第196回：On Target

Although Kuma’s most famous phrase is arguably, “If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?” there’s another phrase that OG fans have associated with him from his debut in the series: “That’s on target.”

While the target theme carried over to his outfit with its crosshair-design singling him out, the origin of this phrase and the importance of the ‘target’ to Kuma has finally been revealed.

The ‘rabbits’ who were intended to be hunted for the Celestial Dragons’ gruesome hunt seem to have been forced to have their clothing decorated with a giant target on their back. The implication being….yeah…

We can see Ivankov and several other ‘rabbits’ with this grim design and Kuma is no exception. As if to drive the point home, we even see that Kuma’s target has already been…’used’…

It’s in this exchange with Ginny and Ivankov where we learn that Kuma is willing to make himself a *literal* target if it means saving others:

He has made his *enormous* body an actual target for the slings and arrows of the forces that oppose freedom in their world. He is the embodiment of, “Come at me, bro!”

Evidence of this can even be found later in the flashback where Kuma, of his own volition, takes on the physical manifestation of pain and suffering from the elderly of Sorbet. I can’t help but wonder if back on Thriller Bark, if Zoro couldn’t have withstood Luffy’s suffering, would Kuma have taken it on himself?