| Kaku | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kaku |
| Series | One Piece |
| First | Water 7 (manga) |
| Creator | Eiichiro Oda |
| Species | Human |
| Occupation | Marine spy / former Galley-La Company employee / member of the CP9 |
| Affiliations | CP9, Galley-La Company, World Government |
| Abilities | See section |
Kaku.
Kaku is a fictional character in the manga and anime series One Piece, created by Eiichiro Oda. He is introduced during the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs as a member of the secretive cipher agent unit CP9 who masquerades as a shipwright at the Galley-La Company. Kaku's role matters for his contributions to major plot developments, his combat against members of the Straw Hat Pirates, and his embodiment of the World Government's clandestine enforcement apparatus.
Kaku's pre-CP9 history is briefly touched on in the series. Prior to his revealed role as a government agent, he worked under the cover of a shipwright at Galley-La Company on Water 7, the island renowned for its shipbuilding and the floating Docks. His past training with the World Government and induction into CP9 left him proficient in espionage, assassination, and the government martial discipline known as Rokushiki. The series implies rigorous selection and training traditions within CP9 that emphasize loyalty, secrecy, and maintenance of state order.
During the Water 7 arc, Kaku operates undercover to monitor the actions of shipwrights and the Straw Hats, while reporting to higher CP9 officials such as Spandam and Rob Lucci. His dual role creates tension when investigations into the missing shipwright Tom and the fate of the Going Merry escalate. Kaku participates in the abduction and interrogation of key witnesses and later joins CP9's direct intervention during the Enies Lobby mission to retrieve the Buster Call-related blueprints. His exposure as a CP9 agent marks a turning point in public trust toward institutions on Water 7.
Kaku is a master practitioner of Rokushiki techniques, including Soru (speed movement), Tekkai (iron body), and Rankyaku (air blade), which he uses with calculated efficiency. He blends these formal techniques with mechanical ingenuity, often employing improvised weaponry and tools learned during his time as a shipwright. Kaku's style emphasizes disciplined, methodical strikes and defensive postures consistent with CP9 training, reflecting the unit's purpose to enforce the World Government's stability through precision rather than brute force. He demonstrates adaptability against varied opponents, including members of the Straw Hat Pirates such as Nami and Usopp.
Kaku later consumes the Ushi Ushi no Mi, Model: Giraffe, a Zoan-type Devil Fruit that allows him to transform into a giraffe and a giraffe-human hybrid. This Devil Fruit augments his physical reach and transforms some of his Rokushiki techniques, enabling elongated kicks and extended Rankyaku variants. The hybrid form also alters his combat signature and provides unexpected tactical advantages against typical human opponents. Kaku's Devil Fruit use illustrates the interplay between traditional martial disciplines and supernatural powers in One Piece.
Kaku's primary allegiance is to CP9 and, by extension, the World Government. Within CP9, he operates alongside agents like Rob Lucci, Blueno (note: Blueno is a separate member), Jabra, and Fukuro; these ties enforce a strict chain of command exemplified by figures such as Spandine and Spandam. As a Galley-La Company employee in cover, Kaku maintains professional relations with shipwrights such as Franky (Cutty Flam) and interactions with the Straw Hat Pirates evolve from suspicion to direct combat. His relationships are instrumental in advancing CP9's objectives to contain challenges to governmental order.
Kaku's actions during the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs have lasting narrative effects: they expose the methods of CP9, escalate the confrontation between the Straw Hat Pirates and the World Government, and contribute to the dismantling of illusions about institutional infallibility in the series. His defeat by Zoro and other Straw Hats helps catalyze character growth in both allies and adversaries, and it underscores recurring themes of personal liberty versus state authority. Kaku remains a representative example of how covert state operatives function within One Piece and the costs such systems impose on communities like Water 7.