I think we’re all in agreement that the World Government wants to paint Kuma as a monster for rebelling against them. First, as a pirate. Then, as a Revolutionary.
But the question that then raises is, ‘Why did Kuma, a monarch once allied with the World Government, rebel?’
Well…we did get a sketch of him as a child, along with the other pre-timeskip Warlords in SBS Vol. 63, which could serve as a clue:
With tattered clothes, and having to gather and carry firewood himself, it seems that Kuma came from some rather humble beginnings. Odd, considering he was supposed to be a World Noble.
However, given how every member nation to the World Government has to pay the Heavenly Tribute, which isn’t cheap, is it possible that this tribute bankrupted the Sorbet Kingdom? If so, could that be why Kuma resorted to piracy? As a means to provide for his impoverished country?
The (Possible) Truth About Kuma
If Kuma’s true nature is to be kind and gentle, I can imagine piracy wasn’t too much to his liking. Which could be what led him to the Revolutionary Army. Why steal from others to feed himself and his people if he can do something that could help the whole world? The World Government isn’t really doing anyone any favors other than for those at the very top.
Ick! I’d be all-in for overthrowing the system, too.
Unfortunately, Kuma got arrested. And went onto become one of Vegapunk’s experiments. But as it is more-or-less confirmed that Vegapunk is part of the Revolutionary Army as well…
…this could’ve been his way from saving Kuma from a certain immediate execution.
From the way Vegapunk is talking at the end of Chapter 1064, it almost sounds like he’s resigned himself to die soon. Though, a bit melancholic, he’s probably been contemplating his own death ever since he began experimenting on Kuma, who I believe was a good friend of his. Both fellow Revolutionaries and all.
And like Kuma, I think Vegapunk is delivering his final wish to a good, trusted friend just before he passes on.
Vegapunk’s Final Mission…what could it be?
Now…if I were Vegapunk, I would’ve let Dragon know ahead of time the secret to controlling all of my technology. Or some kind of secret that would give the Revolutionary Army a competitive edge against the WG. So then, this last call to Dragon right here is “The Signal”.
Vegapunk is ready to die, so the Revolutionary Army should be escalating their efforts very soon. More so than they already have. Maybe by unveiling some technology the World Government had absolutely no idea he was developing?
I, like many others, speculate that the World Government, Im, more specifically, is in control of the ancient weapon, Uranus.
But as Vegapunk is the man with a mind hundreds of years in the future, I imagine that he had developed his own superweapon. Something he had entrusted Dragon with. And now that he’s mentioned that he’s going to die soon, he’s given Dragon the greenlight to unleash it.
In this other theory of mine, I speculated that the three ancient weapons would get divvied up like this:
– Uranus: The World Government (Im)
– Pluton: The Cross Guild (Crocodile)
– Poseidon: Blackbeard
If the three ancient weapons all fall into the wrong hands, the Revolutionary Army is f*ck’d. But…if Vegapunk does leave some of his futuristic tech to them, they might stand a chance.
Sadly, I can only imagine this futuristic superweapon that the Revolutionaries will get is either a nuclear bomb or a giant mecha-bot. Or maybe a giant robot mech armed with nuclear missiles? If so, how could the Revolutionaries have possibly kept it hidden? Then again, as we’re already seeing gigantic robots in Egghead Island, it’s probably not that.
Perhaps, it is something small. But dangerous! Something like the little cricket gun from Men In Black. Whatever it is, I’m sure that Oda will blow our minds, nevertheless.
Special People?
How many more races do we got left to learn about in One Piece?
I doubt Kuma was a Lunarian, or any of the other winged races. Reason being…he doesn’t have wings. Or the long, silvery locks.
Maybe the people of the Sorbet Kingdom were all, or at least primarily, “special people”. Still humans. But with a little something extra that makes them…”special”. Unfortunately, we didn’t get additional details from Bonney.
As Bonney seems to be Kuma’s biological daughter, I think it’s fair to say she’s at least part of this “special” group of people. She carries this “special” lineage factor even if she doesn’t have the same outward appearance. It could be why Sakazuki was so anxious about her escaping custody from the World Government.
Or maybe the males are the ones with dark skin and black curly hair and the females are pale with pink straight hair? So, could Big Mom also be…
Nope. She’s not hijacking this post. Rather, I want to focus on another individual whose relevance to the story has sharply increased lately.
He’s from the South Blue, where the Sorbet Kingdom is located. Plus, both he and Kuma are two very tall melanated individuals with kinky hair.
Well…I guess Usopp is, too. And we know he isn’t special. Kidding…
But I am serious about Kuzan being from the Sorbet Kingdom. Take a look at this side-by-side comparison between his and Kuma’s childhood pictures:
Kuzan appears to have come from some rather humble beginnings, too. While he looks aggressive here, as an adult, his demeanor is rather chill. Much like Kuma’s.
A sorbet is a chilled fruit treat. As Kuzan has the Chilly-Chilly Fruit, I’m sensing a theme here:
In this analysis I did on Kuzan a couple of weeks ago, I pointed out some parallels he has with Admiral Fujitora. Where Fujitora indirectly helped the Straw Hats defeat Doflamingo in Dressrosa, I suspect Aokiji had something to do with Smoker being in Alabasta, who ended up indirectly helping the Straw Hats against Crocodile, another former Warlord.
With this new theory here, I now suspect that Kuzan was conscripted into the Marines. Just like Issho (Fujitora). If he didn’t voluntarily join the Marines, that could help explain his motto of ‘Lazy Justice’:
He’ll do his job. But he’s not going to go above and beyond for it. Not like that nerd, Sakazuki.
Weird how a lazy guy like Kuzan got promoted all the way up to the Admiral-level. Then again, I guess the same could be said about Borsalino (Kizaru).
But if Kuzan is a “special” person, then maybe whatever natural ability he was born with made his rise up to Admiral a breeze. Born Ford Tough or something…
Are Kuzan & Teach Kinfolk?
Because why not? Blackbeard is another extraordinarily large melanated guy with strange abilities that have yet to be explained. You know…how he can consume more than one devil fruit without exploding and that he doesn’t sleep?
Then again, per Blackbeard’s Vivre Card, he originated from the Grand Line. And at 12, he joined up with the Whitebeard Pirates somewhere in the New World. He may’ve never been outside of the Grand Line (besides the Calm Belt). So, I doubt that he’s ever even been to the Sorbet Kingdom. Let alone the South Blue.
But maybe…he can trace his roots back to the same ancestors as Kuma and Kuzan?
Both Blackbeard and Kuzan have a weird relationship to sleep. Blackbeard never sleeps while Kuzan can take a nap anywhere. Even standing up.
By Water 7, Kuzan IS the cold because of his chilly-chilly fruit. He doesn’t have to worry about dying in his sleep because of it.
With the Sorbet Kingdom being named after an iced treat, I imagine it is a winter island. But since Blackbeard is originally from the Grand Line, I’m thinking he was born on Egghead before Vegapunk’s lab was built there. Back then, I imagine that it wasn’t called Egghead Island.
So, if Kuzan and Blackbeard have some shared ancestry, both members of a rare lineage, I can see that being the reason why the latter let the former be a part of his crew. In spite of him being a former Admiral with the Marines. And not suspect that he might be an undercover agent.
As for Kuzan, what does he get from being a Blackbeard Pirate? At this point, I think it’s only a matter of time before he is revealed as the Tenth Titanic Captain.
If he actually is from Sorbet, then I can see him having an interest in doing away with the corrupt organization that is World Government. Sorta following in Kuma’s footsteps into piracy. However, I don’t think Kuzan would be entirely sympathetic to Blackbeard’s cause. Perhaps he’s hoping Blackbeard and the World Government end up killing each other. He’s just along for the ride to see to it through.
Let Lazy Justice work its magic.
So, let’s say Kuma, Blackbeard, and Kuzan are all distant relatives. Could that mean Kuzan can consume another devil fruit, too? If so, I imagine Kuzan now has some broken paramecia ability just like the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates. But what paramecia ability would complement ice? Laser-vision? Is that why he wears sunglasses now?
Nah, that’s too much like Kizaru’s fruit. And I’m probably reaching way too far here.
But I’m thinking whenever we learn more about Kuma, which should be very soon, we’ll learn more about Blackbeard and Kuzan, too.
TLDR:
Kuma was framed as a tyrant by the World Government to ruin his reputation. Truth is, Kuma resorted to piracy to feed his country. The Heavenly Tribute paid to the WG bankrupted the Sorbet Kingdom. Once seeing the World Government as corrupt, he joined the Revolutionary Army. When arrested, he met with fellow (secret) Revolutionary, Vegapunk.
Now, as Vegapunk is about to die, he calls Dragon to execute his Final Mission. Behind the scenes, Vegapunk developed a futuristic superweapon to combat the three Ancient Weapons. The WG having Uranus, Cross Guild to get Pluton, and Blackbeard gets Poseidon.
As for this group of “Special People” that Kuma is part of, Kuzan is, too. And maybe even Blackbeard. Because of this shared ancestry, Blackbeard wanted Kuzan to join his crew. On top of him being a logia-fruit user. Lore dump coming soon for Kuma. Then, we’ll not only learn about what makes him “special”, but Blackbeard as well. Why he doesn’t need sleep and why he can consume more than one devil fruit. On that note, can Kuzan eat more than one devil fruit, too?
Theory by QueenFlowers91 (https://www.reddit.com/user/QueenFlowers91)
