Cat Claws

The Cat Claws are Kuro's main armament. Each glove is covered in black fur and ends in a katana-length blade at every fingertip, evoking the claws of a cat just as the name implies. When he is not fighting, Kuro stows the gloves away inside a duffel bag. He keeps a curious habit of pushing his glasses up with his open palm so the blades never scratch his face, a tic he holds onto even while posing as a mild-mannered butler.

The blades' reach and edge mean a single sweep can open several deep wounds at once and slash through walls or stone. Kuro's true advantage lies in marrying the claws to superhuman speed, striking so fast that victims never register the blow until it is too late. He is said to be capable of killing fifty skilled assassins before any of them sense him. The weapon has real drawbacks, however: the blades catch in rock and other surfaces, and they are far from durable, snapping when an opponent is strong enough. His finishing move, Shakushi, drives this speed to its limit, sweeping a wide area at blinding velocity and cutting down absolutely anything the claws meet, friend or foe alike. He enters a trancelike state by swaying side to side, and once moving he cannot see clearly, so the strikes land at random, which is also his greatest weakness against any master of equal speed.

Kuro is the owner and sole serious user of the Cat Claws, first seen using them against Merry and fully showcased against the Nyaban Brothers. During his fight with Luffy the gloves were badly damaged, with every blade on his right hand snapped off and only the left hand left whole. The Nyaban Brothers wear similar but shorter clawed gloves with mere long nails instead of katana, and the Decalvan Brothers later sport comparable gear. In a non-canon nod, the parody character Captain Kuso wears the claws on his feet.