The Pacifistas have a major role moving forward in One Piece.
One Piece has now entered its final saga and fans are incredibly excited to see what course the story takes from here onwards. Currently, One Piece is in the Egghead Island arc, which centers around the character of Vegapunk, Kuma, jewelry, and of course, quite a bunch of the Marines as well.
Over the years, Oda has carefully weaved quite a lot of interesting plotlines into a story and one of the most intriguing ones is currently being tackled on Egghead, which revolves around the characters of both Kuma, as well as Dr Vegapunk. This is the plotline of the Pacifista, who fans saw for the very first time before the two-year timeskip of One Piece.
The Pacifista Project Of The Government
The Pacifista project was first introduced to the fans before the two-year timeskip. On the island of Sabaody Archipelago, the Pacifistas were properly introduced, however, hints for the Pacifista project were actually dropped even before that, on Thriller Bark. On this island, Bartholomew Kuma, one of the Warlords of the Sea, decided to test the Straw Hat Pirates by asking for the head of Luffy. Of course, the entire crew rejected this vehemently and Zoro himself decided to fight against Kuma. Even though Zoro was heavily outclassed by him, eventually, he did manage to get in a slash on him, only to find out that it did absolutely no damage to Kuma.
When Zoro launched this powerful attack, called Lion’s Song, he realized that Kuma was actually a cyborg being worked upon by someone. This was the fans’ very first hint at Kuma being more than just human. On Sabaody Archipelago, fans saw the Straw Hat Pirates being faced by a copy of Bartholomew Kuma. This Kuma did not attack like the one they encountered on Thriller Bark, and of course, was much weaker. At the same time, it did not utilize the Devil Fruit abilities that Kuma had, which made things all the more complicated.
It wasn’t until much later that fans realized that there were actually multiple of these Kumas on the island and that they were cloned of the Warlord of the Sea, Bartholomew Kuma. The name Pacifista was dropped on this island and it was made clear that these Pacifistas were the Government’s human weapons created to deter pirates all over the world and forcefully enact their own version of peace.
Later down the line, in the Paramount War, the government made use of these powerful Pacifistas against the New World pirates and it was a surprise for the fans to see that they held their own fairly well. Of course, against the strongest pirates, such as Hancock, they stood absolutely no chance. Still, against your average pirate, these Pacifistas were incredibly efficient and managed to take down quite a bunch of them.
That wasn’t all. It was made quite clear to the fans that the Pacifista project of the World Government was incomplete. That means more work was to be done on them and they would eventually grow stronger. The Pacifista that the Straw Hat Pirates faced after 2 years was actually much stronger than the ones they faced before the timeskip. Of course, they were not enough to stop them, and ended up being defeated all the same. Yet, there was an idea that the Pacifistas were now gradually getting stronger.
In the Egghead Island Arc, Oda showcased quite a lot more of these Pacifistas. For one, fans saw a direct upgrade on the regular Pacifistas, called the Mark 3 Pacifistas. These Pacifistas were stronger, enforced with resin bubbles that were strong enough to block the vast majority of the attacks, and capable of taking on even elite pirates, which just goes to show their tremendous strength. 50 of these Mark Three Pacifistas were seen on Egghead Island.
Furthermore, to take things one step further, fans also got to see an advanced version of the Pacifista, called the Seraphim. These Seraphims are clones of the Warlords of the Sea, however, somewhat different than the average Pacifista.
In their case, it appears that they are made directly from the lineage factor of the actual warlords, which means that they are essentially their miniature human versions, given birth from scratch. The personalities and traits are similar to their parents and, at the same time, quite a lot of them also hold the same abilities as their parent bodies. Thanks to the Green Blood that vegapunk enforced their bodies with, these Seraphims are incredibly powerful. Furthermore, they also have Lunarian Lineage Factor in their bodies, which means that they have the same abilities as them.
The Pacifistas Under Bonney
While the Pacifistas were created by the Government to deter pirates and to maintain peace all over the world using their forceful means, it appears that their rule will be somewhat different in the Final Saga of One Piece. For one, the Pacifistas were created using Kuma in the first place. Kuma considers himself to be a big pacifist and does not intend for his clones to be used as a war machine. Of course, it is tragic to know that Kuma’s very own clones have been used for quite a lot of violence by the government. However, that won’t always be the case. What fans know for sure now is that every single clone of Bartholomew Kuma that has been created by the World Government will listen to Bonney.
This change was made by Vegapunk in the command hierarchy, which puts her above even the Five Elders. This means that all the Mark 3 Pacifistas, all the regular Pacifistas, and of course, even the Seraphims of Kuma, S-Bear, will most definitely listen to Bonney, above all. This leaves the World Government with just the Seraphims, and while fans already know that they can be a massive threat to anyone, they might end up being allies, after all.
The Curious Case Of The Seraphims
While the Seraphims are quite strong, what Oda has made quite clear is that they have the same personality traits as the parent bodies. It is no surprise for the fans to know that none of the Warlords of the Sea are actually intent on working with the Government. As the Seraphims grow, their personalities will grow as well and when that happens, they will most certainly develop their own individuality, which will starkly differ from what the Government wants them to be. Of course, there is still a command hierarchy in order which forces them to obey the Five Elders, which is the highest authority.
However, there can be problem cases. This was first hinted at, at the beginning of the Egghad Island arc, where Lucci and the CP0 members were headed to the island claiming that S-Bear had proven to be a problem child. This means that it has had some trouble processing orders and perhaps even acts on its own. If their individuality continues to grow, it is entirely possible for the Seraphims to ignore their orders entirely and act on their own thoughts. Most of them will end up being allies of the Straw Hat Pirates. For instance, fans already know that Hancock is an ally of Luffy, while Kuma, and Jinbe will not hesitate in aiding them either. Doflamingo lives for chaos, while Crocodile is a schemer who doesn’t like the Government either. Added to that is the fact that they also have their own personalities, which will most definitely betray the Government, and eventually bring them to the side of the Straw Hat Pirates one way or another, fulfilling Kuma’s dream of the Pacifistas being used to bring peace.
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 chapter 1107, is set to be February 18, 2024.