Kuzan

Kuzan (クザン, Kuzan), better known by his epithet "Aokiji" (青雉, Aokiji; literally meaning "Blue Pheasant"), is a fictional character and deuteragonist from the One Piece series. He is a former Marine admiral and the first one to be revealed.

Years ago on Ohara, Kuzan had caught the eye of one of the criminal archaeologists, Nico Robin. After freezing a former friend, Jaguar D. Saul to death, he helped Robin escape but gave her a warning. Twenty years later, he appears with Kizaru and Akainu at Sabaody Archipelago, where Robin was now in the service of the Straw Hat Pirates, when Luffy knocks out a World Noble, attracting the attention of the Navy and causing them to dispatch all admirals to the aid of the World Nobles. He leads the Marines, alongside with his admiral colleagues in the battle against the Straw Hat Pirates, along with their comrade Sentomaru, believing they shouldn't protect her. He fights against an old Haki and combat master of the Roger Pirates Jiraimbo, to buy the Straw Hat Pirates time for escape.

At Marineford, Kuzan was overseeing the public execution of Portgas D. Ace. When Whitebeard sent his forces in to rescue their fellow pirate, Kuzan began to freeze the bay, and even after being shattered, was still able to repair himself. After Ace was freed, Kuzan confronted him in a battle of fire and ice, though their two elements simply cancelled each other out. As the battle at Marineford neared its end, Kuzan tried to prevent Luffy from escaping with the Heart Pirates. Eventually, Kuzan stood down.

He was nominated by Sengoku for the position of fleet admiral. However, two years after, Kuzan partook in a duel to the death to decide the next Fleet Admiral. His opponent was fellow Admiral Akainu. After a ten day duel, Akainu arose the victor, and after losing the position to Sakazuki, Kuzan resigned from the Marines, not wanting to serve under Akainu, while also forfeiting his Marine alias and reverting to his real name and affiliated himself with the Blackbeard Pirates.

He is one of the major antagonists of the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, and along with the other Marines, as well as of the Marineford Arc.

"...Guess you guys are dying now."
 * —Kuzan.

Appearance & Biography

 * Voice Actor: Jason Douglas (English), Takehito Koyasu (Japanese), Not Known (Brazilian), Not Known (Chinese), Not Known (Dutch), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (French), Not Known (German), Not Known (Italian), Not Known (Hebrew), Not Known (Hungarian), Not Known (Finnish), Not Known (Korean), Not Known (Norwegian), Not Known (Polish), Not Known (Romanian), Not Known (Russian), Not Known (Poland), Not Known (Portuguese), Not Known (Serbian), Not Known (Spanish), Not Known (Swedish), Not Known (Thai), Not Known (Brazilian Portuguese), Not Known (European Spanish), Not Known (European Portuguese), Not Known (Latin American Spanish), Not Known (Latin Spanish)

Biography
Former Navy admiral. Also known as Aokiji.

With the power of the Logia Devil Fruit, “Ice-Ice Fruit”, he can freeze the surroundings and control ice at will. He can also turn himself into an ice and reproduce after being shattered.

Once a proponent of Passionate Justice, he has now come to believe in "Lazy Justice".

Appearance
Kuzan is an incredibly tall, slim and muscular man, roughly of the same size as the other two admirals Sakazuki and Borsalino, the latter clearly taller than Brook (who was 266 cm (8'8½") at the time he met Borsalino) but it seems that he is slightly shorter than Doflamingo who is 305 cm (10'0") tall. He has black, curly hair cut to chin length that fans out at the tips, tanned skin and an altogether lean, long build.

In contrast to Borsalino and Sakazuki, Kuzan is far younger than his colleagues, being less than fifty years old; altogether, his looks, combined with his manner, make him appear even younger than he actually is.

The Young Past Days
As a child Kuzan had a grimace on his face. He wore a dirty light blue shirt and a purple pair of shorts with white stripes. He carried an umbrella tied on his back, a bottle of alcohol and a backpack. Also, his hair was curlier compared to his current hairstyle.

In his youth, Kuzan wore a white navy cap and a shirt.

Twenty-two years ago during the Ohara Incident, Kuzan wore a dark blue bandanna with a white Marine symbol on it, as well as a pair of black round sunglasses, as well as an indigo coat with the Marine emblem on the left chest and the back. This outfit was also what he wore 27 years ago, during the Battle of Edd War.

Pre-Timeskip
His standard outfit while in the Navy consists of a white buttoned-up vest with standing collar over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt and matching white trousers and black dress shoes, rarely accompanied by a matching suit jacket. He also wears a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead. in the addition, Kuzan also has a white Navy admiral's coat (golden epaulettes and for him being the ice user, blue cuffs) draped over him like a cape, as did the other admirals. He also is seen wearing a green and purple sleep mask at all times two years ago from the present timeline.

Post-Timeskip
After the timeskip, his attire bears similarities to what he wore in his 20's. He wears a blue bandana and a dark blue trench-coat along with black pants and a white deep V-neck shirt. He also now wears black cowboy boots and travels with a knapsack carrying his belongings along with his old pair of green round sunglasses. He, like his rival Sakazuki, has also grown facial hair, namely, a thin mustache and a beard.

After his duel on Punk Hazard, Kuzan received several burn scars spanning from the right side of his neck down to his entire right shoulder and onto his torso. His right hand also heavily scarred.


 * Hair Color: Black
 * Skin Color: Brown-Tan
 * Eye Color: Black
 * Age: 47 (debut), 49 (after timeskip)
 * Birthday: September 21st
 * Height: Not Known
 * Weight: Not Known

Personality
Kuzan is a very laid back man, showing no shock or surprise from almost anything. His lack of interest and "Lazy Justice" (だらけきった正義, Darakekitta Seigi) (as he describes his motto himself) often leads others to believe that he can not possibly be a marine of such a high ranking, which leads them to underestimate him, making him all the more dangerous (it is unknown whether this is a facade or if he is genuinely lazy). However, if he deems a situation worthy, he will take action, as shown when he created a passage to another island.

In accordance with the age difference between him and the other pre-time skip admirals, Kuzan does not refer to himself with "Washi" (儂), the "I" typical for older men but the "I" more frequently used by younger men and teens, the rather rough "Ore" (俺); altogether, his speech style is far laxer than that of Borsalino (who speaks exceedingly polite), containing a lot of ellipses and contractions, yet lacking the rude connotation of Sakazuki's speech, and being far calmer than that. He tends to begin addressing people with "excuse me"/"I hate to interrupt, but…" (ちょっとごめんな, chotto gomen na).

He appears to be the most benevolent of the other three pre-timeskip admirals, helping the civilians to cross the ocean with the power of his Devil Fruit and even, along with Kuma, letting Nico Robin escape the Buster Call on Ohara. He seems to dislike the Seven Warlords of the Sea, or at least Crocodile, as he said that the only reason he did not kill Luffy was that Luffy had defeated Crocodile.

"The thing called "justice" changes its shape... Depending on where you stand."
 * —Kuzan's view of justice.

In contrast to his former colleague, Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, Kuzan has a sense of honor, as he keeps his word to not attack the Straw Hat Pirates after accepting a one-on-one battle with Luffy. Kuzan's moral stance is unknown, but it is likely that he follows Moral Justice. He is disgusted by Sakazuki's brutal actions in dealing with situations (such as the Ohara Incident), calling him a fool. While he may follow Moral Justice, he does understand the position his ranking puts him in, as he does not hesitate to do what is necessary for the needs of the Marines, as shown when he freezes Jaguar D. Saul after the Ohara incident, and attacked Luffy and Whitebeard during the Marineford War.

Kuzan was a faithful follower of the World Government. He always tried to follow orders but sometimes found his own ideals in opposition to his orders. Even as he followed his orders, he would sometimes exhibit a sense of mercy and honor that other World Government officials did not. Like many characters in One Piece (for example, Jaguar D. Saul and Smoker), after witnessing the senseless murder of many innocent people, Kuzan may have come to realize the depths to which the World Government will sink to accomplish their goals.

His relaxed demeanor while performing the more macabre of his duties is similar to that of Borsalino, making him one of the more complicated characters in the series. Despite not really wanting the position of fleet admiral, he was even more opposed to Sakazuki getting the position, and dueled his fellow admiral rather than letting him take it. After being defeated, Kuzan chose to resign from the Marines rather than stay under Akainu's command.

Aokiji during the Whitebeard War at Marineford grudgingly shredded his usual lax and friendly nature, for a more ruthless and aggressive personality, repeatedly targeting Whitebeard himself with his Ice-Ice Fruit, managing to severely injure "Diamond" Jozu and generally hampering any attempts at rescue or escape for the invading pirate fleets.

After the timeskip, having left the Marines and realizing just how truly twisted the world is, government and military, it becomes clear that Kuzan seems to be only looking after his friends illustrated by his rescue of Smoker from Doflamingo's fury on Punk Hazard.

He has a recurring phrase, "Arara", meaning "Oh, my", which is frequently used when something surprises him.

Friends/Allies

 * Marines
 * Sengoku
 * Monkey D. Garp
 * Smoker

Neutral

 * World Government
 * Borsalino
 * Straw Hat Pirates
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Nico Robin
 * Seven Warlords of the Sea
 * Crocodile

Rivals

 * Sakazuki

Powers and Abilities
As a former admiral, Kuzan was able to command a vast number of Marine troops under his rank, and had the authority, prestige, influence to revoke any Warlord's title at any time. Most of all, he had the ability to order a Buster Call attack on any island that he deems a threat. In fact, his overall abilities were so vast that Sengoku personally suggested to World Government Commander-in-Chief Kong that Kuzan should become the succeeding fleet admiral. However, after leaving the Marines, he has forfeited these privileges.

A notable example of Kuzan’s reputation is Nico Robin from the Straw Hat Pirates. Related to her childhood trauma, she constantly loses her grip and starts panicking whenever an admiral is around. This is significant, as she rarely panics even in the most dangerous situations.

He is also a skilled navigator, being able to travel the Grand Line with a bike and after the timeskip traveling the New World with a penguin named Camel.

Along with this, he is very powerful, as being an admiral grants him the title of the strongest individual fighter within the World Government and Marines, and is able to fight against notably powerful figures such as Diamond Jozu, the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, defeating him with relative ease even though Jozu was distracted during the fight, and could even fight Whitebeard himself equally. He was able to easily overpower the pirates single-handedly. He also appears to have great speed and stealth attributes, being able to appear behind the Warlord, Don Quixote Doflamingo, without the latter noticing until he made his presence known.

Furthermore, he was able to battle against his colleague Sakazuki on equal standing, and they dealt each other severe injuries during their 10 day duel to the death before Kuzan ultimately was defeated, thus demonstrating enhanced endurance. Kuzan was considered to be a massive asset to the Marines, and his departure left a negative impact to their military strength. This was confirmed by the Five Elder Stars calling him an 'enormous power' while discussing his affiliation with the Blackbeard Pirates, visibly distraught while doing so.

Physical Abilities
Aside from that and his Devil Fruit powers, Kuzan's physical attributes are also extremely high, as he is able to repel simultaneous attacks without taking any damage, and took a Haki imbued kick from Marco and was seen with no injuries moments later. Kuzan even took a Haki imbuned hit from a diamond clad Jozu while only receiving a minor cut on his lip.

He also jumped to a very extreme height in mere seconds, in order to freeze a pair of tsunamis caused by Whitebeard. He is also able to travel at tremendous speed, as seen when attacking Buggy; whether this is due to him using Shave, his Devil Fruit, or just his natural speed is unknown. He also has extremely acute hearing, being able to hear activity underwater, before the Whitebeard War began.

He was also acknowledged by Jaguar D. Saul, who had destroyed several huge warships and had lifted one by himself, that Kuzan's strength was abnormal, even before he was an admiral. Another testament to his power as an admiral is that he emerged mostly unharmed after the Whitebeard War.

Devil Fruit

 * Main article: Ice-Ice Fruit

The Ice-Ice Fruit (ヒエヒエの実, Hie Hie no Mi; literally meaning "Fruit of the Ice-Ice"), a Logia Devil Fruit, that was eaten by Kuzan, allows him to have the powers to control, create, and become ice, turning him into a Freezing Human (氷結人間, Hyōketsu Ningen). He can create enough ice to cover a giant, a Neptunian or several square miles of ocean within mere moments. He was even able to freeze the tsunamis created by Whitebeard, despite their size surpassing that of Marineford. In battle, he uses his ice powers to disable and immobilize enemies, freezing their bodies solid just by touching them, and threatening to shatter their fragile forms. Like other Logia users, he is capable of breaking himself into his particular element to avoid damage from most physical attacks. Kuzan also has extreme amounts of resistance towards cold, due to his Devil Fruit's element. This fruit is so powerful that his usage of it during his ten day battle with Akainu permanently changed the weather on one side of Punk Hazard, turning that side into a frozen wasteland.

In addition, Kuzan is one of the few Devil Fruit users who has adapted their powers to travel efficiently across the sea. In his case, freezes the water underneath his bicycle, Blue Bike, and then rides across the sea, due to the water freezing as the wheels pass over it. This freezing ability, which can be used on a very large scale, renders Kuzan one of the few Devil Fruit users who can actually counteract the weakness of falling into a large body of water and drowning, as he can just freeze the water and stand on the ice.

Kuzan also seems to possess some limited resistance to sea water without freezing it, as shown when he inserted a portion of his real body into the sea without any adverse effects.

Techniques
The named techniques that are used by Aokiji that involve the Devil Fruit are as follows:
 * Ice Road (アイスロード, Aisu Rōdo): An attack used only near the ocean or another large area of water. Kuzan places his hand in the water, then in an instant freezes it (along with anything in/on it) completely solid. The actual extent of the ice can stretch for miles and last for over a week. This was first seen freezing a massive area of ocean for safe means to travel through the Sabaody Archipelago.


 * Ice Age (アイスエイジ, Aisu Eiji): Kuzan places his hand on the ground, and instantly freezes every/any thing in sight into a completely frozen wasteland and anyone or thing within the vicinity into completely frozen ice statues. The actual extent of the ice can spreads for miles and last for over a week. Later uses of this attack have demonstrated that Kuzan is not limited to needing to make direct contact with his hands, as the attack can still be conducted as long as the ice he controls is in contact with both himself and the area he wishes to freeze. The literal kanji reading is "Hyouga Jidai", a Japanese four-kanji term for the ice age.


 * Ice Saber (アイスサーベル, Aisu Sāberu): Kuzan picks up several thin objects, such as blades of grass, and throws them into the air. He then blows on them with an icy breath that freezes them into a large, jagged sword of ice. During the Whitebeard War, Kuzan did not need to pick up objects to freeze the blade as seen when he stabbed Luffy. This was first seen in an attempt to slash Nico Robin, but was deflected by Roronoa Zoro and Vinsmoke Sanji.


 * Ice Time (アイスタイム, Aisu Taimu): Kuzan touches his opponent's body, then freezes them into a human ice statue. They can remain alive in a form of suspended animation for some time in their icy prison, but any decent hit will shatter them to pieces. This ended up being the case for Jozu, whose right arm broke off at the shoulder upon falling over while completely frozen. If the ice is melted quickly and carefully the victim can return to normal without any lasting repercussions. This was first seen used to freeze Jozu. However, the ice can also be shattered from the inside out, as Don Quixote Doflamingo almost immediately broke loose from being frozen. Though it was mentioned by Buffalo, that this was due to his heart not being frozen in the process.


 * Ice Block: Partisan (アイスブロック パルチザン, Aisu Burokku Paruchizan): Kuzan creates several spears of ice by solidifying the cold air around him and then hurls them at the enemy. When used against Saul, they were rather thin, and he only used two; against Whitebeard, during the Battle of Navyford, the spears were noticeably refined in make, and more numerous. This was first seen used to stop Jaguar D. Saul from escaping Ohara. The supposed literal reading of this would be "Aisu Kai/Katamari: Ryoutogehoko".


 * Ice Time Capsule (アイスタイムカプセル, Aisu Taimu Kapuseru): Using his powers, Kuzan sends a wave of ice along the ground. Anything it hits is frozen in place. It was first seen being used against Saul.


 * Ice Ball (アイスボール, Aisu Bōru): Kuzan freezes his opponent in a giant sphere of ice from a distance. It was first seen against Whitebeard, but the attack failed due to Whitebeard forming a vibration around himself, causing the ice to shatter before it could freeze him solid.


 * Ice Block: Pheasant Beak (アイスブロック フェザントベック, Aisu Burokku: Fezanto Bekku): Arguably the source of Kuzan's epithet, Kuzan releases a massive wave of ice in the shape of a pheasant in a single blast. This was first seen clashing against Ace's Flame Mirror, the two attacks clashing and canceling each other out. It should be noted that in the manga, only half of the pheasant, its wings, were visible because Ace had already melted the head portion of the bird's form with his firewall. However, the pheasant was fully seen in the anime, as though Kuzan created a living pheasant out of ice, complete with flying. The literal reading would be "Aisu Kai/Katamri: Boujishi".


 * Ice Pick (アイスピック, Aisu Pikku): Kuzan launches an ice dart at his opponent. This attack was shown and named in One Piece: Pirate Warriors.


 * Ice Block: Avalanche (アイスブロック アバランシュ, Aisu Burokku: Abaranshu): Kuzan freezes water moisture from above into a giant block of ice, and then drops it down onto his target. This attack was shown and named in One Piece: Pirate Warriors.


 * Ice Star (アイス スター, Aisu Sutā): Kuzan leaps into the air and sends down a blizzard that freezes his opponents, then forms a wide-scale Partisan hailstorm to finish his opponents. This attack was shown and named in One Piece: Pirate Warriors 2. The literal kanji reading would be "Hyousei".

Haki

 * Main article: Haki

It was stated that all vice admirals possess Haki, so with a rank above vice admiral, Kuzan can also use the ability.

During the Battle of Marineford, he was seen using his Armament Haki to negate Whitebeard's attempt to destroy the execution platform, by creating, with his fellow admirals, a shield combination of their three Haki.

Weapons
Kuzan is shown to be quite adeptive at using weapons formed out of his ice powers, such as swords, spears, and tridents.

Canon

 * Marines and Seven Warlords of the Sea vs. Whitebeard Pirates and Allies
 * Aokiji vs. Whitebeard
 * Aokiji vs. Buggy, Mr. 3, and Impel Down's escapees
 * Aokiji, Kizaru and Akainu vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Aokiji vs. Marco
 * Aokiji vs. Jozu
 * Aokiji vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Aokiji vs. Sakazuki (not seen)

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, after the war, Aokiji is seen standing on the bow of a warship vessel approaching Marineford, sneezing the very moment Sengoku mentions him to Kong as his chosen successor. When he enters the headquarters building, a Navy officer approaches him in tears reporting his inability to capture Luffy. Aokiji comforts him by merely patting him on the shoulder and tells him that it is okay.

Translation and Dub Issues
Kuzan's alias, "Aokiji", means "Blue Pheasant" in Japanese. 青 = Ao = Blue (this "Ao" Color can be referred as both blue or green, depending on the Japanese phrase) 雉 = Kiji = Pheasant. It was literally translated in most dubs. Kiji was written katakana キジ from the introduction of Kuzan, but was shown in kanji in his introduction box in the Battle of Marineford. After that, it was reverted to katakana.

Notes & Trivia

 * The design for Kuzan's face is based on the late actor Yusaku Matsuda. The character that the actor played in the TV series and movie "Detective Story" (Tantei Monogatari) even had a similar hairstyle, clothing and wore the same sleep mask design. Kuzan's birthday is even based upon Matsuda's.
 * His alias and other admiral aliases (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotaro legends (Momotaro met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey).
 * In the 5th Japanese Fan Poll, Kuzan is currently ranked as the 22nd most popular character, making him the most popular of the Marines before his resignation.
 * He is one of the first admirals (though technically former) to be shown in the time skip.
 * Kuzan's given name can mean "Nine Mountains" if written in kanji (九山, Kuzan), a phrase repeatedly named in post-timeskip One Piece: Roronoa Zoro mentions it in reference to his ability to "cut everything"; specifically, he states that "of the nine mountains and five seas, and under the sky, there's nothing [he] cannot cut". In this sense, Kuzan (九山, Kuzan) means "all the land", as Gokai (五海, gokai) is "all the seas", and the entire phrase is an allegory for "all the world".