What Is The Buccaneer Race?

The Buccaneer race was first revealed to the fans during the Egghead Island arc. Specifically, it was Saint Saturn of the Five Elders who mentioned the name of this race. Fans had already known for a while that Kuma belonged to a special race of people, however, the name of this race was not confirmed until very recently in the story. When Bonney stabbed Saturn for the first time, he revealed that Kuma belonged to a very special race and that it is because of his connection to this race that he faced the fate that he did. When it comes to the indicators for this race, the Buccaneers are simply known to be giant in terms of their proportions and sizes. They aren’t quite as big as the actual Giants of the One Piece world, however, they are much bigger than regular humans and their massive proportions are what distinguish them from regular humans.

Kuma has been through quite a lot and all of that is tied to his Buccaneer past. This can be seen from the very first chapter of the Kuma flashback, where his father, Clap, along with his entire family, was taken as a slave to the Holy Land of Marijoa for holding the blood of the Buccaneers. Kuma’s mother, who was a human, ended up dying first of all simply because she was married to a Buccaneer. Kuma’s father, Clap, was shot through the head after years of being in chains for merely holding the blood of the Buccaneers in his veins. Fans already know what Kuma himself went through because he carried the blood of the race that the World Government absolutely detested.

The Crime Of The Buccaneers In One Piece

As mentioned earlier, the size and the body shape of the Buccaneers are what distinguishes them from regular people, however, that isn’t the only curious thing about this race. It has been confirmed by Oda that the Buccaneers have some very interesting ties to legendary figures of the One Piece world, such as Nika. Fans already know that Nika was an ancient God that existed during the times of the Void Century. Nika fought however he willed and brought smiles to the faces of the slaves, liberating them from their miseries. The Buccaneers hold some sort of connection to this race. Perhaps, the first Nika that existed was a Buccaneer himself. This is unconfirmed at the moment, however, fans will most definitely find out more about this down the line.

Whether it is for this reason or some other, the Buccaneers are absolutely detested by the members of the World Government. According to them, the people of the Buccaneers have committed a grave sin against the World Government. It is because of this sin that they believe that the Buccaneers should be eliminated at all costs. They believe that the Buccaneers are not worthy of being left alive and that if they are alive, they should spend their entire lives as slaves and be chained.

The Power Of The Buccaneers

The Buccaneer race of One Piece have a very tragic past, however, they aren’t people who break easily. They possess tremendous strength up their sleeve, which is directly tied to their connection to the Giants of the One Piece world. As has been explained in the story already, the Buccaneers are somewhat of a mix between a human and a giant. It must be noted, however, that they are not a product of a human and a Giant mating. That would be a Wuton, as has been seen in the story already. The Buccaneers are their own people, however, they are somewhere between the Giants and humans. It is also believed that they carry the blood of the Giants in their veins and because of that, they possess tremendous strength.

This was demonstrated recently in the series, when Saturn was punched by Kuma, a member of the Buccaneer race, and was sent flying, despite being tremendously overpowered himself. Saturn ended up losing one of his horns, an arm, and even a leg, and this just went to show what tremendous strength Kuma, as a Buccaneer, possessed up his sleeve.

The Buccaneers are also incredibly resilient as Kuma has demonstrated throughout his life. They can absorb damage like a sponge and that is a part of what makes them amazing. However, while all this is incredible, this isn’t what makes the Buccaneer race special.

The Hidden Ability Of The Buccaneers

In One Piece chapter 1104, Oda hinted at the fact that the Buccaneers possess a secret ability. Fans do not know what this ability is just yet, however, it was confirmed by Vegapunk that the giant bodies and the incredible strength of the Buccaneers aren’t the only things that they have up their sleeve. Vegapunk confirmed that long ago, the Buccaneers were responsible for something and he tied this directly to why Kuma was able to evade Saturn’s order for him to shut down. This power appears to be most likely linked to willpower. The Buccaneers could be an incredibly resilient people who simply cannot be dominated by others. This is to say that even when Kuma had his free will completely removed, his body still inherited his will despite technically being dead.

This means that the true power of the Buccaneer race is to be able to pass on their willpower to others, seemingly inanimate objects. This will explain why Kuma’s body still sticks to the idea of saving Bonney despite having already been dead and this would also tie very well to the Iron Giant, which awoke nearly 200 years later in the One Piece world upon hearing the drums of liberation. Similar to Kuma, the Iron Giant that exists in the One Piece world likely carries the will of someone from the Void Century and this person was most definitely a member of the Buccaneers. This individual could very well be none other than the original Joy Boy himself, or someone closely related to them. Essentially, this would mean that the true power of the Buccaneer race isn’t their giant bodies or their insurmountable strength but instead their ability to pass on their willpower, or, in other words, Inherited Will itself.

One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1105, is set to be January 28, 2024.