One Piece’s Biggest Betrayal: Oda Turns Luffy’s Greatest Ally Into the Story’s Worst Pirates

I love when One Piece builds up a group as a huge deal and then actually follows through. The Kuja haven’t quite gotten that treatment. They were set up as major allies and an ancient powerhouse, but their leaders keep getting sidelined. With the series barreling toward its final war, that gap is getting hard to ignore.

Why the Kuja mattered from the jump

Luffy has a lot of friends, but the Kuja Tribe sits near the top of that list. They backed him before and during the timeskip, and the story has repeatedly flagged them as crucial. Beyond that, they’re one of the oldest civilizations in the One Piece world, which should make them essential to the bigger myth arc. The early build-up, especially pre-timeskip and at the start of Xebec’s flashback, made it seem like they were going to be central players.

The pattern: big titles, thin development

Here’s where it falls apart. Almost every major Kuja pirate captain has been introduced with weight and then, intentionally or not, undercut in the text. The importance is there; the follow-through isn’t.

• Gloriosa: The first Kuja captain we actually meet is framed as a former force to be reckoned with... who never gets a real on-page feat. Instead, her characterization mostly shrinks down to being a Roger superfan, which is a weirdly small lane for someone positioned as a past Kuja leader.
• Shakky: Presented as a legendary figure whose reputation largely gets chalked up to her beauty, then used to grease the wheels for the God Valley storyline. By the time that thread pays off, she’s effectively placed in a damsel-in-distress role that clashes with the idea of a fearsome former Kuja captain.
• Boa Hancock: Hancock came in hot: complex, funny, dangerous, and with a real character arc. After the timeskip? The momentum stalls. When the Blackbeard Pirates roll up, the story pivots her into another damsel scenario. For the current Kuja Empress, that’s a letdown.

How Oda can make the Kuja hit their potential

The fix is straightforward: put the Kuja back at the center of the endgame, and tie them to the deeper history the story keeps teasing. They’re framed as an ancient civilization, so let that matter. Give them a concrete role in the world’s hidden past, not just vibes and reputation.

There’s already smoke to work with. Fans have floated a possible link between the Kuja and Nefertari D. Lili, a pivotal figure from the Void Century who also has a thread to Imu. If even part of that speculation pans out, the Kuja stop being side quests and become foundational to the final war. That’s the kind of reveal that would rebalance years of undercooked development and finally match their narrative importance with actual narrative impact.

Bottom line: the Kuja were hyped as Luffy’s biggest allies and an ancient pillar of the world. Let them be that. If Oda cashes those checks in the final war, the tribe and its captains might finally get the respect the story has been promising.

Do you think Oda has something big planned for the Kuja? I hope so. One Piece is streaming on Crunchyroll if you need a refresher before the next shake-up.