On the first significant appearance of Bartholomew Kuma in the Thriller Bark Arc, fans were anxious over the adversary he posed to the Straw Hats. That increased during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc when Kuma sent the Straw Hats to different places. However, he was eventually revealed to be one of the most tragic characters in the story.
After teasing Kuma’s sad history throughout the Egghead Arc, One Piece Chapter 1095 finally revealed his heartbreaking past and how he came to be in the position he currently is. His past adds an important aspect to the story as it shows the cruelty of the Celestial Dragons and how the World Government has terrorized normal citizens throughout history.
In this article, we’ll be discussing Bartholomew Kuma’s past and his current status. His past is not entirely revealed yet and is expected to expand further into the next chapter. This article talks about whatever we know of his history until now. But before we begin our discussion, we’ll issue a spoiler alert for the readers who are not caught up with the manga yet.
Table of Contents
Who Is Bartholomew Kuma?
Bartholomew Kuma was first introduced in the story as a Shichibukai i.e., one of the seven warlord pirates who ally themselves with the World Government, and in exchange, their criminal activities are overlooked by the organization. It isn’t until later that it’s revealed that Kuma is actually a member of the Revolutionary Army and his actions towards the Straw Hats were to help them.
Kuma also acted as a subject for the experiment of Dr. Vegapunk under the World Government. His body and powers served as the model of the Pacifista which are among the strongest weapons of the World Government.
During the two years between the time skips, Kuma sacrificed himself to protect the Thousand Sunny. He was later taken as a slave to Mary Geoise where he suffered horrible torture by the Celestial Dragons and lost his consciousness for good.
Bartholomew Kuma’s Past
The first time we get a glimpse of Kuma’s tragic past is in Chapter 1072 when Bonney finds Kuma’s memories on Egghead Island. However, the memories are silhouette and not properly shown. In Chapter 1095, Kuma’s past is finally revealed. The flashback starts from the time Kuma was born and ends at the point of time when he met Ivankov for the first time.
The revelation of Kuma’s past will surely continue on to the next chapter, expectedly covering his meeting with Dragon and how he once again became a pawn for the World Government. There’s also the extent of his relationship with Bonney that the next chapter can cover.
Parents and Clan
47 years ago from the current timeline, Bartholomew Kuma was born to his loving parents in Sorbet Kingdom, an island in the West Blue. Kuma’s father belonged to the Buccaneer race who are known to possess great physical strength and durability because of the giant blood that they carry. His mother wasn’t from the race, making Kuma a half-Buccaneer.
Like many races who suffered a great deal at the hands of the World Government, the Buccaneer race hid their identities to avoid capture by the Marines and made slaves for the Celestial Dragons. Kuma’s father also hid their race to live peacefully with his family.
Capture
However, the doctor who delivered Kuma ended up leaking their identities to the Marines, leading to their capture. Kuma’s father begged again and again to leave out his wife who wasn’t a Buccaneer and their child and to take him alone instead, but the Marines arrested them all together, bringing them to the holy land of Mary Geoise.
All three of them were forced to become slaves for the Celestial Dragons and endure endless torture at their hands. Kuma had been a slave since his childhood and grew up in the same heartbreaking condition. However, his father always smiled at him and encouraged him, ignoring his own pain. Eventually, his mother died when Kuma was a kid.
While they went through immense pain every day, Kuma’s father told him about Sun God Nika, the Warrior of Liberation who freed the people of the world as his heart beat to a certain rhythm. He told Kuma about how Nika would come and take him to the sea and how he always smiled, bringing people joy and happiness.
As his father danced with him to the tune of Nika’s heartbeat, a Celestial Dragon shot the man right in front of his son for being loud, leaving Kuma an orphan in the cruel world.
Hunting Game on God Valley
38 years ago to the present, when Kuma was nine years old, there was a hunting game organized by the Celestial Dragons on an island in the West Blue. The hunting game, which happened every three years, was meant to be a cleansing ritual where the Celestial Dragons took part and hunted the slaves and the natives of the island like animals.
The venue of the hunting game was always a new island that was not a part of the World Government territory. Through the game, the World Government took over the island under their jurisdiction.
38 years ago, the venue of the game was chosen to be God Valley in West Blue. One of the participants of the game was Saint Figarland Garling who used to be a God’s Knight at that time.
Like other slaves, Kuma was also meant to be included in the hunting as a game. However, he fled from the guards.
Meeting with Ivankov
Unfortunately, some of the other young slaves found Kuma in the field and accused him of being selfish. They complained that if Kuma ran away, all of them would be killed. As they were forcing the injured Kuma to come back with them, two new figures came to talk to the Buccaneer.
The two young slaves are revealed to be Emporio Ivankov, who would go on to become another member of the Revolutionary Army and Kuma’s dear friend, and another slave named Ginny.
Ivankov implored the other slaves not to be hopeless as unlike them, he had decided he wanted to live.
That is where Chapter 1095 ends. The rest of Kuma’s past is expected to be revealed in the next chapter.
Jewelry Bonney
A shocking revelation that came earlier in the Egghead Arc is that Jewelry Bonney is the daughter of Bartholomew Kuma. She knows her father to be a noble man and is rightfully certain that there is more to him being made a weapon for the World Government as he never would’ve chosen that for himself.
Bonney is currently in a precarious position after trying to kill Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the Five Elders, after the man transformed into a mythical beast. Saturn is about to kill Bonney and there is currently no one strong enough to save her from him at the right time.
A lot of theories say that Kuma will come at the last moment to save his daughter while some believe that Dragon will come to Egghead Island and rescue Bonney. There is a possibility of two of these but we’d have to wait and see what happens next.
Bartholomew Kuma: Current Status
The last time Kuma was seen in the present time was in Chapter 1092 where he attacked Mary Geoise after seemingly losing his consciousness. He was defeated by Akainu but his current status and location are still unknown. Kuma is certainly alive but in what condition and where, nobody knows.
Conclusion
Bartholomew Kuma is one of the most tragic characters of One Piece. All his life, he has suffered greatly at the hands of the World Government and the Celestial Dragons. Kuma’s existence itself indicates just how messed up the world is in One Piece among all the adventurous voyages and heart-pounding new locations.
Do small things with great love.
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Anamika loves words and stories and putting them to pages. She also loves anime, manga, books, movies and everything fantasy. She has been a fan of anime since childhood and her admiration for it only grew with years. Her passion for writing is even more elevated by writing about the things she loves.
