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Let’s start by saying that Kuzan has clearly been a Conqueror’s Haki user from the beginning, since Chinjao recognizes Teach as someone with the potential to become the Pirate King. And what’s Chinjao’s idea of the Pirate King? For him, the Pirate King is the man who can dominate the other conquerors—and there are a lot of them in the One Piece world. The Pirate King stands above all other conquerors, as the ultimate, final, and strongest conqueror of them all.
For this idea to hold, Teach must have at least one Conqueror’s Haki user in his crew—if not more than one. And I believe Kuzan could very well be one of them. First of all, we have to distinguish between the usual Kuzan—lazy and seemingly unmotivated—and the one we see fighting Garp, who is clearly holding back, since he’s not fighting in line with his true convictions.
That Kuzan is completely different from the one who fought Akainu. In his battle with the other admiral, we see Kuzan fully unleash his willpower and fight at 100% of both his strength and ambition. That version of Kuzan is the one at the peak of his power and Haki.
Beyond that, Kuzan stood against Akainu based on his own sense of justice and refused to submit to his command. Similarly, with Teach, we can see that Kuzan doesn’t blindly follow orders. On the contrary, they’re allies with a common goal—not a master-servant dynamic. In fact, Oda himself confirms in an SBS that Kuzan is not someone who would follow all of Teach’s orders.
That’s a Conqueror’s mindset—just like Whitebeard said: some people, like Oden, simply cannot be subordinate to anyone, no matter the hierarchy or chain of command within a crew.
That said, Kuzan literally has the same physical strength Garp had at his peak. This is confirmed by Marine officer Brennew, who emphasizes that the strength of these two legendary Marines—both considered equally legendary—doesn’t come from natural talent, but from a specific type of training they both underwent. Not coincidentally, the author places emphasis on the sound effects to show Kuzan’s growth, ultimately reaching Garp’s level of physical power.
As for why Kuzan doesn’t seem as strong in his battle against Garp, that’s been hinted at multiple times. He’s holding back because he cares about his former mentor. Maybe even subconsciously, but still—he has emotional restraints. He’s not fully convinced about the path he’s on, especially now that it puts him in direct conflict with Garp.
In fact, during that confrontation, Kuzan actually does Garp another favor. We see in the flashback that Kuzan is present when Garp shares his ideology—an ideology about pushing the next generation forward. It’s no coincidence that Avalo Pizarro points out how Kuzan could’ve used Ice Age to freeze the ocean around Acino and stop Coby, but chooses not to. I believe he lets Coby go on purpose, capturing Garp instead—ironically, as a way of helping Garp.
Even though it hurts him, and he knows he can’t let both of them go, Kuzan decides to let Coby escape, knowing that in doing so, he is respecting Garp’s will—despite also betraying him, to some extent, by capturing him.
But that betrayal is necessary in order to free Coby without fully upsetting Teach, with whom he has an agreement. And we also see how Teach deeply respects Kuzan. He even mentions that his own crewmates were wrong to think they could challenge Kuzan—meanwhile, someone like Rocks repeatedly disrespected Whitebeard.
I’ll conclude by saying that Warcury—the same character who, along with his colleagues, had no problem at all giving up the Seven Warlords as a military force—emphasizes Kuzan’s tremendous strength, hyping him up and showing deep concern over the fact that someone so powerful is assisting Teach. It’s no coincidence that Oda chooses to present Kuzan in a double spread for One Piece.
Kuzan will also serve as a benchmark for Coby, the character destined to become the new Garp and the strongest Marine in history (just as Garp once hoped Luffy would become). So it makes sense that Kuzan is the main obstacle for a character like Coby, who will also wield insane Haki. Coby, also present in the spread, is in direct opposition to Luffy and even declares his intent to stop him from achieving his dream.
It’s a much more serious matter than many realize—though I know a lot of people are still sleeping on Coby. Kuzan is this generation’s Garp, just as Shanks is. Shanks is on Roger’s and Rocks’ level—maybe slightly below—but strong enough that whoever defeats him will surpass Rocks.
In the same way, while I believe Kuzan might be slightly below Garp in his prime overall—mainly due to Haki (since their physical strength is equal)—defeating Kuzan will allow Coby to surpass his own mentor. A classic trope in shonen: the current favorite disciple of Garp will defeat his former prized student, surpassing even his own teacher.
A dynamic similar to Naruto – Pain (Nagato) – Jiraiya.
@Elder Lee Hung @ZenZu idk tag some admiral fans for me.
For this idea to hold, Teach must have at least one Conqueror’s Haki user in his crew—if not more than one. And I believe Kuzan could very well be one of them. First of all, we have to distinguish between the usual Kuzan—lazy and seemingly unmotivated—and the one we see fighting Garp, who is clearly holding back, since he’s not fighting in line with his true convictions.
That Kuzan is completely different from the one who fought Akainu. In his battle with the other admiral, we see Kuzan fully unleash his willpower and fight at 100% of both his strength and ambition. That version of Kuzan is the one at the peak of his power and Haki.
Beyond that, Kuzan stood against Akainu based on his own sense of justice and refused to submit to his command. Similarly, with Teach, we can see that Kuzan doesn’t blindly follow orders. On the contrary, they’re allies with a common goal—not a master-servant dynamic. In fact, Oda himself confirms in an SBS that Kuzan is not someone who would follow all of Teach’s orders.
That’s a Conqueror’s mindset—just like Whitebeard said: some people, like Oden, simply cannot be subordinate to anyone, no matter the hierarchy or chain of command within a crew.
That said, Kuzan literally has the same physical strength Garp had at his peak. This is confirmed by Marine officer Brennew, who emphasizes that the strength of these two legendary Marines—both considered equally legendary—doesn’t come from natural talent, but from a specific type of training they both underwent. Not coincidentally, the author places emphasis on the sound effects to show Kuzan’s growth, ultimately reaching Garp’s level of physical power.
As for why Kuzan doesn’t seem as strong in his battle against Garp, that’s been hinted at multiple times. He’s holding back because he cares about his former mentor. Maybe even subconsciously, but still—he has emotional restraints. He’s not fully convinced about the path he’s on, especially now that it puts him in direct conflict with Garp.
In fact, during that confrontation, Kuzan actually does Garp another favor. We see in the flashback that Kuzan is present when Garp shares his ideology—an ideology about pushing the next generation forward. It’s no coincidence that Avalo Pizarro points out how Kuzan could’ve used Ice Age to freeze the ocean around Acino and stop Coby, but chooses not to. I believe he lets Coby go on purpose, capturing Garp instead—ironically, as a way of helping Garp.
Even though it hurts him, and he knows he can’t let both of them go, Kuzan decides to let Coby escape, knowing that in doing so, he is respecting Garp’s will—despite also betraying him, to some extent, by capturing him.
But that betrayal is necessary in order to free Coby without fully upsetting Teach, with whom he has an agreement. And we also see how Teach deeply respects Kuzan. He even mentions that his own crewmates were wrong to think they could challenge Kuzan—meanwhile, someone like Rocks repeatedly disrespected Whitebeard.
I’ll conclude by saying that Warcury—the same character who, along with his colleagues, had no problem at all giving up the Seven Warlords as a military force—emphasizes Kuzan’s tremendous strength, hyping him up and showing deep concern over the fact that someone so powerful is assisting Teach. It’s no coincidence that Oda chooses to present Kuzan in a double spread for One Piece.
Kuzan will also serve as a benchmark for Coby, the character destined to become the new Garp and the strongest Marine in history (just as Garp once hoped Luffy would become). So it makes sense that Kuzan is the main obstacle for a character like Coby, who will also wield insane Haki. Coby, also present in the spread, is in direct opposition to Luffy and even declares his intent to stop him from achieving his dream.
It’s a much more serious matter than many realize—though I know a lot of people are still sleeping on Coby. Kuzan is this generation’s Garp, just as Shanks is. Shanks is on Roger’s and Rocks’ level—maybe slightly below—but strong enough that whoever defeats him will surpass Rocks.
In the same way, while I believe Kuzan might be slightly below Garp in his prime overall—mainly due to Haki (since their physical strength is equal)—defeating Kuzan will allow Coby to surpass his own mentor. A classic trope in shonen: the current favorite disciple of Garp will defeat his former prized student, surpassing even his own teacher.
A dynamic similar to Naruto – Pain (Nagato) – Jiraiya.
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@Elder Lee Hung @ZenZu idk tag some admiral fans for me.
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