuma, the Warlord was converted into the first complete Pacifista cyborg, with the serial PX-0, and mentally died in the process. Vegapunk also cloned Kuma as S-Bear, one of the Seraphim that were designed to replace the Warlords. Kuma has been enslaved by the World Nobles twice in his lifetime: The first time was in his infancy until he escaped during the God Valley Incident and the second time in adulthood as punishment for the two years he spent protecting the Thousand Sunny and lasted until his fellow revolutionaries freed him during the most recent Levely. While Kuma was presented as a major antagonist during the Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago Arcs, he was secretly an ally. His action of separating the Straw Hat Pirates was ultimately done in their best interest, as it saved them from Admiral Kizaru and helped the crew's captain Monkey D. Luffy realize that his crew was too weak to survive in the New World; thus, Kuma played a key role in the subsequent timeskip. In his mindless state, Kuma is a major antagonist in the Marineford Arc where he took part in the Summit War of Marineford and sided with the Marines, along with most of the other Warlords, but he later becomes a major ally during the Egghead Arc and an important figure behind its ongoings.

Appearance

Summary

Kuma is an enormous man, being 689 cm tall. He is the second tallest of the former Warlords (being three centimeters shorter than Gecko Moria) and is usually seen carrying a Bible. His hair is generally long and curly, and sometimes includes a pair of round protrusions resembling bear ears. He wears glasses with clear-mirrored lenses which cover his cybernetic eyes. Prior to his conversion into a cyborg, his eyes were normal. His white hat and the dark blue fabric of his pants are covered in brown spots. His jacket contains a large white design reminiscent of a target crosshair or a coda sign. There are also several white paw prints lining the bottom hem of his coat. He also has a long protruding chin. He bears the tattoo "PX-0" on the left side of the base of his throat, after the final touches were done on him becoming a complete cyborg before the Summit War of Marineford. Notably, having eaten the Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi, Kuma has thick, mammalian paw pads in both palms. For this reason, he must typically wear a pair of gloves to prevent his power from "bouncing" away unintended objects (such as his Bible) or people. These gloves are dark, appearing brown in the anime, and dark gray in Pirate Warriors 2. In the anime, Kuma's hair and jacket are black, and his hat is gray with black paw-like prints. In the manga, Oda originally intended for Kuma to have a completely different color scheme. Kuma's hair was shown to be brown, his jacket bright orange, and his hat light brown with green spots. Later on the cover of Chapter 532, his coat was changed from orange to blue and his hat was changed from light brown with green spots to white with brown spots, though the rest of his design remained untouched. Later still, on Volume 90, Kuma's hair was changed to black while his hat was changed to white with black spots, matching his depiction in the anime. This was reverted to the previous coloring of brown hair with the updated outfit colors for Volume 109. In Unlimited Cruise, Kuma's jacket is brown. After the timeskip, Kuma's cybernetic armor has become heavily damaged, with a few weapons jutting out of his body, fruits of his mission to protect the Thousand Sunny from attackers for two years. Due to his subsequent enslaving at Mary Geoise, he wore rags similar to the ones Jean Bart once wore when he was a slave, a collar and chain around his neck, has even more swords jutting out of his body as result of the World Nobles inflicting damage onto him for their own amusement, one of his cybernetic eyes is missing and he no longer holds his signature Bible. After he was freed from slavery, he went back to his original clothes and had all the swords removed from his body and it appears that his cybernetics have been repaired. After encountering Sakazuki at Mary Geoise, a portion of Kuma's face was burned off by the fleet admiral's magma. Having been a slave to the World Nobles as a child and in adulthood, Kuma should have been branded with the Hoof of the Flying Dragon, though it is unknown where it is on his body. As a child, Kuma's head was shaved, thus lacking his bear ears, glasses, and cybernetic enhancements he received later on. He was already bigger than average children and usually wore tattered clothing. As a baby and a four-year old, he had blushy cheeks, which he inherited from his mother.

Gallery

Main Series

Video Games

Other

Personality

Summary

Kuma is a tragic and complex individual who has experienced major turmoils and sacrifices throughout his life that have greatly altered his overall character. While kind and self-sacrificing at heart, his struggles and choices have seemingly led him to a point where he can no longer be considered a live human being with free will. During his early childhood, Kuma was a pretty cheerful kid before his subsequent enslavement and the death of his parents broke him into utter despair. That said, the buccaneer folk tales about the legend of Nika his father Clapp told him gave Kuma happiness, hope and a hero figure to idolize amidst his life as a slave. Kuma has since grown into someone who seeks to liberate people from oppression by corrupt authorities, much like the figure of Nika, due to having been an oppressed victim himself. He has similarly shared this story with his daughter Bonney, in order to provide the same hope to her that his father once did to him. As a result of his worship of Nika and likely love for his deceased father, Kuma tends to break into dancing to the Rhythm of Liberation whenever the topic of his idol comes up. Because he was raised in a church, Kuma is deeply religious and tends to pray for long periods, which is reflected nowadays by his signature bible and aforementioned devotion to Nika. Even after escaping slavery, young Kuma was extremely kind and forgiving, willing to use his powers to treat the wounds of even those who would bully him, never showing any sort of grudge or resentment against said people. He would eventually grow up into an altruistic pastor, always helping those in need even if at the expense of his own life and physical well-being. In spite of his epithet implying a violent personality, Kuma was an extraordinarily gentle man, whose kindness earned him great respect from his fellow Revolutionaries. That said, there was a period after the abduction of his friend and romantic interest Ginny when Kuma became a more audacious and aggressive soldier who would recklessly charge into battle by himself, often exhausting himself as a result. It was only after making contact with Ginny again and finding an infant Bonney near her dead mother that Kuma would revert back to his original mellow persona. Kuma was a very loving father to his adopted daughter, Bonney, having raised her out of love and respect for Ginny. Indeed, Bonney vouched that her father's reputation as an evil tyrant was falsely advertised by the Government and that he is in fact, an extremely kind individual. When King Bekori set fire to the southern side of Sorbet Kingdom to massacre the poor citizens by burning them alive in their homes, Kuma risked his own safety in an attempt to rescue the victims by braving the raging inferno, which led to him being elected King by Sorbet's population due to his great benevolence and selflessness. By Kuma's own admission, he is a pacifist by nature, although one willing to fight back, if necessary, in order to maintain peace. Even after taking part in the Pacifista project and becoming an agent for the World Government, Kuma kept most of his original personality and positive qualities intact for a brief time, but still had to maintain an intimidating image towards pirates due to his position as a Warlord of the Sea, which likely further contributed to his image as a loyal "government dog" among those who did not know him (even other Warlords, such as Gecko Moria). During this time, he consistently acted calm and composed; he generally did not speak much unless it was absolutely necessary and maintained a stoic disposition at all times. While he would still exhibit some unique quirks of his own, like using the word "target" in his sentences or asking people where they would like to go on a holiday before sending them away with his Devil Fruit ability (a habit that he seemingly picked up from his time as a stay-at-home father), Kuma always presented himself as a serious, enigmatic person, keeping very few people aware of his true motivations. Despite earning himself such an unflattering reputation, Kuma's usual mercy and empathy were put on display when he honored and respected Zoro's choice for putting his own life on the line for his captain's safety. Kuma was willing to give the swordsman a chance to save Luffy, in spite of conflicting with the mission that he was assigned. Despite being perceived as the most dutiful of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Kuma was never really loyal to the World Government's cause and frequently acted against their interests through subtle, deniable manners. Kuma's loyalty similarly did not extend to the Marines. Because of that, Kuma did not hesitate to lie to Sengoku when it came to his ambiguous victory over the Straw Hat Pirates at Sabaody Archipelago, as no one could prove that he was in fact helping them in secret. Most of Kuma's obedience towards his superiors seemingly came from their hold over his daughter Bonney, as a consequence of the terms he had to agree with the government to save her life. In spite of said terms being incredibly damaging to Kuma himself, he gladly accepted them, citing that Bonney's life was his ultimate priority. Outside his daughter, Kuma's sole loyalty remains towards the Revolutionary Army, of which he still considers himself to be part of despite his position as a Warlord and prior resignation from the rebel group due to Bonney's health, even showing a desire to return and fight alongside his former comrades once more. Kuma has admired the efforts of Monkey D. Dragon since the latter's time as the leader of the Freedom Fighters, believing the group were akin to heroes who helped people around the world. It is also heavily implied that Luffy being the son of Dragon was one of the two main reasons for Kuma's continued assistance of the Straw Hat Pirates, the other being his personal belief in Luffy's characteristics relating to his idol, Nika. At present, with Kuma's Pacifista modifications having been completed, he completely lost his free will, personality and memory in order to ensure his reliability and continuing services towards the World Government. In this stage, Kuma shares the same mindless intelligence of his fellow Pacifista models, only recognizing individuals as either enemies or allies to the government. Doflamingo refers to the original personality as being "dead", though it was later revealed that Kuma and Dr. Vegapunk (the man responsible for his cybernetic implants) made a secret deal to allow for Kuma to have a temporary relapse by rendering his final "free thought" as defending the Thousand Sunny. After that, Kuma was relegated to working as a slave-to-rent and obeying the demands of the World Nobles without question. After being freed by the Revolutionaries, he no longer appeared to have any sort of humanity left within him. A few days after Kuma was rescued by the Revolutionaries, Jaygarcia Saturn activated a failsafe that he demanded Vegapunk install in Kuma; while Saturn's intent was for Vegapunk to install a bomb in Kuma, Vegapunk instead merely designed the switch to completely shut off Kuma's body and mind, effectively rendering him lifeless. During the same time, possibly in response to being programmed to shut down, enough of Kuma's personality reawakened for him to instinctively travel to his daughter at Egghead and protect her from Saturn. Ever since, despite remaining incapable of normal speech, he has shown bits of emotions such as embracing Bonney after saving her, reacting to Luffy taking on the appearance of Nika, listening intently to Bonney's speech to Saturn as she defeated him while taking on Nika's form, smiling after she defeated him, and smiling while holding Bonney on the Great Eirik. While he is still a far cry from the man he used to be, these displays have suggested that he may once again be able to feel and express emotion as he once did. Despite his personality only having partially reawakened, Lilith has reason to believe that with the necessary lab equipment, she would be capable of restoring more, if not all, of his cognitive functions. With her no longer having ties to the World Government, as well as Kuma and Bonney finally free of Saturn's threat, there is no longer anything holding her back from attempting to undo the forced modifications done to Kuma's mind.

Relationships

Family And Friends

Parents

Kuma and his parents loved each other very much. His father Clapp wanted to protect him from slavery by the World Nobles because of his Buccaneer heritage. Despite Kuma feeling very sad about his mother's death and enduring hardships as a slave, Clapp always cheered him up by telling him about the Warrior Nika and that they would be rescued by him. It is because of his father's words that Kuma wanted to become a hero and help slaves someday.

Jewelry Bonney

Kuma is Bonney's adoptive father, and the only family member she has left. The two of them had a very loving relationship, as Bonney had fond memories of her childhood with him. Though not related by blood, Kuma was an extremely devoted father figure, doing his best to raise Bonney with unconditional love and care in honor of her mother Ginny, being emotionally moved by her growth since she was an infant. Because of Bonney's condition, Kuma was very protective of her, making sure to do anything in his power to prevent her disease from getting worse, leaving the Revolutionary Army in order to keep watch over her. Still, he wished to find a cure for his adopted daughter's disease and then travel around the world with her. The reveal that Bonney would likely die before she could enjoy life, however, left him heartbroken. Kuma became a pirate in order to find someone who could treat Bonney's disease. He eventually met with Dr. Vegapunk, who claimed that he could do exactly so. Still, because the World Government became aware of his attempts to strike an illegal deal with Vegapunk, he had to agree to additional terms that essentially sacrificed his own body and mind for the government's use. Kuma gladly accepted this and did not regret his decision, having stated that he would even deal with the devil if it meant allowing Bonney a chance to live. While Kuma acted as a Warlord, he would often send loving letters to Bonney. Unbeknown to him though, his letters were all intercepted and destroyed by Cipher Pol agent Alpha, who was in charge of Bonney's "well-being" following his deal with the government. Because Kuma's letters never reached her due to Alpha's meddling, Bonney would be left frustrated and disappointed throughout her recovery period, yet she never stopped believing in her father, deciding to leave Sorbet and become a pirate in order to reunite with him. While Kuma was aware that Bonney had set out to sea specifically to reunite with him, he preferred to keep himself away from her in order to honor his prior deal with the World Government and avoid jeopardazing Bonney's own safety. Kuma would keep thinking over Bonney until his last moments of free will, requesting Vegapunk to wish her a happy birthday in his stead, knowing that he would be unable to do so after his modifications were completed. Bonney, who was unaware of the arrangements her father had to make to save her life, shows an intense rage towards the World Government for enslaving him and allowing him to suffer abuse at the hands of the World Nobles. Because she is so devoted to her father, Bonney has major reservations over witnessing the Pacifista getting attacked, due to their resemblance to Kuma. When Bonney discovered the true reason behind Kuma's conversion into a Pacifista, she broke down in tears and was on the verge of losing the will to live. When she was about to be killed by Saturn, Kuma, however, miraculously managed to reach her in time and struck Saturn, embracing Bonney with a warm hug, after four years of being separated, but unable to speak. Vegapunk speculated his love for Bonney had allowed him to defy the issued shut down command. Kuma also shows his smile to Bonney for beating up Saturn in order to repel the Elder. After escaping Egghead, Kuma and Bonney are happy when they are together again.

Sorbets Citizens

As a priest, Kuma was beloved by the elderly population of Sorbet, particularly those who lived in village near his church. Every weekend, Kuma would use his abilities to take their pain away to absorb them himself later. Because the elders were physically unable to contribute much to Sorbet's Heavenly Tribute, they relied on Kuma's "miracles" in order to remain healthy and fit, as otherwise they would be imprisoned by King Bekori's draconian policies. Even after becoming a Revolutionary, Kuma would still occasionally return to Sorbet to watch over his elderly friends. The elders also assisted Kuma in raising an infant Bonney, giving him tips about how to do so and directly taking care of her while he went out for revolutionary missions. Kuma was also friends with Gyogyo and other younger citizens of similar age to his, having befriended them shortly after escaping slavedom when he was nine. Kuma and Ginny mostly lived through food donations provided by them. As Kuma prepared to have his personality erased, Gyogyo was one of the people he recalled. After deposing of Bekori six years ago and saving the country from his destructive policies, Kuma was elected King by the population of Sorbet. Despite having no interest in ruling the kingdom, Kuma still accepted the role as he did not feel like going against popular demand.

Bulldog

Bulldog was Kuma's advisor during the latter's tenure as king, taking care of Sorbet's political matters while Kuma remained working in his church. As a former king himself, Bulldog's own leadership qualities were trusted by Kuma. When Kuma had to abandon Sorbet in order to confront Bekori, he had no problems entrusting the country and his own daughter Bonney to Bulldog's care.

Revolutionaries

Summary

Prior to receiving his final modifications, Kuma was a loyal member of the Revolutionary Army, having been one of the organization's original founders alongside his comrades Dragon and Ivankov. Even after resigning from the army due to Bonney's health, Kuma never stopped thinking of himself as a revolutionary soldier. Kuma is deeply respected by his fellow revolutionaries as Sabo, Morley, Karasu, and Lindbergh planned to liberate Kuma from his torturous slavery during their infiltration of Mary Geoise, which they successfully did and escaped with him. Sabo and Koala in particular did not understand at first why Kuma became an agent of the government, unaware of the special circumstances surrounding him that led to his status as a Warlord.

Monkey D Dragon

When he was around 22, Kuma became aware of Monkey D. Dragon through newspaper articles. He already admired Dragon's Freedom Fighters at the time and was more than happy to follow him, especially after Sorbet's liberation from King Bekori's tyranny. Dragon, meanwhile, became aware of Kuma through Ivankov's recommendations. Dragon guaranteed to Kuma that joining the organization was the right choice to make, and Kuma would prove himself to be a highly effective asset for the organization. Even after Kuma left the army in order to spend more time with Bonney due to her illness, Dragon was not against his decision and encouraged him to live without regrets. He also promised Kuma that he would try to contact any doctors who could go on to help his daughter. Kuma also had knowledge of Luffy being Dragon's son (something that even Ivankov was unaware of until he met the boy). Back during an operation at Goa, Kuma happened to see Dragon watching over a boy at Foosha Village and deduced that they could have been related, asking his superior if there was any truth to that. While Dragon did imply Kuma's suspicions were correct, he refused to outright confirm them, with Kuma deciding to drop the subject due to noticing Dragon's discomfort. Kuma subsequently spared the Straw Hats' lives on two occasions, as well as guarding their ship for 2 years from the likes of pirates and Marines, due to their common connection. Though Kuma was working with the Revolutionary Army in secret as a Warlord (although he refused to speak with them for unknown reasons), his final modification into a full Pacifista now places him fully under the World Government's control. Dragon is seemingly not aware of Kuma's deal with the Marines, but respected Kuma's wishes to not be followed or talked with before losing his free will for good. After Kuma was recovered from his second enslavement by the revolutionaries, he identified Dragon as only his "master" due to his new programming overriding his old personality.

Ginny

Ginny was Kuma's fellow slave and romantic interest who had met at God Valley. It was thanks to Ginny's ingenuity that Kuma was given an opportunity to escape his masters' and the Native Hunting Competition. When Kuma returned to the Sorbet Kingdom, Ginny decided to stay with him since she had no idea yet of what to do in life. She went on to live happily with Kuma, having full meals and living through honest work after leaving their slavedom behind. She was also protective of Kuma against bullies and acted as his "big sis", being four years his senior. As adults, Ginny would often chastise Kuma for his self-sacrifices regarding the elderly population of Sorbet, taking care of him afterwards every time he took in their pain. While Kuma had mutual feelings for Ginny and enjoyed having her at his side, he refused to accept her marriage proposal due to what happened with his mother, who was enslaved solely for having a buccaneer husband. Despite this, Ginny still remained loyal to Kuma and was smitten with him even during their time in the Revolutionary Army. After Ginny was captured by the World Government, Kuma became deeply enraged, recklessly charging into battle alone. After two years, when Ginny contacted Kuma to tell her that she was dying and proclaimed her love for him, he immediately headed for the chapel they grew up together in, knowing she would be there. After finding her dead, Kuma profusely wept for her as he reminisced of all the time they spent together and buried her, promising to raise her daughter in her stead. Ginny frequently referred to Kuma as "Kuma-chi".

Emporio Ivankov

When Kuma was nine years old, he first met a fifteen-year-old Ivankov at God Valley as both were slaves at the time. They both worked together to successfully escape the Native Hunting Competition, with Ivankov praising Kuma for his actions of humility and self-sacrifice during their plan. Kuma's use of the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi also led Ivankov to dub Kuma as having the Hands of Liberation (解放の手, Kaihō no Te?). When they parted ways during their childhood, Kuma told Ivankov he would never forget his face as long as he lives. Ivankov later recommended Kuma as a possible recruit for Dragon's freedom fighting goals, with the two freeing Kuma from imprisonment following King Bekori's fall. The two would go on to become close as Revolutionary comrades later on in life, with Ivankov knowing of Kuma's deep hatred for the World Government. When Ivankov saw Kuma at the Summit War of Marineford, the former was shocked to see that Kuma was no longer the man he once was, which led to them confronting each other. Ivankov also claims Kuma fears him to some extent and was set to make him remember that cyborg or not.

Straw Hat Pirates

Summary

Kuma believes the Straw Hat Pirates are destined to save and bring justice to the world somehow, having acknowledged the many impressive, if not miraculous, feats the crew has pulled since they began their pirate career all the way back in the East Blue, starting with Arlong's defeat. Since then, he has accompanied their growth through the news, although never getting to meet them personally until the events of the Thriller Bark Arc. He first met Nami and was courteous enough to not engage her in battle, merely questioning her about the nature of Luffy and Ace's relationship. After Kuma witnessed Luffy defeating Gecko Moria, he reported it to the World Government, and they ordered Kuma to kill all witnesses on Thriller Bark, including the Straw Hats. As most of the pirates were already exhausted from fighting Moria, Kuma had little challenge in finishing them off. After a brief fight with Zoro, Kuma offered to spare everyone else if they allowed him to take Luffy alone, as that was his primary mission to begin with. They refused and Kuma, seemingly disappointed that he had to kill them all, attacked his opponents with an Ursus Shock, knocking out most of the Straw Hats. Before Kuma could take Luffy away, Zoro, who was still conscious, attacked one last time and learned about Kuma's cybernetic nature. Seeing no other way to win as Kuma was still stronger and had the upper hand, Zoro offered to trade his life for Luffy's, with Sanji attempting to do the same only for Zoro to stop him. With his own honor at stake, Kuma agreed to Zoro's terms and subjugated him into experiencing the pain Luffy endured throughout his fight against Moria. Acknowledging Zoro's loyalty, Kuma even mused about Dragon having a good son with a loyal crew. After the events of Thriller Bark, Kuma witnessed another outrageous incident where the World Noble Charlos was physically assaulted by Luffy at the Human Auctioning House in order to defend Hatchan, a fish-man who was almost killed by the World Noble. This was enough to spur Kuma into saving the crew's life once more, helping them escape Admiral Kizaru and Sentomaru. He gave Luffy one final farewell before sending him to Amazon Lily and losing his free will to the Pacifista project's finalization. Kuma's motives for this unexpected action were clear: the crew was not ready for the New World yet and needed to become far stronger in order to survive its lethal waters. On his final day of having his humanity, Kuma's asked Vegapunk to program his soon-to-be mindless self to protect the Thousand Sunny until a Straw Hat member returned, wanting to protect their home until they could return from their training, believing he owed it to them. Franky told the other Straw Hats that they owed a debt to Kuma, although he noted the next time they would meet, Kuma would be a heartless, human weapon. When Kuma arrived at Egghead to save Bonney, Franky decided to act on this debt for helping the Straw Hats two years ago at Sabaody, by protecting him against Saturn along with Sanji.

Monkey D Luffy

Kuma knows a lot about Monkey D. Luffy, as he was aware that Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Dragon were his adoptive brother and biological father, respectively, despite both relationships not being public matter at the time. Back when he was still a revolutionary, Kuma suspected that Dragon may have had a family back in the Goa Kingdom during a trip there, something that Dragon only indirectly confirmed and refused to elaborate further, which Kuma understood as an sensitive topic to talk about with his superior. Around the time Luffy was 16, Kuma once headed to Mt. Colubo in order to confirm his suspicions about Dragon, leading him to find Luffy and observe his training from afar. Ever since then, Kuma has been accompanying the boy's growth and heroic deeds through news and bounty posters, while also pondering about his similarities to Nika, as a person who similarly opposed the World Government through his rubber abilities. Kuma later witnessed Luffy breaking the greatest taboo by striking a Celestial Dragon to save his friend Hatchan, which led him to hold high hopes for the boy and his potential to save the world, thus Kuma worked to secretly save Luffy and his crew by teleporting them away to safety from Kizaru and subsequently the New World, due to them not being anywhere near the level of strength to survive its deadly waters. By the time he entered the final phase of his Pacifista modification process, Kuma was fully convinced Luffy had all the necessary qualities to change the world due to his selfless determination to help people from tyranny, much akin to his idol Nika, thus he requested Vegapunk to program him with a mission to protect the Thousand Sunny as a last favor to the Straw Hats after losing his free will. Two years later at the island of Egghead, Kuma would witness Luffy again while in his Nika form, having his belief on the boy confirmed.

Roronoa Zoro

Kuma admitted that he was impressed with Roronoa Zoro still being alive following the events at Thriller Bark, as he genuinely did not expect the swordsman to survive taking Luffy's own pain (admitting the latter's pain was enough to render him unconscious). Zoro, too, recognized and respected Kuma’s strength, admitting that he was only alive because of the other’s honor and mercy.

World Government And Marines

Summary

Kuma has always had a hostile relationship with the World Government, having been enslaved by them at a young age solely for being born to a buccaneer father and losing a beloved friend to the whims of the World Nobles. Moreover, King Bekori of Sorbet, who enjoyed political support from the World Government, was frequently a thorn at Kuma's side, either through the use of smear campaigns or direct assaults towards Sorbet's more vulnerable population. Kuma became a revolutionary exactly to fight what he believed to be an unjust system propped up by hatred and corruption. In spite of his extremely antagonistic history with the World Government, the institution acknowledged Kuma's power and reputation as a pirate, which meant that they were willing to aid Kuma in his quest to save Bonney as long as he became their loyal tool as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea. Because Vegapunk was the only person that could cure her and he worked for the World Government, Kuma had no choice but to submit himself to highly detrimental conditions that essentially stripped him of his own body, mind and soul, all so he could receive legal authorization for his daughter's surgical operation. Furthermore, Kuma was forbidden from ever meeting Bonney after the surgery's conclusion, under the threat of having her enslaved in that case. To further ensure Kuma's loyalty, Bonney was kept under the watch of Cipher Pol agents during the final phases of her treatment, although the government at least honored Kuma's request to have the child returned to her homeland at Sorbet. Kuma also had a self-destructing mechanism installed within his body at Saturn's request, although Vegapunk had managed to secretly alter it to only shut down Kuma's vitals. The other Warlords generally had diverging opinions about Kuma. Crocodile and Boa Hancock both did not show interest on him, while Donquixote Doflamingo did due to their shared status as pirate royals, a connection that was also not lost on Jinbe. Prior to his final modifications, Kuma publicly claimed to follow the World Government. However, he refused to cooperate with the Marines unless given direct orders by his government superiors to do so. Moria once stated that because of Kuma's perceived allegiance to the World Government, he worried him more than any other Warlord. Kuma was also shown to have command over the Pacifista units during his visit to Sabaody Archipelago, but did not seem to care about their presence, having no qualms in sending one away during the battle along with the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates. After his Pacifista upgrades were completed, Kuma became a slave to both the World Government and Marines alike, doing whatever he was commanded until his Revolutionary Army colleagues freed him. Between the abolition of the Seven Warlord system and his liberation from Mary Geoise, Kuma is now technically an enemy of the government once again despite his current mindless state. When Kuma returned to Mary Geoise by his own volition, the resident soldiers attempted to restrain him, with Kuma defending himself by causing major damage to the city. Sakazuki claimed that, since Kuma was no longer under the control of the government, he could no longer let the former Warlord to roam free and do as he pleased, and with the World Nobles further pressuring him, he had no other choice but to attempt to eliminate Kuma.

Borsalino

Kuma met Kizaru four years ago at Vegapunk's lab, as the latter brought a fleet of marines to surround it due to orders from Saturn. The Admiral was present during the conversation regarding Kuma having to join the Seven Warlords of the Sea and accept to become a human weapon for the government. Kizaru was visibly distraught on hearing Kuma agree to these terms as it would mean effectively losing all free will. As part of the deal, Kizaru stayed at Vegapunk's lab as Kuma and Bonney underwent their procedures, overseeing them. For the following six months, Kuma and Kizaru grew close as they worked to build up Vegapunk's lab, partied and ate pizza alongside Bonney, Vegapunk and Sentomaru. After the procedures were done and Kuma's status as Warlord became official, however, their relationship grew sourer based on Kizaru's reaction to Kuma's presence on the Sabaody Archipelago. Upon seeing Kuma interfere with the PX-1 Unit, Kizaru questioned Kuma, who replied to the Admiral that his pact and loyalties were with the World Government and, as such, he did not have any obligation to explain his motives to the Marines. Kuma and Kizaru became enemies the following two years after, with Kizaru deciding that with Kuma's presence on Egghead, he and his daughter needed to be eliminated, following Saturn's orders to kill them both.

Dr Vegapunk

Kuma seems to have a good enough relationship with Vegapunk, who always showed interest in Kuma's unique buccaneer physique. Vegapunk highly respects Kuma as a friend, as he modified the Warlord to be the prototype Pacifista while letting him act against the World Government's interests (like granting him his final wish as a human being, which was to program Kuma to protect the Straw Hats' ship until their return). Kuma first learned about Vegapunk from Dragon, who had connections with the scientist since his Freedom Fighters days and was responsible for directing Kuma himself to him. Because of this, Kuma came to fully trust Vegapunk despite his eccentricities and plans to improve the Marines' military strength, knowing that Dragon trusted him as well. Since Vegapunk was the man who saved Bonney's life, Kuma is immensely indebted to him. That said, Bonney herself thought Vegapunk to be at fault for wiping away Kuma's mind. However, the truth was the opposite; Vegapunk was always against doing such a thing, considering it an inhumane act that the government had forced on him to carry out on Kuma. For this reason, Kuma's unexpected, but selfless acceptance of what was essentially a death sentence to himself shocked and moved Vegapunk to tears. Vegapunk has conducted several experiments on Kuma, including one where the latter was requested to materialize his memories through his own Devil Fruit abilities for Vegapunk to study. While Kuma at first refused, he eventually complied and allowed Vegapunk access to his now tangible memories. Vegapunk, out of respect, keeps Kuma's memories locked up inside a high-security room within his laboratory.

Sentomaru

Kuma met Sentomaru when he first visited Vegapunk at Egghead. Because Sentomaru would often (unwillingly) play with Bonney while Kuma talked with Vegapunk, he became friends with him as well. Sentomaru was also familiar enough with Kuma's Devil Fruit ability to have a gist about how it worked, despite treating some of its specific usages as rumors. Still, Sentomaru was always distrustful of Kuma because of his confusing allegiances and actions (especially in the Sabaody Archipelago), and occasionally addressed him as "Kuma-kou" (くま公, Kuma-kō?), an honorific meant as a sarcastic and insulting way of addressing someone. Despite this however he offered a silent prayer to Kuma when time came for Vegapunk to erase his memories and free will. Following the two years since the Summit War of Marineford, Sentomaru seemingly remained unaware of Kuma's intentions when the latter decided to protect the Thousand Sunny through that time period thanks to a prior deal he had struck with Vegapunk, implying that he was kept in the dark about the scientist's involvement.

Enemies

World Nobles

As a child slave of the World Nobles, Kuma was endlessly abused and paraded around for his buccaneer strength. It was because of the nobles that Kuma lost both his parents, which filled him with despair. Kuma was considered a problematic, but still valuable slave, which was enough to force him into the Native Hunting Competition held at God Valley. Due to his current emotionless and inhuman state, he became a slave-to-rent for the World Nobles, as a punishment for him aiding the Straw Hat Pirates. Seeing him unable to cry or scream regardless of injuries, the Celestial Dragons heavily abused him for their own pleasure, referring to him as a top-class slave until his eventual rescue. Due to his later arrival at Mary Geoise, where he damaged a good portion of the city and injured a few of them, many of the World Nobles ordered his execution by Sakazuki. Jaygarcia Saturn of the Five Elders can be best described as the 'devil' in Kuma's life, being largely responsible for most of the suffering Kuma has been forced to endure in his whole existence. Kuma first met the elderly World Noble during the God Valley Incident, when he was merely nine years old. Saturn was seemingly already familiar with Kuma back then due to his buccaneer heritage and went on to confront the boy personally after he ate the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. According to Saturn, Kuma's enslavement is historically justified due to his race having committed an unknown crime long ago. Kuma, however, defied Saturn's way of thinking, declaring that no one can be born a slave and that he would model himself after the legendary Nika, saving the oppressed with the powers he had received. This response only reinforced Saturn's views that buccaneers had to be erased for good, telling Kuma his only options were to live as a slave or die. Years later, Saturn would start hearing about Kuma more frequently, as a revolutionary and as king of Sorbet. He also discovered the secret deal he tried to arrange with Vegapunk to save Bonney's life. Being against negotiating with pirates and spending Marine resources on saving a single girl, Saturn tried to make the most of this opportunity by having Kuma become a powerful tool for the government, enforcing several conditions he had to follow in order to ensure his obedience to the institution in the long term; including having his free will removed during his conversion into a Pacifista. Moreover, Saturn requested Vegapunk to implant a self-destruct system within Kuma's modifications in case they ever lost control of him, much to Vegapunk's protest. As Saturn confirmed he activated this device when Kuma was rescued by the Revolutionary Army, this proves that he ultimately views Kuma as disposable, regardless of his strength and use. Despite having his free will removed, it appeared Kuma still retained key memories of his life and was aware of Saturn's presence on Egghead and that he was endangering his daughter. This led Kuma to retaliate after years of abuse and persecution and strike Saturn with a devastating punch. Saturn grew confused and furious at how this was possible and decided to kill Kuma with his own hands.

Bekori

Because of Bekori's unfair policies that targeted the vulnerable elderly population of Sorbet, Kuma became an enemy of the Sorbet king. During an incident where some villagers that Kuma took care of were kidnapped by the kingdom's royal army, Kuma began a fight with the kidnapping soldiers and caused mass destruction to Sorbet's Castle Town, leading to his imprisonment as well as that of Ginny and some of Kuma's other friends who protested for his release. After Bekori's forceful dethronement by the Freedom Fighters, Kuma joined the organization. Years later, when Bekori returned to Sorbet to continue with his atrocious policies, Kuma singlehandedly defeated the previously deposed king and his forces. This caused Bekori to seek direct support from the World Government, starting a smear campaign against Kuma, the newly elected king of Sorbet. The propaganda directly attributed Bekori's own violent acts to Kuma's doing, while painting Bekori as an unfairly ousted leader who sought to recover his rightful nation. Kuma and Bekori met for the last time at sea, where the latter, with the support of a Marine fleet, attempted to kill the former and regain Sorbet's crown. Kuma, however, was able to take down the fleet with little trouble, stopping Bekori for good.

Other

Gecko Moria

Gecko Moria feels that because of Kuma's apparent loyalty to the World Government, he could not be trusted and admitted that the Tyrant worried him more than any other Warlord. Moria also thought very little of Kuma's own Devil Fruit abilities back when the latter was accepted in the group, although he would later learn about their full potential somehow. During the Thriller Bark Arc, Kuma met with Moria to inform him about Marshall D. Teach's acceptance into the Seven Warlords of the Sea, and also warn him about the government's concerns that Moria could potentially lose against the Straw Hat Pirates. As such, Kuma offered his assistance to the Thriller Bark Pirates in order to take down Luffy and his crew, but Moria, with his pride on the line, rejected this offer and even screamed back at Kuma for implying that he was not capable of doing the job himself.

Marshall D Teach

Kuma has not met Blackbeard directly but showed to have prior knowledge of him before he was elected as a Warlord. Despite his unknown bounty, he knew about his past history as a member of the Whitebeard Pirates and was opposed to his appointment, showing his doubts over the matter. Kuma's doubts would prove correct, as Blackbeard used his position as a Warlord to invade Impel Down and recruit Level 6 prisoners to strengthen his crew.

Abilities And Powers

Summary

Prior to his final Pacifista modifications, Kuma was a soldier in the Revolutionary Army and among its strongest and most effective fighters, as he could easily revert an unfavorable confrontation of national proportions by himself. As an officer-ranked fighter, he had control over its lower ranking members. However, he surrendered this control when he left the Revolutionary Army. As the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, he once held political power, however, Kuma himself only chose to rule due to popular demand, having no actual skill in governing a country, and as such gave much of his political power and responsibilities to one of the kingdom's previous rulers, Bulldog, effectively making himself a political figurehead. Nonetheless, the population still saw Kuma as their rightful ruler, and many citizens respected him as such, even after he returned to his life as a priest. When the previous ruler and tyrant, Bekori, returned in another attempt to take back the kingdom, Kuma fully abdicated from the throne and declared Bulldog as the official ruler, officially becoming a wanted pirate after confronting Bekori. During his days as a pirate, Kuma was considered a powerful and dangerous man, to the point of escaping and destroying entire marine fleets, stopping multiple bounty hunters, and gaining a fast-spreading reputation among other pirates as an unstoppable menace. His reputation became so well known that the World Government recognized him as a fitting candidate for the position as one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, an offer that Kuma took as part of an agreement he made with Jaygarcia Saturn of the Five Elders to ensure Bonney's Sapphire Scales treatment. What made this even more impressive is the fact that Kuma achieved this reputation solo, without the assistance of a crew. This makes him, as well as fellow Warlord Dracule Mihawk, the only two known single-person pirate crews in the entire series. Kuma is one of the few people to have completely defeated the Straw Hat Pirates and is also the only character introduced so far that has defeated the crew single-handedly, twice. However, the crew was extremely weak and injured both times and they were in no shape to fight another battle, much less a Warlord. He did not want the crew dead, however, since he allowed them to escape, indicating he was not fighting them at full strength. Kuma has such a fierce reputation that even other powerful and famous pirates are unnerved by him, as seen when the captain of the Kid Pirates, Eustass Kid, seemed heavily disturbed when he witnessed the arrival of a Pacifista (mistaking it for the real Kuma) on the Sabaody Archipelago, despite the fact that his bounty was higher than Kuma's former one.

Physical Abilities

Kuma was born as a member of the extant Buccaneers; a race said to carry the blood of Giants within them, having inherited his size and great physical strength and durability from his father Clapp; who was a full-blooded Buccaneer. Despite being only half-buccaneer on his father's side, Kuma has inherited the majority of the physical traits and abilities attributed to the Buccaneers, as he was incredibly strong even as a child, and withstood the harshest of punishments, beatings, and the overall lifestyle of enslavement by the Celestial Dragons even at such a young age. It is currently unknown how exactly durable and powerful Kuma's body was before he began the process of becoming a cyborg, but in his past, he was known to be quite fearsome even before becoming a revolutionary. After fully becoming a Pacifista, Kuma's physical abilities were enhanced further as a complete cyborg. He was able to protect the Thousand Sunny from being damaged or touched by attackers for two entire years, and his body withstood two years' worth of damage as he waited for one of the Straw Hats to return. He could now take the harsh treatment and enslavement of the Celestial Dragons without feeling any pain at all, to the point where he could still move perfectly fine even after being stabbed with a multitude of swords and was visibly and heavily damaged and in need of repairs. This led to the Celestial Dragons identifying Kuma as their so-called "Invincible Slave". After being freed and repaired by the Revolutionaries, Kuma maintained enough strength and durability to send himself back to the Sabaody Archipelago, and then began climbing the Red Line itself to return to Mary Geoise, withstanding multiple onslaughts of attacks from the Marines. Despite the damage his body took just to successfully climb up to Mary Geoise, Kuma was more than strong enough to fight off Mary Geoise's guards, and even managed to devastate the whole area with his powers before Fleet Admiral Sakazuki finally showed up to stop him. Despite losing part of his face and one of his feet to him, Kuma was able to avoid capture and destruction, and escape before further damage was done. Once arriving to Egghead, he took a hit from Saturn's clawed foot while protecting Bonney, which while inflicting another grievous injury onto him, Kuma gathered enough strength to throw a very powerful Armament Haki-infused punch, sending the Elder crashing through several buildings and tearing off his arm and horn.

Geographical Knowledge

Kuma appears to have great knowledge in geography, as he knows exactly where he is sending someone through his powers, no matter in which part of the world he currently is. Part of this is due to his days traveling to a multitude of various islands searching for a cure for his daughter. His degree of spatial knowledge is high enough to perfectly locate even a moving sky island. Kuma is seemingly a skilled navigator as well, having travelled through a good portion of the Grand Line by his sole self, while in a small boat.

Devil Fruit

Thirty-eight years ago, Kuma ate the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi, a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that gave him paw pads on the palms of his hands; these paw pads have the power to repel anything they come into contact with. His paw pads grant him an absolute defense that allows him to protect himself from all physical attacks, even swords. This ability, coupled with his vast reaction speed, allows him to repel attacks from extremely quick opponents, such as Luffy in Gear 2. He can also use his paws to attack by repelling his target at great speed. By Kuma's own admission, his paw pads repel things at the speed of light. His palm strikes are able to deal significant damage to his enemies, due his repelling power subjecting his target to a severe level of force. Additionally, his power to repel is not just strong, it is also focused into a cannon-like blast, enough to create a deep hole through thick stone. His paw strikes can also travel beyond the target, dealing identical damage to anything behind them as well. Kuma can even repel the air itself, attacking his opponent with a cannon-like shockwave. He can also compress an immense amount of air between his hands into a single small bubble, and then release the air bubble, which explodes as a super-massive shockwave that can decimate an entire island. Interestingly, he can repel all the pain, injury, and exhaustion out of a person's body, allowing him to completely heal people in an instant, even if they have suffered an incredibly severe level of damage. Once the pain is expelled from the person's body, it takes the form of a paw-shaped bubble, the greater damage that was removed, the larger the bubble will be. The damage can be transferred into another person's body, causing them a great deal of suffering all at once. Possibly the most impressive application of this fruit is that Kuma can send someone flying over vast distances, even across the world and traveling over the course of several days. The victim of this ability is encased in a paw bubble that protects them from and breaks through any obstacles that are in the way of the destination of Kuma's choosing. To an outside observer, the victim appears to vanish.

Pacifista Modifications

Kuma is now a cyborg modified by Vegapunk. He is, however, very different from other cyborgs, and displays strength and agility that are on a different scale. As with the other Pacifista models, Kuma has a built-in electronic recognition device within his pupils, which enables him to accurately identify certain individuals (presumably anybody that is listed within the World Government's bounty system) and their bounty count from across a distance of several dozen meters. Kuma is also equipped with augmented hearing, allowing him to pick up any sounds at a greater range than normal. Kuma's massive build along with his cybernetic enhancements grants him tremendous durability and strength comparable if not superior to other Pacifista; the average Pacifista model is capable of withstanding a combination assault from the pre-timeskip Monster Trio. At Thriller Bark, he effortlessly lifted a large slab of rubble with a single hand and his body was resilient enough to withstand most physical attacks, including Sanji's "Concasser" (in fact, Sanji injured his leg after delivering the blow, despite it being strong enough to stun a user of Tekkai) and even Zoro's "Shishi Sonson", a technique that was able to cut through steel, which only left a scratch on Kuma despite it being a surprise attack. Emporio Ivankov's "Galaxy Wink" appeared to inflict no substantial damage upon Kuma, despite the barrage of attacks being powerful enough to knock him off his feet. Even after two years of accumulated damage, lack of repair, and lack of sustenance intake, Kuma was still operational. While the modifications gave Kuma great strength, their full completion over a long time period apparently robbed Kuma of his free will. Due to technically having his mind removed, Kuma does not feel any pain. While being enslaved by the World Nobles, Kuma was constantly and brutally abused by the World Nobles without feeling any discomfort, not even reacting as Rosward struck his head hard with a hammer and stabbed him with a sword. He had multiple swords stabbed inside his body and continues to function without succumbing to the accumulated damage. As a Pacifista, Kuma has the ability to shoot laser beams, which not only causes massive explosions upon detonation, but can also melt steel. This laser is apparently a replication of Kizaru's Pika Pika no Mi powers and for Kuma, this launcher is only installed in his mouth. In the other Pacifista, the launcher is installed on their palms as well. Kuma has his paw pads instead of the laser holes on his hands; it is this aspect, along with the bible that only he holds, even after losing his free will, that distinguishes him from the other Pacifista, and makes him superior to them. However, he seems to possess gloves that allow him to shoot lasers from his palms, as he was about to demonstrate during Charlos's second attempt to kidnap Shirahoshi.

Haki

Armament Haki

Kuma possesses the ability to use Armament Haki and can utilize it to harden his fist, boosting the power of his punches. With one Haki-infused punch, Kuma was able to knock Jaygarcia Saturn off his feet and send him crashing into several buildings.

Observation Haki

Kuma is also able to use Observation Haki.

Ships

After becoming a pirate, Kuma had possession of at least three different ships. Initially, he had a rather small ship with two sails which barely had room to accommodate him. His subsequent ship was slighly larger, but only had one sail. Finally, after becoming a Warlord of the Sea, he had a larger and more personalized ship with at least five sails, one at the front featuring his Jolly Roger (based on a drawing from Bonney ). The keel of the ship had a dot pattern similar to Kuma's hat and pants, the sides featured ornaments similar to his bear ears, and there was church-like structure on board with a cross at the top. He did not appear to have any crew aboard his ships at any point other than himself.

Major Battles

Summary

Kuma vs. Sorbet Kingdom's Royal Guards Kuma vs. Bekori and Marines Kuma vs. Abdullah and Jeet Kuma vs. Perona and Zombies Kuma vs. Straw Hat Pirates and Rolling Pirates Kuma vs. Roronoa Zoro Kuma vs. PX-1 vs. Straw Hat Pirates Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines vs. Whitebeard Pirates and their allies Kuma (as PX-0), Donquixote Doflamingo, and Gecko Moria vs. Little Oars Jr. Kuma (as PX-0) vs. Emporio Ivankov Kuma, Hatchan, and Rosy Life Riders vs. every attacker of the Thousand Sunny Kuma (as PX-0) vs. Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi (Interrupted by Morley) Kuma vs. Marines Kuma vs. Mary Geoise Royal Guards Kuma vs. Sakazuki Straw Hat Pirates, SSG, Giant Warrior Pirates and their allies vs. Five Elders, Cipher Pol and Marines Kuma vs. Jaygarcia Saturn

Early Concepts

Summary

In an interview about Strong World, Oda revealed that he originally intended the steering wheel in the head concept of Shiki to be used on Kuma. He turned down the idea and decided later to use it for Shiki. According to an interview in One Piece Magazine Vol.2, Oda already intended for Kuma to separate the Straw Hats since his debut.

Anime And Manga Differences

Appearance

In the manga also, Kuma was intended to have a different color scheme than the one he is presented with in the anime. This unfortunately was because no full colored version of Kuma was present when the first episode of him appearing was made. The anime had Kuma with a black jacket while Oda's intentions were an orange one. The manga however later changed this color scheme to resemble that of the anime. In the manga and One Piece: Unlimited Cruise, Kuma's paw pads are black, like a bear's. However, in the anime, the paw pads are pink, like a cat's (which may play off a concept in Robin's head of Kuma's Devil Fruit reminding her of a cat's pads).

Jaya Arc

During the meeting in Mary Geoise in the manga, Kuma had a few lines, but in the anime, he had none.

Postwar Arc

In the manga, during the flashback where Dragon saves the people of the Grey Terminal from a fire, Kuma's clothing underneath the common Revolutionary Army cloak was not shown. In the anime, it is revealed that Kuma had the same clothing then that he does now.

Dressrosa Arc

During the flashback of Sabo's past, the anime shows Kuma being present in the training of Sabo where Kuma deflected Sabo after he tried to attack him.

Translation And Dub Issues

Summary

Kuma means "bear" in Japanese, which represents his character's animal theme. In the TV version of the Funimation dub of the anime, when Kuma is introduced, the word "BIBLE" is edited out of the book he is carrying. In the uncut DVDs, the word "BIBLE" is retained.

Merchandise

Summary

As a prominent character, he has appeared in the fan merchandise. Bartholomew Kuma has been featured with the Seven Warlords of the Sea in the series of One Piece Seven Warlords Cellphone Strap and twice in the One Piece Super Deformed Figures. Kuma has also been released in the P.O.P. Portrait of Pirates series. He was recently released in the One Piece DX Figure models. He was released in the One Piece World Collectable Figure series in July 2010 along with the rest of the Seven Warlords and will be re-released in the same figure series (new ones are exactly the same but for a change in the color pattern of Doflamingo).

Songs

"Kuma no Kodo"

Other Appearances

Video Games

Playable Appearances One Piece: Unlimited Cruise One Piece: Gigant Battle One Piece: Gigant Battle! 2 New World One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2 One Py Berry Match One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 One Piece: Burning Blood One Piece Treasure Cruise One Piece Bounty Rush One Piece Thousand Storm One Piece Bon! Bon! Journey!! Support Appearances One Piece: Gear Spirit One Piece: Super Grand Battle! X One Piece: Dance Battle One Piece: Great Pirate Colosseum Non-Playable Appearances One Piece: Grand Battle! 3 One Piece: Grand Battle! Rush! One Piece: Pirates Carnival One Piece: Pirate Warriors One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4

Trivia

Summary

Kuma's bible's design had changed over its appearances and media. On the color spread and the digitally colored manga, the bible Kuma is carrying is gold-colored, with an orange title, and its back has the same pattern as Kuma's jacket. In the anime and games, the book is purple, and its back is not clearly seen. On its first appearance during the Jaya Arc, the cover had a yellow figure over orange rays of light. In the anime, the figure is white and floating with yellow rays of light over a bluish-green background. In the following chapter, the back was shown to be blank, and the cover was clearly seen with the figure being that of a woman and the background features a skyline. Starting with the end of the Thriller Bark Arc, the cover had a clearer image. In the colored version, the back cover is orange as the original coloring of Kuma's jacket. In the anime, this cover wasn't shown until the end of the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. However, the figure is white, and the background is yellow. In the past, Kuma and Bonney read from the book, which despite the title, contains depictions of several islands, with the known ones being Sky Islands and Fish-Man Island. In the anime, the book is purple, with the front cover showing the figure again, with pink hair, over the green sky skyline, and yellow surrounding. The back cover is shown for the first time in the anime to have the same symbol as Kuma's jacket, at a dark color. In One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, Kuma's bible is referred as Book of Bears. Kuma's bible seemingly mentions the existence of Sky Islands, as it was there that Bonney learned about them in the first place. Kuma's surname was most likely taken from the 18th century Welsh pirate "Black Bart" Bartholomew Roberts or the English buccaneer and privateer Bartholomew Sharp. The latter would be particularly fitting as Kuma is a former member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (a group of privateers) and belongs to race called the buccaneers . Kuma may also be named after Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus, which would fit his religious motif. Kuma is the only known person to be affiliated with pirates, the Revolutionary Army and the Seven Warlords of the Sea. In the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th fan polls of most popular characters, Kuma was ranked 52nd, 85th, 129th, and 98th, respectively, making him the least popular of the Seven Warlords both current and previous. Kuma is the first cyborg to appear in the series, though he was not revealed as one until the Thriller Bark Arc. Kuma is one of the few cases in which his color scheme was displayed incorrectly in the anime and remained that way even after the official color scheme depicted by Oda was published. In fact, Oda replaced the original color scheme later with one similar in the anime. Kuma's depiction as a child has similarities with a famous philosopher of the 19th century Ninomiya Sontoku. Many statues portray him holding a book while he walks with a heavy load on his back. In the Vivre Card databook, Kuma's nickname of "Tyrant" was said to be given to him before joining the Revolutionary Army. This contradicts Chapter 1099 which takes place years after Kuma became a revolutionary, when Dragon says Kuma has recently been called "Tyrant". Kuma's favorite foods are honey and salmon, both stereotypically associated with bears. Kuma's least favorite food is lobster. Kuma's hobbies are traveling, fantasizing and writing letters. Kuma's animal resemblance is a bear.

References

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Bartholomew Kuma/History

Introduction

Past

Early Life

Bartholomew Kuma was born 47 years ago in the Sorbet Kingdom located in the South Blue, to his father Clapp and an unnamed human mother, making him part of the Buccaneer race on his father's side. Four years after his birth, government agents tracked and captured Kuma's family, enslaving them to the World Nobles. As Kuma grew up, he and his family were severely abused to the point that his mother died and he wished for death as well, but his father begged for him to endure. To cheer Kuma up, Clapp told Kuma about the warrior of liberation, Nika, who would one day rescue them from their imprisonment. Clapp sung Nika's rhythm for Kuma before he was shot and killed by a noble.

Kuma The Former Slave And Priest

During the Native Hunting Competition on God Valley 38 years ago, Kuma tried escaping from the incoming massacre, but the other slaves of his group caught up to him. Kuma started crying and begging for help as the slaves started beating him up with bats, dragging his unconscious body back to the hunting grounds. Eventually, as he was being dragged around, he met a pair of child slaves, Emporio Ivankov and Ginny, who had previously heard about him. Ivankov explained his plan for all of them to escape, which involved stealing two powerful Devil Fruits intended as prizes for the participants: the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu and the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. While the rest of the slaves were silent about who would carry out this plan, Kuma fearlessly raised his hand and offered himself up, citing that his larger body would help him survive. Due to the arrival of the Rocks Pirates, the Roger Pirates, and Marine reinforcements led by Monkey D. Garp, the entire island was thrown into chaos, allowing Kuma and Ivankov a chance to get both fruits. Charlotte Linlin prevented Ivankov from eating his fruit, but Kuma managed to consume his own before she could stop him too. Seconds after consuming the fruit, however, Jaygarcia Saturn appeared and incapacitated Kuma using his own abilities. Saturn informed Kuma that Buccaneers were born to be slaves, and that life held nothing else for him. Kuma responded by proudly stating that he was going to save as many people as he could, just like Nika, much to Saturn's ire. Kuma went on to save over 500 people on God Valley, before himself escaping with Ginny and Ivankov back to his home kingdom of Sorbet. Kuma decided to make a church his home, electing to live with Ginny while Ivankov set out to sea to enjoy his newfound freedom. Kuma and Ginny went on to sell logs in order to make money for food. This was not without trouble, however, as a few of the local children refused to believe the large Kuma was only 9 years old, to Ginny's anger. Ginny attacked the children herself, but Kuma used his newfound Devil Fruit to remove the pain, scoring himself a few new friends in the process. That night, Ginny and Kuma both cried happily after eating a large meal, enjoying the fact that they had successfully gained their freedom. 30 years ago, at 17 years old, Kuma became a priest, spending his Sundays helping the elderly population of a nearby village by literally taking in their chronic pain every weekend through his Devil Fruit abilities, with Ginny taking care of him every time he did so. Five years later, Ginny proposed marriage between her and Kuma, but the latter refused and kept dodging the issue out of fear that the former would suffer a similar fate to his mother, who similarly had a buccaneer husband and was enslaved as a result. It was during this time too that Kuma became aware of Monkey D. Dragon and his Freedom Fighters.

Kuma The Revolutionary And Father Of Bonney

22 years ago, after King Bekori instilled a new segregator policy that reduced the Sorbet Kingdom to just its northern province and turned the south into a lawless land, Kuma went to Sorbet's Castle Town in order to protest the enslavement of some of the elders he cared for. This eventually escalated into a fight between Kuma and the kingdom's royal army, which ended with the former being imprisoned for treason. Ginny and some of Kuma's friends (who had started riots in protest to Kuma's imprisonment) were later sent to the same jail cell. As Kuma and Ginny lamented about the kind of hateful nation Sorbet was about to become with its new policies, Dragon and Ivankov invaded the country and eventually took it over, overthrowing Bekori in the process. Kuma and Ginny, recognizing their friend Ivankov, were both freed from prison and then decided to join the rebel group, which later evolved into the infamous Revolutionary Army, with Kuma considered a third pillar among its most prominent members. Even with his new role and duties as a revolutionary commander, Kuma still returned to Sorbet periodically to watch over its elderly population, having grown attached to their plea and well-being. Fourteen years ago, the Revolutionaries then received news that Ginny had been captured in order to become the wife of a World Noble, an event that changed Kuma into a more daring, ruthless soldier. Two years later, Kuma was part of an operation with Dragon and Ivankov in the East Blue. He witnessed the immolation of the Gray Terminal, assisting the survivors into boarding the Revolutionaries' ship. Within the same year and shortly after this mission, Kuma heard a report requesting reinforcements at Tumi and quickly travelled there from the East Blue with his Devil Fruit ability, managing to ensure the success of Tumi's uprising by himself. Later at Baltigo, Ginny, now released, managed to contact and inform the army that she was about to die due to a disease she had contracted at Mary Geoise, and told Kuma she still loved him even after all this time. Kuma, figuring out her location, hurried back to the Sorbet Kingdom and found Ginny dead from her illness at the church they once lived together. Kuma then noticed that she had brought her daughter Jewelry Bonney there safely. After building Ginny's grave and mourning her death, Kuma swore he would adopt Bonney as his daughter and take care of her from now on in order to honor Ginny's memory. Kuma spent the next few years learning to be a father, while going out on revolutionary missions every now and then, including training a young Sabo. When Kuma noticed that Bonney had started to develop the same stones Ginny had on her body, he closed off the windows of his church and asked Sorbet's doctors on what to do, but they had no answer. He informed the Revolutionary Army about this and decided to resign so he could look after his daughter's health, with Dragon promising that his organization would search for any doctors that could figure out Bonney's condition. Seven years ago, in an attempt to keep Bonney's spirits up after a bullying attempt from other Sorbet children, Kuma spoke to her about places she would like to visit later in life. One day, however, a doctor revealed to Kuma that Bonney's disease is called Sapphire Scales and that it was incurable and that she would die in five years at most. Kuma was horrified about this, and refrained from telling her the truth when Bonney confronted him about it, lying instead that she would get better once she was 10.

Kuma The Tyrant

Six years ago in Sorbet, Kuma was informed by the elders that Bekori had returned and was going to proceed with his original goal of eradicating the "dead weight" citizens by burning their homes. Angered by Bekori's new antics, Kuma rushed to Sorbet's royal palace by his sole self and destroyed it, along with Bekori and his forces. This event went down in history as Sorbet's Solo Revolution. With Sorbet freed from Bekori's tyranny once more, the citizens called for Kuma to become their new King. Kuma accepted the duty, but since he had no real desire to rule, he left all political matters to his advisor and Bekori's predecessor, Bulldog, as he remained in his southern church treating the elderly. One day, Bonney showed up as a fully grown adult in the church, which shocked Kuma and all other bystanders. While this was ongoing, Bulldog came to the church with his mother Conney and alerted Kuma about Bekori's possible second return, as well as the smear campaigns that he was organizing with the World Government's support in order to taint Kuma's image into that of a vicious despot. Knowing he could not let Bekori come back to Sorbet, Kuma chose to resign from the throne and leave the kingdom and Bonney in Bulldog's care. As he sailed to the sea on his own, Kuma was confronted by a Marine fleet commanded by Bekori, but the former had no trouble sinking the whole armada. It was this event that led to Kuma becoming a wanted pirate. Kuma traveled around the world as a single-person pirate crew, visiting several locations in the hopes of finding someone who could treat Bonney's disease (such as the Torino Kingdom, Weatheria, the Boin Archipelago, and Tequila Wolf among others) while attracting the attention of Bounty Hunters everywhere, such as Abdullah and Jeet. At some point 4 years ago, he eventually reunited with the Revolutionary Army aboard the Wind Granma. There, he gave permission for Belo Betty to become the new commander of the East Army (Ginny's former position) and talked with Dragon about everything he had gone through since he left the organization. Remembering the promise that he gave Kuma to contact someone who could treat Bonney's Sapphire Scales, Dragon tipped Kuma off about Dr. Vegapunk, the genius scientist, and his current whereabouts after an incident at Punk Hazard, believing that the moment was favorable for Kuma to meet him due to a lack of security.

Kuma The Warlord And Pacifista

Using the information Dragon had given him, Kuma returned to Sorbet and picked up the now 8-year-old Bonney to bring her to Vegapunk's new laboratory at Egghead. There, Kuma met with Vegapunk, who confirmed he could treat Bonney's condition with a stem cell treatment. Vegapunk, who was interested in studying Kuma's physique, learned about the man's heritage through a blood test and spoke about his desire to make clone soldiers, using Kuma's body as a template. Vegapunk offered to treat Bonney in exchange for enough blood samples to make his goal a reality, which Kuma accepted as he simply wanted Bonney to be saved. It was then that the Pacifista project, which was named after the way Kuma referred to himself (a "pacifist"), began. Unbeknown to both Kuma and Vegapunk, Jaygarcia Saturn of the Five Elders was secretly eavesdropping on their conversation and sent Kizaru to Egghead to intervene. While Saturn did have interest in having Kuma in the World Government's side due to his reputation, he could not abide to Bonney's treatment without Kuma accepting three additional terms: becoming one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, turning himself into a cyborg, and finally, having his personality and free will completely erased. Also, Kuma would not be allowed to meet Bonney under any circumstance post her recovery to prevent a possible betrayal, meaning she would be kept under the watch of the World Government until Kuma's mind was completely gone. Despite Vegapunk's protests, Kuma accepted those conditions, being just glad that he was being given an opportunity to save his daughter and only requesting for her to be sent back to Sorbet after her surgery was done. For the next six months, Kuma would spend time with Bonney at Egghead under the premise that he too had an illness of his own and was required to stay for exams. During this time, he also befriended Sentomaru and Kizaru along with his daughter, and helped them build up Vegapunk's lab. With Bonney's stem cell treatment finished, Kuma accompanied his daughter back home, leaving her under the care of Queen Conney and Alpha, the latter a CP8 member in charge of Bonney's survival. Being threateningly reminded by Alpha about the terms he had agreed with the government, Kuma left the country under cheers, but not before bidding a clueless Bonney farewell, thanking her for being born in the world and promising to write several letters to her. Kuma later became a Warlord of the Sea as part of the agreement he had with the World Government, having allowed Dr. Vegapunk to begin his cloning and cyborg modifications of his body. During one experiment, Kuma was asked by Vegapunk to repulse his own memories to allow the scientist to study them. Reluctant at first, Kuma eventually agreed to this request, although to be done at a later date. As a Warlord, Kuma visited many islands and wrote about them in letters to Bonney, although he was unaware that all his correspondence was being intercepted and ripped apart by Alpha. During one of his excursions, Kuma approached the Goa Kingdom as new orders from the World Government were about to be transmitted to him. There, having learned from a previous conversation with Dragon that his friend had a son named Monkey D. Luffy, Kuma observed the young future pirate captain training with his Gomu Gomu no Mi powers at Mt. Colubo. As the World Government tried to contact him again, Kuma left the island before Luffy noticed him and went on to assist a nearby merchant ship that had been previously attacked and looted by pirates. Later, back at Egghead, Kuma began the last phases of his cyborg modification process. Being told by Vegapunk and Stussy that he would lose his entire free will in about a year, Kuma used the opportunity to write another letter for Bonney, knowing his time was now limited. Kuma's modification into a cyborg was a slow affair, with each of his body parts being modified one by one, and his head being preserved for last. While this procedure was ongoing, Kuma resumed his Warlord duties but also provided aid to the Revolutionary Army in secret from the government, although he would quickly leave and not interact in any form with his former comrades during those occasions.

East Blue Saga

Summary

Around the time the Straw Hat Pirates fought and defeated the Arlong Pirates, Kuma was sighted on the outskirts of a certain island. Now aware that Bonney had become a pirate and was searching for him, Kuma quickly teleported himself away, honoring his part of the deal with the World Government to not meet her again. Kuma also became informed of Luffy's first bounty soon after, musing about the shared fate between his child and Dragon's.

Sky Island Saga

Jaya Arc

In Mary Geoise, Kuma, alongside Donquixote Doflamingo and later on Dracule Mihawk, attended the government summit following Crocodile's defeat in Arabasta. He only spoke briefly about the urgency of the situation. Just then, they were interrupted by Laffitte, a former policeman who was renowned for his violent ways and exiled from West Blue. Kuma listened as Laffitte stated that he wished to put forward his captain's name for the nomination of Warlord of the Sea.

Water 7 Saga

Summary

Having returned to Egghead at some point after the summit, Kuma witnessed his Pacifista clones for the first time and admitted he was unsettled about the whole thing. Kuma had also learned from Vegapunk that Luffy and his crew had declared war on the government. Since the topic of Luffy had come up, Kuma used the opportunity to reveal to Vegapunk about Luffy's true parentage, knowing that hiding it from the scientist would be pointless due to the memory study deal he had agreed to beforehand. By then, Kuma had noticed some similarities between Luffy and his personal hero Nika, chalking it up to an interesting coincidence.

Thriller Bark Saga

Thriller Bark Arc

With orders from the World Government to notify Gecko Moria of Crocodile's replacement, Kuma came to Thriller Bark. Arriving there, he asked some of Perona's zombie minions, who were loading treasure onto the Thousand Sunny, where their master would be. However, he was met with some resistance and was forced to deal with them. His actions were not unnoticed as the zombies reported his actions to Perona. She recognized Kuma and shook in fear at the sight of him. Despite Kuma's reputation, however, Perona got annoyed with him and attempted to engage the Warlord for his shadow. After asking her where she would like to go and removing a glove, he made her vanish by sending her flying to Kuraigana Island. The zombies seeing this tried to attack him but were frightened off by his mere presence. Kuma then spotted Nami and asked her if Luffy had an older brother. After receiving her answer, he then teleported away and continued his search for Moria. Kuma then found Moria in the dance hall in the Mast Mansion of Thriller Bark. After some formalities, he told Moria of Crocodile's replacement, Blackbeard. Though the gap in the Seven Warlords ranks had been filled up, he told Moria that he felt somewhat uneasy of the situation. Kuma then told Moria that since the Straw Hat Pirates were most likely to head toward Moria's vicinity, he should do something about them. He explained this to Moria since the World Government had grown greatly alert of the pirates since the assault on Enies Lobby. When Kuma told Moria that the World Government was afraid that the latter would be defeated, Moria became enraged. Though he was not given a specific order, Kuma offered to help Moria in dealing with the Straw Hats. Moria angrily declined Kuma's help and told him to instead sit back and watch as he himself defeated the Straw Hats. However, despite Moria's boasting, Kuma witnessed Moria get defeated by Luffy. After the battle, Kuma then reported this to the World Government. Fearful that the rumors of Moria's defeat would cause another global uproar like with Crocodile, they ordered Kuma to kill all witnesses on Thriller Bark, including the Straw Hats. Accepting the order, he launched an attack on some of the members of the Thriller Bark Victim's Association before shifting his attention to Zoro. Kuma dueled Zoro and used his Devil Fruit ability to take down Franky, and Sanji got hurt attacking him. Knowing how unfair it was to eliminate them after they fought Moria, he created a bomb from a ball of air. He then gave them an ultimatum: let him take Luffy, and he would let them live. When they refused his offer, Kuma launched and set off the bomb, engulfing a portion of the island (in the anime, the entire island was affected). Though this did not succeed in killing the Straw Hats, it knocked all of them out. Just when he was about to take an unconscious Luffy, Zoro, in a desperate move, struck him with Shishi Sonson in an effort to stop him. However, he was only able to damage him. The wound on Kuma's shoulder revealed that he is a Pacifista, an incomplete human weapon created by the World Government and Dr. Vegapunk. Zoro offered to trade his life for Luffy's. Kuma agreed and at that moment, Sanji decided to give his life up. Zoro promptly knocked him out, feeling it necessary to sacrifice his own life rather than Sanji's. Kuma stated that he would not harm Luffy, as his "honor would be at stake". In exchange for Zoro experiencing the pain Luffy endured throughout his fight against Moria, Kuma would leave. Kuma proceeded to extract Luffy's pain and directed it at Zoro, which almost killed him. Kuma then teleported to the entrance to the ship. Before leaving, Kuma mused about Dragon having a good son with a loyal crew. Kuma traveled to Mary Geoise and reported to Sengoku and Monkey D. Garp about what transpired on Thriller Bark. The Fleet Admiral scolded the Warlord for letting the Straw Hats escape instead of eliminating them as ordered.

Summit War Saga

Sabaody Archipelago Arc

After leaving Mary Geoise, Kuma at some point visited the Sabaody Archipelago. He was contacted by the World Government about Ace's execution and the imminent war with the Whitebeard Pirates, to which he replied he would be present. Kuma landed in the archipelago in order to check up on Bonney's progress, happily watching her from outside a restaurant she was eating at. Shortly after, Kuma noticed a commotion coming from the Human Auctioning House and overheard that a World Noble had just been physically assaulted. Curious about the identity of the perpetrator, Kuma teleported himself to the building's rooftop and witnessed the Straw Hat Pirates during their attack on the shop, right after Luffy had punched Saint Charlos to avenge Hatchan; an act that, according to Kuma himself, had been unheard of for centuries. When the Straw Hats were immediately confronted by Kizaru and Sentomaru, as well as another Pacifista, PX-1, Kuma interrupted the battle. He was surprised to find Zoro still alive, who sardonically replied that it was due to Kuma's mercy. Seemingly impressed, Kuma made Zoro vanish to the same place that he sent Perona using the same move that he used on her at Thriller Bark. Sentomaru revealed that Kuma had the ability to make people fly through the sky to faraway places, as the destination would only be known to Kuma. An outraged Sanji got ready to battle the Warlord, while PX-1 tried to attack Usopp. Kuma quickly used his Devil Fruit ability to send PX-1 away, which enraged Sentomaru. As Sanji, Usopp, and Brook tried to escape, Kuma descended on them, prepared to attack and making Brook vanish. Sanji told Usopp to run and landed a kick on Kuma, only to be deflected into a pile of rubble. Usopp attempted to hold Kuma back, but ended sent away, followed by Sanji as well. Kuma then approached Rayleigh and whispered to him quietly, revealing himself to be an officer of the Revolutionary Army, and he wished to help Luffy and his crew escape. Rayleigh questioned Kuma's motives, who responded that it was up to the Dark King's own judgment to believe him or not. When Kizaru asked what Kuma had said to Rayleigh, Kuma simply refused to answer Kizaru's questions. As Luffy activated Gear 2, Kuma teleported to where Franky and Nami were and managed to make them disappear as well. With only Robin and a Monster Chopper left, Luffy desperately lunged at Kuma. However, Kuma simply teleported again to Robin and Chopper. Luffy started begging Kuma to stop sending his friends away, but Kuma ignored his pleas and proceeded to send both Chopper and Robin away. Luffy, filled with despair and rage, fell to the ground and cried. Kuma simply responded that he would not be seeing Luffy again and ultimately sent the boy flying, making the loss of the crew complete. As Kuma split the Straw Hats up, he thought to himself that the crew had the potential to "save the world", although they still needed to become more powerful. Before returning to Egghead, he visited Rayleigh to tell him something, while adding that he did not have much time left. Back at Egghead, Kuma prepared himself for the final phase of his Pacifista modification procedure. As Vegapunk made the final arrangements for Kuma's mind erasure, the latter requested a final directive to be inserted into his programming; protect the Thousand Sunny until at least one of the Straw Hats returned. Kuma also complied with Vegapunk's previous desire to research memories and manifested his own recollections into a paw bubble for the scientist to study, leaving them over a special device designed to analyze them. Kuma declared that he was now betting on Luffy and his crew to change the unfair world he knew, based on his own knowledge of Nika's deeds. Satisfied with that being the legacy he was now leaving behind and wondering about the life he had lived until that very moment, Kuma thanked Vegapunk one last time for saving Bonney and requested him to wish her a happy tenth birthday in his stead should the doctor and his daughter ever meet in the future. As Vegapunk tearfully pulled down the lever of the machine he was in, Kuma graciously accepted his ultimate fate while Egghead's personnel prayed for him, and then awakened as a mindless machine.

Amazon Lily Arc

Now no longer a free-willing person, Kuma answered the call for the Seven Warlords to battle the Whitebeard Pirates and was later shown dining with the other Warlords, except for Jinbe and Boa Hancock, while remaining in silence.

Marineford Arc

Kuma appeared at Marineford alongside Mihawk, Doflamingo, Moria, and Hancock, ready for the battle ahead. When Fleet Admiral Sengoku announced the truth about Ace's heritage, Kuma showed no response to the situation, calmly waiting for the Whitebeard Pirates to appear. When Little Oars Jr. arrived and began leaving destruction in his wake, Kuma hit him with an Ursus Shock, an attack that badly wounded Little Oars Jr. and swept both Marines and pirates alike aside. Kuma took on a solemn appearance after seeing Luffy on the battlefield. Kuma went on the offensive and fired off a beam at Ivankov, who was furious at Kuma's actions. While Luffy recognized Kuma, he did not react to seeing Ivankov up close. Doflamingo chimed in after Ivankov attempted to talk to him, informing him Kuma was dead. When Sengoku revealed that Dragon is Luffy's father, Kuma was the only Warlord not to voice his thoughts. Doflamingo spoke on Kuma's behalf, saying that while Ivankov and Luffy seemed to know Kuma, the man standing before them was not Kuma, as Vegapunk had finished his modifications on the former Bartholomew Kuma. Doflamingo then explained to Ivankov the process Kuma volunteered to undergo, as his body was converted into a "Pacifista", with bits and pieces of him being modified at a time. While Doflamingo admitted that he did not know what kind of deal Kuma and the World Government made, he went on to say that he had retained his personality a few days ago, but became a walking corpse with no human memory, following the World Government's every command: PX-0. Kuma then fired a laser blast from his mouth, sending Luffy and Ivankov flying aside. Kuma suddenly appeared in the middle of Ivankov's Newkama army and launched a pressure cannon through a line of Okamas. Refusing to take any more of Kuma's actions, Ivankov spun his head around with Face Spectrum to make a mirage of dozens of faces and launched Death Wink from all of them with Galaxy Wink. Ivankov then kicked Kuma and sent him flying, shouting that he would not let Kuma get away with hurting his followers. Kuma later went to the plaza with the other Warlords when Sengoku began the final stages of his plan. After the arrival of Shanks, Kuma was seen standing down along with everyone else.

Postwar Arc

Kuma appeared again at the Sabaody Archipelago in front of the Rosy Life Riders, holding his trademark bible. Shakky was not afraid of him, stating that he was an ally. Kuma then joined them in protecting the Thousand Sunny following the final directive he had asked Vegapunk to input on his programming.

During The Timeskip

Summary

One year after the separation of the Straw Hat crew, the Marines discovered and tried to destroy the Thousand Sunny, but Kuma, as well as Hatchan and Duval, fought against them. Kuma continued protecting the ship after Duval and Hatchan retired, having received many injuries in that battle.

Fishman Island Saga

Fishman Island Arc

When Franky returned to the Thousand Sunny, he found Kuma heavily damaged near the ship. Upon seeing Franky, Kuma slowly walked away, having completed his mission.

Whole Cake Island Saga

Levely Arc

Sometime later, Kuma became a slave-to-rent at Mary Geoise as punishment for aiding Luffy. Rosward rented him sometime prior to the Levely. During the Levely, Rosward had rented Kuma again, so when he heard his son had been attacked, Rosward rode on Kuma's back through the Domain of the Gods and met Charlos at the Celestial Dragon Gate. The mindless Kuma obeyed without objection, even when Rosward repeatedly stabbed and struck him.

Wano Country Saga

Wano Country Arc

On the fourth day of the Levely, Kuma, while still carrying Rosward, followed Charlos, who intended to once again attempt to enslave Princess Shirahoshi. When they arrived at Pangea Castle's Socialization Plaza, Charlos had Kuma chain the mermaid. When the princess' brothers tried to rescue her from him, Charlos ordered Kuma to stop them, so he fired a laser at the princes, who dodged the attack. Seeing that they wanted to continue, Charlos furiously ordered Kuma not to hesitate to kill them. When Donquixote Mjosgard intervened, Charlos ordered Kuma to kill Mjosgard too, so Kuma prepared another laser. However, Sai and Leo intervened by attacking Charlos. Kuma was then about to shoot the pirates with his laser, but Morley appeared from the ground and grabbed Kuma while begging him to stop. The giant then took her comrade and fled from their pursuers, and the two managed to escape from Mary Geoise with the other revolutionaries. A few days following Kuma's abduction, Saturn activated Kuma's self-destruct switch with the intent of killing him and potentially any Revolutionaries that were near him at the time. However, unbeknownst to him, Vegapunk was too disgusted to commit to such a device knowing the government would eventually use him as a suicide weapon and instead put in an alternative shutdown protocol that permanently shut down all of Kuma's programming and systems, meant to leave him in a vegetative state.

Final Saga

Egghead Arc

When the revolutionaries reached Momoiro Island, Dragon asked Kuma what he saw in Mary Geoise, to which Kuma complied, referring to Dragon as "Master". Later, while the revolutionaries were in the middle of repairing him, Kuma stood up and began running, stumbling along the way and ignoring his allies' cries. Upon reaching the coast, Kuma used his Devil Fruit power to propel himself off the island. He slammed into the Red Line and fell down to Red Port. With everyone running away from him in fear, Kuma started to climb the Red Line. Marines were dispatched to apprehend him, while the citizens were ordered to evacuate. Despite the damage to his body and the Marines' assault, Kuma stood back up, fended off his pursuers, and then began climbing again. Kuma eventually did make it to the top of the Red Line, about a day before the Egghead Incident. The resident soldiers quickly attempted to restrain him but were unsuccessful. Sakazuki then appeared and confronted him, while questioning Kuma's motives and possible destination. Under orders by the World Nobles, Sakazuki managed to severely injure Kuma, burning off a part of his face, as well as burning one of his legs. Before further damage could be done, Kuma used his Devil Fruit to escape. Kuma made his way to Egghead, touching down and making his way to the center of the island. As he ran through the island, he was bombarded with cannon fire and gunshots from the Marines, but he pushed forward and swiftly defeated a Vice Admiral and a Pacifista. He successfully incapacitated the Marines holding Bonney at gunpoint and jumped in front of Saturn as he attempted to crush her, taking the blow himself. With Bonney saved, Kuma removed Saturn's leg from his back and prepared to punch Saturn with a Armament Haki-coated fist. Kuma struck Saturn in the face, causing severe damage to the elder's body as he crashed through multiple buildings. This action left the Marines at a loss for words on how a slave like Kuma could possibly strike one of the Five Elders. Vegapunk thought to himself on how he never programmed a real self destruct switch on Kuma but that it would ultimately put him in a vegetative state, as Kuma's actions defied all reason he came to conclusion that it must have something to do with his Buccaneer heritage. Kuma then embraced Bonney hugging her after the ordeal, with Bonney expressing gratitude for everything Kuma has done up until this point, Saturn emerged from the rumble and grew furious demanding Vegapunk to explain, Vegapunk then commented that it was due to the "power of love". Saturn decided that he could not let these men live anymore and attempted to strike Kuma but the attack was blocked away by Sanji and Franky then shot a radical beam through Saturn but was kicked away by Kizaru, Kuma lost the ability to move further and was carried away to the Labophase by Atlas on Vegapunk's orders. The group made it to a vacuum rocket, which they attempted to use to get to the Labophase. However, Kizaru thwarted this by using a light sword to destroy the rocket mid-air causing them to free fall. Saturn gave the order for the Pacifistas to kill Bonney and Kuma while mocking their fates. However, before they were shot down, Atlas revealed to Bonney that she had primary hierarchy over the Pacifistas' actions, causing Bonney to order them to target the Marines instead. With the Pacifistas focused on the ground, Kizaru attempted to attack them again, but was interrupted by Luffy. In the process, the ground was turned into rubber, allowing Kuma and Bonney to land safely. Kuma then witnessed Luffy attack Saturn in retaliation for stabbing Vegapunk, and was then carried away by Atlas to the northeast shore. Kuma and the others were then carried to the safety of the Giant Warrior Pirates ship after they arrived on Egghead and thwarted Vice Admiral Tosa's attempt on Bonney's life. Before the group could make their way to the giants' ship, they were halted by Vice Admiral's Red King, Guillotine, and Pomsky. Bonney requested the giants to take Kuma to safety while they fought the Vice Admirals off. While onboard, Kuma reminisced on the time he promised Ginny to take care of Bonney. When Saturn came onboard the ship to target him and Bonney, he only reacted with a smile as his daughter defeated the Elder with Luffy's help. With the danger vanquished, Bonney rested on her father's torso.

Elbaph Arc

Eventually, the two would rest together while watching the horizon. Bonney happily brought up their dream of traveling the world together, while Kuma smiled. After reaching Elbaph, Bonney made plans with Lilith to remain on the island with Kuma, eventually building a laboratory for Lilith and restoring Kuma's mind.

References

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