Highlights

Admiral Kuzan joined the Blackbeard Pirates in search of power and freedom without interference from the Navy, especially after coming into conflict with Akainu.
Kuzan’s alliance with Blackbeard could lead him down a darker path in the future, but he could still turn against them at the last minute.
Pirates used to become Navy warriors, so now Navy officers are becoming pirates. Pirates and the Navy have always been fluid like that.

The world of One Piece is in a constant state of turmoil, where almost everyone does whatever they want.

The freedom to follow your whims is an unspoken motto of pirates. However, it is also a world where occupation does not guarantee your morality.

Pirates can be good, just like Marines can be evil, but that also doesn’t mean that all Marines are corrupt or that all pirates are good.

Former Admiral Aokiji, aka Kuzan, and the Blackbeard Pirates are perfect examples of this philosophy, especially after Kuzan joined Blackbeard.

Many fans have speculated about his true intentions since Kuzan joined the Blackbeard Pirates.

Chapter 1081 of the One Piece manga has finally shed some light on the matter – it revealed the events that occurred after the fated battle between Kuzan and Akainu for the title of Fleet Admiral.

It also demonstrated how the devious Emperor managed to recruit the former admiral into his ranks.

Why did former admiral Aokiji join Blackbeard?

Many fans were suspicious of Admiral Kuzan/Aokiji’s intentions after he joined Captain Blackbeard’s unusual pirate crew.

Marines have shown their true colors repeatedly throughout history, provoking extreme caution and distrust among pirates. In the same vein, marines crave power just as much as pirates do.

When Aokiji and Akainu competed for the title of Fleet Admiral, Aokiji realized that to achieve the power he desired, he would need to throw the rulebook overboard.

Although the Navy and World Government claimed to be bastions of true justice and honor in the world, characters like Admiral Aokiji/Kuzan and certainly Admiral Akainu proved otherwise.

The Navy was full of selfish, flawed people who would betray or abandon anyone to further their own interests, including Aokiji.

One Piece Chapter 1081 , for a recent reference, featured a flashback right after Akainu defeats Aokiji in Punk Hazard.

Aokiji stumbled upon the Blackbeard Pirates on a certain island called Fullalead and froze a good number of them as they tried to get his powerful Logia-type Devil Fruit.

Blackbeard sought him out, wanting to ask the former admiral to undo his Devil Fruit powers. Having spent years as a Marine chasing pirates, Aokiji was reluctant at first, but somehow he got along with the pirates.

After sharing some drinks and defrosting the pirates, Aokiji explained what happened during the fight with Akainu.

After listening to Aokiji’s words, the Blackbeard Pirates shared some of their own information.

They told Aokiji/Kuzan about the location of another Road Poneglyph, giving some details about the man with a burn scar. However, one of Blackbeard’s men, Lafitte, had other ideas.

He planned to steal Aokiji’s Devil Fruit power, almost resulting in a full-scale battle between the two forces.

Blackbeard managed to defuse the situation, and as a gesture of goodwill, Blackbeard courageously offered Aokiji a place on his ship, not only as a member of the crew, but as the 10th Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates’ Titanic.

Blackbeard explained that pirates need to work together to advance their own interests, do what they want, and pursue their own sense of justice.

As the idea appealed to Kuzan, he accepted Blackbeard’s offer and became a pirate . The Blackbeard Pirates are also associated with themes of luck and destiny, so perhaps Aokiji, as Blackbeard’s newest pirate, saw that crew as the path to his new, better future, away from the brutal Admiral Akainu.

One Piece: Kuzan didn’t go wrong – but he still can

As recent One Piece manga chapters show in the ongoing Final Saga, former Admiral Kuzan is not following Blackbeard out of loyalty, but rather because the Emperor has offered him freedom.

With Blackbeard’s support, Kuzan will be able to enforce justice as he sees fit without much interference from the Navy.

After all, One Piece showed that even Marines can’t attack an Emperor freely, given the incredible power of each individual Emperor.

However, just because Kuzan hasn’t gone completely evil yet doesn’t mean he won’t do so in the future.

The Blackbeard Pirates are ruthless. They lack the moral compass that guides some of One Piece  ‘s most entertaining pirates, so Kuzan’s association with them could eventually lead him down a darker path.

It’s also important to note that Kuzan’s choice to join the Blackbeard Pirates still doesn’t reveal his true intentions. It could be a covert operation or something even more twisted.

It’s possible that Aokiji/Kuzan could turn against Captain Blackbeard at a critical moment when protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and Blackbeard inevitably face off later in the Final Saga to decide the fate of the world.

After all, other anime heroes-turned-villains have redeemed them in similar storylines, like Obito Uchiha in Naruto and Uryu Ishida in Bleach .

Each of them seemingly turned dark, only to support the heroes and fight the real villains in the 11th hour.

Kuzan has always had a powerful sense of justice, which makes it difficult for fans to process his acceptance of the pirate life.

Having been beaten by your mentor, perhaps your outlook or even your perception on how to obtain justice has changed.

Tormented by a thirst for power and revenge, he will get the answers he seeks, no matter the method or the cost. If that’s the case, he’s already more of a pirate than anyone could imagine and it won’t be long before he’s completely corrupt.

On the other hand, he could totally surprise fans. Until author Eiichiro Oda reveals more, Kuzan remains a mystery as potentially a great ally or a highly dangerous enemy during the final war.

Why does Admiral Aokiji/Kuzan fit into the Blackbeard Pirates?

At first glance, it may seem bizarre for a powerful Navy officer like Admiral Aokiji/Kuzan to join one of the most notorious and chaotic pirate crews on the high seas, but there are a few factors that made this strange alliance make more sense, at least at least less apparently.

For one thing,  fans believe that Captain Blackbeard is making a conscious effort to recruit powerful Devil Fruit users into his crew and make his fleet even stronger, and Admiral Kuzan has one of the strongest Logia-type fruits of all. , in addition to Akainu and Kizaru.

Kuzan’s sheer firepower alone would make him an attractive recruit for Captain Blackbeard, and it’s no wonder Kuzan was named Titanic Captain of Blackbeard’s 10th ship.

Strength is often equated with respect and authority among shonen villains, and the Blackbeard Pirates are no different. This is evidently why Blackbeard recruited the likes of Shiryu of the Rain and Pizarro of Impel Down.

Another important factor is the strange overlap between the pirate world and the Navy, which has existed since the earliest days.

Even though the Navy and various pirate crews are often at odds, they sometimes see each other as assets to be used in distorted ways.

The prime example was the Seven Warlords of the Sea system, where powerful pirates had their bounties released in exchange for acting on behalf of the Navy when asked.

Dracule Mihawk was the first known example, blurring the line between hero and villain as he fought on behalf of the Navy.

The Navy bosses viewed the Warlords in a negative light, but still saw their value until Fujitora proposed disbanding the Warlord system off-screen during the Wano arc.

One Piece therefore already had a precedent for fluidity between the pirates and the Navy, and now, the Final Saga is doing the same thing in the opposite direction.

In light of all this, it makes strange sense for a Navy admiral, of all people, to join a powerful pirate crew as the world becomes increasingly chaotic and unstable.

The various Warlords and now Aokiji have switched sides for practical and personal reasons, from self-preservation to finding one’s destiny with newfound authority and freedom.

Now the system has come full circle, from pirates becoming Marine warriors to Marine officers becoming pirates , further blurring the lines as the world prepares for the final fight.

Pirates like Blackbeard are always misfits in a world ruled by the World Government, and Aokiji/Kuzan eventually felt like he didn’t belong in the Marines during his confrontations with Akainu, so naturally he joined a gang of fellow misfits to find his own. . destiny, Blackbeard style.