Kuzan (FOPT)

## Kuzan

* Post-Timeskip
* Pre-Timeskip

**Kuzan**, also known as "**Aokiji**", is both a fictional character and deuteragonist from the *J-Star's* *Fairy One Piece Tail* series created by Hiro Mashima and Eiichiro Oda. He was a seemingly lazy but morally upright ex-Marine admiral.

This former Marine officer, having been taught by Garp. Years ago, on Ohara, Kuzan had caught the eye of one of the criminal archaeologists. After freezing Saul to death, he helped Robin escape but gave her a warning too.

20 years later, he followed Robin to an island where she was now in the Straw Hats' crew. Kuzan fought them believing pirates and wizards shouldn't protect her. Luffy & Natsu stalled him with the time need for the others to escape.

At Marineford, Kuzan was overseeing the public execution of Ace. When Whitebeard sent his forces in to rescue Ace, Kuzan began to freeze the bay, and even after being shattered by Whitebeard, he was still able to repair himself by ice.

After Ace was freed, Kuzan confronted him, though their powers simply cancelled each other out. As the war neared its end, Kuzan tried to prevent Luffy and Natsu from escaping with the Heart Pirates. Eventually, Kuzan stood down.

On his retirement, Sengoku advocates for Aokiji to succeed him as the next Fleet Admiral. 2 years ago, Kuzan partook in a 10-day duel to the death with Akainu in a 10-day duel for the position on Punk Hazard, but loses as Akainu was victor.

Not wanting to serve under Akainu, he leaves the Marines thanks to his disillusionment with the government's corrupt justice. He soon joins the Blackbeard Pirates after for unknown reasons, as the titanic captain of Blackbeard's 10th Ship.

"*But justice changes shape depending on one's standpoint. That is why I won't criticize your idea of justice.*"

—Smoker.

## Appearance & Biography

*Voice Actor*: Jason Douglas (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Not Known (Albanian), Not Known (Arabic), Not Known (Basque), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Cantonese), Not Known (Catalan), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (Galician), Not Known (German), Not Known (Greek), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Indonesian), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Mandarin), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Tagalog), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Valencian), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

### Biography

A former Navy HQ Admiral, his real name is Kuzan. A power user who ate the "Chilly-Chilly Fruit", he can freeze things around him. He can also turn his own body into ice, and reform himself even if shattered. After Sengoku quit as Fleet Admiral, Aokiji and Akainu fought to decide the successor to the post. Aokiji was defeated, and left the Navy. What he has been doing since then is unknown.

### Appearance

Kuzan is an incredibly tall, slim, yet muscular man. At 298 cm. tall, he is just slightly shorter than the other two admirals pre-timeskip and he is the shortest of the Blackbeard Titanic Captains. He has black, curly hair cut to chin length that fans out at the tips, tanned skin, and an altogether lean, long build.

#### The Young Past Days

As a child, Kuzan had a grimace on his face. He wore a dirty light blue shirt and a purple pair of shorts with white stripes. He carried an umbrella tied on his back, a bottle of alcohol and a backpack. Also, his hair was curlier compared to his current hairstyle.

In his youth, Kuzan wore a white Marine cap and a shirt.

Twenty-two years ago, during the Ohara Incident, Kuzan wore a dark blue bandanna with a white Marine symbol on it, as well as a pair of black round sunglasses, as well as an indigo coat with the Marine emblem on the left chest and the back. This outfit was also what he wore 27 years ago, during the Battle of Edd War.

#### Pre-Timeskip

His standard outfit while in the Marines consists of a white buttoned-up vest with standing collar over a long-sleeved navy-blue shirt, with matching white trousers, black dress shoes, and a white Marine admiral's coat (golden epaulettes and for him being the ice user, blue cuffs) draped over him like a cape, as did the other admirals. This is all rarely accompanied by a matching white suit jacket. He also wears a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead.

He was also seen wearing a green and purple sleep mask at all times two years ago from the present timeline. In contrast to Borsalino and Sakazuki, Kuzan is far younger than his colleagues, being less than 50 years old. His looks, combined with his manner, make him appear even younger than he actually is.

#### Post-Timeskip

After the timeskip, his attire bears similarities to what he wore in his 20's. He wears a blue bandana that covers most of his hair, leaving only the tips which fan out. He wears a white V-neck shirt with black trousers, as well as an open dark blue green trench coat that extends past his knees. He also now wears black cowboy boots and travels with a knapsack carrying his belongings, along with his old pair of green round sunglasses. Like his rival Sakazuki, he also has grown facial hair, namely, a thin mustache and a beard.

After his duel on Punk Hazard, Kuzan received several burn scars spanning from the right side of his neck down to his entire right shoulder and onto his torso. His hands and left leg are also heavily scarred. During the *Egghead Arc*, Kuzan wears a light-colored frilled dress shirt with a cravat, dark pants, and a dark-colored trench coat with a fur collar which he wears draped on his shoulders.

* Hair Color: Black
* Skin Color: Brown
* Eye Color: Brown
* Age: 47 (debut), 49 (after timeskip)
* Birthday: September 21st
* Height: 298 cm (9'9¼")
* Weight: Not Known

## Personality

Kuzan is a very laid-back man, showing no shock or surprise from almost anything. His lack of interest and "**Lazy Justice**" (だらけきった正義, *Darakekitta Seigi*) (as he describes his motto himself) often leads others to believe he cannot possibly be a marine of such a high ranking, which causes them to underestimate him, making him all the more dangerous (it is unknown whether this is a facade or if he is genuinely lazy). However, if he deems a situation worthy, he will take action.

During the Whitebeard War at Marineford, Aokiji grudgingly shredded his usual lax and friendly nature, for a more ruthless and aggressive personality, repeatedly targeting Whitebeard himself with his Hie Hie no Mi, managing to severely injure "Diamond" Jozu and generally hampering any attempts at rescue or escape for the invading pirate fleets.

In accordance with the age difference between him and the other pre-timeskip admirals, Kuzan does not refer to himself with "*Washi*" (儂), the "I" typical for older men but the "I" more frequently used by younger men and teens, the rather rough "*Ore*" (俺); altogether, his manner of speaking is far more lax than Borsalino's (who is exceedingly polite), containing a lot of ellipses and contractions, yet lacking the rude connotation of Sakazuki's speech, and being far more calm.

He tends to begin addressing people with "**excuse me"/"I hate to interrupt, but…**" (ちょっとごめんな, *chotto gomen na*). Aokiji is a compassionate man, helping Tonjit at Long Ring Land to cross the ocean with his ability and even letting Robin escape the Buster Call on Ohara by providing a small boat while also a trail of ice for her to leave safely even sabotaging the ships that were about to go after her.

Despite being a marine, this compassion can even extend to pirates as long as their actions are mostly benevolent. He chose not to arrest or kill Luffy because the young pirate had defeated Crocodile beforehand, thus saving Alabasta from the latter's malevolence.

"*The thing called "justice" changes its shape... Depending on where you stand.*"

—Kuzan's view of justice.
In contrast to his former colleague, Fleet Admiral Akainu, Kuzan sometimes tolerates compromises with pirates. He is disgusted by Sakazuki's brutal actions in dealing with situations (such as the Ohara Incident), calling him a fool. While he follows Lazy Justice, he does understand the position his ranking puts him in and does not hesitate to do what is necessary for the needs of the Marines, even if reluctantly. He froze his former friend Saul D. Jaguar during the Ohara Incident following this reasoning.

As a marine, Kuzan was a faithful follower of the World Government. His motto used to be "**Burning/Fired Up Justice**" (燃え上がる正義, *Moeagaru Seigi*) before switching to Lazy Justice. He always tried to follow orders, but sometimes found his own ideals in opposition to them. Even as Kuzan followed his orders, he would occasionally exhibit a sense of mercy and honor other World Government officials did not.

Like many characters in Fairy One Piece Tail (for example, Saul D. Jaguar and Smoker), after witnessing the senseless murder of many innocent people, Kuzan has come to realize the depths to which the World Government will sink to accomplish their goals. His relaxed demeanor while performing the more macabre of his duties is similar to that of Borsalino, making him one of the more complicated characters in the series.

Despite not really wanting the position of fleet admiral, he was even more opposed to Sakazuki getting the position due to the latter's immense ruthlessness and dueled his fellow admiral rather than letting him take it. After being defeated, Kuzan chose to resign from the Marines rather than stay under Sakazuki's command. Having left the Marines and realizing just how truly corrupt the World Government had become after the timeskip, Kuzan became a wanderer.

He still cares for his friends, rescuing Smoker from Doflamingo's fury during a visit to Punk Hazard. However, Kuzan appears to be now involved in shady dealings with pirates, having joined forces with the Blackbeard Pirates for unknown reasons. Doflamingo was convinced that Kuzan had something planned while Smoker thought the same, as he was aware of Kuzan's involvement in the Underworld.

Kuzan reassured Smoker that he had not changed at all, cryptically stating that he could still accomplish things as an independent observer. After joining the Blackbeard Pirates, Kuzan openly expressed he did so because he wishes to begin living for himself instead of for others, perhaps showing some resentment for his time as an enlisted officer and the things he was made to do or prevented from doing.

He wanted to take back his personal freedom and live life on his own terms, something Teach sympathized with, and was seen being quite jolly with a somewhat dry sense of humor as they drank together. He has a recurring phrase, "Arara", meaning "Oh, my", which is frequently used when something surprises him.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* Marines
	+ Hina
	+ Tashigi
	+ Kuzan
	+ Issho
	+ G-5

### Neutral

* Garp D. Monkey
* World Government
* Seven Warlords of the Sea
	+ Kuma Bartholomew
* Straw Hat Pirates
	+ Luffy D. Monkey
* Heart Pirates
	+ Law Trafalgar

### Enemies

* Baroque Works
	+ Crocodile
* Kuja Pirates
	+ Hancock Boa
* Don Quixote Pirates
	+ Doflamingo Don Quixote
	+ Vergo

## Abilities and Powers

While an admiral, Kuzan held power over the thousands of lower-ranked Marine personnel, his status being just below Fleet Admiral Sengoku's. He could command fleets, have a say on the overall strategy of the organization, and issue special orders, like the enactment of a Buster Call on any island he deemed a threat or delegate to lower-status government agents the same privilege. With his resignation, of course, came the forfeiture of any such powers.

Nonetheless, despite the outward indolence that Kuzan showed in casual situations, holding such a high military office bore out his leadership prowess. Further attesting to these skills as a leader, plus his charisma, is the support Kuzan enjoyed from among subordinate ranks to become fleet admiral following the Summit War, as well as having Sengoku himself personally select him as his successor (as opposed to Akainu's backing coming mainly from governmental dignitaries).

As a combatant, Kuzan with his fellow admirals was held as the "Greatest Military Power" that the World Government and Marine Headquarters could bring to bear, making him one of the world's strongest people. Being one of the Marines' chiefest assets, his departure had a notably detrimental impact on their force, with one of the Five Elders referencing his "enormous power" in his dismay over Kuzan's affiliation with the Blackbeard Pirates.

According to Brandnew, Kuzan's strength as a Marine "hero" was not gifted at birth but rather built up by training, as was the case with Garp. Still, since his early days in the Marines, Kuzan seemed quick to learn everything that instructors would teach him, leading him to start training under Garp as he subsequently rose through the ranks.

During Kuzan's time as a vice admiral over two decades ago, his strength was already considered abnormal for someone of his rank, as illustrated by Saul D. Jaguar, an extremely powerful giant who used to be a vice admiral himself, being taken down by Kuzan easily with a mere two attacks, after having fled at Kuzan's mere sight.

The first hint given to Kuzan's reputation involved Robin Nico; though arguably the most well-composed of the Straw Hats, she completely panicked and lost her grip in the admiral's presence, this relating to her childhood trauma (despite Kuzan having spared her as a child).

During his first encounter with the Straw Hats on Long Ring Long Land, Kuzan effortlessly overwhelmed their six of their best top-notch fighters in a single moment, followed by him incapacitating Robin without her able to retaliate in any measure, and subsequently dealt a swift but crushing defeat to Natsu and Luffy in a duel that saw the rookies completely at the admiral's mercy, unable to lay so much as a scratch on him (though largely due to having no means to hurt the admiral's Logia form).

During the Summit War, Kuzan's power was well-exemplified against the Whitebeard Pirates, with him engaging Whitebeard, the world's strongest pirate, head-to-head and holding his own, albeit briefly until Jozu's interference. He would go on to battle Jozu, one of Whitebeard's most formidable men, and defeat him with relative ease upon exploiting an instant's distraction of his foe, robbing him of an arm and incapacitating him for the total rest of the war.

Ultimately, Kuzan himself emerged from the war almost entirely unscathed, with nothing but a small bruise to show for it. Against Akainu, Kuzan would prove his then-fellow admiral's equal in strength. A one-on-one duel between the two saw them meeting one another blow for blow throughout most of the fight, such that it took ten entire days to settle; though Akainu was the one to emerge victorious, both men sustained grievous injuries.

Upon encountering the Blackbeard Pirates a year after his fight against Akainu, Kuzan was able to swiftly defeat several of Blackbeard's officers, including the enormous Wolf San Juan and other ex-prisoners from Impel Down's Level 6, by freezing them up in a matter of seconds. In the year since joining hands with Blackbeard, Kuzan has become a powerful asset of Blackbeard's crew, and with his position of Titanic Captain comes the authority over the Blackbeard Pirates' 10th Ship.

In particular, Kuzan's knowledge of the Marines' inner workings, including the most secretive organization SWORD, provides valuable intel for the crew. In Totto Land, Kuzan managed to ice up and thus defeat Cracker, one of Big Mom's strongest commanders with an Template:B860,000,0000 bounty, without coming to harm himself.

When he approached Garp face-to-face on Hachinosu, Kuzan began fighting on nearly even grounds against his former mentor who, despite bemoaning his decline in strength, still demonstrated monstrous fighting ability against the many Blackbeard Pirates present on the island, with Garp initially holding the upper hand against the ex-admiral.

Ultimately though, with the aid of his fellow Titanic Captains, Kuzan managed to subdue Garp and left him on the ground impaled with a massive icicle, slowly freezing up, even though Garp had been more preoccupied with letting his students escape the island than with defeating the enemy. Aside from combat, Kuzan is shown to have enough navigation skill to be able to traverse the Grand Line seas using a simple bicycle (assisted by his ice powers to create a track by which to cycle on the water).

### Physical Abilities

Kuzan's physical prowess is immense, befitting his former admiral position. His strength is particularly notable, having developed massive punching power from years of training under Garp since his early marine days.

Like his mentor, Kuzan would use retired battleships like sandbags ("battleship bags") to train up the force of his punches, while not permitting himself to use his Devil Fruit or Haki; ultimately, Kuzan reached a point where, like Garp himself, he could cave in the armored hulls of ships with the sheer force of his blows.

2 years ago, against the much weaker Straw Hats, Kuzan proved his strength by casually stopping Sanji and Zoro in their tracks using a single hand to grab hold of each, simultaneously taking a punch to the gut from Luffy without seemingly turning to ice, yet not so much as reacting or losing his grip on the former two.

Post-timeskip on Hachinosu, Kuzan showcased power roughly on par with Garp's, at least enough to have an even exchange of blows with the elder marine that sent both of them flying (though Garp noted that his strength was nowhere near what it used to be). Attesting to his tremendous endurance and strength of will, Kuzan managed to fight his equal Akainu for a total of ten days before being defeated, and despite suffering grievous injuries (including the loss of a leg) he recovered.

Kuzan's durability, likewise, is impressive. At Marineford, he remained unfazed by a Haki-imbued attacks from Marco that sent him flying with great force and later a violent, Haki-enforced tackle from the diamond-bodied Jozu, the latter of which (coming as a sneak attack) left him only slightly bleeding from the mouth.

When fighting Garp on Hachinosu, Kuzan was able to swiftly recover from being subjected to the latter's powerful, Haki-infused *Blue Hole* attack that slammed him into the ground headfirst, hard enough to make a deep crater, Kuzan reemerging with only some minor bruises. When both Kuzan and Garp subsequently exchanged Haki punches to the face that caused a massive explosion and sent both hurtling back, Kuzan rose up moments later with, still, only superficial wounds on him.

The ex-admiral is also extremely fast and agile, able to close large distances and jump to extreme heights within seconds (often implicitly aided by his powers, traces of ice being visible on spots he leaps from).

His attack speed is notable as well, with him managing to intercept Whitebeard's quake-powered naginata mid-swing by fully encapsulating its wielder in ice and subsequently avoid a quick, Haki-infused surprise thrust of Whitebeard using the same weapon, by seamlessly opening up a hole in his icy self just large enough to avoid contact with the blade.

Against Doflamingo (a Observation Haki user), Kuzan proved fast and stealthy enough to sneak up on him, taking his back without the Warlord noticing until Kuzan spoke, and thereupon prevent Doflamingo from dealing a killing blow to Smoker by icing him up faster, with precision, than he could move his hand, while leaving Smoker untouched.

Otherwise, the admiral has shown rather acute hearing, able to notice underwater activity from hundreds of meters away and overhearing Lafitte's whispers to Blackbeard amidst loud partying in a bar.

### Devil Fruit

*Main article:* *Chilly-Chilly Fruit*
The **Chilly-Chilly Fruit**, the Logia-class Devil Fruit, which was eaten by Aokiji, allows him to create, control, and become ice at will, thus making him a **Freezing Human**. Compared to most Logia users who, when transformed, can let physical attacks pass through their "fluid" bodies, Kuzan is more easily hit since ice is a solid element.

However, he still goes unharmed by enemy attacks that are not infused with Haki; instead of dissipating out of harm's way, his body shatters apart when struck, only to reform as effortlessly as any Logia user thereafter. Kuzan is able to form constructs out of ice. In combat, Kuzan can create weapons, primarily forming swords and spears, but can also make more elaborate constructs, like a giant pheasant to send flying at enemies.

By imbuing his icy fist with Haki, he can also greatly empower his punches. On a smaller scale, Kuzan can quickly incapacitate enemies by freezing them solid on contact or from a distance by launching waves of ice and may even encase opponents in large spheres of ice to make escape even more difficult.

Aside from potentially suffering dangerous degrees of frostbite and hypothermia, those frozen by Kuzan are left in a very fragile state, as they body could be shattered by any kind of impact; however, a person can be freed from the ice if they are thawed out properly and carefully.

On a larger scale, Kuzan can spread his freeze outward over tremendous distances, casually icing over several square kilometers of ocean within seconds of dipping his hand in the water, or turning a pair of mountainous tsunamis into icebergs just as swiftly, using icy beams shot from his hands. Despite the speed at which Kuzan can flash-freeze massive amounts of water, the ice he thereby forms tends to be extremely thick and able to persist for long periods—several days even.

Kuzan can also bypass his weakness to water and falling therein by freezing it before he can sink below the surface. Not only does this keep him from drowning, it lets him prevent enemies from escaping by sea, by freezing their ships in place, or render the sea a solid battleground for entire armies to fight on.

Even by Logia standards, this ability has impressive potential—when used excessively for ten days straight, it was able to permanently alter the very climate of half an island, rendering it a frozen, uninhabitable wasteland with constantly raging blizzards.

##### Techniques

The named techniques that are used by Smoker that involve the Devil Fruit are as follows:

* **Ice Road**: An attack only used near a large area of water, such as the ocean. Kuzan near instantly freezes the water solid, along with anything in/on it. He can utilize this attack by either directly placing his hand in the water, or by extending a pillar of ice from his hand and into the water. This attack can used on a very huge scale; the ice can stretch for miles and form an extremely thick sheet lasting for over a week before it starts to melt. The technique was first seen being used to flash-freeze a massive expanse of ocean for Tonjit and Shelly to travel through the Long Ring Long Land.

* **Ice Age**:

* **Ice Saber**: Kuzan creates a large, jagged sword of hard ice, capable of clashing with actual steel swords. When first seen using this technique (in an attempt to slash Robin, but having the blade deflected by Erza, Zoro Gray, and Sanji), Kuzan picks and throws up several blades of grass to blow on with an icy breath, thereby freezing the grass into the sword shape. Later during the Summit War, Kuzan creates the blade without said preliminary, simply extending it from his body to swiftly stab Luffy.

* **Ice Time**: Kuzan touches his opponent to freeze them into a human ice statue. The victim in question can remain alive in their icy prison for some time, in a state of suspended animation, but any decent hit will shatter them to pieces. This ended up being partly the case for Jozu, whose right arm broke off at the shoulder upon falling over while completely frozen. If the ice is melted quickly and carefully though, a victim can return to normal without lasting repercussions. However, the ice can also be shattered from the inside out, shown when Doflamingo Don Quixote almost immediately broke loose from being frozen; this, however, was mentioned by Buffalo to be due to his heart not being frozen, and Kuzan had not been in direct contact with Doflamingo when freezing him. This attack was first seen used to freeze Robin Nico.
	+ **Ice Time Capsule**: Using his powers, Kuzan sends a wave of ice along the ground. Anything it hits is frozen in place. The technique was first seen being used in a flashback, against Saul. A "time capsule" is a container storing a selection of objects chosen as being typical of the present time, buried for discovery in the future. Fittingly, Saul was discovered to be alive after the Ohara Incident had ended thanks to this technique.

* **Ice Block: Partisan**: Kuzan creates several spears of ice and then launches them at the enemy. When used against Saul, they were rather thin, and he only used two; against Whitebeard, during the War of the Best 20 years later, the spears were noticeably more refined in shape, and more numerous. This attack was first seen used in a flashback, to stop Saul D. Jaguar from escaping Ohara. A "partisan" is a type of polearm that was used in medieval Europe.

* **Ice Ball**: Kuzan freezes his opponent in a giant sphere of ice from a distance. It was first seen against Whitebeard in the Summit War, but the attack failed due to Whitebeard generating vibrations around himself, causing the ice to shatter before it could freeze him truly solid.

* **Ice Pick**: Kuzan launches an ice dart at his opponent. The technique was first seen being used Natsu and Luffy during the Summit War.

* **Ice Block: Avalanche**: Kuzan freezes water moisture from above into a giant block of ice, and then drops it down onto his target. This technique was first seen being used Natsu and Luffy during the Marineford War.

* **Ice Block: Pheasant Beak**: Connecting to, possibly being the source of, Kuzan's epithet, Kuzan creates a living pheasant out of ice, complete with flight capability in a single blast. This attack was first seen clashing against Ace's *Flame Mirror*, the two attacks clashing and canceling each other out. It should be noted that in the manga, only half of the pheasant, its wings, were visible in the panel showing it because Ace had already melted the head portion of the bird's form with his firewall.

* **Ice Star**: Kuzan leaps into the air and sends down a blizzard that freezes his opponents, then forms a wide-scale Partisan hailstorm to finish his opponents.

* **Ice Glove**: Kuzan hardens his fist with ice and Armament Haki before delivering a punch. This was first used against Garp.

### Haki

*Main article:* *Haki*
As a former marine admiral, Kuzan is a highly skilled Haki user.

#### Armament Haki

During the Summit War, Kuzan was seen using advanced-grade of the Armament Haki to negate an extremely powerful quake shockwave sent out by Whitebeard, by generating, with his fellow admirals, an emitted shield combination of their three Haki to disperse said shockwave.

On its own, Kuzan's Haki is shown to be enough to allow the ex-admiral to have an even exchange of blows with Garp, a wielder of both Armament and Conqueror's Haki, causing a massive explosion when they struck one another with their Haki-imbued fists.

#### Observation Haki

Kuzan possesses the ability to use Observation Haki.

### Weapons

Kuzan has been shown to be adept at using weaponry formed from ice, like a hand-wielded sword to clash with another swordsman.

### Transportation

*Main article:* *Blower Bike*
The Blower Bike is used for in-land transportation. It is a wide bike with three wheels (two big ones in the rear, and a smaller one in front) and its engines are powered by his Plume-Plume Fruit powers. Additionally, Smoker can traverse water with the bike.

## History

### Past

Kuzan was born 49 years ago in the South Blue.

#### Joining the Marines

In his youth as a Marine, Kuzan sought out Garp D. Monkey to further his training, having felt he learned enough from his previous Marine instructors and surpassed the standard Marine training. He believed he was ready for the next level, so he asked Garp to take him on as an apprentice. Garp initially refused, but eventually, through unknown events, Garp did indeed end up training Kuzan.

They trained using "punching ships", the same thing as punching bags, only they trained by punching the bow of scraped ships, leaving large indents in the ships they practiced on. As a rule of the training, they were not allowed to use Haki or Devil Fruit powers, just raw brute strength. During this training Garp became more casual with Kuzan even talking to him about his own children.

Even though he joined the Marines, Kuzan stated that he never held the World Government in high esteem to begin with. At age 19, Kuzan enlisted in the Marines and came under the tutelage of instructor Zephyr.

#### A Storm in the Edd War

When the Marines learned that the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates were about to do battle in the Edd War, three years before the death of the Pirate King, Kuzan was in Marineford and walked with Garp D. Monkey, Saul D. Jaguar, Sakazuki and Tsuru. He told Garp that him turning down another promotion was really something cool.

#### Ohara Incident

Kuzan was among the Marine forces present during the incident at Ohara that prompted the Marines to put a bounty on Robin's head. At that time, Vice Admiral Kuzan appeared to have been responsible for the deployment of CP9 in pursuit of the "criminal" archaeologists of Ohara.

He was one of the five vice-admirals taking part in the Buster Call on Ohara. During the attack, the destruction of the civilian fleet, ordered by vice admiral Sakazuki (who was later promoted to Admiral and later Fleet Admiral), came as a complete shock to Kuzan. The original order that had been sent was for all those who had not been involved with the Ohara scholars and the Poneglyph, to be safely transported off the island. However, Sakazuki's course of action was the complete opposite.

"*And remember this: I am not your ally... If you do anything, I'm the 'enemy' that will be the first to catch you.*"

—Kuzan, giving young Robin a warning.
Kuzan then froze Saul D. Jaguar using his Devil Fruit powers. He helped Robin to escape via the use of his Devil Fruit powers, by freezing a trail in the ocean for her boat to sail safely through. Before her departure, he warned her that he is not her ally despite this one assistance, and would be quick to come after her, if he ever felt that she was a threat.

As part of his plot in saving Robin, Kuzan froze Spandine's ship's rudder, but regardless, Spandine saw Robin and had her marked for capture. Kuzan seemed troubled when he was present at the meeting between the Marines and Spandine. Sometime after being promoted to Admiral, Aokiji came across an island being rocked by a massive disturbance. He looked around the island, seeing the ruins of a large city and a small boy named Grount huddled nearby.

Wondering if Grount was responsible for the destruction, Aokiji watched as Grount revealed his monstrous left arm, which he could not control. Grount unwillingly attacked Aokiji with his left arm, but the Admiral dodged it before finally relieving the boy of his suffering by freezing his arm and knocking him out.

Aokiji took Grount into the Marines, where he was given a metal attachment to control his left arm. Aokiji trained Grount alongside Bonham and Zappa, but kept him out of the front lines until he could master his power.

## Synopsis

### *Fairy One Piece Tail*

#### Before the Timeskip

###### Enies Lobby Arc

After the Straw Hats and Team Natsu defeated the seemingly invincible CP9, rescued Robin Nico from Enies Lobby, and escaped the Buster Call, Aokiji was seen again witnessing the aftermath of their raid at Enies Lobby and the Buster Call attack. They had passed his "test" far beyond his expectations. When he was asked by a marine over the Transponder Snail whether they should continue to pursue the Straw Hats, Aokiji declined, noting the Marines suffered heavy casualties already, calling their battle "a complete defeat".

###### Post-Enies Lobby Arc

The new bounties of Team Natsu and the Straw Hat crew went out to the world after the Enies Lobby incident. And on an island somewhere in the Grand Line, Smoker had just caught a pirate worth 50,000,000 Berries, although he had no difficulty with it whatsoever, and even asked himself what happened to the Marines' standards. Tashigi, who was promoted to Ensign, came up to him and asked him if he had seen the new wanted posters for the Straw hat pirates, or so she thought. She was actually talking to a random marine soldier because she did not have her glasses on. Smoker then told Tashigi that what they really needed was status to widen their limits; he also noted that pirates over the whole world started to recognize the Straw Hat pirates and Fairy Tail. Then he said he would bet on his pride that he would crush them, in the "New World".

##### Summit War Saga

###### Amazon Lily Arc

Following the announcement of Ace's execution, Aokiji was summoned to lead the Marines in the battle against the Whitebeard Pirates and arrived at Marine Headquarters.

###### Post-War Arc

He is later seen in his office in Marineford with Commodore Smoker, commenting on Luffy's return to Marineford and the ringing of the Ox Bell. The Admiral wonders if the Ox Bell ringing was some kind of message. Aokiji then spoke with Smoker about the Commodore's request for transfer to Marine outpost G-5 in the New World. Unsure of being able to grant his transfer, he assured he would negotiate with Sengoku for approval. Aokiji was then nominated by Sengoku to be the next fleet admiral upon the latter's resignation.

#### During the Timeskip

##### A Fierce Duel and Resignation

Even though Sengoku supported Aokiji as a candidate for the next fleet admiral, many of the upper brass of the World Government nominated Akainu. Aokiji strongly opposed Akainu becoming fleet admiral and fought him for the position. They battled on Punk Hazard, with the fight lasting for ten days.

According to Smoker, the battle between these two was so ferocious that it literally changed the weather of Punk Hazard Island. Akainu ended up as the winner and Kuzan left the Marines. Unfortunately, Kuzan did not escape unscathed. He parted from the battle with a staggering level of scars and with his left leg reduced to a stump. Though crippled, Kuzan used his Devil Fruit powers to generate a replacement limb out of ice. Afterwards, Kuzan resigned from the Marines, not wanting to work under Sakazuki.

##### After Resignation

After leaving the Marines, Kuzan met a large penguin named Camel and the two of them became traveling companions.

Doflamingo Don Quixote and Smoker have speculated that sometime around the timeskip, Kuzan affiliated himself with the Underworld of Brokers. Kuzan has neither confirmed nor denied these suspicions.

One year after leaving the Marines, Kuzan encountered the Blackbeard Pirates at a bar in the New World. He got in a fight with Blackbeard's crew and froze them before Blackbeard demanded him to undo his powers. Kuzan explained that Blackbeard's crew started the fight, though he agreed to thaw them out afterwards. The Blackbeard Pirates had a drink with Kuzan as he discussed with them about his battle with Sakazuki.

The crew then talked about Hinokizu and his possession of one of the Road Poneglyphs needed to reach Laugh Tale, in which Kuzan replied he did not know who he was and that the Poneglyphs give him bitter memories, remembering he took fate into his own hands for his friend and Robin Nico back at Ohara. Upon hearing Laffitte suggesting to Blackbeard that they should kill him and steal his Devil Fruit power, Kuzan became furious.

Blackbeard apologized and said he had no intention of doing so, and instead wanted Kuzan to join the crew. Although Kuzan was at first irritated at their request, Blackbeard mentioned that Kuzan is no longer with the World Government and can make his own choices, while pointing out that he and his crew seeks to fulfill their own interests. In the end Kuzan accepted the offer and became one of Blackbeard's Ten Titanic Captains, leading the tenth ship of the pirate fleet.

#### After the Timeskip

##### Whole Cake Island Saga

###### From the Decks of the World: The 500,000,000 Man Arc

Kuzan was seen reading a newspaper while Camel was cooking barbecue.

##### Land of Wano Saga

###### Germa 66's Ahh... An Emotionless Excursion

Kuzan and Augur Van went to Cacao Island. When Cracker Charlotte tried to stop them from kidnapping Pudding, Kuzan froze Chocolat Town, including Cracker and the residents. Kuzan and Augur then took Pudding back to their ship.

## Battles

### Canon

* Kuzan vs. Saul
* Kuzan vs. Robin
* Kuzan vs. Natsu, Luffy, Erza, Zoro, Gray, and Sanji
* Kuzan vs. Luffy
* Marines and Seven Warlords of the Sea vs. Whitebeard Pirates and Allies
	+ Kuzan vs. Newgate
	+ Kuzan vs. Buggy, Mr. 3, and Impel Down's escapees
	+ Kuzan, Borsalino, and Sakazuki vs. Luffy
	+ Kuzan vs. Marco
	+ Kuzan vs. Newgate
	+ Kuzan vs. Jozu
	+ Kuzan vs. Ace
* Kuzan vs. Sakazuki (not seen)
* Kuzan vs. Doflamingo
* Kuzan and Augur Van vs. Cracker
* Kuzan vs. Garp

## Anime and Manga Differences

In the manga originally, Aokiji met the Straw Hat Pirates at Tonjit's hut after the Davy Back Fight. In the anime, he met them much later at a different island and showed his powers helping some shipwrecked passengers as opposed to Tonjit.

In the anime, after the war, Aokiji is seen standing on the bow of a warship vessel approaching Marineford, sneezing the very moment Sengoku mentions him to Kong as his chosen successor. When he enters the headquarters building, a Marine officer approaches him in tears, reporting his inability to capture Luffy. Aokiji merely pats him on the shoulder and tells him that it is okay.

## Translation and Dub Issues

Kuzan's alias, "Aokiji", means "Blue Pheasant" in Japanese. 青 = Ao = Blue (*this "Ao" Color can be referred as both blue or green, depending on the Japanese phrase*) 雉 = Kiji = Pheasant. It was literally translated in most dubs. Kiji was written katakana キジ from the introduction of Kuzan, but was shown in kanji in his introduction box in the Summit War of Marineford. After that, it was reverted to katakana.

## External links

* Kuzan/Aokiji *Heroes Wiki*
* Kuzan/Aokiji *Koei Wiki*
* Kuzan/Aokiji *One Piece Encyclopedia*
* Kuzan/Aokiji *Villains Wiki*

## Notes & Trivia

* Kuzan's epithet, along with the other admirals' (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotaro legends (Momotaro met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey).
* In the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th fan polls of most popular characters, Kuzan was ranked 16th, 17th, 22nd, 26th, and 36th respectively.
	+ In the 3rd of the fan polls, he is ranked as the second most popular marine after Smoker. Overthrowing him in the 4th and 5th, being Kuzan the most popular marine (in charge or retired). But being again the second most popular in the 6th, behind Rosinante Don Quixote.
* Kuzan is the first admiral (though technically former) to be shown after the timeskip.
* Kuzan's favorite foods are sherry wine, dairy milk, and coffee (original Kuzan blend).
* His given name can mean "Nine Mountains" if written in kanji (九山, *Kuzan*), a phrase repeatedly named in post-timeskip Fairy One Piece Tail: Zoro Roronoa mentions it in reference to his ability to "cut everything"; specifically, he states that "*of the **nine mountains** and **five seas**, and under the sky, there's nothing [he] cannot cut*". In this sense, **Kuzan** (九山, *Kuzan*) means "all the land", as **Gokai** (五海, *gokai*) is "all the seas", and the entire phrase is an allegory for "all the world".
* Kuzan was the only marine whose codename does not include an animal in the Chinese Zodiac. However, the pheasant is included in the family Phasianidae, which also includes the rooster, so it is safe to assume that Kuzan's epithet may represent the rooster in the Chinese Zodiac.

### SBS-Based Trivia

* Kuzan was modeled on the late actor Yusaku Matsuda, best known for playing private eye Shunsaku Kudō on the cult TV series **Detective Story** (探偵物語, *Tantei Monogatari*). Apart from hair and clothing styles, even Kuzan's birthday was drawn from Matsuda's.
* A fan asked Oda if Kuzan's penis is made out of ice, and Oda answered that it is.