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. He is also the father of Jewelry Bonney. Kuma is a member of the near-extinct special race known as the buccaneers, inherited from his late father Clapp.

Once feared as an extremely vicious pirate, earning himself the title "Tyrant", he is now a human weapon called 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.

The Straw Hat Pirates had an encounter with him during the Thriller Bark Arc and later during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, where he was responsible for separating the crew. He is also 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.

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. He has a pair of round bear-like ears that protrude from the top of his head. His eyes are strangely covered by clear-mirrored lenses; while initially, he will give the impression of wearing glasses, it seems that, based on the Pacifista that were destroyed, that his own eyes were actually replaced by cybernetic ones. Several decades ago, when Bonney was a young child, his eyes and ears were normal, and he wore eyeglasses.

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 his powers.

As a slave to the World Nobles since early childhood and as a slave for rent in adulthood, like all other slaves of the World Nobles, Kuma has the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon burned into him, marking him as "less than human", though it is unknown where it is on his body.

In SBS Volume 63, Oda drew the Seven Warlords as children. Kuma had short hair and was missing his bear ears, glasses, and cybernetic enhancements he receives later on. He wore tattered clothing and wooden sandals carrying a heavy load of chopped firewood on his back while reading a book called "Ninokin". As a baby and a nine-year old, he had blushy cheeks, which he inherited from his mother.

Personality
Kuma is an enigmatic man who is apparently famous for his fury and cruelty. Calm and composed, Kuma generally does not speak much unless absolutely necessary and maintains a stoic, robotic disposition at all times. When talking, Kuma customarily uses the word "target" in his sentences. He also tends to ask a person where they would like to go on a holiday before sending them away with his Devil Fruit ability, often honoring the recipient's request, but will occasionally send them to a place of his own choosing regardless of whether or not he received a reply.



During his early childhood, Kuma was rather cheerful 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 to idolize amidst his life as a slave. Kuma has since grown into someone who seeks to liberate people from oppression much like the figure of Nika. 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. 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. Even after escaping slavery, young Kuma was very kind and forgiving, willing to use his powers to treat the wounds of even those who would bully him.

In spite of his epithet implying a violent personality, Kuma is said to be a gentle man (according to Sabo) whose kindness earned him great respect from his fellow Revolutionaries. Likewise, Kuma was a very loving father to his only daughter, Bonney. Indeed, Bonney vouched that her father's reputation as an evil tyrant was falsely advertised by the Government and that he is in fact a very kind individual. This is further reinforced during the latter portion of the Thriller Bark Arc, where Kuma displays honor and respect towards Roronoa Zoro for putting his own life on the line for his captain's safety, an act that impressed the Warlord enough to give the swordsman a chance to save his own crew, in spite of that conflicting with the mission he was assigned.

There are still several mysteries behind Kuma's character. The details behind his transformation into a "Pacifista" and what exactly it entails are still unknown. Kuma in particular feels embarrassment about the idea of others delving too deep into his private memories.

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



Although he obeys the commands of the World Government, Kuma disagrees with what his superiors deem "good" and "evil" in the world. He even goes so far as to speculate that Blackbeard's acceptance into the Warlord ranks had been a very poor decision by the government, despite the fact that it filled the position left by Crocodile's defeat. However, Kuma's loyalty does not extend to the Marines. This can be seen when he declines to answer a direct question from Admiral Kizaru during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc. Due to his refusal to assist the Marines without a direct order, Kuma did not hesitate to lie when it came to his victory over the Straw Hat Pirates at Sabaody Archipelago.

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 was in fact acting as a double agent. Kuma was shown to be a brilliant agent of deception, managing to successfully manipulate the World Government from discovering his true affiliation towards the Revolutionary Army for several years. It is also heavily implied that Luffy being the son of his superior, Monkey D. 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, however, Kuma's modifications have been completed. In the finalization of the Pacifista project, Kuma eventually lost his free will, personality and memory to the modifications, 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 World 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, and 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 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. She shows an intense rage towards the World Government for enslaving him and allowing him to suffer abuse at the hands of the World Nobles, and defended a Pacifista unit that resembles her father.

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.

Ginny frequently referred to Kuma as "Kuma-chi".

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.

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.

Monkey D. Dragon
His relationship with Monkey D. Dragon is still a mystery. Though Kuma was working with the Revolutionary Army in secret as a Warlord, his final modification into a full Pacifista now places him fully under the World Government's control. Dragon is seemingly fully aware of Kuma's deal with the Marines. Kuma also had knowledge of Luffy being Dragon's son (something that even Ivankov was unaware of until he met the boy) and he 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.

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 also led Ivankov to dub Kuma as having the Hands of Liberation.

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 paramount war, 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 knew a lot about Monkey D. Luffy, as he at least knew that Portgas D. Ace and Monkey D. Dragon are his adoptive brother and biological father, respectively. Both relationships were not public matter, and as such, very few people actually know about them, until the then Fleet Admiral Sengoku made it public during the war. He gave Luffy one final farewell before sending him to Amazon Lily and losing his free will to the Pacifista project's finalization.



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 Hat Pirates. 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 Thriller Bark, he spared them again on the Sabaody Archipelago, where he helped them escape Admiral Kizaru and Sentomaru, his last known act under his own free will. While Kuma helped the entire Straw Hat Pirates crew, he showed a certain respect for Zoro, specifically after he found the swordsman alive following the events at Thriller Bark. Zoro, too, recognized and respected Kuma’s strength, admitting that he was only alive because of the other’s mercy.

Kuma's intentions during the incident with the World Nobles on the Sabaody Archipelago were to save the Straw Hat Pirates. 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 owe a debt to Kuma, although he noted the next time they would meet, Kuma would be a heartless, human weapon.

World Government and Marines
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 the government 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.

The reason for his pretense as a loyal tool of the World Government has not been revealed yet, nor has the reason why he agreed to have his personality and memories removed. Due to his Pacifista upgrades, he became a slave to both the World Government and Marines alike, doing whatever he was commanded until his Revolutionary colleagues freed him. Sentomaru, who was always distrustful of Kuma, addressed him as "Kuma-kou" (くま公), an honorific meant as a sarcastic and insulting way of addressing someone.



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. Once 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 Kuma 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 the former Warlord.

Dr. Vegapunk


Kuma seems to have a good enough relationship with Vegapunk, whose interest in the former allowed Kuma to escape a death sentence in exchange for becoming a test subject. Vegapunk was able to grant him his final wish as a human being, which was to program Kuma to protect the Straw Hats' ship until their return. 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. The doctor also seems to know the motives for Kuma's acceptance in participating in the Pacifista project but keeps those a secret from whoever would be interested in that information.

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.

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.

Gecko Moria
Kuma has been shown interacting with one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Gecko Moria. Moria feels that because of his loyalty to the World Government, he cannot be trusted. Kuma showed much patience around Moria, offering assistance to help him against the Straw Hats despite his disrespect towards him. Moria was gravely insulted at his offer and showed no qualms about attacking him, despite Kuma not being affected by his intimidation tactics. Moria also knew of Kuma's Devil Fruit, as shown when he stated that he knew about his powers and his tendency of asking people where they want to go on a trip before sending them flying away.

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
Prior to his final Pacifista modifications, Kuma was an officer in the Revolutionary Army. As a result, he had control over its lower ranking members. However, he lost this power when he became a complete slave of the World Government. As the former king of the Sorbet Kingdom, he once held political power.

Kuma was shown to be brilliant at deception, managing to successfully trick the World Government about his true affiliation with the Revolutionary Army for several years, as well as being elected to the position of one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea.

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.

He 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.

Despite his size, Kuma is extremely fast, enough to seem as though he has disappeared in the eyes of the Straw Hats, as well everyone on Thriller Bark. This is, however, unclear if it has something to do with the modifications from Dr. Vegapunk, or if it is part of his Devil Fruit powers, or simply his own raw speed. In his fight with Roronoa Zoro on Thriller Bark, he was shown to quite agile and nimble, despite his size, something that Zoro himself noted.

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, surviving cannon-fire, bullets, even falling off the red line, till he ultimately succeeded in climbing up the red line and returning to Mary Geoise. Despite the damage his body took just to successfully climb up to Mary Geoise, Kuma was more than strong enough to fight off the royal guards, and even managed to devastate the whole area with his powers before the Fleet Admiral finally showed up to stop him. Despite losing part of his face and one of his feet to Akainu, Kuma was able to avoid capture and destruction, and escape before further damage was done, shocking the fleet Admiral, who was surprised that Kuma could and would mindlessly take so much damage, especially since he was supposedly robbed of his free will and memories after becoming a Pacisfista.

Geographical Knowledge
Through his actions, he appears to have great knowledge in geography, as with his powers he knows exactly where he is sending someone seemingly no matter where in the world he is. His degree of knowledge is high enough to perfectly locate even a moving sky island, although his cyborg modifications may have enhanced this ability. This is also shown when he asks people where they would like to go before he "pushes" them.

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'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.

Early Life


Bartholomew Kuma was born 47 years ago at the Sorbet Kingdom in the South Blue, to 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, that would one day rescue them from their imprisonment. Clapp sung Nika's rhythm for Kuma before he was shot and killed by a noble.

During the Native Hunting Competition on God Valley 38 years ago, Kuma tried escaping, 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 would go on to explain his plan for all of them to escape, which involved stealing 2 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 whom 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, the entire island was thrown into chaos, allowing Kuma and Ivankov a chance to get both fruits. Charlotte Linlin appeared, and prevented Ivankov from eating his fruit, but allowing Kuma the chance to consume his own. 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 would go 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 would attack 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 would both cry happily after eating a large meal, enjoying the fact that they had successfully gained their freedom.

At some point, Kuma became the king of the Sorbet Kingdom until he was deposed by his people for his alleged tyrannical means, according to Jinbe. Because of this, he became known as "Tyrant" Kuma, eventually starting a career in piracy and then becoming a member of the revolutionary army in the following years.



About 24 years before the current storyline, Kuma fathered a daughter, Jewelry Bonney, whom he had a very close relationship with. According to Bonney herself and other members of the revolutionaries, Kuma was not a tyrant at all and was in fact targeted by the World Government for standing up against them during his tenure as a king.

Revolutionary Army


22 years before the current storyline and months after the Ohara Incident, Kuma joined forces with Monkey D. Dragon and Ivankov, leading to the establishment of the Revolutionary Army. During this time, he learned of Dragon's son, Monkey D. Luffy.

Twelve years before the current storyline, Kuma was part of an operation with Monkey D. Dragon and Emporio Ivankov. He witnessed the immolation of the Gray Terminal, assisting the survivors on board the Revolutionaries' ship.

Seven Warlords and the Pacifista Project
Kuma was at one point captured by the Marines and then sentenced to life imprisonment for his association with the revolutionaries. However, the Marines' head researcher, Dr. Vegapunk, took an interest in Kuma's special physique and convinced the World Government to pardon the revolutionary's crimes in exchange for him becoming the genius scientist's test subject, a deal that Kuma seemingly accepted despite his hatred of the World Government.



Kuma later became a Warlord of the Sea as part of the agreement he had with the World Government, having allowed Dr. Vegapunk to clone and modify him into a cyborg weapon, a Pacifista. During one experiment, Kuma repulsed his own memories at Vegapunk's request, although he did so with much reluctance. Said repulsed memories were then kept confined within a high-security room in Vegapunk's laboratory.

Kuma's modification into a cyborg was a slow process, with each of his body parts being modified one by one, and his head being preserved for last. By the time of the Summit War of Marineford, the process was complete.

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. 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.

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.

Sabaody Archipelago Arc
Having exhausted themselves by defeating a Pacifista on the Sabaody Archipelago, the Straw Hats were immediately confronted by Kizaru and Sentomaru, as well as another Pacifista, PX-1. However, the battle was interrupted by the real Bartholomew Kuma, whom Zoro recognized as the genuine article. 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 has the ability to make people fly through the sky to faraway places and anyone that gets touched by Kuma's paws would fly through three days and three nights and the destination would only be known by Kuma. An outraged Sanji got ready to battle Kuma, while PX-1 tried to attack Usopp from behind, using a beam attack. Kuma then 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. Brook sacrificed himself and made a joke as he disappeared. 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, only to be sent away as well. An enraged Sanji ran towards Kuma but was also sent away 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 by saying that he could choose whether to believe him or not. When Kizaru asked what Kuma said to Rayleigh, Kuma simply replied with that he would not answer Kizaru's questions. Luffy activated Gear 2 but Kuma teleported to where Franky and Nami were. Franky tried to attack Kuma by using "Strong Right" but had no effect. An enraged Luffy tried a "Jet Pistol", only to be blocked by Kuma's paws. Kuma descended on Franky and also sent him away using his Devil Fruit powers. He then approached Nami and sent her away 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 still sent Chopper away. Robin attempted to run, but she also gets sent away by Kuma. Luffy, filled with despair and rage, fell to the ground, angry and cried that he could not even save a single friend. Kuma simply responded by saying that he would not be seeing Luffy again and ultimately sent Luffy flying, making the loss of the crew complete.

Before returning to Marineford, he visited Rayleigh to tell him something and adding that he did not have much time left. This was the last-known action made freely by Kuma before Dr. Vegapunk completed the Pacifista modifications.

Amazon Lily Arc
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.

Marineford Arc
He then 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.

Post-War 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. His reason to do so remains unclear, but Kuma had Vegapunk input a special mission into his body before losing his personality. The mission was to protect the ship, even if it costs him his life, until a Straw Hat member returns.

During the Timeskip
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.

Fish-Man 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.

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 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 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's 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. But suddenly, Donquixote Mjosgard intervened, so Charlos ordered him to kill him too, to which 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.

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. 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 and kept climbing.



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 half of his face, as well as one of his legs. Before further damage could be done, Kuma used his Devil Fruit to escape.

Major Battles

 * 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

Filler Battles

 * Bartholomew Kuma vs. Sabo

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.
 * 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.
 * In One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3, Kuma's Bible is referred as Book of Bears and appears as a rare coin. The Book of Bears coin can be obtained by getting Kuma's Crew Level to MAX (Level 5). It is one of the 4 rare coins needed to break Kuma's level limit.
 * 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.

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