Kuzan

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Kuzan (库赞)
Alias(es)	Aokiji
Affiliation	Marines
Occupation/Role	Marine recruit under Admiral Zephyr; later brigadier general
First Appearance	Chapter 24

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Marine recruit and Ice-Ice Fruit user	24 25	Possesses formidable Logia powers, but his Armament and Observation Haki are weak and he lacks motivation to train seriously.
Defeated by Ye Tong; begins reassessing his potential	25 26	Ye Tong’s criticism exposes the gap between Kuzan’s ideals and his actual mastery of Haki and the Ice-Ice Fruit; he is directed toward Zephyr’s training.
Early graduation from Zephyr’s training ground	30	Improves his Ice-Ice Fruit control enough to graduate earlier than expected; his cold can spread across the entire training ground.
Develops Ice-Ice Fruit: Time Capsule and instinctive elementalization	31	Uses ice projectiles to create battlefield-restricting spikes and survives Ye Tong’s lethal counterattack by reflexively turning elemental.
Brigadier general	32	Receives a Marine mission after leaving the training ground to temper himself on the seas.

Background / History

Kuzan joined the Marines because he admired Monkey D. Garp and wanted to purge evil from the seas with his own fists. However, after spending more than a year at the training grounds, he had grown uninterested in training and had not yet acted on his ideals outside the facility. 25 26

While training under Admiral Zephyr, Kuzan met the cleaning soldier Ye Tong. Their first encounter began when Ye Tong challenged him to a fight over Kuzan’s refusal to discard trash. 24

Personality

Kuzan is mild-tempered, calm, and initially puzzled rather than angered by Ye Tong’s bizarre challenge. Despite his early laziness and poor motivation, he is not cruel: after freezing Ye Tong during their first fight, he immediately panics at the possibility that he may have killed him. 24 25

He holds a straightforward belief that pirates are the greatest evil on the seas and wishes to emulate Garp by following his own sense of justice rather than pursuing rank for its own sake. Ye Tong’s criticism forces him to question whether simply opposing pirates is enough to define justice. 26

Kuzan can be arrogant in combat, initially treating a swordsmanship test as sufficient against Ye Tong. After being punished for holding back, he accepts the criticism, recognizes his own shortcomings, and resolves to seek further growth. 31

Abilities & Skills

Ice-Ice Fruit

Kuzan is a Logia Devil Fruit user capable of producing, manipulating, and transforming into ice. His fruit gives him overwhelming raw power even before he fully develops it. 25

• Freezes the entire training ground into an “Ice World.” 25
• Forms an ice blade for close-quarters combat. 31
• Spreads cold across a wide area, forcing spectators away before combat. 30
• Can use elementalization to evade otherwise fatal physical attacks. 31
• His early reliance on the fruit leaves him vulnerable to opponents with superior Haki, speed, and preparation. 25

Ice-Ice Fruit: Time Capsule

Kuzan fires ice projectiles that form massive ice spikes wherever they land. 31

• Gradually restricts an opponent’s available movement space. 31
• Forces Ye Tong to use Soru and a two-sword technique to clear a path through the ice. 31

Haki and Combat Ability

Kuzan possesses Armament and Observation Haki, though both are described as weak during his first fight with Ye Tong. 25

• His initial lack of Haki development prevents him from responding before Ye Tong’s Armament-coated strike lands. 25
• His later elementalization is triggered instinctively when he senses lethal danger. 31
• He is competent enough to create and wield an ice sword, but Ye Tong breaks it with Haki-coated blades. 31

Relationships

• Ye Tong — Rival and inadvertent mentor. Ye Tong defeats Kuzan twice, challenges his attitude toward training and justice, and motivates him to leave the training ground for active Marine service. 25 26 30 31
• Monkey D. Garp — Kuzan’s admired role model; Kuzan joins the Marines hoping to follow Garp’s example of acting according to personal justice. 25 26
• Admiral Zephyr — Instructor and mentor at the Marine training ground. Zephyr oversees Kuzan’s growth, celebrates his early graduation, and prompts him to decide his future after his second loss to Ye Tong. 24 30 31
• Smoker — Fellow trainee who refers to Kuzan as “Brother Kuzan” and watches his battle with Ye Tong closely. 30 31

Story Role / Major Arcs

First Fight with Ye Tong

After Ye Tong challenges him at the training grounds, Kuzan accepts out of curiosity. Ye Tong strikes him before he can use his fruit, survives Kuzan’s full-area freezing technique, and wins by placing a blade at Kuzan’s neck. Kuzan fulfills their wager by discarding a fruit core, which gives Ye Tong Observation Haki. 24 25

Question of Justice

Ye Tong asks Kuzan about his dream and presses him to define justice beyond simply defeating pirates. Kuzan states his desire to sweep away evil like Garp, but Ye Tong criticizes his underdeveloped fruit and Haki, urging him to train under Zephyr. 26

Graduation and Second Defeat

Following a year of training, Kuzan graduates early and challenges Ye Tong again. He demonstrates much greater Ice-Ice Fruit control and unveils Time Capsule, but Ye Tong’s speed, swordsmanship, and Armament Haki still overwhelm him. 30 31

After the battle, Kuzan accepts that he cannot improve further by remaining in the training ground. He chooses to become a true Marine, temper himself at sea, and challenge Ye Tong again in the future. 31

Promotion

Kuzan is promoted to brigadier general and assigned a Marine mission shortly after leaving Zephyr’s training ground. 32

Notable Quotes

“To sweep away evil!” 26

“Pirates are the greatest evil on these seas. My job is to remove those tumors.” 26

“Even if I stay here any longer, I won't be able to improve. I want to become a true Marine, then temper my strength upon the seas.” 31