Kuja Pirates

The Kuja Pirates (九蛇海賊団) is a crew of female pirates from Amazon Lily. All of the crew members are women chosen from the Kuja tribe of their homeland. Their captain is the Empress of the Kuja tribe, as well as the only female member of the Royal Shichibukai, Boa Hancock. Second in command are Hancock's younger sisters, Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold.

Though only the elite warriors of the tribe were selected to be members of the Kuja Pirates crew, when Hancock signed the treaty with the World Government to protect Amazon Lily, every Kuja member has been classified as pirates, whether they are islanders or actual pirates.

History
The Kuja Pirates first appeared to answer the summons of Vice Admiral Momonga, who demanded Boa Hancock to cooperate with the upcoming war against the Whitebeard Pirates, who are bound to attack in attempt to rescue their soon-to-be executed second division commander, Portgas D. Ace, who has been captured by the new Shichibukai member Marshall D. Teach. Hancock refused, claiming that her joining the ranks of the Shichibukai is just to get the Marines off her back from pursuit. She then ordered the Marines on board of Momonga's ship to load all of their treasure onto the Kuja's ship. They nearly complied due to her mesmerizing beauty, but Momonga's anger snapped them out of their trance. Hancock then launched her Mero Mero Mellow technique, petrifying all the Marines, except the Vice Admiral, who negated the effects with pain (by stabbing his hand). As the Kuja pirates depart back to Amazon Lily, Momonga gave them a warning: if Hancock does not reply to the summons of the World Government in two days, then the treaty for the safety to Amazon Lily would be nullified, which she ignored.

After the pirates returned, they caught Monkey D. Luffy on their island, who had been sent there by Bartholomew Kuma. They had a battle at the Colosseum, with Luffy being victorious.

After hearing Luffy's assault on the World Noble Saint Charloss, Hancock had fallen for the Straw Hat Pirates' captain. Upon hearing Ace's impending execution, Luffy asked Hancock to sneak him into Impel Down to rescue his brother, to which she agreed, much to the shock of her sisters and Nyon.

The Kuja pirates then sailed back to Momonga's ship, with Luffy hiding inside Hancock's robes. Hancock then boarded the Marine ship with her Snake Weapon and Luffy, leaving her crew behind to wait for her return.

After the war ended, to which Luffy was rescued by the Heart Pirates, Hancock contacted the Kuja Pirates to escort the entire Heart Pirates to Amazon Lily, where Luffy hid from the World Government.

Crew Strength
The crew members are chosen amongst the strongest women in the tribe, and are led by the famous "Gorgon Sisters" of the Kuja tribe: Empress of the tribe and Shichibukai member Boa Hancock, and her younger sisters Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold.

All the Kuja tribe members are capable of using Haki, making them formidable opponents, even against Devil Fruit users. They usually combine their Haki with their Snake Weapons to launch powerful strikes. Considering the members of the crew are elites, their mastery must be higher than the islanders. Hancock, in particular, possesses the Haoushoku Haki. In addition, while in the Battle Arena for Luffy's execution, most of the members of the crew were able to resist the effects of his Haoushoku Haki while most of the islanders were knocked out, a further testament to their strength.

Aside from Haki, the Gorgon Sisters all possess Devil Fruits, a "gift" from the World Nobles who enslaved them many years ago. Hancock wields the Mero Mero no Mi, while Sandersonia and Marigold both wield the Hebi Hebi no Mi, Model: Anaconda and King Cobra, respectively. These powers make them even more formidable than the rest of the tribe and crew. To deceive the rest of the Kuja members from their shameful past of slavery, the Gorgon Sisters created a lie, saying their powers are a curse for killing a Gorgon monster.

It is said that all ships attacked by the Kuja Pirates have no life on them, but instead drift on the sea with a collection of mysterious stone statues. This is done by Hancock's Mero Mero Mellow technique. For this reason, their reputation is so great that pirates and merchants often flee out of fear the moment they even witness the Kuja flag.

Ship
The ship is a basic galleon with a pink mansion structure in the middle. Paddle-wheels are installed on the stern in exchange of a rudder, and instead of a figurehead, two Yuda are tied to the front, where they steer the ship. The front sail bears the Jolly Roger of the Kuja Pirates, while the back sail has "Kuja" (九蛇) written in kanji. It first appeared in Chapter 516 and Episode 415.

As the Kuja tribe reside in Amazon Lily, an island in the middle of the Calm Belt, they are in danger of being attacked by Sea Kings. Therefore, the crew uses Yuda, ferocious and poisonous sea-serpents that even Sea Kings do not dare to attack, that they somehow managed to domesticate, to safely guide their ship through. This is a newly devised method to travel through the Calm Belt.

Figures of the Kuja Pirates' ship are presented in One Piece Wobbling Pirate Ship Collection and One Piece Super Ship Collection.

Other Information
When Hancock made a treaty with the World Government for protecting her homeland, Amazon Lily, all members of the Kuja tribe were classified as pirates, whether on land or at sea. Should Hancock not live up to her duties, the treaty could be nullified, and all Kuja (on-land or at sea) could be endangered, and their island destroyed.

Trivia

 * The skull with nine snakes seen on the front of their boat, is similar to a common symbol of the Gorgon: a woman's face surrounded by snake hair.

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