Kuja Pirates

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Kuja Pirates (九蛇海贼团)
Alias(es)	Norse Pirates 96
Affiliation	Amazon Lily; later operates from a New World island territory formed around relocated Kuja Island 10 139
Occupation/Role	Pirate crew and armed force of Amazon Lily
Leadership	Boa Hancock — captain; Norse — vice-captain and principal commander in recruitment, discipline, and negotiations 14 65 84 136
Status	Active 139 144
First Appearance	Chapter 10

Appearance and insignia

The crew's original vessel has a dazzling vermilion-red hull and is hauled through the Calm Belt by two enormous sea serpents. 14

• Flag: A sun with a skull at its center, wrapped by nine snakes. 14
• Later banner: All of the crew's vessels fly a flaming sun pierced by nine great serpents. 75
• Early composition: Marine wanted posters initially identified every known Kuja Pirate as a woman; the crew later became mixed-gender through recruitment. 11 65 78 91

Organization

Position / Group	Member(s)	Notes
Captain	Boa Hancock	Commands the crew and issues orders at decisive moments. 68 84
Vice-captain / central commander	Norse	Directs major operations, recruits, negotiations, training, and the crew's strategic expansion. 14 65 136
First Division Commander	Enel	One of the crew's foremost combatants. 152
Second Division Commander	Golden Lion Shiki	Joined with Merveille and the assets of the Flying Pirate Crew. 65 152
Third Division Captain	Bartolomeo	Initially accepted as an apprentice; the position was reserved for him before he later received a bounty as Third Division Commander. 78 96
Fourth Division Captain	Arlong	Joined alongside the Arlong Pirates after Norse appealed to their connection with Fisher Tiger. 91
Prospective Fourth Captain	Trafalgar Law	Joined after leaving the Donquixote Family; promised a future captain position once qualified. 98
Original officers	Boa Sandersonia and Boa Marigold	Hancock's sisters, who sail and fight alongside her from the crew's earliest documented actions. 10 14

Principles and reputation

• The crew presents itself as a pirate force that plunders but does not casually kill innocents; members who cannot coexist harmoniously or meet the crew's standards can be expelled. 65 67 136
• Norse emphasizes that strength alone is insufficient and that winning popular support is necessary for lasting influence. 67
• Their ability to travel by air and their major combatants' strength led the World Government to avoid direct provocation unless the crew violated its stated principles. 99
• The crew's reputation became strong enough that Alabasta's king personally received them rather than risk hostility. 98 99

Combat capabilities

Amazon Lily Haki corps

The original Kuja fighters are trained archers and Haki users, able to defend their vessel even under Marine bombardment. 16

• Female pirates aboard the Kuja ship prepare Haki-coated arrows against cannon fire. 16
• Most female pirates on Kuja Island know Armament Haki; experienced members are assigned to teach newer recruits. 136
• Hancock possesses Conqueror's Haki and awakened it while fighting Rear Admiral Strawberry. 10
• Hancock's Sweet-Sweet Fruit can petrify living targets and inanimate objects struck by her attacks, including cannonballs and warships. 39 112

High-level combatants

The crew's upper ranks combine several powerful Devil Fruit users and veteran pirates.

• Norse — Uses the Sun Fruit, solar attacks, healing, and overwhelming Haki; he protected the crew's ship from a Marine barrage with thousands of light swords. 16 81
• Golden Lion Shiki — Uses the Float-Float Fruit, commands an island ship, and can relocate islands and landmasses. 65 108 139
• Enel — Uses lightning to neutralize artillery and destroy enemy ships. 88 112
• Bartolomeo — Uses the Barrier Fruit; his barriers had reached a three-minute duration during the Alabasta arc. 98
• Law — Uses the Room ability for battlefield relocation and was trained by Norse to develop it further. 96 98
• Arlong and his fish-men — Provide fish-man combat ability and serve as protection for younger members such as Law and Bartolomeo. 91 98

Fleet, territory, and resources

• Kuja pirate ship — The crew's vermilion ship, pulled by two giant sea serpents through the Calm Belt. 14
• Golden Lion's island ship — Shiki's airborne vessel became a Kuja asset after he joined with all of Merveille's resources. 65 75
• Golden Thunder Airship / Golden Flying Ship — Used for aerial travel and displays of wealth; access aboard the Golden Flying Ship is restricted to captain-level officers and above. 93 110
• Merveille — Shiki transferred its wealth, experiments, and IQ Plant resources to the crew upon joining. 65 68
• Sky City — The crew claimed Alabasta's elevated garden and arranged for wealthy residents to inhabit it. 109
• Rare Beast Island — Claimed for the Kuja Pirates and moved above Amazon Lily by Shiki. 135
• New World territory — Kuja Island was brought into the New World and surrounded with more than a dozen additional islands. 139

History

Revenge against Rear Admiral Strawberry

After returning from an expedition, Hancock and her sisters learned that Fisher Tiger—their rescuer from slavery—had died from injuries inflicted during an ambush by Rear Admiral Strawberry. They sailed into the Grand Line to intercept him, and Hancock awakened Conqueror's Haki during the battle that defeated the rear admiral. 10

Marine Headquarters responded by issuing bounties and arrest warrants for every Kuja Pirate. After intelligence confirmed Amazon Lily as their base, Fleet Admiral Sengoku sought to bring Hancock into the Seven Warlords of the Sea instead of continuing a direct pursuit. 10

When Aokiji's fleet entered the Calm Belt, Norse ceased concealing his strength and defended the Kuja ship against Marine cannon fire. His actions changed how the female warriors viewed the formerly inconspicuous crew member. 14 16

Expansion under Norse's command

The crew left Amazon Lily and began asserting itself across the Grand Line. After the confrontation with the Donquixote Family's merchant vessel, Norse declared that the Kuja Pirates would collect protection money from Doflamingo's operations in their waters. 27 29

Golden Lion Shiki joined with all of Merveille's assets after Norse rejected Shiki's proposal to indiscriminately destroy East Blue. The terms of his membership required him to follow the crew's restrictions on harming innocents. 65 67

In Loguetown, the crew recruited Bartolomeo, reserved the Third Division Captain position for him, and used Shiki's destruction of the Marine base to publicize the Kuja Pirates' return to the East Blue. Norse ordered Shiki not to kill large numbers of Marines or civilians. 75 78

Recruitment of former Sun Pirates and new members

The crew encountered the Arlong Pirates while traveling through East Blue. Because Arlong, Hatchan, and other fish-men had served under Fisher Tiger, Hancock and her sisters recognized them as people tied to their past. Norse recruited Arlong as Fourth Division Captain and brought the Arlong Pirates into the crew. 91

By the Alabasta arc, Law had abandoned the Donquixote Family to join the Kuja Pirates, while Norse mentored both Law and Bartolomeo in developing their Devil Fruit abilities. 98

After Rare Beast Island, Morgan and Chopper also joined the crew. The island was claimed as Kuja territory before the crew returned to Amazon Lily for a planned two-year period of training. 135 136

Alabasta, Dressrosa, and the New World

In Alabasta, the crew negotiated with Sengoku for permission to enter the New World, offering half of a Poneglyph in exchange. They subsequently established Sky City from the lifted garden ruins. 109

At Dressrosa, the crew fought through the Donquixote Family's naval blockade, rescued the dwarf tribe from Doflamingo's control, and later forced Doflamingo into cooperation with Kaido under Norse's terms. 112 116 125

After returning to Kuja Island, Norse brought the island into the New World and had Shiki surround it with additional islands, creating a larger territorial base before challenging the Four Emperors. 139

Relationships

• Amazon Lily — Home base and original source of the crew's female warriors; its citizens see the pirates off when they depart. 10 27
• Fisher Tiger — Savior of Hancock and her sisters; his death drove the crew's attack on Rear Admiral Strawberry. 10
• Sun Pirates — Their former members, including Arlong, Hatchan, and Kuroobi, became allies through their shared history with Fisher Tiger. 91
• Marine Headquarters / World Government — Persistent adversaries that issued warrants, pursued the crew, and later negotiated its entry into the New World. 10 87 109
• Flying Pirate Crew / Merveille — Absorbed when Golden Lion Shiki joined the Kuja Pirates with his assets. 65
• Arlong Pirates — Recruited into the Kuja Pirates under Arlong's Fourth Division command. 91
• Baroque Works — Serves the Kuja Pirates in exchange for protection in the New World. 110 144
• Alabasta Kingdom — Entered into a transactional relationship with the crew, including the creation of Sky City. 99 109
• Four Emperors — Challenged by Norse after the crew entered the New World. 139

Notable Quotes

“But our Kuja Pirates have never harmed the innocent.” 65

“Only by winning the people's hearts can you conquer even more.” 67