Just throwing my thoughts out there about Kuma and Bonney. I don't have a direct theory about why Kuma is doing what he does, but I did want to summarize his and Bonney's background to see if the thread can come up with possible theory as to what it all means in the end.
1. Kuma's background:
We know several things about Kuma, but they are pretty fragmented, so I'll lay them out here:
- As a child, Kuma was clearly enslaved. Nothing beyond this. Just looks to be about 8 or 9 years old here. Kuma is 47, so technically this could align with the God Vally Incident (38 years prior), so maybe he's there and not Marijoa:
- Kuma apparently is from a unique species, one we probably do not know yet (either that or he's a hybrid of human and something like Lunarian? No idea):
- He also was, very clearly, a Revolutionary about 12 years prior to the main story:
- Here, it is implied he was a King prior to being a Revolutionary or even at the same time. While the idea that he was a Tyrant probably was a lie (blamed for something he didn't do probably), he clearly was a pirate caught by the Marines at some point AFTER this, who then agreed to be a Shichibukai and studied by VP for his body. This also answers something on the timeline, as clearly Ivankov (and the rest of the RA) were out of the loop about Kuma being modified. This means the Pacifista project was extremely recent (even Drake implies this):
- Fun observation, but I'm pretty sure his Bible is just a means to record here he sends people. He asks Perona where she would like to go, then she daydreams, then he writes in his bible lol. So I don't think it means much to his character
- It is clear that whatever Kuma is doing (i.e. being turned into a living weapon) has to do with Bonney. This dialogue from VP makes it clear:
Whatever Kuma is, whatever his relationship is to Bonney, and whatever Bonney HERSELF is, is the reason Kuma became a mindless machine. I elaborate more below.
But what we can assume from the above is:
- About 40 years ago, Kuma was a slave and from a unique species
- At some point, he went to Sorbet and either adopted or married and had Bonney with the Royalty there (he's clearly not Royalty based on his childhood).
- He was a Revolutionary at least 12 years prior to the story (Luffy's flashback), presumably also as the King of Sorbet.
- Something "tragic" happened to Sorbet, resulting in his eventual capture. He was blamed and called "Tyrant"
- He eventually was caught and forced to 1) Become a Shichibukai and 2) Be experimented on by Vegapunk. I assume the initial reasoning was due to Bonney, not to save his own life. At this point, he and Bonney "belong" to the WG. This began the Pacifista project
- Eventually Vegapunk was forced to turn him into a living weapon as well. This must have been very recent, since the RA was not aware of it. He agreed, for one reason or another, to do it. At this point, he "abandons" Bonney to save her, and at this point, she probably runs from the Government and becomes a Pirate.
2. Bonney's Background
- Clearly Bonney is of royal descent, since she specifically aged up to someone presumably called the Queen Dowager (i.e. Former Queen) Conney. This is likely her Grandmother:
- Note that Bonney's age of 24 is just a guess. Even in the SBS by Oda, he actually highlights that it is just an estimation based on how she standardizes her DF:
- I'm not saying that she's exactly a child, just probably younger than 24. Kuma being a RA member 12 years prior (which should have been after he was already considered a "Tyrant" for Sorbet) and was a King prior to this, would suggest that Bonney is at least 14-15 years old, that would be my guess. This may be "roughly" her real age here, but Devil Fruits don't actually de-activate in water (they just weaken the user), so this may still not even be her true age. Even Kizaru in 1092 makes the point that she "grew so fast", possibly implying that he isn't aware she is resorting to her powers possibly.
- She clearly, at some point, belonged to the Government. My understanding of this is that when Kuma was captured, so was she. This caused them both to reside at Egghead with Vegapunk (and Kizaru as a guard).
So finally, I "assume" Kuma married into Royalty after meeting Bonney's mother, or maybe simply adopting her and became Sorbet's King after saying it or something. I also "assume" Sorbet, based on the smaller flashbacks with Bonney and Kuma, was extremely poor, and therefore could not pay the WG Tax to stay protected. This then lead to the spiral of events I mentioned above (his "Tyrant" slander by the WG, being an RA member, then captured and becoming a Shichibukai and human weapon). Bonney being WG property is likely just a result of that. As for the "why" is still anyone's guess.
What do you guys think? 1092 seems to strongly imply Kuma is on his way to Egghead and we may finally see the resolution of this hidden flashback. But I'm curious as to what it all means and how it ties to Eggheads overall plot itself. If he's flying back to Egghead, why did Kuma agree to lose his mind? Was there an overall endgame or was it to simply save his daughter? Because in the end, flying back to Egghead only seems to lead to that result, not that necessarily has a deeper goal with VP.
1. Kuma's background:
We know several things about Kuma, but they are pretty fragmented, so I'll lay them out here:
- As a child, Kuma was clearly enslaved. Nothing beyond this. Just looks to be about 8 or 9 years old here. Kuma is 47, so technically this could align with the God Vally Incident (38 years prior), so maybe he's there and not Marijoa:
- Kuma apparently is from a unique species, one we probably do not know yet (either that or he's a hybrid of human and something like Lunarian? No idea):
- He also was, very clearly, a Revolutionary about 12 years prior to the main story:
- Here, it is implied he was a King prior to being a Revolutionary or even at the same time. While the idea that he was a Tyrant probably was a lie (blamed for something he didn't do probably), he clearly was a pirate caught by the Marines at some point AFTER this, who then agreed to be a Shichibukai and studied by VP for his body. This also answers something on the timeline, as clearly Ivankov (and the rest of the RA) were out of the loop about Kuma being modified. This means the Pacifista project was extremely recent (even Drake implies this):
- Fun observation, but I'm pretty sure his Bible is just a means to record here he sends people. He asks Perona where she would like to go, then she daydreams, then he writes in his bible lol. So I don't think it means much to his character
- It is clear that whatever Kuma is doing (i.e. being turned into a living weapon) has to do with Bonney. This dialogue from VP makes it clear:
Whatever Kuma is, whatever his relationship is to Bonney, and whatever Bonney HERSELF is, is the reason Kuma became a mindless machine. I elaborate more below.
But what we can assume from the above is:
- About 40 years ago, Kuma was a slave and from a unique species
- At some point, he went to Sorbet and either adopted or married and had Bonney with the Royalty there (he's clearly not Royalty based on his childhood).
- He was a Revolutionary at least 12 years prior to the story (Luffy's flashback), presumably also as the King of Sorbet.
- Something "tragic" happened to Sorbet, resulting in his eventual capture. He was blamed and called "Tyrant"
- He eventually was caught and forced to 1) Become a Shichibukai and 2) Be experimented on by Vegapunk. I assume the initial reasoning was due to Bonney, not to save his own life. At this point, he and Bonney "belong" to the WG. This began the Pacifista project
- Eventually Vegapunk was forced to turn him into a living weapon as well. This must have been very recent, since the RA was not aware of it. He agreed, for one reason or another, to do it. At this point, he "abandons" Bonney to save her, and at this point, she probably runs from the Government and becomes a Pirate.
2. Bonney's Background
- Clearly Bonney is of royal descent, since she specifically aged up to someone presumably called the Queen Dowager (i.e. Former Queen) Conney. This is likely her Grandmother:
- Note that Bonney's age of 24 is just a guess. Even in the SBS by Oda, he actually highlights that it is just an estimation based on how she standardizes her DF:
- I'm not saying that she's exactly a child, just probably younger than 24. Kuma being a RA member 12 years prior (which should have been after he was already considered a "Tyrant" for Sorbet) and was a King prior to this, would suggest that Bonney is at least 14-15 years old, that would be my guess. This may be "roughly" her real age here, but Devil Fruits don't actually de-activate in water (they just weaken the user), so this may still not even be her true age. Even Kizaru in 1092 makes the point that she "grew so fast", possibly implying that he isn't aware she is resorting to her powers possibly.
- She clearly, at some point, belonged to the Government. My understanding of this is that when Kuma was captured, so was she. This caused them both to reside at Egghead with Vegapunk (and Kizaru as a guard).
So finally, I "assume" Kuma married into Royalty after meeting Bonney's mother, or maybe simply adopting her and became Sorbet's King after saying it or something. I also "assume" Sorbet, based on the smaller flashbacks with Bonney and Kuma, was extremely poor, and therefore could not pay the WG Tax to stay protected. This then lead to the spiral of events I mentioned above (his "Tyrant" slander by the WG, being an RA member, then captured and becoming a Shichibukai and human weapon). Bonney being WG property is likely just a result of that. As for the "why" is still anyone's guess.
What do you guys think? 1092 seems to strongly imply Kuma is on his way to Egghead and we may finally see the resolution of this hidden flashback. But I'm curious as to what it all means and how it ties to Eggheads overall plot itself. If he's flying back to Egghead, why did Kuma agree to lose his mind? Was there an overall endgame or was it to simply save his daughter? Because in the end, flying back to Egghead only seems to lead to that result, not that necessarily has a deeper goal with VP.
