"Aokiji" Kuzan
Kuzan (クザン, Kuzan), also better known by his former alias Aokiji (青雉, Aokiji), is a former Navy admiral. He was nominated by Sengoku for the position of fleet admiral. However, after losing the position to Sakazuki, he resigned from the Navy.
Appearance[]
- Voice Actor: Bob Carter (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese)
Kuzan is an incredibly tall man and is roughly of the same size as the other two admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino, the latter clearly taller than Brook but it seems that he also is shorter than Doflamingo who is 305 cm (10'0") tall. His birthday is September 21st.
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 naval cap and a shirt.
Twenty-two years ago during the Ohara Incident, Kuzan wore a dark blue bandanna with a white Navy symbol on it, as well as a pair of black round sunglasses.
Before the Timeskip[]
His standard outfit while in the Navy consists of a white buttoned-up vest over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt, with a white Navy coat draped over him like a cape, as did the other admirals, and matching white trousers and shoes. He also wears a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead. He also is 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 younger than his colleagues. His pre-timeskip age is 47.
After the Timeskip[]
After the timeskip, he wears an attire similar to the outfit he wore during the bombardment of Ohara. This consists of a blue bandana and a dark blue trench-coat along with black pants and a white deep V-neck shirt. He also now wears black cowboy boots and travels with a knapsack carrying his belongings along with his old pair of green round sunglasses. He, like his rival Sakazuki, has also grown facial hair, namely, a thin mustache and a beard. His post-timeskip age is 49.
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 and even his right hand is also heavily scarred.
Gallery[]
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) let others often believe he can not possibly be a naval officier of such a high ranking. However, if he deems a situation worthy, he will take action, as shown when he used his powers helping some shipwrecked passengers.
He appears to be the most benevolent of the three admirals, helping shipwrecked passengers to cross the ocean with the power of his Cursed Fruit and even letting Robin Nico escape the Buster Call on Ohara. He seems to dislike the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or at least Crocodile; he said that the only reason he did not kill Luffy was that Luffy had defeated Crocodile.
In contrast to his fellow admiral Sakazuki, Kuzan has a sense of honour, as he keeps his word to not attack the Straw Hat Pirates after accepting a one-on-one battle with Luffy. Kuzan's moral stance is unknown, but it is likely that he follows Moral Justice. He is disgusted by Sakazuki's brutal actions in dealing with situations (such as the Ohara Incident), calling him a fool. While he may follow Moral Justice, he does understand the position his ranking puts him in, as he does not hesitate to do what is necessary for the needs of the Navy, as shown when he freezes Saul D. Jaguar after the Ohara incident, and attacked Luffy and Whitebeard during the Navyford War.
Aokiji was a faithful follower of the World Government. He always tried to follow orders but sometimes found his own ideals in opposition to his orders. Even as he followed his orders, he would sometimes exhibit a sense of mercy and honor that other World Government officials did not. Like many characters in Fairy One Piece Tail (for example, Saul D. Jaguar and Chaser), after witnessing the senseless murder of many innocent people, Aokiji may have come to realize how low these events have sunk the World Government.
His relaxed demeanour 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, and dueled his fellow admiral rather than letting him take it. After being defeated, Kuzan chose to resign from the Navy rather than stay under Akainu's command.
Relationships[]
Friends/Allies[]
- Navy
- Kong
- Sengoku
- Chaser Smoker
- Garp D. Monkey
- Saul D. Jaguar
Family[]
Neutral[]
Rivals[]
Enemies[]
Abilities and Powers[]
As a Navy admiral, Kuzan is able to command a vast number of Navy troops under his rank. Most of all, he has the ability to order a Buster Call attack on any island. In fact, his overall abilities were so vast that Sengoku suggested to World Government Commander-in-Chief Kong that Kuzan should become the succeeding Fleet Admiral. However, after leaving the Navy, he has forfeited these privileges. He and Kuma were able to easily overpower Luffy and the other Straw Hats single-handedly.
A notable example of Kuzan’s reputation is Nico Robin from the Straw Hat Pirates, related to her childhood trauma, she constantly loses her grip and starts panicking whenever an admiral is around, this being significant as she rarely panics even in the most dangerous situations.
He is also a skilled navigator, being able to travel the Grand Line with a bike and after the timeskip travelling the New World with a penguin.
Along with this, he is very powerful, as being an admiral grants him the title of the strongest individual fighter within the World Government and Navy, and is able to fight against notably powerful figures such as Diamond Jozu, the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, defeating him with relative ease, and could even fight Whitebeard himself equally.
Furthermore, he was able to battle against his colleague Sakazuki on equal standing, and they dealt each other severe injuries during their 10 day duel to the death before Aokiji ultimately was defeated, thus demonstrating enhanced endurance. Kuzan was considered to be a massive asset to the Navy, and his departure left a negative impact to their military strength.
Due to Kuzan's power, the fated conflict between him and the Straw Hats prompted Luffy to be less naïve towards future conflicts; for this reason Kuzan served as the starting point for Luffy to push his strength beyond his limits. He is also one of the few characters who is able to duel evenly with Sakazuki, evidenced in a battle between the former admirals which lasted ten days, despite the latter being the victor.
Physical Abilities[]
Aside from that and his Cursed Fruit powers, his physical attributes are also extremely high, as he is able to repel simultaneous attacks from Zolo, Luffy, and Sanji without taking any damage, and took a Haki-imbued kick from Marco and was seen with no injuries moments later.
He also jumped to a very extreme height in mere seconds, in order to freeze a pair of tsunamis caused by Whitebeard. He is also able to travel at tremendous speed, as seen when attacking Buggy, whether this is due to him using Shave, his Cursed Fruit or just his natural speed is unknown. He also has extremely acute hearing, being able to hear activity underwater, before the Whitebeard War began.
He was also acknowledged by Saul D. Jaguar, who had destroyed several huge warships and had lifted one by himself, that Kuzan's strength was abnormal, even before he was an admiral. Another testament to his power as an admiral is that he emerged mostly unharmed after the Whitebeard War.
Haki[]
- Main article: Haki
It was stated that all vice admirals possess Haki, so with a rank above vice admiral, Kuzan can also use the ability.
During the Battle of Navyford, he was seen using his Armament Haki to negate Whitebeard's attempt to destroy the execution platform, by creating, with his fellow admirals, a shield combination of their three Haki.
Cursed Fruit[]
Ice-Ice Fruit in action.
- Main article: Ice-Ice Fruit
Kuzan has the powers of the Ice-Ice Fruit, a Logia Cursed Fruit that allows him to control, create, and become ice. He can create enough ice to cover a giant, a Neptunian or several square miles of ocean within mere moments. He was even able to freeze the tsunamis created by Whitebeard, despite their size surpassing that of Navyford. In battle, he uses his ice powers to disable and immobilize enemies, freezing their bodies solid just by touching them, and threatening to shatter their fragile forms. Like other Logia users, he is capable of breaking himself into his particular element to avoid damage from most physical attacks. Kuzan also has extreme amounts of resistance towards cold, due to his Cursed Fruit's element, as he is able to freeze his body parts and turn back to normal without any tissue damage. This fruit is so powerful that his usage of it during his ten day battle with Akainu permanently changed the weather on one side of Punk Hazard, turning that side into a frozen wasteland.
In addition, Kuzan is one of the few Cursed Fruit users who has adapted their powers to travel efficiently across the sea. In his case, he simply rides his bicycle the Blue Bike across the sea, due to the water freezing as the wheels pass over it. This freezing ability, which can be used on a very large scale, renders Kuzan one of the few Devil Fruit users who can actually counteract the weakness of falling into a large body of water and drowning, as he can just freeze the water and stand on the ice.
Techniques[]
The named techniques that are used by Kuzan that involve the Cursed Fruit are as follows:
- Ice Age (アイスエイジ, Aisu Eiji): Kuzan places his hand on the ground, and instantly freezes every/any thing in sight into a completely frozen wasteland and anyone or thing within the vicinity into completely frozen ice statues. The actual extent of the ice can spreads for miles and last for over a week. Later uses of this attack have demonstrated that Kuzan is not limited to needing to make direct contact with his hands, as the attack can still be conducted as long as the ice he controls is in contact with both himself and the area he wishes to freeze.
- Ice Saber (アイスサーベル, Aisu Sāberu): Kuzan picks up several thin objects, such as blades of grass, and throws them into the air. He then blows on them with an icy breath that freezes them into a large, jagged sword of ice. During the Whitebeard War, Kuzan did not need to pick up objects to freeze the blade as seen when he stabbed Luffy.
- Ice Time (アイスタイム, Aisu Taimu): Kuzan touches his opponent's body, then freezes them into a human ice statue. They can remain alive in a form of suspended animation for some time in their icy prison, but any decent hit will shatter them to pieces. If the ice is melted quickly and carefully the victim can return back to normal without any lasting repercussions.
- Ice Block: Partisan (アイスブロック: パルチザン, Aisu Burokku: Paruchizan): Kuzan creates several spears of ice and then hurls them at the enemy. This was first seen used to stop Saul D. Jaguar from escaping Ohara. When used against Saul, they were simply icicles; against Whitebeard, during the Battle of Navyford, the spears were noticeably refined.
- Ice Time Capsule (アイスタイムカプセル, Aisu Taimu Kapuseru): Using his powers, Kuzan sends a wave of ice along the ground. Anything it hits is frozen in place. It was first seen being used against Saul.
- Ice Ball (アイスボール, Aisu Bōru): Kuzan freezes his opponent in a giant sphere of ice from a distance. It was first seen against Whitebeard, but the attack failed due to Whitebeard forming a vibration around himself, causing the ice to shatter before it could freeze him solid.
- Ice Pick (アイスピック, Aisu Pikku): Kuzan launches an ice dart at his opponent. This was first seen used during his fight with Luffy at Navyford.
- Ice Block: Avalanche (アイスブロック: アバランシュ, Aisu Burokku: Abaranshu): Kuzan freezes water moisture from above into a giant block of ice, and then drops it down onto his target. This was first seen used during his fight with Luffy at Navyford.
- Ice Star (アイス スター, Aisu Sutā): Kuzan leaps into the air and sends down a blizzard that freezes his opponents. Then, he uses Partisan and to finish his opponents.
- Ice Block: Pheasant Beak (アイスブロック: フェザントベック, Aisu Burokku: Fezanto Bekku): Arguably the source of Kuzan's epithet. Kuzan releases a massive wave of ice in the shape of a pheasant in a single blast. This was first seen clashing against Ace D. Portgaz's Kyokaen, 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 because Ace had already melted the head portion of the bird's form with his firewall. However, the pheasant was fully seen in the anime, as though Kuzan created a living pheasant out of ice, complete with flying. The VIZ Manga translates this as Ice Block: Pheasant Peck, while the FUNimation it keeps its original name.
Gallery[]
Weapons[]
Kuzan is shown to be quite adept at using weapons formed out of his ice powers, such as a sword and throwing spears.
History[]
Past[]
[]
At age 19, Kuzan joined the Navy and came under the tutelage of instructor Zephyr.
A Storm in the Edd War[]
When the Navy learned that the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates were about to battle in the Edd War, three years before the death of the King of the Pirates, Kuzan was seen in the Navyford, walking with Garp, Saul, Sakazuki and Tsuru, telling the Hero of the Navy that him turning down another promotion was really something cool.