Kaku might be a masked assassin for CP0 but Luffy doesn’t care about titles and doesn’t show much respect for him, calling him Usopp.

SUMMARY

One of Luffy’s running gags is his inability to remember names of people who aren’t his close friends.
The most prominent example of this is Luffy mistaking Kaku for Usopp constantly.
Usopp is Luffy’s best friend so either he thinks every long nosed person is Usopp or he can’t recognize him beyond the long nose.

It’s no secret that Monkey D. Luffy isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. He never refers to his enemies and even strangers he befriends by their real names, always mixing it up with something close or completely different to it. It’s become a running gag in One Piece and more often than not, characters give up on correcting Luffy. However, there are two people he mixes up and one of them involves his best friend in One Piece, Usopp.

Usopp has many distinguishing features, including his long nose but he isn’t the only character with this comical feature. Kaku, a masked assassin of Cipher Pole 0, earlier in Cipher Pole 9 during the Water 7 Arc, also has a long nose.

Kaku in the Water 7 Arc of One Piece. [Credit: Toei Animation]

Luffy isn’t the only culprit of this mishap, however. Even Roronoa Zoro, albeit in a half-asleep state and from a great distance, believed Kaku was Usopp and so did Sanji. Luffy, on the other hand, still calls Kaku Usopp as seen in the Egghead Arc. It’s a fairly funny gag but perhaps the Straw Hat sniper who is the butt of the joke doesn’t find it.

Luffy Doesn’t Remember the Names of People Not Important To Him

Luffy and Usopp are best friends in One Piece. [Credit: Toei Animation]

Luffy doesn’t remember the names of those who aren’t important in the long run of One Piece. The only exception to this rule was Jewelry Bonney who expressed anger and told him off, making him correct it. However, the Straw Hat Captain still holds up to his usual personality and mispronounces most names. With Kaku, however, he doesn’t even acknowledge his individuality and just calls him Usopp.

It’s good to note he has never once called Usopp Kaku so yes, they are still best friends and Luffy knows the difference in subtle ways. During the Egghead Arc, Luffy informs “Usopp” to follow Zoro as he’s bad with directions, something the real Usopp would’ve known without Luffy telling him. It makes you wonder if every long-nosed person to Luffy is just another Usopp.

Knowing the young pirate, that’s possibly the case and it’s an endearing trait. We know he’s terrible at remembering names so calling Kaku by his given name is never going to happen. However, even Nami, who knows Kaku’s name, calls him “Square Usopp” on one occasion. This could be Luffy’s stupidity is so infectious that it spreads to Nami or she’s acknowledging the subtle difference in their noses. Whether or not it’s a disrespect of Usopp is up to interpretation.

How Will The Live-Action One Piece Pull This Running Joke?

Jacob Romero Gibson as Usopp in One Piece. [Credit: Netflix]

Usopp in the live-action One Piece adaptation doesn’t have a long nose as Jacob Romero Gibson would’ve looked too goofy with it. He retains and embodies every other aspect of the sniper so it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have the iconic nose. However, since Kaku is an important figure in the Water 7 and Egghead Arcs, who will Luffy mistake him for?

Some fans have joked that perhaps Jacob Romero Gibson will play Kaku as well. Although that’s highly unlikely, it’s hilarious if this is how they might pull the joke off. The two arcs are still a few seasons away so let’s wait and see.