Eiichiro Oda reveals the past of the Kid Pirates in One Piece

Oda's SBS reveals Kid's past

SBS is an abbreviation for "Shitsumon o Boshu Suru", or "I'm accepting questions". This is a question and answer column in the One Piece manga, where Oda answers fans' questions.

The world of One Piece is incredibly vast and detailed, with hundreds of characters appearing since the series began in 1997. Obviously, it's impossible for the author to fit everything he'd like into the manga, so even popular characters sometimes have their backstories overlooked.

This is the case with Eustass Kid, one of the Worst Generation pirates and rival of the protagonist, Luffy. Kid is a fierce yet honorable pirate, whose impetuous and rude attitude and rock-inspired visual design made him an instant hit with fans.

Unfortunately, the manga didn't find space to explain Kid's backstory, so Eiichiro Oda decided to use his SBS section to tell readers a bit more about the character's past.

In the SBS for One Piece volume 104, Oda reveals that Kid and his main officers, Killer, Heat, and Wire, were born on an unnamed island in the South Blue, unaffiliated with the World Government, and ruled by a criminal gang.

The island was divided into four districts, each territory of a smaller gang led by one of the characters mentioned above. Despite this rivalry, Kid and Killer were childhood friends, and they also shared the same romantic interest, Victoria (who was previously mentioned in the SBS in volumes 87 and 98).

One day, Victoria was killed by the country's dominant gang, which led Kid to unite the rival gangs and massacre the rulers. After stating that he didn't want to live in such a small and limited world, Kid formed a pirate crew with the other gang leaders and set sail in a ship called Victoria Punk in honor of his lost love.

The Kid Pirates' backstory proves Oda is a great storyteller

What's most interesting about this story is that Victoria was clearly created by Oda as a joke, to answer a fan asking why Kid and Killer hated udon noodles (because Victoria once hit them for laughing at her getting messy while eating).

The fact that he developed this into a tragic backstory for the Kid Pirates is proof that Oda is a great storyteller. He was able to detail enough of these characters' backgrounds within the limited space provided by the SBS and still make it feel credible and interesting.

However, it's sad that fans will never get to see Kid's past actually unfold in the manga, as was the case with another Worst Generation pirate, Trafalgar Law, who has a more prominent role in the story and therefore had his own flashback.

The Kid Pirates really had their moment to shine during the Wano Country arc, especially when their captain defeated the powerful Yonkou Big Mom.

It's hard to predict if and when Kid will have an important role in One Piece again, so for now, fans will have to be satisfied with this small glimpse of his past, courtesy of Eiichiro Oda's SBS corner.