One Piece: Bartholomew Kuma’s Past, Explained

Highlights

• Bartholomew Kuma’s tragic backstory reveals the immense suffering he has endured throughout his life.
• Kuma’s selfless actions, such as sacrificing his own well-being to save his daughter, showcase his incredible character.
• Despite being a powerful and feared weapon, Kuma proves to be one of the most well-written characters in One Piece, capturing the hearts of fans.

Bartholomew Kuma is one of the most incredible characters in One Piece. He was introduced before the timeskip, and at that time, nobody thought that he would have such an important role to play in the story. His involvement in the Egghead arc changed the opinion of One Piece fans.

Kuma has become an extremely loved character, and his flashback plays an important role in it. Kuma’s backstory is tear-jerking, and it shows how much he suffered in his life and yet never blamed anyone else for his troubles.

Starting Out

In the early part of the flashback, it was revealed that Kuma was a Buccaneer, an ancient race that had been persecuted by the World Government for a transgression centuries ago. Kuma lived with his parents, and they were all very happy with what they had. Unfortunately, the World Government learned about their lineage and immediately captured them. All three of them were made slaves of the Celestial Dragons. Kuma’s father, Clapp, protested against the capture of his wife, but it was to no avail. Not long after becoming a captive, Kuma’s mother died. Clapp tried to cheer his son up with stories about Nika. Sadly, he did not live for long either, as he was shot and killed by a Celestial Dragon. This left Kuma all by himself, with no one to look after him.

Eventually, he was chosen as one of the many slaves for the Hunting Competition of the Celestial Dragons. He managed to run away and meet Ivankov and Ginny. The three had an immediate connection, which led to them teaming up and planning to get away from God Valley. Before they got off, Ivankov and Kuma found two Devil Fruits that were meant for the winners of the hunting competition. Not long afterward, Big Mom attacked Ivankov and stole the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu. However, before she could do anything to Kuma, the orphan immediately consumed the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi. With the Celestial Dragons busy with the Rocks Pirates, Kuma, Ginny, and Ivankov ran away. Kuma and Ginny went to the Sorbet Kingdom, where they remained until they grew up.

Winning And Losing

At one point, the King of the Sorbet Kingdom decided to get rid of the old people. However, Kuma stood up to the king, which resulted in his imprisonment. Luckily, Dragon and Ivankov came to the island with the rest of the Freedom Fighters and successfully overthrew King Bekori. Subsequently, Kuma and Ginny joined the Revolutionary Army. Ginny became the commander of the Eastern Forces, while Kuma was among the top officers. A few years later, Ginny was kidnapped by a Celestial Dragon who wanted to marry her.

He had a child with her, but after Ginny came down with the Sapphire Scale disease, he abandoned her. She was forced to leave Marijoa, after which she traveled to the Sorbet Kingdom, where she made one last phone call to Bartholomew Kuma and the rest of the Revolutionary Army. Kuma immediately teleported himself to Ginny’s location, only to find that she had passed away, leaving behind a daughter. With no one else left to take care of the child, Kuma knew that he had to take matters into his own hands.

Sacrificing Himself To Protect Bonney

Kuma raised Bonney the best he could, but she also developed the Sapphire Scale disease. A doctor told him that Bonney would only live until her 10th birthday. Kuma decided to focus his efforts completely on saving his daughter, which is why he even left the Revolutionary Army. After tirelessly searching for a cure, Dragon told Kuma about Vegapunk and the possibility of him having the resources to cure Bonney. Kuma traveled to Egghead, where he learned that the scientist could actually save his daughter. However, he asked Kuma to serve as his test subject, to which he happily agreed.

Everything was going smoothly until St. Jaygarcia Saturn intervened and set up three stipulations that needed to be fulfilled before Vegapunk could start Bonney’s operation. He stated that Kuma would have to join the Shichibukai. The second requirement was that Kuma had to become a weapon for the Marines. The final condition was that Kuma would have to give up his free will and a sense of individuality.

Vegapunk was livid after hearing the final requirement, but the Celestial Dragon did not care. Kuma, on the other hand, was happy that he could actually fulfill the three conditions. Saturn stated another stipulation: after Bonney’s treatment was complete, Kuma was never to see her again. Kuma bargained that at least Bonney should be kept in the Sorbet Kingdom under the watch of Conney. Saturn agreed, after which the procedure for both Bonney and Kuma started.

The Final Goodbye

After Bonney’s treatment was complete, she went to live with Conney. Kuma’s process of becoming a human weapon continued while he carried out tasks on behalf of the World Government. The flashback also showed certain key moments in One Piece from the lens of Kuma, such as Zoro’s “Nothing Happened” in Thriller Bark and Luffy’s punch to knock out a Celestial Dragon. After seeing the determination of Luffy, Kuma was certain that the young pirate would save the world. So, he asked Vegapunk to put in the command to protect the Thousand Sunny for two years while the Straw Hats trained.

Before Kuma’s memories were completely wiped, he told Vegapunk to wish Bonney a happy tenth birthday. It would be an understatement to call Kuma’s flashback amazing. It helped fans look at the character from a completely new perspective. So many characters have suffered, and they have always had some kind of shoulder to rely on, but not Kuma. He rejected Ginny’s marriage proposal because he didn’t want her to suffer in the same way that his mother did. He treated old people with his Devil Fruit, took all their pain, and never told them about it. He gave up his entire life for the sake of his daughter. It is safe to say that after the complete reveal of his past, Kuma is easily among the best-written characters in the story.

One Piece manga is available to read on Viz Media.

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