Kuro in One Piece

Kuro served as the Black Cat Pirates' commander. Kuro left his crew and declared that he had gone to the Syrup Village where he was adopted by Kaya's family and served as her servant and guardian for three years with the intention of gaining her money.

All about Kuro

Name	Kuro
First Appearance in Anime	One Piece Episode 9
Voice Actors	Koichi Hashimoto (Japanese), Gary Mack (English)
DOB	22nd April
Gender	Male
Status	Alive
Affiliations	Black Cat Pirates
Occupation	Pirate, Captain, Butler
Origin	East Blue
Devil Fruit	Unknown
Bounty	16,000,000

History

Past

Kuro was the commander of the Black Cat Pirates and was a very skilled strategist who came up with plans to prevent himself from being captured by the Marines and bounty hunters. He decided to abandon his crew and trick everyone into thinking he had passed away since he had grown tired of being on the run. The crew came under attack from another Marine ship and he told his first mate Jango that he should take over as captain. Kuro left the group to pursue money and peace for himself while the rest of the world thought he had passed away.

Kuro was taken in by Kaya's wealthy father after arriving in Syrup Village looking homeless. Kuro gave a made-up story in which he said that he used to work on a ship that was destroyed as a result of a minor mistake on his part, and because of that, he had been forced to roam without money. During the time Kuro worked for Kaya’s family, he wanted to win the trust of the villagers so that no one would be suspicious of him being after Kaya's fortune. His plan was to have Kaya leave him her money in her will and then kill her with the help of his old crew.

Syrup Village Arc

Kaya called Kuro into her room and asked to see Usopp once more, but Kuro declined, saying that the boy was too much of a terrible influence for Kaya. Later, Merry told Kuro that there were intruders on the grounds of the mansion. Kuro walked outside and discovered Usopp, the Usopp Pirates, and the Straw Hat Pirates in front of Kaya's window. Usopp became enraged and punched Kuro after Kuro insulted his father's status as a pirate while questioning him. After Kaya ordered Usopp to stop, Kuro advised him and his friends to leave the area immediately and never return. When Kuro later handed Kaya her food, she said that he should not have chased him away. Kuro said that despite Kaya's requests, he had no intention of changing his views on Usopp and that he only wanted to protect her from people with a terrible reputation as a way of paying tribute to her dead parents.

Jango verified that the Black Cat Pirates were ready to launch their operation to murder Kaya when Kuro went to the beach to meet with him. Prior to preparing a murder that could be passed off as an accident, Kuro instructed Jango to hypnotize Kaya into willing her fortune to him, at which point the rest of the Black Cat Pirates would attack. Usopp had been looking at the meeting when Luffy yelled out to them from atop a nearby rock. Kuro said there was no need to kill Usopp because he knew that none of the villagers would accept the liar's statements, after Jango hypnotized Luffy into dozing off and led him to tumble down the cliff, leading them to assume the pirate was dead. Kuro then returned to his former crew's ship and met them again after a gap of three years, promising that the following morning they would destroy Syrup Village and make lots of money. That evening, Usopp tried to inform Kaya of his betrayal, and Kuro returned to Kaya's mansion where he learned about it through Merry.

When Kuro saw the crescent moon, he became violent and stepped on a new set of spectacles Kaya had given to him to mark his third work anniversary. Kuro said that he wanted Kaya possessed and decided to discard his act as he unwrapped his claws and sliced Merry, who was startled by his behavior. The crew didn't show up when Kuro expected them at the mansion's steps the following morning, and he had to go to the coast to check on them. To his great astonishment and rage, when Kuro arrived at the area near the north shore, he saw his crew engaged in combat with the Straw Hats and Usopp. Kuro gave his team five minutes to eliminate their opponents before threatening to murder them all. Kuro was shocked to see Luffy come out from under the Bezan Black's downed mast, still alive. Kaya then arrived in the clearing to face Kuro after knowing about his betrayal from Merry, who had survived.

Kaya offered to give Kuro everything he desired if he left silently, but Kuro insisted she had to die to stop others from chasing him. Kuro then managed to break Kaya's determination and convince her to drop the pistol by insulting her and the memories they had. Usopp raced to fight Kuro, but Kuro avoided him and was expecting to get even with Usopp. But before Kuro could strike, Luffy hit him, knocking him to the ground. However, Kuro quickly sprang up and kicked Usopp to the ground. He was intrigued to learn that Luffy possessed a Devil Fruit power and made the decision to challenge him. He gave Jango the task of forcing Kaya to make the will and ordering the Usopp Pirates to murder her as well. Kuro used his speed to avoid Luffy’s attacks. To ensure the success of his plans, he then began attacking Luffy, but Luffy was able to block his right-hand claws with a boulder, break them off, and then smack Kuro in the head with the boulder.

Kuro's crewmates continued to encourage him as he stood up, but Kuro then announced that he would kill them all to blame them for Kaya's death and prevent anybody from finding out about his secret being alive. Kuro said that using one's crew as puppets for one's own advantage was the way of a pirate captain, but Luffy replied that despite having so many men at his disposal, Kuro was still unable to defeat Usopp. Luffy was able to hold onto Kuro's jacket and hurl him to the ground when Kuro stabbed him in the chest. Kuro sprang up and prepared to launch another strike, but surprisingly Luffy was able to surround him with his arms and legs. Luffy headbutted Kuro and Kuro fell to the ground. Kuro was then thrown by Luffy in the direction of the Black Cat Pirates, who transported their commander aboard the Bezan Black and left.

Loguetown Arc

After being defeated and leaving Syrup Village, Kuro eventually rose to the position of captain of the Black Cat Pirates once more. Kuro was informed that Luffy had a bounty of 30,000,000 berries by one of his guys. Kuro said nothing and sat thinking, leaving the poster of the prize on his table.

Personality

Kuro is a very smart man and has never had a plan go wrong in the past. Despite being an expert thinker and skilled warrior, he was badly affected since he lacked time to cope with living as a pirate while evading the Marines. He eventually saw that he was not cut out to be a pirate, and in an effort to live in luxury, he gave up his fame and reputation. He has a tendency to underestimate opponents despite his intelligence, which became his downfall. Kuro is quite proud of his plans but his confidence in his plans also causes him to be reckless.

Kuro is extremely harsh and evil towards everyone else, whether they are allies or enemies, due to his selfishness and arrogance. He held himself in the highest respect and had a bar for himself that no one else seemed able to reach. He has no regard for the lives of others and would happily sacrifice anyone to achieve his goals. He served as Kaya's butler for three years, showing himself as a good-natured, trustworthy, and well-mannered man who has a dislike towards pirates. Kuro has shown himself to be a skilled actor by developing the personality of Klahadore. Kuro has shown to be a clear hypocrite.

Appearance

Kuro is a tall, slender man with spectacles, and slicked black hair. He is seen wearing a black suit with two golden marks on it, a white shirt with an odd collar, a black tie, and a strange white shirt with striped shoes. When he was a pirate, he wore a traditional black captain's coat with a red lining and the emblem of the Black Cat Pirates on the epaulet with shoes, a plain white shirt, and black knee-length trousers underneath the coat. He is seen wearing spherical spectacles that easily fall off.

Kuro’s abilities, strengths, and fighting style

Kuro is a skilled strategist, intelligent and cunning. All of his subordinates fear him, and they all follow him because of his well-known cruelty against both enemies and allies. Kuro has proven to be a good butler throughout his three years as Kaya's servant, despite his extreme hate of being under her. Although Kuro has a lean physique, he is physically superior to the ordinary pirate and has kept up his strength over time. Kuro also demonstrates some degree of durability by surviving many hits from Luffy. Kuro uses his inherent speed and agility in battle. He doesn't have any particular defenses, but he's quite good at recognizing hostile moves and evading correctly.

Kuro’s special abilities

Stealth Foot

Stealth Foot is Kuro’s signature ability wherein he combines speed and stealth for almost undetectable movement.

Weapons

Kuro is seen using Cat Claws, which is a pair of furred gloves with full-length katana blades at the end of each finger. He can use these claws to easily tear human bodies apart.

Relationships

Crew

Kuro had come to the conclusion that his crew was nothing more than a puppet show, that pirates were barbarians who only stole from people out of pure greed, that they were idiots who could do nothing without him, and that his expertise had been wasted by helping them in their plans. By the time his plan was complete, he had already long before determined they should all die, and he would happily offer them all as a sacrifice. Luffy was shocked by this and was even more fueled to stop Kuro. Kuro felt enraged as the crew struggled against the Straw Hats because his plan was going to be interrupted, and he blamed Jango for the fact that the crew was not what it previously was.

Marines

He was annoyed by the thought that the Marines and others seeking his reward were always after him because of his career as a pirate. He soon started to long for a quiet existence free from such problems. Morgan was the lone Marine he spared since he used Morgan as an unwilling partner to capture and execute a decoy, enabling Kuro to escape the Marines' constant pursuit. The Marines eventually came to the conclusion that Kuro is still alive and revived his bounty after Kuro was defeated by Luffy.

Straw Hats Pirates

Kuro initially did not view the Straw Hats as a danger, supposing them to be just children rather than actual pirates. Until Luffy showed his Devil Fruit abilities, he still thought that his crew's loss against them was only the result of their own weakness. He also didn't appear shocked in the least when Zoro stated that he could easily wipe out the whole Black Cat Pirate crew in under five minutes after defeating the Nyaban Brothers. Kuro's views on the pirate's way of life angered Monkey D. Luffy because he had an entirely different viewpoint on the matter.

Usopp

When Usopp referred to himself as a pirate, Kuro made fun of him, calling it a "childish game" and comparing him with an insect. Usopp didn't like him for this, and after knowing what he was doing, he started to hate him. Kuro did hold hatred against Usopp for hitting him, and when his true intentions became clear, he did not hold back.

Kaya

As Klahadore, Kuro felt obligated to put on an empathetic persona in order to qualify as Miss Kaya's reliable family butler and carer. He then confessed how much he hated carrying out this part for three years, betraying Kaya's feelings in the process. He revealed that all the joyful moments they spent together were a burden to him and he just endured it. He showed his absolute hatred for her. Before his identity was revealed, Kuro made sure that Kaya’s safety and well-being were of utmost importance. When Usopp told her the truth, and when she realized it, she was angry and helpless because Kuro had hurt her feelings.

Merry

As they had worked together for many years, Kuro and Merry regarded the welfare of their mistress as being the most important thing. Merry had a great deal of faith in Kuro. But when his coworker showed his true colors, Merry's confidence and love were replaced with fear and hatred. Kuro, on the other hand, first had no genuine pity for Merry and even made an effort to kill him out of pure delight beneath the crescent moon. Kuro had little respect for his coworker.

Syrup Villagers

During his three years on the island, Kuro was able to win the trust of the locals. They not only refused to listen to Usopp when he came in the Hamlet calling for the approaching pirates, but they also expressed their desire for him to be more like Kuro. Kuro, on the other hand, planned their slaughter for his personal gain while displaying no genuine remorse for the people with whom he had been familiar for three years.

Kaya’s Parents

Not knowing of Kuro's true identity, her father hired him to live on the estate as a butler three years before the story. He pretended to be a Klahadore, to feel obligated to Kaya's father for saving his life, and to worry that if anything happened to Kaya, he would never be able to face him again.