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The Cat Claws[2] are Kuro's primary weapon. They are first seen being used against Merry,[1] and fully introduced when used against the Nyaban Brothers.[3]

Appearance[]

The Cat Claws are a pair of black furred gloves sporting a full-length katana blade at the end of each finger. They are reminiscent of the claws of cats, as the name suggests. When not in use, they are typically kept inside a duffel bag.

The Cat Claws were damaged during Kuro's battle against Luffy, and all blades on Kuro's right hand have been broken off, with only the blades on his left hand being intact.

Abilities[]

Due to the length and sharpness of the blades, one swing can inflict multiple aggravating wounds and cut through walls and rocks.[1][4] However, it is easy for Kuro to get the blades trapped in objects such as rocks. In addition, the blades are not durable and is prone to breaking if the opponent is sufficiently strong.[5]

Kuro has a habit of his glasses up with his palm in order not to scratch his face with his claws, a behavior that he retains even after assuming a civilian identity.[3]

Kuro primarily uses these giant claws in conjunction with his superhuman speed to strike his opponents with such swiftness that they will not know what struck them until it is too late; he can reportedly kill fifty highly skilled assassins before they notice his presence.[3]

Though Kuro's raw speed is roughly the same as that of CP9's Soru technique[6] and long claws make him a deadly fighter, his weakness lies in his inability to see clearly while running, causing him to strike anything his claws randomly connect with, whether it be an enemy, the surroundings, or his subordinates.[4]

Techniques[]

Shakushi

Shakushi

  • Shakushi (杓死, Shakushi?, literally meaning "Scoop Death"): Kuro's ultimate technique. A fearsome attack that utilizes Kuro's Nukiashi to the fullest, moving at a speed of 100 meters in 4–5 seconds,[6] allowing him to sweep a large area and kill anything his claws connect with, including his own crew. He initiates this move by swaying back and forth sideways in a fluid manner; this is necessary in order to enter the "trance" needed to perform the move. The degree to which he inflicts his attacks is so random that they range from mediocre scratches to fatal evisceration of both friend and foe alike. He moves so fast that even he does not know what he's attacking, and only stops when he becomes tired (or when someone can catch and physically stop him, as Luffy did). In the anime, this move has the side-effect of generating purple clouds of smoke that rise from the ground as Kuro moves at his topmost speed.[4] It is said that he killed many of his own crewmates in the past with this technique. In Unlimited Cruise, Kuro uses this attack to focus on his opponent with multiple strikes, rather than wreaking widespread carnage. This attack is called Out of the Bag Attack in VIZ manga (referring to the phrase "Cat's out of the bag"), Cat Out of the Bag Attack in the 4Kids dub, and Out of the Bag Attack in the Funimation adaptations.
  • The name of this attack comes from the Japanese phrase neko mo shakushi mo (猫もしゃくしも?, literally meaning "even cats and rice ladles"), which means "absolutely everything", reflected in the attack's indiscriminate nature. It is also a pun of the Japanese word sakushi (策士?), which means "schemer", referring to Kuro's personality.

Adaptation Differences[]

Anime Differences[]

Kuro Posed Over Kaya

Kuro contemplating on killing Kaya in the anime.

In the manga, when Kuro unsheathed the claws to strike down Merry, only the tips of the blades were shown. The anime shows the claws on his right hand entirely. Furthermore, in the anime, he contemplated on using the blood-soaked claws to kill a sleeping Kaya before deciding against it.[1]

Live-Action Differences[]

The blades on both hands remained intact before Kuro's defeat.[7]

Trivia[]

  • These weapons are possibly based on the real life weapons, the tekagi-shuko and neko-te.
  • The Nyaban Brothers fight with similar gloves to that of their captain, albeit much shorter and with simply long nails as opposed to katana blades.
  • Captain Kuso from Chin Piece wears the Cat Claws on his feet.[8]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 4 Chapter 28 (p. 9) and Episode 12, Kuro implicitly uses the Cat Claws to injure Merry.
  2. One Piece Yellow: Grand Elements, The Cat Claws are named and briefly explained.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 4 Chapter 33 (p. 6-8) and Episode 14, Kuro properly shows the Cat Claws against the Nyanban Brothers, and Jango explains Kuro's speed.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 5 Chapter 38 (p. 16-20) and Episode 16, Kuro releases the Shakushi against Luffy and his crew, causing deep scratches all over.
  5. One Piece Manga and Anime — Vol. 5 Chapter 37 (p. 18-19) and Episode 16, Kuro stabs through a boulder Luffy picked up as a shield, and the claws snapped when Luffy bent them.
  6. 6.0 6.1 SBS One Piece Manga — Vol. 42 (p. 46), Fan Question: "Which is faster, Kuro's Shakushi or CP9's Soru?"
  7. One Piece Live-Action — The Pirates are Coming.
  8. Chin Piece Manga — Vol. 2 Chapter 8, Captain Kuso wearing the claws on his feet.

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