The following contains spoilers forOne Piecechapter 1081, “Kuzan, Tenth Captain of The Blackbeard Pirates,” by Eiichiro Oda, and translated by Stephen Paul, available in English fromViz Media.
One Piece chapter 1081 was released recently after a 2-week break and, once again, Oda certainly delivered an intense chapter, this time, filled with both incredibly emotional storytelling as well as terrific action. Added to the midst was a great flashback that explained quite a few questions that the fans hadin their minds about the character that is Kuzan.
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At the same time,Oda’s focus on Garp continuesand that was certainly exciting for the fans to witness. After never having seen the legendary Marine in action, the fans have gotten to see him for two chapters straight. Expectedly,One Piece1081 was packed to the brim with great content and there’s more to come.
Kuzan Arrives To Face Garp
The last chapter ofOne Pieceended with Garp’s assault on the Pirate Island. Seeing his level of strength, it was immediately clear that none ofthe Titanic Captains of the Blackbeard Piratesthat fans got to see in the previous chapter were strong enough to hold him off. Either Garp would run riot on the island or Oda had to introduce someone strong enough to keep him at bay and he did just that in this week’s chapter. Just as Garp managed to save Koby, he was immediately met with resistance by none other than Aokiji, who fans also know by the name of Kuzan. As fans know already, Kuzan is a former member of the Marines and Garp, being a generation older, played the role of his mentor.
In fact, back in the Water 7 arc, when Kuzan met Luffy, he even mentioned that he owes Garp significant debt. In this week’s chapter, it was revealed that Kuzan was Garp’s very first protege. Immediately, Garp tried to get Kuzan back to his side. Given that he was his first student, Garp certainly does harbor some love for him. He told him to get back to the Navy and unfreeze Hibari, however, it seems that Kuzan is dead set on taking on his mentor in combat and siding with the Blackbeard Pirates. Fans got to see why that was the case shortly after, when Oda delivered a powerful flashback about Kuzan.
Kuzan Flashback
Around a year after the conclusion of the Paramount War, the fight for the place of the Fleet Admiral had begun and when it concluded, it resulted in Kuzan leaving the Navy. On an island, he was attacked by the Blackbeard Pirates and he ended up freezing them all. When Blackbeard took notice, he came to Kuzan, asking him to undo his powers. Somehow, the two got along very well and started drinking together. They got really close to each other and discussed several interesting topics, such as the fight between Kuzan and Sakazuki, and, at the same time, the locationof the last Road Poneglyphs, which was then revealed to be in the possession of the man with the burn scar.
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When the Blackbeard Pirates thought of stealing his ability, Kuzan immediately froze all of them and this resulted in Blackbeard asking him to join his crew and follow his own brand of justice as a pirate. Surprisingly, Kuzan ended up accepting this offer, although he was reluctant to do so at first. While many fans believe that Kuzan has just infiltrated the Blackbeard Pirates, it now appears beyond any doubt that he has, in fact, become a permanent member of the crew. He was then introduced in the chapter as the 10th Titanic Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates and that puts it beyond any doubt that he is going to stay with them, at least for a significant period of time.
The Battle On Winner Island
Oda also managed to cut back to Winner Island inOne Piece1081. Fans have not seen a glimpse of this place in quite a while and this week’s chapter delivered a short look atthe conclusion of the fight between Trafalgar Law and Blackbeard, two members of the Worst Generation. As expected, he faced a fate similar to that of Kid and lost the fight against Blackbeard. His submarine, the Polar Tang, was seen sinking to the bottom of the ocean, along with the rest of his crew. Law, on the other hand, was defeated soundly, and Bepo, his best friend, lay at his side. Blackbeard immediately decided to steal his Devil Fruit or to turn him in and get his reward, however, it was Bepo who ended up saving the day.
By taking a drug that was worked upon by Chopper, Bepo was able to bring out his animalistic mink powers. This transformation works similarly to the Sulong form, however, without any moon in sight. As such, Bepo was able to this monstrous power to save his captain. He assaulted both Blackbeard and his Commander, managed to grab Law, and escaped into the sea. Law ended up abandoning both his ship and his crew and retreated in a humiliating manner, which makes this final stretch ofOne Pieceall the more interesting.
