One Piece: The True Nature of Kuzan’s Alliance with Blackbeard

The new chapter of One Piece has confirmed what a lot of people have been speculating since chapter 793.

During the Dressrosa arc, the Gorosei had commented that Kuzan had dedicated all his power to assist Blackbeard. Akainu/Sakazuki had replied that Kuzan was long gone from their ranks and that whatever he did now had nothing to do with them.

This had a lot fans debating what exactly Kuzan could be thinking by allying with a notorious Yonko crew and what the true nature of his alliance with Blackbeard was.

Kuzan is a part of the Blackbeard Pirates and not just Blackbeard’s ally. The cover page of chapter 1064, titled “Kuzan and Augur of the Blackbeard Pirates”, confirms it. Blackbeard sent Kuzan and Van Augur to Chocolat Town in Totto Land to kidnap Charlotte Pudding.  

When did Kuzan join the Blackbeard Pirates?

It hasn’t been revealed when exactly Kuzan formed an alliance with the Blackbeard Pirates. But it is likely soon after Akainu won against Kuzan and was made fleet admiral of the Marines – most probably between Punk Hazard and Dressrosa.

Kuzan resigned from the Marines right after he lost to Akainu during their fierce duel for the position of fleet admiral. Both of them had been nominated by Sengoku, and although the two are almost as strong as each other, Akainu ended up winning.

Kuzan refused to work under Akainu and submitted his resignation. This was during the timeskip.

Apparently, Kuzan met up with a penguin called Camel and traveled around in each other’s companionship.

Doflamingo and Smoker thought that Kuzan had affiliated himself with the underworld crime syndicate but it turned out he had joined Blackbeard – who’s worse than the entire Underworld together.

Why did Kuzan join Blackbeard?

Kuzan joined Blackbeard because he is either working as a double agent for SWORD or the Revolutionary Army, or for his personal agenda. He might have made a pact with Blackbeard so they can use each other and get to Laugh Tale.

1. Kuzan is Undercover

The first thing that fans thought when they heard of the Kuzan-Blackbeard alliance was that Kuzan was definitely undercover as a spy.

This is the most likely possibility, but who he might be a spy for is still a matter of speculation.

I. For SWORD

SWORD, a secret special force of the Marines, conducts undercover operations to monitor the movements of dangerous pirates like the Yonkos.

We know that Koby and X Drake are part of SWORD, the latter being undercover within the Beasts Pirates and a part of Kaido’s Tobi Roppo. If X Drake could fool Kaido, it’s not too much of a stretch to believe that Kuzan fooled Blackbeard.

II. For the Revolutionary Army

The other option is that Kuzan is actually a part of the Revolutionaries, and is working for Moneky D. Dragon as a mole.

Kuzan was visibly put off by the mounting atrocities committed by the World Government and the Revolutionary Army is the one force in the world that directly opposes their ideology.

Kuzan might be in a secret alliance with Dragon and is keeping a tab on Blackbeard and his actions, his mounting Devil Fruit abilities, and his advancement on stealing the Road Poneglyphs.

III. For Garp

Kuzan might not be a believer in Absolute Justice but he is still an agent of justice itself.

When he rescued Smoker from Doflamingo at Punk Hazard, he told him that he’s still the same person. He also helped the Marines by telling Smoker to ask Akainu to dispatch the admirals as soon as possible.

We know that Garp is vice-admiral of the Marines, and is yet undeniably a “good guy.” If Garp can work for the World Government, Kuzan sure can work with Blackbeard.

Kuzan has also known Garp since his days before becoming admiral, and owes him a debt for some mysterious reason. Maybe, he’s keeping an eye on Blackbeard to repay the debt.

IV. For Himself

Perhaps Kuzan has taken on the role of a vigilante. Maybe he’s soloing as an admiral, taking care of who he thinks is in the wrong, in his own way.

He condemned the way the Marines did things, and now he’s taken matters into his own hands.

There’s no pirate arguable worse than Blackbeard and there is a chance that Kuzan’s goal is to sabotage Blackbeard at just the correct moment.

Or, to use Blackbeard to get back at Akainu and the Marines, and they destroy him, too.

As he told Smoker back in Dressrosa:

Even without Marine Affiliation, one can accomplish many things.

2. Kuzan Has His Own Mission

Kuzan has always been somewhat of a wanderer, following his own path of justice and ambitions.

“The thing called “justice” changes its shape… Depending on where you stand.”

Kuzan has already switched his view of justice once, from Burning Justice to Lazy Justice.

Perhaps after leaving the Marines, he changed it once again, maybe even aligning with Blackbeard’s own way of thinking – although this is unlikely.

Kuzan was repulsed by the depths to which the World Government could go, their brutality and killing (Ohara Incident); Blackbeard has no qualms about either of those things. So, it’s unlikely that Kuzan could intentionally ally with Blackbeard.

But, it is possible that Kuzan wants to get to Laugh Tale for his own purposes. Why shouldn’t he want to go after the One Piece himself?

He probably thought Blackbeard had the most chances of reaching there first because of his dastardly methods and thus made some kind of pact with him.

This would explain why he turned up at Chocolat Town in Cacao Island, Totto Land. Blackbeard would trust that Kuzan would want to kidnap Pudding as much as he did – Charlotte Pudding can potentially decipher Poneglyphs.

Whatever the reason, the Blackbeard Pirates do not seem to trust him.

During the Corrida Colosseum Tournament in the Dressrosa arc, Jesus Burgess commented hat he didn’t think Blackbeard should trust Kuzan, and Blackbeard replied saying the same could be said of Shiryu.

Shiryu was the ex-head jailer of Impel Down, imprisoned for his overly cruel torturing techniques. He chose to side with Blackbeard during the prisons escape because he didn’t want to be in jail again.

Similarly, Kuzan maybe chose Blackbeard because he didn’t like the other option. Perhaps he knew he couldn’t take on the Marines on his own were they to come after him post his resignation. He knew what Akainu is capable of.

He had two options: join the Yonkos or join the Revolutionaries.

Another reason to support this theory instead of the double agent one is that Blackbeard is not someone who can be fooled.

Blackbeard is himself the master of fooling people, it’s kind of his thing. For Kuzan to have convinced him, Blackbeard must really have needed something to be absolutely sure that he won’t betray him.

So, either Blackbeard and Kuzan have a pact or Oda is setting up for Blackbeard to be ironically done dirty when the time is right.

About One Piece

One Piece is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine since July 22, 1997.

The man who had acquired everything in this world, the Pirate King, is Gol D. Roger. The final words he said at the execution tower were “My treasures? If you want it, I’ll let you have it. Look for it; I left all of it at that place.” These words sent many to the seas, chasing their dreams, headed toward the Grand Line, in search of One Piece. Thus began a new age!

Seeking to be the greatest pirate in the world, young Monkey D. Luffy also heads toward the Grand Line in search of One Piece. His diverse crew is joining him along the way, consisting of a swordsman, marksman, navigator, cook, doctor, archaeologist, and cyborg-shipwright, this will be one memorable adventure.