Marine Admirals in One Piece
In the series, Admirals are shown as being the second highest rank in the Marines behind the Fleet Admiral. There are only three Marines with the title of Admiral. The three current ones are known by their aliases: "Aokiji" (Blue Pheasant), "Akainu" (Red Dog), and "Kizaru" (Yellow Monkey). They are also possible behind the Yonkou, the three most powerful persons in the world of One Piece.[1]
Abilities
The Admirals are crowned the World Government's "Greatest Powers" (最高戦力, Saikō Senryoku), and are the strongest individual fighters within the World Government and the Marines.[1] These three admirals are respected and feared amongst the entire world. As seen in Sabaody Archipelago, the mere presence of just one Admiral was enough to cause a panic on the island and make the entire population flee from the island, including the Eleven Supernovas. Another example of the Admiral's reputation is Nico Robin from the Straw Hat Pirates, related to her childhood trauma, she constantly loses her grip and starts panicking whenever an Admiral is around.
The current three Admirals all have Logia-type Devil Fruit powers representing their respective color. All of their powers are very destructive, even when comparing to an average Logia user. They are all strong enough to combat against Whitebeard alone, as well as to fight on par with the top three Whitebeard Pirates commander each (although Kizaru and Aokiji's opponents were distracted and Akainu's magma has a natural superiority to Ace's fire). Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru are seen to be proficient swordsmen when creating blades from their own element and wielding them. It is unknown if Akainu also shares this ability, though, as he has only been seen using molten fists for close combat. In addition, the three of them are high-level users of Haki, shown when using Busōshoku Haki together to block Whitebeard's shock wave.
Duties
Aside from having control over the thousands of soldiers who rank underneath them, the Admirals are the only Marines, along with the Fleet Admiral, within the World Government who have the authority and ability to issue a Buster Call.[2] They are also the only ones who can grant World Government agents the permission to use the Buster Call. The Admirals' only superior, aside from the Fleet Admiral, are the Gorousei and the World Government Commander-in-Chief.
Should a World Noble be opposed or injured, an Admiral will be summoned to take down the assailants who did the damage.[3] Failure is not acceptable.[4]
Merchandise
The Admirals have been featured sparingly in the fan merchandise. All three are set to be featured in the One Piece Super Deformed Figures set. The Three Admirals have also all appeared in the Super Effect Devil Fruit User figure series, with Aokiji being one of the first figures, and Kizaru and Akainu to be released in November 2010.
Trivia
• All three Admirals are based upon Japanese actors and are drawn to resemble them, and their birthdays are the same as the said actors.
• Their aliases are taken from Momotarō legends, they are a pheasant, a dog and a monkey assisted the boy hero, Momotarō , on his adventures. Coincidentally, each personality fits the aliases (Aokiji, the pheasant, is somewhat lazy; Kizaru, the monkey, is quite absent-minded and irresponsible; and Akainu, the dog, is very loyal).
• Each of their Logia-class Devil Fruits correspond to specific features of land (molten rock), sea (frozen water), and sky (sunlight). They each also wear different suits that correspond to their Devil Fruit color. Coincidently, their color-schemes (yellow, blue, and red) are the three primary colors.
• They all possess some kind of accessory on their heads in which they often bring down to cover their eyes: Aokiji wears a sleep mask, Kizaru his orange sunglasses, and Akainu the Marines cap.
• The three of them have black-colored hair and have almost the same height.
• Former Vice Admiral Monkey D. Garp has, on more than one occasion, turned down the promotion to become Admiral. He has stated that he doesn't need a higher position to do what he wants.[5] While being officially ranked as a Vice Admiral, his power was once (or still is) enough to qualify him for the rank of Admiral or even Fleet Admiral.
• During the Battle of Marineford, each Admiral fought and defeated the Whitebeard pirates first three Commanders, with Akainu the only one to kill his opponent.
Character
Admiral Kizaru (黄猿大将, Kizaru Taishō) is one of the three Admirals in the Marines and his real name is Borsalino (ボルサリーノ, Borusarīno). He was first mentioned by Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji
Appearance
Kizaru is an incredibly tall man, roughly the same size of the other two Admirals Aokiji and Akainu, and clearly taller than Brook. Kizaru is a middle aged man with a moderate amount of wrinkles on his face. He looks older than the other two Admirals (while it is unknown if he actually is).
His standard outfit consists of a yellow striped suit with a Marine coat draped over it like a cape, his arms not in its sleeves. Kizaru also wears pure white shoes, gold-amber tinted sunglasses, and a tiny Black Den Den Mushi on his left wrist, like a wristwatch, underneath the sleeve of his suit. He is generally seen wearing an idiotic grin on his face.
25 years ago he wore a typical Marine cap, and his beard was not as full as it is currently; he also lacked the gold-amber tinted sunglasses, shirt and tie, which he is presently wearing.
Personality
Kizaru seems to be very laid-back and easygoing, speaking rather-slowly and occasionally drawing out the last word of his sentences. Even in surprising and unexpected situations, he's apparently never shocked. Even when a pirate fired a gunshot at him, he seemed to be focused only on calling his subordinate, and didn't even mind. He even asked the offenders where his subordinate was. After uprooting a mangrove tree, he laughed to himself that the force he used was a tad excessive. He's also very calm and cool-headed, even in tense situations, such as when Basil Hawkins appeared unharmed by his attack, or when Rayleigh appeared. This very laid-back personality and his slow speech is quite a contrast to his Devil Fruit, which allows him to fight and move at the speed of light.
Unfortunately for the World Government, he can be quite absent-minded and irresponsible, judged by the fact he used a lot of power in a kick directed at the escaping pirates, uprooted an entire mangrove tree, and tried to call Sentoumaru with a black Den Den Mushi, which is only for intercepting communications.[3] He also seems to prefer his original name, Borsalino, rather than his alias.
Apparently, after Luffy sent Charloss flying during the Sabaody incident, Kizaru volunteered to be dispatched by Sengoku to deal with the Nobles' predicament, partly to fulfill his duty as an Admiral and because he was under the impression that a trip down the Archipelago to expel the Pirate threat would be most relaxing (especially since the Marines already had their hands full in preparation for the Whitebeard War), and was seemingly disappointed when Silvers Rayleigh came out to confront him.
If nothing else, Borsalino appears to be more laid back than Aokiji, when Luffy and Law escaped from Marineford, completely dropped the matter, his attitude regarding it being that of a carefree reaction.
However, he has shown his ruthlessness. While he never has expressed any sympathy for or against the philosophy of absolute justice, Kizaru's careless behavior gives him very little mercy towards criminals, particularly pirates, to whom he has targeted. Kizaru even decided to capture Silvers Rayleigh, who had given up piracy over twenty years earlier, simply because, as a member of the Roger Pirates, his crimes could not be forgiven. Following the events of the Sabaody Archipelago, Kizaru captured 500 pirates.[4] Also, he sees the Shichibukai as nothing more than pirates, even if they are on the World Government's side. Even when Oars Jr. was bloody and dying (having lost a leg), Kizaru showed no mercy; he simply offered to go ahead and shoot Oars Jr. through the head.[5]
Kizaru often comments that some of the abilities of his opponents are quite frightening. One instance was when after he witnessed the Devil Fruit abilities of three Supernovas, he referred to them as monsters, although he was otherwise unfazed by them. Another was after he tried to directly attack Whitebeard, First Division Commander, Marco, intercepted his attack with ease which made Kizaru to point out how scary the Whitebeard Pirates were,[6] and most recently when Benn Beckman aimed a gun at him, although in that case Kizaru still succeeded in getting off an attack while Beckman was shocked he wasn't done yet. Since Kizaru always delivers such admissions of fear with a deadpan expression on his face and his usual lackadaisical tone of voice, it's never clear if he's mocking his opponents or if he's being serious.
Relationships
Marines
Sentoumaru seems to have a high level of respect for him and calls Kizaru "Uncle" (黄猿の伯父貴, Kizaru no ojiki, a Japanese word commonly used to refer to a yakuza family "father" boss), but he has also chastised Kizaru for his absent-mindedness. Of all the Admirals, Kizaru has displayed the most casual relationship with his fellow marines, if not genuine leadership qualities, from how he in passing mentioned to the Giant Squad to watch out for attacks from the sky after everyone witnessed him being kicked down by Marco, as well as giving advice to shoot through the head after volunteering to help the troops subdue the recently re-awoken Oars Jr. Kizaru's behavior is just as relaxed with his fellow Admirals as it is with his underlings.
Enemies
Kizaru has shown very little mercy to pirates, as seen when he tried to capture the long-retired Silvers Rayleigh, and when he interrupted his mission to fight Basil Hawkins. He also remains suspicious of the Shichibukai, even Bartholomew Kuma, who is said to be the most loyal of the seven. But Kuma stated that his deal and loyalties were with the World Government and, as such, he did not have any obligation to explain his motives to the Marines.
Kizaru, at one point, mocked Luffy for not having the power to save Ace and was also a major hindrance to Luffy's rescue attempts. He kept Luffy from his goal multiple times and even destroyed the original key to Ace's handcuffs. Overall, Kizaru kept hounding Luffy, from Sabaody Archipelago and all the way through the Whitebeard War, due to the demands made by the World Nobles.
Abilities and Powers
As an Admiral, Kizaru commands vast numbers of Marine subordinates. The most prevalent of the powers under his command is the Buster Call. He was able to defeat four of the Supernovas on Sabaody Archipelago with great ease. Even without his Devil Fruit, he possesses extreme physical endurance, as shown when he was kicked to the ground by Marco without even receiving a scratch, and strength, when he pushes down Whitebeard's bisento with just one foot. Kizaru is also capable of fighting Rayleigh and Whitebeard equally despite their Haki abilities. He also has great accuracy, as shown when he shot and destroyed the key to Ace's shackles whilst it was still in Luffy's hands. His extraordinary speed and precision makes him one of the most dangerous fighters in the series.
According to Hawkins:
• In a battle against Kizaru the chances of defeat were 100%
• In flight (retreating) the chances of success were 12%
• On the defensive side circumvention chances were 76%
• Survival; probability of death was 0%
• Hawkins came to the conclusion that facing an Admiral with just ten dolls (in reference to his own Devil Fruit) was unwise.[7]
Haki
It was stated that all Vice Admirals possess Haki[8], so with a rank above Vice Admiral Kizaru can also use the ability. He was seen using his Busōshoku Haki to negate Whitebeard's attempt to destroy the execution platform, by creating, with his fellow Admirals, a shield combination of their three Haki.
Devil Fruit
Kizaru possesses the power of the Pika Pika no Mi, meaning 'glimmer' or 'light,' a Logia-type Devil Fruit. As a Logia-user, he is able to let objects pass through him and reconstruct his body from energy particles. He is capable of moving and attacking at the speed of light, and all of his attacks are based on the element of light; such as firing energy blasts from his fingertips or feet with extreme precision. His power is very destructive, causing huge explosions and easily destroying buildings. He also has the ability to reflect himself, essentially moving from one location to the next at the speed of light, making him the fastest man in the world (as nothing is faster than light). He can also make an energy sword out of pure light, which can stand up to heavy "Haki" based attacks; as seen when he was fighting Silvers Rayleigh. Kizaru has named several of his abilities after the three great treasures of Japan.
Weapons
Kizaru has shown considerable skill with a sword of light produced by his Devil Fruit, as he is able to duel Silvers Rayleigh to a draw despite his loss of intangibility.
History
Early Life
Not much is shown about Borsalino's past. He is briefly seen in the background when Garp and Sengoku were discussing how to deal with the Edd War battle between Gol D. Roger and Shiki. His position at that time is unknown, but it can be said that he was already among high rank officers, as he was wearing the Marines coat and his trademark yellow suit.
Sabaody Archipelago Arc
After the Tenryuubito incident at the Sabaody Archipelago, Kizaru spoke with Sengoku about handling the situation, and volunteered to deal with the rookies himself. The Marines outside the Human Auctioning House commented that Kizaru was bringing some type of "troops", which seemed to shock them, but they did not elaborate on what exactly that meant. This most likely was referring to the Pacifista who engaged several of the Supernovas shortly after Kizaru's arrival.[9] Later, the Admiral arrived on Sabaody Archipelago at the Grove 27, riding on top of a fired cannon ball as it landed.[10]
When he did so, he tried to call someone on his Den Den Mushi, but seemingly got no reply. One of the on-looking pirates wanted to try his luck and used his weapon at Kizaru, but though the shot passed directly through the Admiral, it didn't affect him even the slightest.[11] Kizaru then tried to ask the group of pirates a question, looking for someone named Sentoumaru, whom he called his "subordinate". When the pirates ran away from him in fear, he created a large explosion with his Devil Fruit ability, uprooting an entire Yarukiman Grove.[12] Sabaody soldiers commented on his carelessness upon this, and even Kizaru noted that he overdid it.
He later confronts Basil Hawkins, saying he wants to ask him a question. [13] After the pirate looked over his odds, Kizaru says that if he can't find Sentoumaru, then he gets bored, and when he's really bored, he couldn't possibly just leave a bounty head like him (Basil Hawkins) around. He then continues by saying that speed is "weight" and asked him if he ever got kicked at the speed of light. He then attacks him with a strong and swift kick, but does not harm Hawkins after he redirects the attack elsewhere, drawing a shocked impression from the Admiral. Before long, Urouge and X. Drake unintentionally join Hawkins side, while Kizaru is joined by one of several Pacifista running amok on the island.[14]
He used his powers to kick Urouge through several buildings, and blinded Basil Hawkins, then almost killed him. Scratchmen Apoo joined the fight, and seemingly cut off Kizaru's arm and made it explode by using his musical ability. Kizaru then reconstructed his body, and took down the three remaining Supernovas (Apoo, Hawkins and Drake) with seemingly no effort. Afterwards, he got a call from Sentoumaru, asking him which of the three culprits is he going after first.
He then appeared where the Straw Hats were, immobilizing Zoro and getting ready to kill him with his Pika Pika no Mi powers until his attack is redirected by Silvers Rayleigh.[16] He moves to try and follow the escaping Zoro, Usopp and Brook, using Yata no Kagami, but it was stopped by Rayleigh cutting the beam of light with a sword. Kizaru forms a sword of light with his technique Ama no Murakumo, and fights Rayleigh, leaving his subordinates to deal with the Straw Hats.[17] However, when Bartholomew Kuma suddenly appears, Kizaru questions why he's on Sabaody instead of at Marine Headquarters. When Kuma teleports the Straw Hats, Kizaru asks him why he let them escape from their hands to which Kuma refused to answer.[5]
War Against Whitebeard Pirates
It has been revealed that during the Sabaody incident, he captured 500 pirates.[4] With the date of Portgas D. Ace's execution drawing closer, Kizaru has arrived to lead the battle against the Whitebeard Pirates.[18]
He has been recently seen at Marine Headquarters, along with other high-ranking marines gathered there, all preparing for war. Kizaru was then seen watching over the execution platform of Portgas D. Ace with his fellow Marine Admirals.
Before the power of Whitebeard is shown to the marines, Kizaru is shown saying he has a bad feeling about what is going to happen next. Like always, Kizaru is shown saying this in a calm and cheerful way. Even when the power of Whitebeard is shown, Kizaru's facial expression is still calm. He seems happily astonished at witnessing Whitebeard's power. However, the other Admirals seem to be more serious.
He launched an array of light beams at Whitebeard with his Yasakani no Magatama attack, only to have them nullified by Marco's abilities. He commences to fight Marco, but neither get seriously hurt from each others' respective attacks.
Luffy's arrival at Marineford seems to have thrown Kizaru for a loop, even if only momentarily. Justly so, given the fact that the last time he'd seen Luffy was when he was cleaning up after the Tenryuubito incident at the Sabaody Archipelago. Nevertheless, he receives Sengoku's order of execution for every last escapee of Impel Down, with his usual casual manner. He attempts to stop Luffy by kicking a beam of light at him, but the attack is deflected by Ivankov's "Death Wink".
He is next seen ordering more marines to attack Luffy and is shown later fighting on the battlefield, wiping out pirates with his light-based attacks. As Sentomaru is about to attack the pirates from behind with the Pacifistas, Kizaru tells him that he doesn't mind the destruction of their own battleships in the process, but also urges not to destroy too many of them.
As Luffy makes a dash for the execution platform once more, Kizaru repels him again with a kick. At this, seven of Whitebeard's various division commanders are then seen charging him and he shows "terror" at this. When Whitebeard fires off a shockwave to the execution platform, Kizaru and the other two Admirals block off the shockwave, which destroys much of Marinford's residential block, before telling Akainu, in response to the latter grousing about Aokiji's ice preventing the siege wall from rising, to melt the ice down.
When Oars suddenly starts to rise, Kizaru volunteers to finish him off and muttering something about a precision-shot to the head. But he's interrupted when Luffy, helped by Jinbei over Marineford's last line of defense and lugging a broken piece of a ships' mast, and then comments on how frightening youth could be. When Luffy activates Gear Second and tries to escape from the 3 Admirals, Kizaru manages to catch up to Luffy and says that Luffy is too slow, he sends Luffy flying back with his "light kick". Later, he once again attacks Luffy after he is knocked down by Momonga, chiding that even if he has guts without strength he won't be able to save anyone. He then kicks Luffy away where he caught by Whitebeard, whom Kizaru also chides for letting "trash" like Luffy lead the charge (despite the fact it was Luffy himself who went on ahead, the Whitebeard Pirates just followed after him). When Marco rushes to Whitebeard after seeing him cough out blood due to his age, Kizaru attacks Marco from behind with laser beams similar to what he did to Luffy. Later, he is been seen stabbing the first division commander Marco again with one of his beams. This time, with the help of the Vice admiral Onigumo who disables Marco's devil fruit abilities with a Kairōseki Handcuff, while the first division commander isn't paying attention.
After Luffy unleashed his Haōshoku Haki, Kizaru comments on Luffy's fearsome power. As Luffy is getting closer to reaching Ace, Kizaru attempts to stop Luffy, but is attacked by Whitebeard.
Although Whitebeard managed to intercept him, Kizaru managed to damage Whitebeard by shooting a beam right through him. Seeing that Luffy has the key to free Ace, Kizaru manages to hit it with a laser, destroying it, but his efforts are nullified by Mr. 3, who uses his powers to make a new key.
After Whitebeard's death and Law's arrival, Kizaru's new target is Luffy. Buggy is hit by one of Kizaru's beams and is fleeing in terror. The admiral tries to attack Law's submarine before he escapes, but suddenly, Benn Beckman points his rifle at him and warns him not to move, which Kizaru complies with by putting his hands up.
However, Benn Beckman's presence did not deter Kizaru as he makes one last attempt on Luffy's life, with Aokiji's efforts he uses his Yasakani no Magatama attack to rain down hundreds of beams of light to try to destroy Law's submarine again. He fails, simply stating if they survived, then they were extremely lucky. Upon Sengoku's order that the war is over, he stands down.
Major Battles
• Kizaru and a Pacifista vs. Basil Hawkins, Urouge, X. Drake, Scratchmen Apoo
• Kizaru, Sentoumaru, and PX-1 vs. Straw Hat Pirates
• Kizaru vs. Silvers Rayleigh
• Kizaru vs. Marco
• Kizaru vs. Monkey D. Luffy
• Kizaru, Aokiji, and Akainu vs. Monkey D. Luffy
• Kizaru vs. Rakuyou
• Kizaru vs. Marco
• Kizaru and Vice Admiral Onigumo vs. Marco
• Kizaru vs. Whitebeard
• Kizaru and Aokiji vs. Monkey D. Luffy, Jinbei, and Heart Pirates (chasing them)
Trivia
• The model of Kizaru's face is the Japanese actor, Kunie Tanaka. Along with that, Kizaru's clothes, real name and birthday, Borsalino, are apparently based on a movie character that Kunie Tanaka played in his youth. The character, Borsalino, from the old Japanese film Truck Yarō (トラック野郎), wore a suit and shades similar to Kizaru's design.[19]
• When first mentioned by Robin, Kizaru's silhouette was seen wearing some kind of large hat which was never seen again. It's a reference to the Italian hat company Borsalino.
• Kizaru's lazy and easy-going demeanor is something of a reference to the main characters' approach to crime from the 1970's French film Borsalino.
• His name and other Admiral names (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotaro legends (Momotaro met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey).
• Kizaru's techniques, Yata no Kagami (八咫鏡), Ama no Murakumo (天叢雲劍) and Yasakani no Magatama (八尺瓊曲玉) are taken from the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan.
• Kizaru is a confirmed character in One Piece: Unlimited Cruise.
• In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Kizaru is the 47th most popular character in One Piece.[20]
• He was the last Admiral to be named, he was the second Admiral to meet the Straw Hat Pirates in both the anime and manga.
Akainu
Admiral Akainu (赤犬大将, Akainu Taishō) is one of the three Marine Admirals. He was first mentioned by Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji.[2] His real name is Sakazuki (サカズキ, Sakazuki) he and was originally introduced as a Vice Admiral. Because of his ruthless actions, Akainu can be considered the main antagonist of the Marineford arc.
Appearance
Akainu is an incredibly tall man, roughly the same size of the other two Admirals Aokiji and Kizaru, the last one clearly taller than Brook.
Akainu has a square-shaped face with hollowed cheeks. He has a Marine coat hanging loosely from his shoulders, and he wears a standard Marine cap. He sports a crimson, double-breasted suit, decorated with what appear to be a rose on his left buttonhole. Unlike many high-ranking Marines, he doesn't wear a tie. Instead, leaving his flower-patterned shirt unbuttoned in order to show his muscular neck and part of his tattoo.
The tattoo on the left side of his chest is black (light-blue in the anime), it contains numerous images of flowers integrated into its design. Akainu's tattoo has flame-shaped edges and it extends from the Admiral's left shoulder to his hip, covering part of his back and ribs. He has another, smaller tattoo in the shape of a sword on his right bicep near the shoulder.[3]
22 years ago, at the Ohara incident, he wore a simple white Marine cap under a dark gray hood that seemed to be a part of a cloak he wore beneath his suit, or Marine coat. Until getting off his chair in order to destroy an incoming iceberg during the Battle of Marineford, his face was always hidden by his cap.
Personality
“ We have to be thorough! If even one of those scholars made it onto that ship, all of the sacrifices we've made would be for nothing! We must eliminate the very possibility of this "evil" existing!! ”
— Akainu's view on destroying the ship of survivors during the Buster Call at Ohara.
Akainu is a firm believer in Absolute Justice, and is ruthless in his maintenance of it. He has a stern, dead-serious disposition, grim, expressionless, and is the most ruthless of all three Admirals. Despite this disposition, like Eustass Kid, Akainu seems to be able to restrain himself at times, having chosen to spare Jewelry Bonney's life after the latter was left by the Blackbeard Pirates for Akainu to salvage, along with her crew.
Akainu's beliefs led him to go as far as destroying a refugee ship simply because of the minuscule possibility that a scholar could be hiding on board. His logic is that if even one of the scholars of Ohara had escaped with it, the mission would've been a failure, much to the dismay of Aokiji,[4] who called him a fool for overdoing things. Akainu takes his extremist attitude as far as to kill anyone who doesn't share his point of view, as he attempted to kill Coby for his plead to stop the war. Additionally, he has no tolerance for Marines who desert their posts and even appeals of wanting to return to families instead of dying does not sway his sympathy, the only consolation he does offer is that they should not dishonor their families by running away.[5] To Akainu, any marine who is not willing to fight for justice is not worthy to be called a Marine.
Despite his status as Admiral, Akainu is also known to use underhanded tactics and is willing to lie or misdirect his enemies in order to achieve Justice. So far, Akainu's manipulations have been incredibly successful such as he managed to deceive Squardo through Sengoku's master plan, or insulting Whitebeard to get Ace angry enough to stop his attempt at escape. He finds people who attempt to interfere with him as nothing more than irritating obstacles.[6] Furthermore, he seems in many ways unafraid of older legends and comments on this when Whitebeard claims to his men not to be intimidated by Garp, while Akainu says that he and Garp are of the same generation and promptly attacks him.[7]
Prior to Sengoku making it public, Akainu is one of the few who knew that Luffy was Dragon's son. It is unknown if he has some past relationship with Dragon or if it was simply common knowledge among the high ranking Marines that Dragon is Garp's son. As such, Akainu deems that Luffy's mere existence, due to being Dragon's son, is enough to be a threat to the world, and must be eliminated. In fact, Akainu's beliefs of heritage run deep enough that he declares that even if every other pirate escapes, he personally will not permit Ace or Luffy to leave the war alive due to their bloodlines, to the point of actively hunting Luffy himself, even though Blackbeard is destroying Marineford. He views criminals, whether they would be pirates, or any other sort for that matter as tools to be used against each other.
Relationships
Marines
As a high ranking Marine, as well as being one of the top three fighters of the organization, Akainu has command over the lower-ranking subordinates, who respect him enough to call him "Admiral Sakazuki" most of the time, as opposed to his alias.
Nevertheless, his ruthless beliefs in the "Absolute Justice" has made his colleagues fear and despise him, especially Aokiji, who called him a fool for taking things too far. In turn, Akainu can easily kill any Marines who contradicts his beliefs, as he murdered a soldier for leaving his post in fear, and made an attempt on Coby's life for voicing his objections for taking this war too far.
Akainu also did not show any respect to Monkey D. Garp, despite the old Vice Admiral being a "hero" who was eligible for the position of Admiral, due to him being from the previous generation and from the same bloodline with Dragon and Luffy. Garp, in turn, tried to kill Sakazuki for killing Ace, and had to be restrained by Sengoku.
He has also recently demostrated some form of a past relationship with Jewelry Bonney based on his comment that he was worriend when he discovered her running away.
Enemies
Whitebeard Pirates
As Akainu boldly insulted Whitebeard, he earned the wrath of Portgas D. Ace, who viewed the captain as a father figure. This made Ace lose his chance to retreat in an attempt to strike down Akainu in revenge, only to fail and ultimately lose his life at the hands of the Admiral. Akainu, in turn, views Ace as one of the two most dangerous lifeforms (the other one being Luffy) in the world, due to his father being Gol D. Roger.
Akainu feigned sympathy towards Squardo to get him to betray Whitebeard, then brutally injured Whitebeard and killed Ace, which resulted in the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates directing their anger toward him, and the remaining commanders attempting to fight against him, even though they might die. Whitebeard himself brutally injured Akainu out of revenge for Ace's demise. Akainu, however, views all pirates as criminals that are not allowed to exist, and the Whitebeard Pirates are no exception.
Monkey D. Luffy
Due to Luffy being the son of the Revolutionary Dragon, Akainu views him as the most dangerous threat to the world, along with Ace. After killing Ace and sending Luffy into a mental breakdown, Akainu hounded Luffy throughout the remainder of the war, insistent that he would not escape Marineford alive. To this end, the Admiral ignored all surrounding threats, and focused solely on taking Luffy's life. Akainu shows frustration when Shanks' intervention allowed Luffy to escape.
Akainu always refers to Luffy as "Dragon's son", viewing him as a global-scale threat solely based on heritage, and that Luffy must be eliminated at all cost.
Abilities and Powers
As an Admiral, Akainu is able to command the vast number of Marine troops who are under his rank. Most of all, he has the ability to order a Buster Call attack on any island.
Being one of the strongest characters in One Piece, Admiral Akainu was able to fight against Whitebeard all by himself and must have an incredible amount of durability shown by the fact that not even two quake-powered blows from Whitebeard were able to keep him down (just one was enough to incapacitate a giant Vice Admiral). His durability also extend to Haki attacks since it took Whitebeard's own Haki to actually affect him.
His presence alone was enough to make Blackbeard and his crew flee, even after Blackbeard had gained the powers of the Gura Gura no Mi, and strengthened his crew with several of Impel Down's most powerful criminals.
Haki
It was stated that all Vice Admirals possess Haki,[8] so with a rank above Vice Admiral, Akainu can also use this ability. He was seen using his Busōshoku Haki to negate Whitebeard's attempt to destroy the execution platform, by creating, with his fellow Admirals, a shield combination of their three Haki.
Devil Fruit
Akainu possesses a currently unnamed Logia-class[9] Devil Fruit which grants him the ability to transform his body into magma and manipulate it at will. As a Logia, Akainu can let physical attacks pass through him without injury and can only be wounded with the use of Haki, Kairoseki, being caught off guard and his elemental weakness. Apparently, Akainu is aware of Haki and found some way to avoid Haki attacks, even after Marco and Vista sliced him in the neck with Haki infused attacks.
Akainu's signature method of offense is to transform his fist into magma and launch it with a forward motion, much like a rocket. When it comes to travel, Akainu can move at extremely high speeds by launching himself like an actual volcano blast towards his target and can even melt solid earth and rock to make tunnels to move underground.
His ability is naturally of a higher order than Ace's fire-based abilities, as the higher heat of his magma allowed him to successfully harm Ace despite Ace's Logia-defense. In fact, while Ace confronted Admiral Aokiji's ice abilities on equal terms, Akainu's magma is hot enough to instantly evaporate ice without melting it first (as well as greatly heating up the sea). Just by forming an attack, the heat coming off of his body has been shown to melt enemy weapons around him. He has been shown to repeatedly pierce through the bodies of his adversaries with ease using his power, and was responsible fo the complete destruction of the Moby Dick. In essence, Akainu's Devil Fruit is a much stronger and deadlier version of the Mera Mera no Mi, to the point of being so great that he can take on people like Emporio Ivankov and Jinbei with minimal effort.
Aside from the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses, Akainu's powers doesn't seem to be weak against anything specific. However, it is worth mentioning that even though Akainu's Devil Fruit was able to overpower Ace's fire based abilities, it was completely unsuccessful against Marco's phoenix Devil Fruit.
• Dai Funka (大噴火, Great Eruption): Akainu's signature technique, he transforms his right fist into one made out of pure lava before throwing it forward, like an over-sized rocket, and similar in size to that of Luffy's fist whilst he's in Gear Third. The explosion causes volcanic rock to hit the ground, in a method similar to meteors. This was first seen when he used it to evaporate an iceberg hurled at his fellow Marines by Jozu. According to spectators, the battlefield resembled an apocalypse after this one attack. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Great Eruption.
• Ryūsei Kazan (流星火山, Meteor Volcano): Akainu creates a great number of lava fists that he fires into the air in order to let them rain down upon the battlefield, causing enormous amounts of area damage. This looks like a cross between a meteor shower and a volcanic eruption. This was first used to destroy the ice floor Aokiji created along with the pirates who were standing on it. He managed to take out Whitebeard's flagship, the Moby Dick, with this technique. In the Viz Manga, this is called Meteor Volcano.
• Ganshō Kenga (岩漿犬牙, Magma Dog Fang): Arguably the source of Sakazuki's nickname, Akainu creates a wave of magma, shaped like a dog's head, and launches it against his opponent. It was first used against Whitebeard,[10] and the technique's name is introduced in the video game Gigant Battle.[11] However, it is still unknown if this attack's name is official, as it is not known if Oda gave it.
• Meigō (冥狗, Dark Dog): Akainu transforms his hand into magma and lashes out at the opponent with a claw-thrust. This technique is powerful enough to tear off half of Whitebeard's face with a glancing blow.
History
Ohara Incident
He was known as Vice Admiral Sakazuki before his promotion. He was present at the Ohara incident, being one of the five vice-admirals, leading the Buster Call offensive. He ordered the destruction of an evacuation ship of civilians and soldiers, claiming it needed to be destroyed in case a single scholar managed to sneak on board (an action that horrified even Spandine).
War Against the Whitebeard Pirates
Vice Admiral Momonga mentioned to Boa Hancock that the three Marine Admirals, including Akainu, will lead the Marines against the Whitebeard Pirates following the announcement of Portgas D. Ace's execution.[12] Akainu was seen sitting beneath the execution platform of Portgas D. Ace with his fellow Marine Admirals.[13]
Akainu stepped into the battle when Jozu hurled a massive iceberg, displaying abilities to control volcanic rock by launching a fist made of lava to destroy the iceberg and sending small burning rocks flying all over the place, destroying one of Whitebeard's ships.
He is later seen confronting a Marine officer who is fleeing from the battle not wanting to die out of concern for his family. Akainu attacks, and brutally kills, the Marine officer for this "cowardice", much to the horror of Coby and Helmeppo who were watching (having nearly ran into the Admiral themselves doing the same thing).[14] Akainu then receives a report on the Den Den Mushi that the preparations for Sengoku's plan are set. Luffy's arrival at Marineford has Admiral Akainu commenting that, as the son of Dragon, Luffy is the one pirate who must be eliminated at all costs.
During the battle, following Sengoku's orders, Akainu talks to Captain Squardo, making him believe that Whitebeard has betrayed his allies, trading their lives with Ace's one. He demonstrates his words making Squardo notice that the Pacifistas has attacked everyone in the bay but Whitebeard's pirates, this being also part of Sengoku's plan. He tells Squardo he doesn't agree with the plan of sparing Ace's and Whitebeard's life, and offers him the chance to save himself and his own crew if he kills Whitebeard. Because of his deep hatred for Gol D. Roger, who killed his first crew, Squardo believes him and attacks Whitebeard, stabbing him in the chest.
Whitebeard survives Squardo's attack, forgives his ally and starts a massive attack against the Marines, using his Devil Fruit's powers. Akainu, along with Aokiji and Kizaru, manages to stop Whitebeard's seismic waves directed to the platform on which Ace is chained. When the steel wall is finally raised around the pirates, Akainu starts to attack the pirates with his Ryūsei Kazan, melting Aokiji's ice and destroying the Moby Dick.
Much later, when Luffy is hurled over the siege wall and lands before the execution platform, Akainu sneers before commenting on how bold the son of Dragon is. After Whitebeard and his crew successfully enter the plaza, Whitebeard begins to swing his Bisento for another attack when Akainu intervenes, telling him that the island won't hold out long if he keeps on like that, Whitebeard then tells him he should try and protect it. They both use their Devil Fruit powers and clash with each other.
When Garp joins the battle, Whitebeard tells his men that he is just an old man and should not be fooled, Akainu retaliates and says that Whitebeard himself is also of the same generation. The two clash again, causing another rampage in the Marineford. Akainu is angry at Whitebeard and shouts at him for destroying the city, Whitebeard repeats what he said before and tells him he should protect it. Suddenly, Whitebeard grabs his chest and coughs up a massive amount of blood. Akainu comments on how Whitebeard cannot escape the effects of the old age and takes full advantage by landing a devastating blow to Whitebeard's chest with molten magma.
When Luffy unleashes a wave of Haoshoku Haki, saving Ace from the second execution attempt, Akainu notices that Luffy used his power unconsciously.
When Ace is finally freed, Akainu assures his men that there's nothing to worry about, since the two pirate brothers are going to be captured again and executed. He then confronts Luffy and Ace, and provokes Ace into attacking him by badmouthing Whitebeard. He says that his magma can consume Ace's fire (magma can extinguish fire by smothering it) and is thus able to injure Ace despite his Logia intangibility, making him his natural enemy. Stating that both Luffy and Ace deserve to be executed due to their parentage, he attacks Luffy, but Ace throws himself in the way, taking Akainu's devastating attack through his torso, which shortly leads to his tragic death. He then burns Jinbei as the latter attempts to protect Ace from a second strike for the head. Marco and Vista then attack Akainu; however, with his Logia abilities, Akainu nullifies their attacks. He did feel some discomfort, commenting on how irritating it is that they were both Haki users. He then tells them that it is too late for Ace. After killing Ace and making another attempt to kill Luffy, Akainu is seen to be attacked by Whitebeard himself. Akainu is badly injured by Whitebeard's attack, but still manages to injure Whitebeard with another magma fueled punch. Akainu is then seen falling into the fissure that was created when Whitebeard struck the Marine HQ.[15]
Akainu, having survived Whitebeard's onslaught, reappeared in front of Jinbei as he is making his way to the escape ship. Akainu demands Jinbei to hand over Luffy, but Jinbei refuses, stating that he will protect Luffy with his life. Akainu then prepares to attack, but Ivankov appeared and blasted Akainu with a Hell Wink. He later heard Blackbeard as he declared to the entire world that the age of Blackbeard has begun. Despite Blackbeard's grave announcement and his newly acquired power, he still chose to continue persuing Luffy.
Akainu then subdued Ivankov and Inazuma and continued to chase after Jinbei and Luffy, which ends in Akainu piercing through Jinbei and straight towards Luffy, critically injuring the both of them. When he is prepared to finish them off, Crocodile repelled him and got Luffy and Jinbei out of the admiral's reach. Akainu then prepared to face off against Crocodile and the Whitebeard Pirates. The outcome of this match was left unseen.
He takes down Curiel and goes into a blind rage yelling to the marines to not let pirates roam this earth. He, along with the whole battlefield, is stopped by Coby as he yells for the fighting to stop. Akainu is outraged at this and attacks Coby, only to have his punch blocked by Shanks with a wounded expression.
Akainu is angered that Shanks' interference has caused Luffy to escape his grasp. After Kizaru's and Aokiji's failed attempts on Luffy's life and Sengoku complies with Shanks' demands to end the Whitebeard War, Akainu is very displeased.
Post War Arc
When the Blackbeard Pirates' raft is damaged because of the size of Sanjuan Wolf, Marshall D. Teach takes Jewelry Bonney and her crew as a means of exchange with the World Government for a new ship. The Marines anyway don't seem to accept the exchange, since Akainu is sent to the island. Blackbeard and his crew escape, leaving Bonney behind. Akainu faces Bonney, saying that the World Government has been worried due to her disappearance, with Bonney replying that she hates the World Government and the Marines.
Major Battles
• Akainu vs. Squardo (before deceiving him)
• Akainu, Kizaru and Aokiji vs. Monkey D. Luffy
• Akainu vs. Whitebeard
• Akainu vs. Portgas D. Ace
• Akainu vs. Curiel
• Akainu vs. Jinbei (trying to finish Ace off)
• Akainu vs. Marco and Vista
• Akainu vs. Marco (after killing Ace)
• Akainu vs. Whitebeard (after killing Ace)
• Akainu vs. Emporio Ivankov and Inazuma
• Akainu vs. Jinbei (chasing Luffy)
• Akainu vs. Crocodile
• Akainu vs. Crocodile, and Whitebeard Pirates Commanders
• Akainu vs. Curiel
• Akainu vs. Shanks
Trivia
• The way Akainu's character design is drawn resembles the famous Japanese actor, Bunta Sugawara. Akainu's real name, Sakazuki is apparently based on the three movies of Bunta Sugawara with "Sakazuki" in the title. Even Akainu's birthday is based on Sugawara's.[16]
• His nickname, along with the other Admirals' (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotaro legends (Momotaro met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey).
• Before being revealed in the manga, Akainu's abilities were the center of many myths among fans.
• The anime-only Vice Admiral Jonathan is said to be Akainu's protege, but unlike his mentor who is a pure believer in Absolute Justice, Jonathan believes more in Moral Justice.
• Akainu's Devil Fruit is the only one which has a clear natural advantage over two other Devil Fruits (the ice Hie Hie no Mi and the fire Mera Mera no Mi; both of them negate each other but have no chance against Akainu's magma Devil Fruit, which is hot enough to evaporate ice and smother fire).
• He was the second Admiral to be named, and the last to make a full appearance in the both the anime and manga, he was the the only Admiral to not meet the Straw Hat Pirates.
Aokiji
Admiral Aokiji (青雉大将, Aokiji Taishō) is one of the three Marine Admirals. His real name is Kuzan (クザン Kuzan), and he was once a Vice Admiral. He is also a nominee for the position of Fleet Admiral.
Appearance
Aokiji is an incredibly tall man, roughly the same size of the other two Admirals Akainu and Kizaru, the last one clearly taller than Brook. In contrast to Kizaru and Akainu, Aokiji looks younger than his colleagues (while it is unknown if he actually is).
His standard outfit consists of a white button-up vest over a long-sleeved navy blue shirt and matching white pants and shoes. He also wears a yellow tie divided geometrically by black lines and a sleep mask on his forehead. During his preparations for the war against Whitebeard, Aokiji has a Marine coat draped over him like a cape, as do the other Admirals.
Twenty-two years ago during the Ohara Incident, Kuzan wore a bandanna with the Marine symbol on it, as well as a pair of round sunglasses.
Personality
Admiral Aokiji is a sleepy, somewhat lazy fellow, evidenced by the sleep mask he constantly wears over his eyes. He has a lazy, relaxed attitude most of the time, be it in simple flirting or in deadly confrontation.[2] He is so lazy that he can't even bring himself to work simple details like adding a crew's total bounty.[3] He even stated that he's an upholder of lazy justice. As a result of his nature, he appears fearless, without a care in the world, and sometimes even childish. This infuriates many and several question on whether he really is an Admiral.
Aokiji is a loyal follower of the World Government and, even if he does as he pleases, always carries out their orders, but in a way that is within his own ideals of right and wrong (for example, he let Nico Robin go, which was in contrast to the Marines' final orders). Like many One Piece characters (e.g. Smoker, and Jaguar D. Saul), after witnessing the senseless killing of so many innocent people, it is possible Aokiji came to realize just how low the World Government's morals had sunk. His sense of justice, however, differs greatly from that of his fellow Admirals, Akainu and Kizaru, whose beliefs in "absolute justice" contradict Aokiji's morals.
Aokiji is also known to say "Arararara" sometimes in conjunction with his lazy attitude.
Relationships
Marines
Aokiji also appears to have some connection to Garp, saying he once "owed a favor" to Garp.[4] It is currently unknown what the nature of this favor was, or what Luffy's grandfather did for Aokiji to gain this debt. He also admired Garp for consistently refusing promotions. However, with Luffy's choice of piracy, even the favor and admiration are not enough to let him spare Luffy's life during their encounter at Marineford, whether because he felt that Ace was too much of a risk to be left alive or because letting Luffy go publicly would get him into severe trouble is unknown.
Aokiji also was good friends with Jaguar D. Saul. Apparently, one of the reasons that he let Robin go 20 years ago is because of Saul. He states that he felt it was his duty to watch over her life until she found her place.
Aokiji seems to have a bad impression upon his fellow Admiral Akainu, as Akainu (known as Vice Admiral Sakazuki at the time) followed the "Absolute Justice" and killed innocent Ohara civilians to assure that none of the archaeologists escaped the Buster Call, causing Aokiji (while still as Kuzan at the time) to call him a fool.
Aokiji also seems to know Smoker, since he mentioned Smoker and Smoker's message given to him about Luffy. They were also talking together in his office about Smoker's transfer to G-5.
Sengoku seems to trust Aokiji well enough to lead the marines since he nominated Aokiji to be Fleet Admiral.
Shichibukai
Aokiji also seems to have some kind of grudge against Crocodile (if not all of the Shichibukai). After sparing Luffy's life, Aokiji says, "With your defeat of Crocodile, we'll just call it even." Boa Hancock got angry when Aokiji stabbed Luffy. Aokiji, however, did "apologize" to Jinbei for freezing the ocean to prevent escape, though in a somewhat sarcastic way.
Nico Robin
Aokiji shows some disappointment in the fact that Nico Robin had taken the path of piracy and had not changed her life for the better (although she did have a bounty put on her, making it impossible to live a normal life). He spared her due to his friendship with Saul, and had once warned her that he is not her friend. However, later, he seemed to have kept her well-being in his best of interest, as he was finally relieved to see her find a place in the Straw Hat Pirates.
Abilities and Powers
As an Admiral, Aokiji is able to command a vast number of Marine troops under his rank. Most of all, he has the ability to order a Buster Call attack on any island. In fact, his overall abilities are so great that Sengoku has suggested to World Government Commander-in-Chief Kong that Aokiji should become the succeeding Fleet Admiral.
His power is so great that he was able to easily overpower Luffy and the other Straw Hats single-handedly. Due to Aokiji's power, the fated conflict between him and the Straw Hats prompted Luffy to be less naive towards future conflicts; for this reason Aokiji served as the starting point for Luffy to push his strength beyond his limits.
Aside from that and his Devil Fruit powers, his physical proficiency is also extremely high, as he is able to repel simultaneous attacks from Zoro, Luffy, and Sanji without taking any damage. He has also been seen jumping to a very extreme height, in order to freeze a pair of tsunamis caused by Whitebeard. He is also able to travel at tremendous speed, as seen when attacking Buggy, whether this is due to him using Soru or his Devil Fruit is unknown.
Along with this, he is powerful enough to fight against notably powerful figures such as Diamond Jozu, the Third Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, and even Whitebeard himself.
Haki
It was stated that all Vice Admirals possess Haki[5], so with a rank above Vice Admiral, Aokiji can also use the ability.
During the Battle of Marineford, he was seen using his Busōshoku Haki to negate Whitebeard's attempt to destroy the execution platform, by creating, with his fellow Admirals, a shield combination of their three Haki.
Devil Fruit
Aokiji has the powers of the Hie Hie no Mi, a Logia Devil Fruit that allows him to control, create, and become ice. He can create enough ice to cover a Giant, a Sea King or several square miles of ocean within mere moments. He was even able to freeze the tsunamis created by Whitebeard, who is often hailed as the world's strongest man. In battle, he uses his ice powers to disable and immobilize enemies, freezing their bodies solid just by touching them, and threatening to shatter their fragile forms. Like other Logia users, he is capable of breaking himself into his particular element to avoid damage from most physical attacks. Aokiji also has extreme amounts of resistance towards cold, due to his Devil Fruit's element, as he is able to freeze his body parts and turn back to normal without any tissue damage.
In addition, Aokiji is one of the few Devil Fruit users who has adapted their powers to travel efficiently across the sea. In his case, he simply rides his bicycle, the Ao Chari, across the sea, and the water freezes as the wheels pass over it.[6] This freezing ability renders Aokiji one of the few Devil Fruit users who can actually counteract the weakness of falling into a large body of water and drowning, as he can just freeze the water and stand on the ice.
Weapons
Aokiji is shown to be quite adept using weapons formed out of his ice powers, such as a sword and throwing spears.
History
A Storm in the Edd War
When the Marine learned that the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates were about to battle in the Edd War, three years before the death of the Pirate King, Kuzan was seen in the Marineford, walking with Garp, Saul, and Tsuru, telling the Hero of the Marines that him turning down another promotion was really something cool.
Ohara Attack
Aokiji was revealed to have been at least indirectly involved in the incident at Ohara that prompted the Marines to put a bounty on Nico Robin's head. At that time, Vice-Admiral Kuzan, as he was known before his promotion, appears to have been responsible for the deployment of Cipher Pol No. 9 in pursuit of the "criminal" archaeologists of Ohara. While the full extent of his involvement in the incident has yet to be revealed, it is clear that the destruction of the civilian fleet, ordered by the former Vice-Admiral Sakazuki (now known as Admiral Akainu), came as a complete shock to Aokiji.[7]
The original order that had been sent was for all those that had not been involved with the Ohara scholars and the Poneglyph, to be safely transported off the island. However, Akainu's course of action was the complete opposite. Aokiji then froze Jaguar D. Saul using his Devil Fruit powers. he helped Nico Robin to escape via the use of his Devil Fruit powers, telling her that he would be quick to come after her, if he ever felt that she was a threat.[8]
“ And remember this: I am not your ally... If you do anything, I'm the 'enemy' that will be the first to catch you. ”
— Kuzan's warning to Robin.
Long Ring Long Land
When the Marine HQ discovered that he was missing, they informed the Gorousei about the situation. The Gorousei were upset with Aokiji's action and remarked that he should watch his rank.
Aokiji managed to reach Long Ring Long Land island. How he knew the Straw Hat Pirates were at this island is unknown, yet he managed to track Robin there. Standing in front of Tonjit's house, he slept.
After the Straw Hat Pirates finished the Davy Back Fight, they return to Tonjit with the pirate flag. Gleefully, Tonjit walked to the door of his house, only to bump into a sleeping Aokiji standing there. This frightens Robin, because Aokiji was one of her past demons. Aokiji woke up and began to make excuses that he wanted to inspect something. He froze the water with his power to create a bridge for Tonjit to cross.
After the Straw Hats bid their good byes to Tonjit, Aokiji lied by saying that he once tried to arrest Robin, but fled. Yet he started to talk nonsense, confusing the pirates, then Sanji and Luffy got angry with him.
Aokiji told Luffy that his anger reminds him of his grandfather, Luffy was startled that his grandfather was mentioned, when Usopp asked Luffy what's wrong, Luffy nervously said nothing. After that, Aokiji then announced that maybe they should just die.[9]
Dark Conspiracy
Aokiji decided to test the Straw Hat Pirates by lying to them about Robin's past. He said that everyone around Robin get wiped away with her being the only person left standing, referring to the actual situation that happened to Robin's mother. The truth is Robin only ran away from people who tried to kill her or turn her in. The Straw Hats never knew about Robin's past and stand with Robin against him. Aokiji started to call Robin a demon and an unfortunate woman. He told them that one day they will regret carrying Robin around.
Angry and tired of Aokiji's taunting game, she uses her Hana Hana powers to break him into pieces against Usopp's wishes. Thinking he's dead, the Straw Hats prepared to run, but Aokiji returned back in one piece, grabbed some grass and breathed on the grass to create an ice saber, but was parried by Zoro when he attempted to kill Robin. The saber was kicked away (and thus destroyed) by Sanji shortly thereafter.
Zoro rushed in attempting to cut him only to be caught by the wrist, Sanji tried to kick him but was grabbed by the thigh, Luffy tried to punch him in the stomach, but when he connected, his hand was frozen. Sanji and Zoro were also frozen on the leg and arm respectively. Nami blocked Aokiji with her staff but was pushed away.
He then froze Robin into solid ice and threatened to punch her into pieces, claiming the world would be better off without her. Luffy saved Robin in the nick of time, but Aokiji said that they should not try to save her and was going to step on her, but Usopp and Chopper managed to save her and drag her back to the ship.
Luffy ordered his crew to go back to the ship as he faced Aokiji one-on-one. Luffy tried to send him flying with his Gomu Gomu no Storm, but he was quickly frozen up by Aokiji. Having Luffy frozen solid, he realizes that Luffy tricked him. By agreeing to a one on one fight with Luffy, he couldn't attack his crew. He decided not to kill Luffy, saying that he did the World Government a favor by defeating Crocodile and commented that Smoker's message was just Smoker being dumb. Aokiji left on his bike across the ocean, he noticed that the Straw Hat Pirates are heading to Water 7 which is close to the Marine HQ.
He then called Spandam, who was ready to have his Unit finish the mission, who was informed that Robin is heading to Water 7. He also gave the Golden Den Den Mushi to him to summon the Buster Call. Spandam decided to wait until Robin arrives at Water 7.
Interestingly, this conflict with Aokiji would set in motion the defection of two Straw Hats. After their conversation, Robin began developing paranoia about the crew abandoning her as had happened many times in the past. She would later allow herself to be captured by CP9, preferring to die rather than be betrayed. After witnessing Aokiji's powers, Usopp begins to question his own strength in relation to the crew and the enemies they'll face. This would later contribute to him leaving as well. It would seem that his confrontation with the Straw Hats played a major part in what was to come next, and culminated in the Straw Hats rescuing Nico Robin from Enies Lobby, defeating the seemingly invincible CP9, and escaping the Buster Call. Seeing all this, Aokiji was seen again witnessing the aftermath of their raid at Enies Lobby, and the Buster Call attack. They had passed his "test" far beyond his expectations. When he was asked by a Marine over the Den Den Mushi whether they should continue to pursue the Straw Hats, Aokiji declined noting the Marines suffered heavy losses already, calling their battle "a complete defeat".[10]
Aokiji at Water 7
Recently, he was in Water 7 secretly talking with Robin. Apparently, Aokiji and Saul were good friends, and 20 years ago, he let Robin go because of his friendship with Saul. He also said that he intended for everything to end at Enies Lobby, but he didn't expect the CP9 to lose to the Straw Hats. However, when he asked Robin why she did not run from the Straw Hats like she did before, Robin told him she does not want to see them die. Aokiji bids Robin farewell, telling her to live on and left by appearing to instantly disappear via his ice abilities.[11] A while later, he is seen leaving Dock 1 on his bike. Robin believes that he is responsible for excluding all the non-Straw Hat Pirates (outside Franky, who joined the Straw Hats after the incident) from the report on the Enies Lobby incident, instead making them out to be innocent civilians who got caught up in all the commotion.
Later, he asked for Garp to lend him a ride on his ship back to Marine HQ because riding back there on his bike was "such a bother".[12] He witnessed the Straw Hats new ship the Thousand Sunny leaping into the air to escape and, seemingly impressed by it, smiled.[13]
Whitebeard War
Following the announcement of Portgas D. Ace's execution, Aokiji has been summoned to lead the Marines in the battle against the Whitebeard Pirates, and has arrived at Marine Headquarters. Aokiji sat over the execution platform of Portgas D. Ace with his fellow Marine Admirals, watching over it.[14] When Whitebeard's forces arrives and their captain used the Gura Gura no Mi powers to create two massive tidal waves, Aokiji freezes them both with Ice Age, but is shattered by one of Whitebeard's seismic waves, which the Admiral takes in stride. He then froze the bay water of Marineford, which not only held all the pirate ships from moving, but also served as a foothold for them.
Having reformed himself at some point, Aokiji can only remark at the motley crew that Luffy helped gather at Impel Down for his attempt at freeing Ace from the Marines.
After Whitebeard is attacked by Squardo, Aokiji follows Sengoku's orders and freezes Buggy and the Impel Down prisoners loyal to him, stopping them from showing the world any more of the battle.
When Whitebeard fires off a shockwave towards the execution platform itself, the three Admirals, including Aokiji, are seen raising their hands in order to block the sheer concussive force of the shockwave.
Later, when Luffy leaps over the siege wall, with a large piece of broken mast in hand, Aokiji comments on how, despite how far he's come, that Luffy still wasn't ready to 'play with the big boys'. When Luffy simply brings the broken mast piece to bear, Aokiji freezes it before it could somehow damage the three Admirals and watches as the frozen piece of wood smashes beneath the assault of kicks almost-immediately following it.
Luffy, having been (once more) being prevented from reaching the execution platform, then gets cornered by Aokiji. He comments that he is in debt to Luffy's grandfather but that he has no choice since Luffy himself chose this path of death for himself. He stabs Luffy through his shoulder with an Ice Saber and as he is about to impale him again, Marco intervenes and shatters the spear with a single kick that knocks Aokiji away from Luffy.
Aokiji is then seen blocking Whitebeard's bisento attack with his Ice Ball. After seeing that he failed to freeze Whitebeard's earthquake, he commented that he didn't know that earthquakes couldn't be frozen. He then got stabbed by Whitebeard's bisento, to which pirates are seen wondering if Aokiji was stabbed with Haki and if he was dead. Aokiji told them not to spout nonsense before grabbing the bisento and using his Ice Block Partisan attack. All of a sudden, Jozu attacks him and Aokiji is caught off-guard, even bleeding from his mouth.
When Jozu is distracted upon seeing Marco being shot by Kizaru's laser beam, Aokiji warns him that he shouldn't be getting distracted and freezes his left arm, and then his entire body, forcing him to fall over resulting in his left arm shattering, before commenting that the Whitebeard Pirates are finished. When Luffy unleashes a burst of Haōshoku Haki, Aokiji is seen shocked at his power. After Ace is freed, he attacks Ace and Luffy, but Ace blocked his attack with his fire. Aokiji is later seen with a solemn expression after witnessing Akainu striking Ace from behind with a magma fist. After Whitebeard's death, Aokiji froze the sea once again in order for the pirates not to leave Marineford.
When Jinbei tries to escape into Marineford Bay with Luffy and notices that it's been frozen over, Aokiji is seen nearby apologizing to Jinbei. As the Heart Pirates are leaving with Luffy in their submarine, Aokiji attempts to freeze them with an Ice Age, but the Heart Pirates submarine managed to elude him. After that, he stands down.
Post-War
After the war, Aokiji, in his office in Marineford with Commodore Smoker, comments on Luffy's return to Marineford and the ringing of the Ox Bell. The Admiral wonders if the Ox Bell ringing is some kind of message. Aokiji then spoke with Smoker about the Commodore's request for transfer to Marine outpost G-5 in the New World. Unsure of being able to grant his transfer, he assured he would negotiate with Sengoku for approval. Aokiji was recently nominated by Sengoku to be the next Fleet Admiral upon the latter's resignation. Two years after the war, it has been confirmed that the Marines have a new Fleet-Admiral, though whether it is Aokiji or not remains to be seen.
Major Battles
• Kuzan vs. Jaguar D. Saul
• Aokiji vs. Nico Robin
• Aokiji vs. Monkey D. Luffy, Roronoa Zoro and Sanji
• Aokiji vs. Monkey D. Luffy
• Aokiji vs. Whitebeard
• Aokiji vs. Buggy and Impel Down's escapees
• Aokiji, Kizaru and Akainu vs. Monkey D. Luffy
• Aokiji vs. Marco
• Aokiji vs. Whitebeard
• Aokiji vs. Jozu
• Aokiji vs. Portgas D. Ace
• Aokiji vs. Whitebeard Pirates
• Aokiji and Kizaru vs Monkey D. Luffy, Jinbei, and Heart Pirates (chasing them)
Trivia
* His name and other Admiral names (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotaro legends (Momotaro met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey)
* In the 4th Japanese Fan Poll, Aokiji is currently ranked as the 17th most popular character, making him the most popular of the Marines.
* The model for Aokiji's face is the late actor Yūsaku Matsuda. The character that the actor played in the TV series and movie "Detective Story" (Tantei Monogatari) even had a similar hairstyle, clothing and wore the same sleep mask design. Aokiji's birthday is even based upon Matsuda's.[15]
* Aokiji is featured in One Piece: Unlimited Adventure and both episodes of One Piece: Unlimited Cruise.
* He was the first Admiral to be named as well as the first Admiral to be encountered by the Straw Hat Pirates in both the manga and anime.
