Kuzan

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Kuzan (库赞)
Alias(es)	Aokiji
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Marines
Occupation/Role	Marine Admiral; dispatched by the Five Elders to capture Brando
Status	Active
First Appearance	Mentioned: 35; physical debut: 38

Background / History

Following Crocodile’s death and the public damage done to the Shichibukai system, the Five Elders judged CP0 insufficient to stop Brando and assigned Kuzan to pursue him. Sakazuki and Borsalino were unavailable, leaving Kuzan as the Admiral sent after the target. 35

Kuzan observed Brando’s destruction of Baroque Works in the Alabasta desert without being detected. His unnoticed presence exposed Brando’s lack of effective Observation Haki and led directly to their confrontation. 38

Rather than immediately attacking, Kuzan endured Brando’s accusations concerning Ohara, the Celestial Dragons, Marine obedience, and the potential danger posed by Alabasta’s Poneglyph. The discussion forced Kuzan to confront the limits of his ability to change the World Government from within before he ended the exchange with Ice Age. 39

Kuzan decisively outmatched Brando in direct combat, using Ice-Ice Fruit techniques, Armament Haki, Observation Haki, speed, and endurance to dismantle Brando’s clones and defenses. Even after Brando gained Shukaku’s cooperation and temporarily interfered with Kuzan’s elementalization, Kuzan remained confident that he would eventually win. 40 41 42 43 44

Brando ultimately escaped through Banlei’s Reverse Summoning after using clones to conceal the plan. Kuzan reported the failure to the Five Elders, who accepted that Brando possessed an abnormal range of abilities but warned Kuzan that another failure would not be tolerated. Alone afterward, Kuzan questioned whether his service to the Celestial Dragons had made him resemble the “dog” Brando called him. 44

Kuzan later arrived during Brando’s encounter with Silvers Rayleigh. Brando fled to avoid being exposed, and Rayleigh redirected a powerful attack toward Kuzan. 50

Appearance

Kuzan is presented with a consistently lazy, unhurried demeanor; before confronting Brando, he removes a sleep mask and pockets it, signaling that he is preparing to fight seriously. 39

• Often wears a sleep mask while resting. 39
• His power leaks as cold air when his composure is disturbed. 39
• Sustained facial injuries after Brando’s enlarged, Shukaku-powered punch, including fist marks and a bloody nose. 44

Personality

Kuzan initially approaches his assignment with detached reluctance, describing himself as a worker who has no choice but to carry out an unwanted order. He prefers to appear relaxed, but Brando’s references to Ohara, civilian deaths, and the World Government’s treatment of the Celestial Dragons expose deep anger and unresolved moral conflict. 39

He believes the Marines have genuinely tried to protect civilians, even while admitting through his frustration that he lacks the power to overthrow the World Government. Kuzan rejects Brando’s call for indiscriminate retaliation against Celestial Dragons, reasoning that Brando’s methods would cause many deaths. 40 44

In battle, Kuzan is analytical and disciplined. He rapidly identifies Brando’s true body, recognizes his dependence on range and vision, and systematically neutralizes each new tactic. 41 42

Abilities & Skills

Ice-Ice Fruit

Kuzan can generate, control, and become ice. His elementalization lets him evade or recover from conventional damage, while his ice creation allows him to reshape the battlefield on a massive scale. 40 41

• Ice Age — freezes the surrounding desert across several kilometers and can create vast ice fields or pillars. 39 41
• Ice construction — forms spears, spikes, walls, armor, and a thick ice enclosure during combat. 40 41 42
• Elemental movement — travels through ice and reforms from other ice patches after being struck. 40 41
• Ice armor — sheds or repels Brando’s Black Flames by continuously dropping frozen layers. 41
• Limitation — Brando’s Magnet Release: Rasengan temporarily spread sealing markings across Kuzan’s arm and suppressed his Devil Fruit power, preventing immediate elemental evasion. 43 44

Armament Haki

Kuzan coats his fists in Armament Haki and uses it to overpower Brando’s close-range techniques. His strikes are described as carrying internal destructive force capable of bypassing ordinary external defenses. 40 42

• Destroyed a Shadow Clone’s Big Ball Rasengan with a direct punch. 40
• Broke through Brando’s techniques and shattered his flame-coated Susanoo. 42
• Overwhelmed Brando’s Iron Sand weapons and Rasengan-based close-combat defense. 42

Observation Haki

Kuzan’s Observation Haki allows him to identify Brando’s true body among Shadow Clones, react to dangerous attacks, and exploit openings in Brando’s movements. 40 41

• Identified Brando’s original body immediately after the creation of Shadow Clones. 41
• Avoided or countered attacks that relied on Brando’s speed, visual prediction, and misdirection. 41 42
• Detected the distinction between Brando’s stronger original presence and the weaker chakra signatures of his clones. 41
• Could not detect Brando after Banlei’s Reverse Summoning removed him entirely from the battlefield. 44

Rokushiki

Kuzan uses Soru for high-speed movement, allowing him to evade Brando’s fire attacks and rapidly close the distance despite Brando’s own mobility techniques. 41

Physical Combat

Kuzan possesses overwhelming physical strength, speed, durability, and stamina even compared with Brando’s Shukaku-enhanced state. 41 42

• Destroyed Shadow Clones with single punches after reaching close range. 41
• Endured a clone’s self-destructive Big Ball Rasengan with only a minor injury. 41
• Repeatedly outpaced Brando’s Mangekyō Sharingan, Lightning Release, Soru, and Phantom Flash Step. 40 41 42

Relationships

• Brando — Assigned target and ideological adversary. Brando repeatedly calls Kuzan a Celestial Dragon “dog,” while Kuzan views Brando’s anti-government methods as dangerously destructive. 39 40 44
• The Five Elders — Sent Kuzan after Brando following Crocodile’s death; after Brando escaped, they reprimanded Kuzan and warned him not to fail again. 35 44
• Shukaku — Temporarily fought Kuzan as Brando’s manifested tailed beast. Kuzan initially dominated it with ice before Shukaku and Brando coordinated against him. 43
• Silvers Rayleigh — Encountered Rayleigh after Brando fled their fight; Rayleigh immediately targeted Kuzan with a powerful sword attack. 50

Story Role / Major Arcs

Pursuit of Brando

Kuzan is deployed as the World Government’s direct response to Brando’s killing of Crocodile and growing threat to its authority. His arrival establishes the first major clash between Brando and a Marine Admiral. 35 38

Battle in Alabasta

Kuzan confronts Brando after witnessing the destruction of Baroque Works. Their battle becomes both a physical contest and a dispute over justice, the Marines, Ohara, and the Celestial Dragons. Kuzan dominates the fight but fails to prevent Brando’s escape. 39 40 41 42 43 44

Crisis of Justice

Brando’s accusations leave Kuzan questioning the meaning of his role under the World Government. His private question—whether he truly looks like a “dog”—shows that the confrontation has damaged his confidence in the justice he serves. 44

Sabaody Arrival

Kuzan appears during Brando’s battle with Rayleigh, inadvertently prompting Brando to retreat and becoming the recipient of Rayleigh’s redirected attack. 50

Notable Quotes

“Then what else can I do?!” 40

“The Marines aren’t dogs!” 44