The epic battle between Aokiji Kuzan and Monkey D. Garp in One Piece has stormed the internet and fans are excited to see how it is going to affect the narrative of One Piece in the future. This battle will finally reveal the true strength of Kuzan as a member of the Blackbeard Pirates and Garp as the Hero of the Navy.
![Kuzan vs. Garp](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/09145824/Aokiji-Vs.-Garp-_-One-Piece-_-Toei-1024x614.jpg)
Another thing that this battle has prompted is that One Piece fans have started questioning Kuzan’s intentions and whether or not he has actually betrayed the Navy to become the tenth commander of the Blackbeard Pirates. The recent episode gives a glimpse of Blackbeard’s interaction with Kuzan when he invites him to join his crew, but it doesn’t make Kuzan’s true intentions clear.
Many One Piece fans are still convinced that Kuzan is loyal to the Marines and he has only joined the Blackbeard Pirates for his ulterior motive. However, he might have bet on the wrong pirate crew to see his plan to fruition.
Aokiji’s Unknown Intentions For Joining The Blackbeard Pirates
After the time skip ended, a lot of things changed in the One Piece world. Sengoku retired as a Fleet Admiral and Sakazuki took his place. However, he had to battle Aokiji was the position. While Sakazuki won the battle, Kuzan decided to leave the Navy as he did not want to work under the leadership of Sakazuki.
Later on, as the series progressed, fans started getting hints that Kuzan might have become a pirate and by Dressrosa arc it was confirmed that he has allied with Blackbeard. However, it wasn’t until the end of the Dressrosa arc that it was confirmed that Kuzan had become the tenth Titanic captain of the Blackbeard Pirates.
![Aokiji vs Kuzan | Toei Animation](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/07013322/aokiji-vs-kuzan-1.jpg)
While this was a shocking revelation, One Piece fans did not agree with this narrative. This was because Kuzan was portrayed as a morally justified character who would not revert to the bad side in any case. Thus many fans started debating about the true intentions of Kuzan as a member of the Blackbeard Pirates.
One Piece Fans Are Convinced That Kuzan is Still Loyal To The Marines
According to a theory posted by u/Derpalooza on Reddit, Kuzan is still loyal to the Navy and his ulterior motives require him to join the Blackbeard Pirates.
The theory states that Kuzan’s plan is to help Blackbeard find the Laugh Tale island and then call a buster call which would instantly destroy the island finally bringing an end to the Piracy world.
![Aokiji Kuzan in Blackbeard Pirates | Toei Animation](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/07013441/kuzan-aokiji-in-the-blackbeard-pirates-1024x512.jpg)
While the theory is interesting, it has a lot of plotholes. The first one being Blackbeard’s interest in the One Piece treasure. It has been already established in the series that Blackbeard is not after the One Piece but the world itself. Therefore, it is unknown whether Blackbeard actually plans on going to the Laugh Tale Island or if he has some other things planned.
Also, Kuzan might have invested in the wrong pirate crew as right now the only crew that is closest to reaching the Laugh Tale island is the Straw Hat Pirates. And although Kuzan met Luffy and his crew after the time skip, he showed no interest in joining them at all. Therefore, fans will have to wait and see what Kuzan has truly planned at the conclusion of One Piece.
As of 18th August 2024, you can watch One Piece on Crunchyroll.