Bartholomew Kuma

Bartholomew Kuma is a former Warlord of the Sea, the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, and an officer and 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 the World Government told the public, 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 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. 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 after two years of protecting the Thousand Sunny; this lasted until his fellow revolutionaries freed him during the most recent Levely. Vegapunk also cloned Kuma as S-Bear, one of the Seraphim that were designed to replace the Warlords.

While Kuma was presented as a major antagonist during the Thriller Bark and Sabaody Archipelago Arc, he was secretly an ally and 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 needed to become stronger; 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. He also has a major background role during the Egghead Arc, being an important figure behind its ongoings.

Appearance
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 he commonly styles it to include a pair of round protrusions that resemble 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.

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 yellow with green spots. Later on the cover of Chapter 532, his coat was changed from orange to blue, though the rest of his design remained untouched. Later still, on Volume 90, Kuma's hair was changed to black, matching his depiction in the anime. 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 and one of his feet had been 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 had short hair and was missing 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.

Personality
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 ultimately led him to a point where he can no longer be considered a live human being with free will. Aside from that, Kuma's most consistent traits were his overall calmness and composition, as he generally did not speak much unless absolutely necessary and maintained a stoic disposition at all times. While he often exhibited some unique quirks of his own, like using the word "target" in his sentences or frequently asking a person 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 was always portrayed as a serious, enigmatic presence whenever he appeared, as very few people were aware of his true motivations.

When I was a boy I wanted to be a hero. Someone who could save people from suffering and grant them their freedom. Just like the legendary warrior of liberation Nika.

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. 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). 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 that conflicting with the mission he was assigned.

I work for the Revolutionary Army. Since we have a connection, I want to help this group escape.



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 current position as a Warlord and prior resignation from the rebel group, 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 the main reason for Kuma's continued assistance of the Straw Hat Pirates.

We will not be seeing one another again... Farewell.



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. Even after being freed by the Revolutionaries, he no longer appears to have any sort of humanity left within him.

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.

One last thing Bonney...you're probably sick of hearing me saying this, but...I love you so much. I'll be sure to write again soon.

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.

Bonney, who was unaware of the arrangements his 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.

Sorbet's 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.

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


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 staus 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 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 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 wept for her 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). 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
Kuma believes the Straw Hat Pirates are destined to save the world somehow, having acknowledged the many impressive, if not miraculous, feats the crew has pulled since they started sailing, all the way back in the East Blue.



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 Gecko 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. They refused and Kuma attacked them 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 still 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. 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. 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.

He also made a deal with Vegapunk to program him to protect the Thousand Sunny until a Straw Hat member returned. 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.

Monkey D. Luffy
His actions have really moved me. I know Nika is meant to be a legend, but...it'd be great if there really was a warrior out there, putting smiles on people's faces, using the rhythm of liberation...the rhythm I taught Bonney. And if there is a hero out there that will change these seas one day...I believe it'll be him.



Kuma knows a lot about Monkey D. Luffy, as he was at least 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. 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, much akin to his idol Nika, which motivated him to save Luffy and his crew back at Sabaody, something he was fine with as the last ever action done under his own free will.

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. 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
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.

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.

We have no obligation to cooperate with the Marines save where the government is directly involved... Your question shall remain unanswered.



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.

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), an honorific meant as a sarcastic and insulting way of addressing someone. Following the two years since the Summit War of Marineford, Sentomaru 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.

Since Kuma's conversion into a full Pacifista, Sentomaru presumably has in-built authority over him like any other unit.

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


Kuma first met Jaygarcia Saturn 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.

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.

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.

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.

Abilities and Powers


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 his sole self. As an officer-ranked fighter, he had control over its lower ranking members. However, he lost this power 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 (in the first encounter, the crew had just finished battling another Warlord of the Sea, Gecko Moria, as well as an island full of zombies and a giant zombie named Oars; in the second encounter, they had just battled against a Pacifista while fending off a second, alongside Sentomaru and Marine Admiral Kizaru). He did not want the crew dead, however, since he allowed them to escape, indicating he might have held back.

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 race; 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 exactly how durable and powerful Kuma's body was before he began the process of becoming a cyborg, but in his past; even before becoming a warlord, he was known to be quite fearsome.

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.

Geographical Knowledge
Kuma appears to have great knowledge in geography, as through his powers he knows exactly where he is sending someone, 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
If you were to go on a vacation... where would you like to go?

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 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 has 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.

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.

Past

 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Sorbet Kingdom's Royal Guards
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Sabo
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Bekori and Marines
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Abdullah and Jeet

Present

 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Perona and Zombies
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Straw Hat Pirates and Rolling Pirates
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Roronoa Zoro
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. PX-1 vs. Straw Hat Pirates
 * Seven Warlords of the Sea and the Marines vs. Whitebeard Pirates and their allies
 * Bartholomew Kuma (as PX-0), Donquixote Doflamingo, and Gecko Moria vs. Little Oars Jr.
 * Bartholomew Kuma (as PX-0) vs. Emporio Ivankov
 * Bartholomew Kuma, Hatchan, and Rosy Life Riders vs. every attacker of the Thousand Sunny.
 * Bartholomew Kuma (as PX-0) vs. Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, and Manboshi. (Interrupted by Morley)
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Mary Geoise Royal Guards
 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Sakazuki (Abandoned)

Early Concepts


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.

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.

Post-War 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

 * "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


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"

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

 * 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 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 most likely comes from the historical pirate Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts.
 * Kuma was revealed to have been effectively dead during the Summit War of Marineford, which concluded the Golden Age of Pirates and began the "New Age". Coincidentally, it was Bartholomew Roberts whose death ended the real world's "Great Pirate Age".
 * Kuma may be named after Bartholomew the Apostle, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus.
 * 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 Ninomiya Sontoku, a famous philosopher of the 19th century. Many statues portray him holding a book while he walks with a heavy load on his back.
 * Kuma is the only Warlord of the Sea known to be a parent.
 * Kuma's favorite foods are honey and salmon, both stereotypically associated with bears.
 * In Chapter 1096, Ginny and the other Sorbet children sing about Kuma in a manner that is very similar to the theme song of Disney's Winnie the Pooh.
 * In the Vivre Card - One Piece Visual Dictionary, 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".