 Seeing Kuma at Fusha Village was definitely not on my bingo cards of things that I expected to see this year. But then again, one piece is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get. But as that is the situation now, the question is, what exactly is Kuma doing here? On whose orders? What's his objective? And how does this relate to the current story? So here's what I'm thinking. There are two ways to interpret Kuma being at Fusha Village, because the chapter isn't exactly clear as to whether Kuma was sent to East Blue on world government orders, or whether he was already on his way when he received the call. It's possible he was already in the East Blue on personal business when he got the call from the world government. But given the circumstances, I personally find it more likely that he was sent to Fusha Village and he had been sent there as part of his role as one of the Shishi Bukai. When he received that call, the world government was confirming his arrival and that he was ready to receive orders. So then, what orders? Well, one of the most obvious possibilities would be that the Gorasei wanted to find the host of the Nika Devil Fruit, or the then supposed Gomu Gomu No Mi. This would close off what many have been calling a plot hole, the fact that despite the incredible power of Luffy's Devil Fruit, the world government haven't seemingly made any moves to retrieve it in the past. Kuma's presence at Fusha Village may indicate that, actually, they did. And in another case of poetic irony, the man who had been idolizing Sun God Nika for all of his life was sent an order to kill him. Now, if that was the plan, obviously it failed because our dear Luffy is still well and truly alive, currently living out the world government's greatest fears, having awakened the Nika powers of the Devil Fruit. So in that case, what happened? Well, again, I see two scenarios. One, Kuma may have spared Luffy out of his respect for Dragon. It's one thing to go against his ideals and worldviews and betray the Revolutionary Army by becoming one of the world government's shichibukai, but it's a whole other thing to go ahead and kill your former comrade and friend's child. But this would require Kuma to already have known that Luffy is Dragon's child, which is something that we know that Kuma must have become aware of at some point because that's why he saved the straw hats at Saobodi, but we don't know when Kuma actually became aware of that fact. Was it something that Dragon shared with Kuma and exclusively Kuma back during the Revolutionary days? Or maybe it happened when Kuma went back to visit the Revolutionaries. Maybe Dragon told Kuma that he understood his decision to focus on looking after Bonnie because Dragon himself had a child. Or maybe Kuma didn't know Dragon had a son until he saw Luffy, immediately recognizing him to be Dragon's child. This one I personally find a little less likely. The father and son share little physical characteristics, or at least not enough to make the relationship so obvious at first glance. Even the likes of Ivankov, who is arguably the closest to Dragon, had no idea. So the second idea is that Kuma witnessed Luffy do or say something that made Kuma realize that this young boy is actually the Sun God Nika, convincing Kuma to intentionally foil whatever world government mission he's on. I wonder whether Kuma overheard Luffy declare his dream, and this is what alerted Kuma. Not his simple pirate king dream, but his dream dream. Luffy's ultimate dream for after he becomes the pirate king. Given Luffy's personality as a keen pursuer of freedom, it's likely that Luffy's dream would be linked to the actions or the goals and ideals of the legendary Sun God Nika, and immediately Kuma would recognize that line from Tales of Old. I would just love if this was the case because this would bump up the number of characters who actually know of Luffy's dream. And this one being Kuma no less. The father of the potential next-door hat? Maybe Oda, please? Pretty please? Anyways, that's the head canon that I prefer, because I think it would perfectly explain the rest of the story that we've witnessed. For example, if Kuma did decide to defy world government orders because he recognized the will of Nika in Luffy, he may have found a way to communicate with Dragon, ecstatic that their dreams of overthrowing the world government and bringing about a new world may actually be a reality. And upon telling the Revolutionary Army Leader that their hopes are vested in this young boy, Dragon may have also revealed that that boy just happens to be his son. And that could be how Kuma found out about the relationship, if he didn't know already. And it would also explain how he already knew so much about the straw hats, why he was dedicated to saving them at Saobodi, why he was interested in Luffy and the crew in the first place, because he had actually come across Luffy before. And upon seeing the young Luffy, he was convinced that this is the legendary figure that he had been pursuing for all his life, so he committed himself to help Luffy for the rest of his life, or for as long as he still could, because that's exactly what Kuma did. He made sure Luffy had a reliable crew by testing them at Thriller Bark, ensuring their loyalty and strength to protect Luffy as much as he protects them. And when assured of Luffy being surrounded by trustworthy crewmates, he made sure that each of them would grow and develop, sending each of them to the most perfect location, best suited to each of their skill sets. Because the straw hats in each of their locations shows just how much research he actually would have had to undertake to devise and think of which place was the most apt for each of them. So who knows how long he's been following Luffy and the crew. And then down to Kuma's very last moments, even after losing his consciousness was to protect the Sunny, protecting the straw hat ship no matter what, making sure that they would make it into the new world and continue their journey. So could you imagine if the programming that we've all been suspecting that Kuma had undergone some sort of sneaky code that Vega Punk slipped in to make sure that Kuma has a tiny bit of consciousness, or at least a way for him to live out the dreams that he wanted to. And that programming is actually to ensure the safety and protection of Luffy and not necessarily Bonnie. Maybe that's why he refers to Dragon as master. Recognizing that the father of the Sun God Nika is also his master. Maybe his last request to Vega Punk was that he be a part of ensuring the new dawn, the creation of world peace. A dream shared by both Vega Punk and Kuma, making it a request that Vega Punk definitely wouldn't turn down. And in this way this was both of their penance. Vega Punk for being the man to turn Kuma into a mindless world government weapon and to Kuma for accepting the deal. Betraying his ideals of freedom for all of humankind. But this way both of them could have some inner peace knowing that at the least they would also be doing some good by ensuring the new dawn, the new world. Now I really did go on a little bit of a ramble there. And who knows, we might be completely off the mark. The real reason why Kuma was there could be something as simple as having to quell some sort of revolution that was going on in the East Blue. Maybe he'd never witnessed Luffy at all and this is just some sort of crazy coincidence. A really twist in fate. A really what if if only moment that these two figures would be so close to each other and yet still so far. Who knows, maybe he was just there to sweet talk Makino. Maybe the Buccaneer race won't be extinct after all even after Kuma's death. But in all seriousness, it's quite funny that the East Blue was introduced as the least intimidating, weakest, seemingly unimportant sea. But now we know this to be intricately connected to the pirate king, the navy hero, the leader of the revolutionaries, Red Hair Shanks, another Yonko in Straw Hat Luffy, and now on top of all of this. We are seeing yet another world government expedition that will only continue to expand the lore of the East Blue. Anyways, make sure to let me know what you think about Kuma's presence by leaving a comment below. And also, if you weren't expecting Kuma to show up at Fusha Village, then subscribe because that's a game that I've just made up and those are the rules. So Chapter 1100 confirmed what many of us were suspecting since the last chapter and Satin used Bonnie as leverage to make sure Kuma joins the Shichibukai and to become a cyborg. And even though I was expecting this, Satin's plan was so devious, so devil-minded, even more horrifying than I could have imagined by now not allowing Kuma to ever see Bonnie again after she was healed. I mean that, that was... What's the opposite of icing on the cake? The antithesis of the cherry on top. Separating this father-daughter duo even after Kuma agreed to all of his conditions, that was like stepping on doggie-doodoo on a rainy day when your umbrella's broken. And while I did expect Kuma's story to continue tragically, I thought that the bulk of the heartbreaks were over by now. After all, this is all stuff that we already knew about. We all expected to see Kuma lose his consciousness at some stage. We knew he would be separated from Bonnie, so why did I still end up crying? I feel like Kuma's no hesitation acceptance of Satin's terms and instead his relief that Bonnie would in fact be saved was the only thing that made Vega Punk agree to carrying out the deal and it was actually nice to see Vega Punk stand up to Satin and Kizuru the way that he did. Although Vega Punk does eventually follow through with the orders, maybe there really is hope that he did pull a sneaky over-the-world government so that Kuma could retain a teeny tiny bit of his sense of self. And could that be the reason why he is running towards Egghead right now? Whether that be to save Bonnie as we have been long-expecting or for Luffy's sake as we just discussed. Either way, this scene was built up and executed damn near perfectly for me. The wave of emotions of seeing Satin's horrifying conditions Vega Punk's shocked and angry response Kuma crying and then only for that to be revealed to be cries of relief and joy. And then what really hit on top of that was Kizuru's not-of-respect. I mean seriously, what a series of panels, what writing. And before I get to sidetracked something that really stood out to me in this chapter was Kizuru as a real source of intrigue. We also started chapter 1100 with the admiral in his complete mafia drip and I wonder why he's lost some of that energy or more specifically why he's lost that hat. I'm also now considering whether the absence of the hat in the present timeline will be relevant or significant similar to how Shanks gives up his hat for Luffy. And Kizuru also has his own personal reasons for abandoning his headgear but I do admit that I am probably just overthinking things. But in terms of Kizuru's involvement in this part of the story, we already knew that he was heavily involved in the creation of the pacifistas given his their source for laser attacks but seeing his relationship with not only Vegapunk and Sentomaru but also Kuma and Bonnie in detail during these early days really recontextualizes his actions at Egghead Island. It was hinted before and most clearly by Sentomaru that Kizuru at least had a good relationship with Vegapunk before and that his actions against them now in the present must have some sort of emotional impact on him despite his aggressive attacks at Egghead. But now we know this close relationship extends to also Kuma and Bonnie as well is a very bittersweet sight. It seems like this that makes it really clear just what a great mangaka order really is. The crazy ways in which he's able to connect things together all the little details because we know that Bonnie's favorite food is pizza. And what do we get in this chapter? Bonnie eating pizza with this unlikely odd group of people. And so then this scene gives you the idea that maybe these were the formative experiences that shaped her preferences. In her mind, the sweet good old days when she was just a kid didn't know the truth about her illness or her separation from her dad just joy as a young kid eating as much as she wanted with all of her favorite uncles. And so that's the memory or that's the meaning that pizza holds for her now but it means something completely different once we know the full truth about their relationship. And so witnessing these deep ties between the characters leaves me with mixed emotions of both excitement to see Kizuru's actions in the present timeline once we get back and maybe some hope as well. I mean, yes, we did see Kizuru kick a young girl so hard that she'd get blasted away. But knowing Kizuru, he was still holding back then. And so maybe Kizuru will be redeemed and he'll actually play a role in getting the crew out of Egghead safely. I mean, this is something that we've been suspecting even before Kuma's flashback but now having witnessed him in this chapter I feel even more hopeful. Of course, we can't mention this segment without discussing that panel of them dancing and singing together, Nika dancing together because it really is just such a nice moment something that I really didn't expect to see. And yet you just wish that they could live there forever in that blissful ignorance just ignoring the rest of the world and what they're being together really means. It'd be interesting to know to what extent Kizuru knows about Nika now that he spent good quality time with Kuma and they were even doing the dance together. I wonder whether Kuma also shared the greater significance behind Nika and their dance. Will Kizuru also hear the drums of liberation and this is what convinces him to turn coat and help the straw hats instead? I just love how Kuma's story is making the surrounding characters even more intriguing and Kizuru was definitely the frontrunner in this chapter. But the final confirmation and the reveal of the deal between Kuma and the world government also blended in very nicely with some of the many other reveals and information that we've already known from the past. For example, we see Vega Punk's first ideas of cloning himself almost like a haphazard by the by off the cuff comment. Something just set out of frustration here but something that we know that he will go on to actually achieve. And if we could break the fourth wall and speak to characters I would be screaming don't do it. That's how you're going to get yourself killed all because you couldn't spare a few moments of your day to poop, eat and sleep. Or the fact that Kuma becoming a shichibukai was necessary because of the recent loss of one of the warlords at the hands of Ace. And that was a very nice way to elevate Ace's character beyond his death because we had already known he had declined an invitation to join the warlords but now it seems like he also took one down later on in his life as Whitebeard's son. And this obviously raises intrigue as to who the original warlord was is it someone we knew of already? Or is it actually not that significant who that person is and this was just included to stress how strong Ace was and what potential he had had he lived to reach it. I've also seen that a popular idea is that this original warlord that Ace defeated is the man now known to be the man marked by flames which would be a very fitting name if he has scars to tell the tale of his interaction with Ace. And it would be another nice way to loop Ace's story in to the overall story. And Oda was also able to use Kuma's role as a Shichibukai as a way to show or I guess a reverse of updates around the world something that we usually get with bounty posters at the end of every arc but this time within a flashback. And this way we can understand what was happening all around the world at the same time. Just another neat way to situate the readers and to flesh out the story further. Like seeing all the other warlords react really helped me place events like Crocodile's Arrabasta Plan and I was able to plot that in my mental map or timeline of events in my head. And to be honest I just love to see Crocodile whatever excuse I get and getting to see Miss All Sunday as a result was a very nice touch. A detail that became very clear to me in this chapter was that the world government and the marines are full of baddie females in their ranks. Now introducing the alpha female see what I did there. And knowing the devilish thinking behind the world government I can't help but think that this is all premeditated. The world government feels its ranks and especially important ranks like the Cypher Pole with very attractive women on purpose so that they serve as a distraction for all the crappy things that they do behind the scenes. And this just makes the world government even more sick and even more perverse when you think about it. On the other side of the spectrum a really nice a really wholesome detail was seeing Kuma use the drawing that Bonnie made for him as his Jolly Roger. Tell me how this man is sailing around known as the tyrant known as a warlord with this adorable drawing to represent him. His relationship with Bonnie is honestly just the sweetest and what a refreshing thing it is to witness someone actually being a good father in Manga and I know I've already mentioned how bittersweet how heartwarming how heart wrenching this chapter was but I have to mention their titular dialogue Kuma thanking Bonnie farewelling Bonnie her not really understanding what he's saying the line when he says that he really would have loved to take her to see all the world's fantastical places together it really just tears your heart especially because of Oda's usual art style it's hard not to be affected when you see the contrast in drawing with a character like young Bonnie and her large sweet doe eyes it's like the puppy dog effect but I think we are really closing in on Kuma's flashback now and maybe from the next chapter maybe we'll see how Bonnie escaped the clutches of the world government because now that we know the full details of their deal it explains Sakazuki's dialogue that he was concerned when Bonnie was able to get away from the world government but where we currently finish off in this chapter I could see it linking back to the present because if you recall the last scene in the present timeline before Kuma's flashback was Luffy and Bonnie possibly almost on the brink of death in Saturn's hands so maybe an interaction between Kuma and Luffy in the flashback could bring us back to the present or at least the one-sided interaction because Luffy clearly didn't recognize Kuma from the past but anyways you know what I mean also I know that I'm all over the place today but just another small detail that I really have to mention I know that it's just Luffy running like a mischievous child but doesn't he just feel very Nikolike in that pose and that cheeky smile I mean how could Kuma not recognize him anyways that's where I'm going to leave it on chapter 1100 for now let me know what you think by leaving a comment below don't forget to subscribe like the video thank you for listening to another one of my ramblings thank you to all of our channel and patreon members this is Joygirl and I'll see you again soon