Highlights
- Recent One Piece chapters focus on Bartholomew Kuma's story, revealing his involvement and his efforts to save his daughter from a disease.
- Kuma accepts Saturn's conditions to become a Shichibukai, undergo modifications, and abandon his free will to ensure his daughter's cure.
- Despite the sacrifices and separation from his daughter, there is a chance that Kuma has a contingency plan for a potentially happier ending.
The recent One Piece chapters have completely focused on the story of Bartholomew Kuma. For a long time, Kuma was a spectator and had barely any involvement in the story, but things are changing rapidly. With every passing chapter, more and more information about him is coming out. In One Piece Chapter 1100, Oda revealed another detail about the former Shichibukai's past.
This time, it was linked to Kuma and his daughter, Bonney. Kuma went to Egghead Island in the hope of saving Bonney from the Sapphire Scale disease.
The doctors had given her a few years to live, which had made Kuma distraught, so the scientist was his only hope. Dr. Vegapunk revealed that he had the necessary tools to cure Bonney. However, the treatment would be expensive, and Kuma would have to become a test subject to cover the cost. Kuma had absolutely no qualms about accepting the offer, but things took a turn for the worse when St. Jaygarcia Saturn got involved.
One Piece: Wano Arc Review
The Wano arc has great storytelling and enthralling fights, making it the best arc in One Piece to date.
The Three Stipulations
As one of the Five Elders, St. Jaygarcia Saturn has a great deal of authority. In fact, the only individual above him in the chain of command is Imu. So, when Saturn talked, everyone listened quietly. He stated three conditions that Kuma had to fulfill to ensure that Bonney would be successfully cured. The first condition was rather simple, and it involved Kuma becoming a Shichibukai. Ace had defeated one of the Shichibukai, which resulted in a position opening up. According to Saturn, Kuma would be the perfect replacement. The latter did not dissent, so Saturn brought up the second stipulation.
He stated that Kuma would have to undergo modifications and become a weapon of the Navy. Once again, Kuma didn't argue too much. Saturn's final caveat was that Kuma had to abandon his free will. This condition shocked everyone, including Vegapunk. The scientist told Saturn that removing Kuma's free will would be similar to killing him. However, the Celestial Dragon was in no mood to change his mind.
The Separation
Even after hearing the conditions, Kuma was not mad. He was happy that he could actually help Bonney get better. He had assumed that Saturn's stipulations would be impossible to achieve. So, when Kuma learned all three of them were manageable, he was overjoyed. But Saturn wasn't done. He stated that Bonney must remain a hostage of the World Government until Kuma's treatment is over.
Vegapunk was furious after hearing this, as he knew it would mean Kuma and Bonney would never see each other again. Kuma negotiated this particular condition, and he asked Saturn to keep Bonney in the Sorbet Kingdom in the care of Conney. Saturn agreed, and the two parties had finally come to an understanding. Without any further delay, Vegapunk began treating Bonney, and he simultaneously worked to improve Kuma's body. Within six months, Bonney's treatment was complete, and she was sent to the Sorbet Kingdom. Kuma escorted her to the country, but the young girl had no idea that it would be the last time that she would see her father.
Will There Be A Good Ending?
So far, Kuma's flashback has been filled with the horrors that he endured in his life. From being enslaved as a child to becoming a cyborg for his daughter, Kuma has known very little happiness. Despite the setbacks, he never blamed anyone else and did the best with what he had. At the moment, it doesn't seem that Kuma's life is going to have a happy ending. But it is unwise to rule it out completely.
When Bonney went through Kuma's memory bubble, she learned everything that happened to her father. If there was a bad ending to the memories, Bonney would have become even more enraged. Surprisingly, Bonney appeared a lot happier after going through the memories. So, there is a chance that Kuma had made a contingency plan.
The flashback is probably going to continue for a few more chapters, so fans will learn more about Kuma and his past. Once the flashback is over, it will be interesting to see what will happen to the former Shichibukai. His last known location was the Red Line, where he was confronted by Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. The Marine had no intention of letting Kuma continue his rampage, so there is a high probability that the two might have engaged in a battle. Given the strength of the two, Sakazuki would easily emerge as the winner, and he would kill Kuma. However, fans will be hoping that Kuma manages to go back to Egghead Island so that he meets Bonney one last time.
One Piece is available to read on Viz Media.