Former admiral Aokiji, now a member of the Blackbeard pirates, is a force to be reckoned with.
Kuzan was recently revealed to be the 10th Titanic Captain of the Blackbeard Pirates and one of the major driving forces when it comes to the story of the current Egghead Island arc.
Recently, Kuzan has been very active in the story, being seen infiltrating Whole Cake Island to capture Pudding and now, attempting to stop Koby from escaping and taking on his former mentor, Garp, in combat. It goes without saying that Kuzan is a very powerful fighter, however, the question remains, among the very strongest in One Piece, where does he stand currently?
Kuzan As A Former Admiral
Fans would remember that Kuzan was one of the Navy Admirals before the 2-year time skip. In fact, he was the very first Admiral to be introduced to the fans and he made his introduction in the Long Ring Long Land arc of the story. He was prevalent in the Water Seven Saga and, later on, also played a major role in the Paramount War.
In Water 7, fans got an idea of his sense of justice when he let Nico Robin escape not once but twice. Despite being a Marine Admiral, it was quite clear to see that Aokiji was actually very sensible and did not enjoy killing people indiscriminately or even persecuting all pirates, for that matter. His sense of justice aside, Kuzan was one of the elite fighters that the World Government had at their disposal. His strength was incredible, such that he could go toe to toe against the legendary Whitebeard on Marineford. In fact, he fought the entire war of Marineford and received only minor injuries. His strength was such that Whitebeard himself had trouble doing damage to him, although, much of that was down to the fact that he was very old at that point. Nonetheless, as an Admiral, Kuzan automatically established himself as one of the very few Marines capable of taking up arms against a Yonko.
Kuzan’s Haki
Haki was not that prevalent in the pre-time skip of One Piece, and, as such, it is very hard to accurately predict how strong Aokiji’s Haki is at this point in time. That said, he is a user of two types of Haki, at the very least. He possesses the power to use Observation Haki as well as Armament Haki. When it comes to the Color of Observation, Kuzan likely has mastered the skill to a decent degree. During the war of Marineford, Kuzan showed his Haki while fighting the elite commanders of the Whitebeard Pirates. Even a momentary lapse in concentration would have seen him get severely injured and the fact that he only took very few injuries suggests that his control over Haki is excellent.
In fact, there is even evidence that he has mastered this skill to an advanced degree. Kuzan was able to create holes in his body where he thought Whitebeard would hit him with Haki. This is very similar to how Katakuri avoided being hit in Whole Cake Island and suggests that Kuzan might be able to see the future as well.
When it comes to the Color of Armament, fans have a bit more to go off of as he made use of Ryuo to deflect a Haki-infused quake from Whitebeard during the war. This suggests that he has advanced mastery over Ryuo and makes him extremely powerful. The advanced mastery of both these skills implies that Kuzan is an excellent Haki user and that shouldn’t be a surprise, given that he was the first student of Garp, who is a master of Haki himself.
Kuzan’s Devil Fruit
When it comes to Devil Fruit powers, Kuzan is excellent. He possesses the Logia type Hie Hie no Mi, which has made him an Ice Human. This fruit grants him the ability to become ice itself as well as produce and manipulate it according to his will. His control over this fruit is excellent and he made it his strongest asset over the years. Kuzan can freeze the entire ocean within a matter of seconds as well as trap his enemies within a ball of ice if they are not at his level of strength. His ability is lethal and can kill most characters if they are frozen to the bone. In fact, his Devil Fruit powers are especially dangerous when used against pirates, since quite a lot of battles are fought on the seas, which he can freeze within a matter of seconds.
To take things one step further, he used his Devil Fruit powers against Akainu on Punk Hazard for 10 days and managed to make it an incredibly difficult fight for the latter. Although Kuzan lost, his abilities were such that they managed to change the weather over half of Punk Hazard permanently and made it a snowy, wintery island. This might even be a sign of Devil Fruit Awakening and, if that is the case, Kuzan could very well be one of the elite fighters in One Piece, capable of fighting against the Yonko without much trouble.
Src: gamerant.com
