Sakazuki

Sakazuki, formerly known by his admiral alias Akainu, is the current fleet admiral of the Marines, succeeding the previous fleet admiral, Sengoku. During the first half of the series, he was one of the three admirals, as the last one to debut. Upon becoming the fleet admiral, one of Sakazuki's first decisions was to relocate Marine Headquarters into the New World in preparation for the New Pirate Age.

In the manga, Akainu was first mentioned by Nico Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji. In the anime, he was mentioned earlier by vice admiral Jonathan during the anime-only G-8 Arc, which aired after Akainu had been revealed in the manga.

Sakazuki is perhaps the most strident follower of Absolute Justice in the entire series, to the point where his extremism prompted his fellow admiral Aokiji to oppose his promotion to fleet admiral and resign from the Marines after this effort failed. Because of his actions, Sakazuki is one of the three main antagonists of the Marineford Arc alongside Sengoku and Marshall D. Teach, and, after his promotion, he currently serves as one of main antagonists for the remainder of the One Piece series.

Appearance
Sakazuki is an incredibly tall, light-skinned, unusually muscular man (the most muscular of the former admirals and being on par with Sengoku and Garp). He's about as tall as his fellow admirals, with a square-shaped face, very pronounced facial features, and short black hair. He stands at 306 cm (10'), making him taller than other massive characters like Jinbe, who is 301 cm. He usually wears a standard Marine cap and sports a crimson, double-breasted suit, decorated with what appears to be a pink rose on his left buttonhole. Unlike many high-ranking Marines, he does not wear a tie, but instead leaves his light red colored flower-patterned shirt unbuttoned, showing his muscular neck and part of his tattoo. He wears black gloves and black shoes.

The tattoo on the left side of his chest is black (light blue in the anime), containing numerous images of flowers integrated into its design. Sakazuki'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 black sword on his right deltoids and a small part of the biceps. In the anime, his eye color is seen to be brown, and this was also shown in a colored drawing by Eiichiro Oda.

In his youth, Sakazuki wore an open red shirt, as well as a set of khaki pants held up with a loosely tied yellow-orange ribbed belt with a silver bullseye shaped buckle, and a pair of red sneakers. He also carried a katana on his back.

Twenty-two 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 Summit War of Marineford, his face was always hidden by the bill of his cap.

As a child, Sakazuki still had the grim disposition he retained as an adult. He also wore tattered clothes and carried a dagger. He wore a cap similar to the Marines' cap he would don in the future, except it has the kanji for "justice" instead.

After the timeskip, as a result of his intense battle with Kuzan at Punk Hazard, the right side of Sakazuki's neck and face are scarred, and a chunk of his right ear is missing. In addition to his injuries, he also grew a mustache and goatee. He has also replaced his trademark red suit for a white one, similar to what Sengoku wore when he was Fleet Admiral; however, Sakazuki still wears the same floral pattern shirt underneath and does not wear his black signature gloves. He continues to wear the standard Marine cap, though unlike his predecessor's, it does not have the life-sized seagull on top. He is also frequently seen smoking a cigar. Later during the Wano Country Arc, he appears to be wearing a darker suit once more, possibly a red one like his pre-timeskip suit.

Personality
While he is a strong and capable leader who has done well to consolidate the power and prestige of the Marines, Sakazuki would be best categorized as an extremist and highly dogmatic. He is an adamant believer in Absolute Justice and is ruthless in his maintenance of it, his derived motto being "Thorough Justice" (徹底的な正義). He has a stern, dead-serious disposition, is grim, expressionless, and was the most ruthless out of three admirals pre-timeskip. This has given him a very fearsome reputation, but of greater concern is his dogmatism, which may end up making the Marines into a force that is worse than the enemies they hope to eliminate. Despite this disposition, Sakazuki seems to be able to restrain himself at times, having chosen to spare the life of Jewelry Bonney and her crew after they were left beaten and tied by the Blackbeard Pirates for the then-admiral to salvage, and letting his colleague Aokiji leave the Marines after he lost a ten-day duel for the position of fleet admiral.

We have to be thorough! If even one of those scholars made it onto that ship, all of the sacrifices we've made will have been for naught! We must eliminate the very possibility of this "evil" existing!!

During the Buster Call attack on Ohara, Sakazuki's beliefs led him to go as far as destroying a refugee ship full of innocent people and Marines simply because of the slight possibility that a scholar could be hiding on board, an action that disgusted Vice-Admiral Kuzan (who called him a "fool" and an "idiot" for overdoing things). Sakazuki's logic was that if even one of the scholars of Ohara had escaped with it, the entire mission would have been a failure. His extremism has given him a borderline, if not outright fanatic demeanor. He is incredibly rigid and absolute in his beliefs, showing little compassion for anyone or anything, and is ruthlessly willing to do whatever it takes to serve his own goals, no matter the cost. He mostly sees the Marines as an extension of himself and his own beliefs, willing to kill those who disagree with him, and showing little if any care for people placed under his charge. While this has made him extremely powerful and feared among pirates, the same fear inspires discontent and loathing by his own men, causing him to lose a very useful and powerful ally in Kuzan because of it. Garp was also enraged that his fanatic obsession for destroying pirates resulted in the death of Ace and the near death of Luffy, though it is unclear if a rift between them has further deepened or caused further dissent among Marines who believe in either's viewpoint. The best example of his absolutism is when he attempted to kill Koby for his plea to stop the war, only to be stopped by the timely arrival of Shanks. His extremism also caused him to bar Admiral Fujitora from ever entering a Marine base due to his prostration in Dressrosa, though it was mostly because Sakazuki could not stand to see his version of justice and honor shamed because his enemies showcased its own failure. Fujitora rightly pointed out that Sakazuki's version of Justice had no credibility or honor in the first place if it was that fragile, which only inflamed Sakazuki's rage further, seeing it as a personal slight.

Additionally, he has no tolerance for Marines who desert their posts, to which the only consolation he does offer is that they should not dishonor their families by running away. Caesar Clown also believed that Sakazuki would desire his ideas of mass-murder weapons and inhumane experimentation on prisoners, in contrast to the more pragmatic Sengoku. To Akainu, any Marine who is not willing to fight for justice is not worthy of being called a Marine. Despite all of this, even Sakazuki could not come to kill his former compatriot, Kuzan.

As Fleet Admiral, Sakazuki holds immense pride in the name of the Marines. For example, when he learned that Fujitora had let the world know of what transpired in Dressrosa, Sakazuki was furious. His pride is so great he would rather cover up the ordeal to ensure that the Marines are adamant and credible to his doctrine of Absolute Justice. This conceited behavior even led to him yelling at the Five Elders for declaring Doflamingo's resignation from the Warlords of the Sea as a false report, as he knew the world's confusion would damage their trust in the Marines as well as the Marines' reputation. This shows that he does know the value of public trust, but thinks more in terms of the shame losing it brings to the Marines, rather than the morale and good standing of his men. Despite the importance of his position, he found it rather frustrating that it prevented him from entering the battlefield himself.

Despite his position as an admiral prior to promotion, Akainu is willing to lie to and deceive his enemies in order to achieve Justice. So far, Akainu's manipulations have been incredibly successful, such as when he managed to deceive Squard through Sengoku's master strategy, 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. Furthermore, he seems to be unafraid of older legends, as when Whitebeard told his men not to be intimidated by Garp due to the Marine being an old man, Akainu mocked Whitebeard's comment, saying that Whitebeard was also from the same generation as Garp before attacking the Emperor. While other Marines such as Sengoku and Garp share a decent amount of respect for their accomplished enemies, Akainu has no such empathy, instead disparaging them at every chance he gets.

Prior to Sengoku making it public, Akainu was 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 higher-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 therefore must be eliminated. In fact, Akainu's beliefs about heritage run deep enough that he declares that even if every other pirate escape, he would personally ensure that neither Ace nor Luffy were allowed to leave the war alive due to their bloodlines. This conviction fueled Akainu to the point of actively hunting Luffy himself, even though Blackbeard was destroying Marineford at the time.

Sakazuki does not see it as the business of the World Nobles to interfere with the Marines' activities and vice versa. This was proven during his confrontation with the Five Elders, where he disparages them for permitting the Celestial Dragons' CP0 to falsify Donquixote Doflamingo's resignation from the Warlords of the Sea, even questioning whether the Five Elders are the Celestial Dragons' puppets.

Surprisingly, Sakazuki can demonstrate sense of caution in regard to battling pirates or causing disturbances in global affairs. This was seen when he did not attempt to attack Shanks when he arrived at Marineford to save Koby. Also, despite Borsalino's request to travel to Wano Country to deal with the possible alliance of the Beasts Pirates and Big Mom Pirates, he declines it citing that Wano's military strength is an unknown factor and they are not within their jurisdiction. However, he considers being Fleet Admiral frustrating when he is forced to wait for the conclusion of the Blackbeard Pirates and Heart Pirates' battle. Akainu also tells his subordinates to not let Rob Lucci fight Luffy until Kizaru arrives at Egghead.

Marines
As the Marine fleet admiral, Sakazuki has command over the entire organization. Marines respect him and use to call him "Admiral Sakazuki" most of the time, as opposed to his epithet.

Nevertheless, his ruthless adherence to "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 will easily kill any Marines who contradict his beliefs, as he executed a soldier for leaving his post in fear, and even made an attempt on Koby's life for voicing his objections for taking the war too far.

Despite his ruthlessness, Sakazuki is willing to keep the Marines' numbers for himself when the Marines' military power isn't strong enough to match Kaidou and Big Mom's alliance.

Kizaru
Upon Sakazuki's rise to Fleet Admiral, Kizaru became a confidant to share his counsel, often offering helpful advice and being someone for him to share his personal frustrations over the growing threat of piracy, especially the Straw Hats. Kizaru has shown to be the closest thing Sakazuki has to a friend among the Marines.. When Kizaru asked Sakazuki to let him handle duties on Wano, Sakazuki tells him to wait since they do not know how powerful the samurai are. When hearing Kizaru was heading to Egghead, Sakazuki allowed him to go to the island in order to help Rob Lucci deal with Luffy.

Aokiji
While it is unknown what their relationship was like before, Aokiji has had nothing but hatred for Akainu ever since his horrendous action during the Ohara Incident, calling him a fool for overdoing things. When it was announced that Akainu would succeed Sengoku as fleet admiral, Aokiji strongly opposed this and dueled him for the position. Their fierce battle ended after ten days with Sakazuki achieving victory. Refusing to serve under his former comrade, Kuzan decided to leave the Marines and resign from the position of admiral.

Though Sakazuki mocked Kuzan's decision when it was brought up by the Five Elders, he also claimed to show no concern for his activities. Additionally, though their battle was supposed to be a battle to the death, Sakazuki - in a rare act of kindness - chose to spare Kuzan upon his victory over him, rather than put him to his end.

Monkey D. Garp
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, but mostly for sharing his lineage with criminals like Dragon and Luffy. Garp, in turn, tried to murder Akainu for executing Ace, and had to be restrained by Sengoku. It is unclear whether this has caused a further rift to develop between the two men or caused any problems within the Marines that prefer Garp or Akainu's version of Justice.

Sengoku
Akainu did not seem to have any problems with Sengoku when he was his subordinate before the timeskip. This was seen when he grudgingly complied with Sengoku's order to end all hostilities of the Marineford War and permitting the Whitebeard Pirates to leave. However, after succeeding Sengoku in his position as fleet admiral, he was annoyed by Sengoku's amusement at Issho using a loophole to enter Mary Geoise and did not hesitate to insult him. That being said, he still respectfully addressed him when the Marines were discussing the bounties of the most notorious pirates. Sakazuki and Sengoku then talked about Kozuki Oden.

Fujitora


Sakazuki's relationship with Admiral Fujitora is also strained. Although they seemed to be on amicable terms previously, as he initially put an immense amount of trust in him since he believed that Issho can stop Law and Luffy, and Issho could address Sakazuki with the nickname Saka-san without it bothering him. This friendly status changed when Issho took matters into his own hands during the incident in Dressrosa, by putting his faith in pirates to defeat Doflamingo as well as bowing apologetically to King Riku for the World Government allowing Doflamingo to torment their kingdom for so long. Furious over Issho humiliating the Marines, and by extension Sakazuki himself, Sakazuki ordered Issho to kill Law and Luffy and reiterated that he would not allow any Marine bases to take him in until he accomplished that goal, with which Issho was content, as his opinion of the Marines and their sense of justice was disparaging.

Despite their quarrel, Sakazuki kept Issho in the loop of recent events such as the dissolution of the Seven Warlords system and the alliance between Kaidou and Big Mom. Issho even gave assurance that the new SSG will balance things out.

Ryokugyu
Aramaki greatly respects Sakazuki to the point where the admiral voluntarily went to Wano Country to kill or capture Monkey D. Luffy to gain Sakazuki's respect and accolade, despite Sakazuki telling him not do so. Aramaki also strongly believes in a more stringently fundamentalist and totalitarian version of Absolute Justice where "hierarchy breeds stability". Simultaneously, Sakazuki trusts Aramaki and his abilities enough to become an admiral during the World Military Draft.

World Government
Sakazuki is shown to have absolute loyalty to the World Government and is an extreme follower of their doctrine of Absolute Justice. When Sengoku stepped down as Fleet Admiral, many in the upper echelons nominated him to be Sengoku's replacement.

Five Elders
Even though he is loyal to the World Government, he was outraged when he was informed that the report given to Marine Headquarters about Doflamingo's resignation from the Seven Warlords of the Sea was fraudulent. He even personally argued with the Five Elders concerning the matter. During that heated argument, Sakazuki criticized how much work they issued because of Doflamingo. Sakazuki even insulted, provoked, and mocked them, stating that they had been "walked over by the Celestial Dragons' puppets", testing his limits and showing that he does not agree with everything the Five Elders do. After Sakazuki complained to the elders about how Doflamingo's actions would make him look as Fleet Admiral, they retorted that Sakazuki's reputation does not matter to them. They also provoked him by bringing up his old colleague's recent acts. However, Sakazuki did not fall for their taunts as he told them that Kuzan left the Marines when he became fleet admiral and it has nothing to do with them.

World Nobles
Despite his loyalty to the World Government, Sakazuki believes that World Nobles are not to interfere with the Marines' activities and vice-versa. Because of this, he was outraged when he learned that the report given to Marine Headquarters about Doflamingo's resignation from the Warlords of the Sea had been falsified by CP0. This caused a heated argument between him and the Five Elders, during which he accused them of having been overstepped by CP0, referring to the organization as the "Celestial Dragons' puppets".

CP0
Sakazuki seems to despise CP0 and, during an argument with the Five Elders, he even refers to them as the "Celestial Dragons' puppets". In One Piece Film: Gold, he has an argument with Rob Lucci about his requests for the Marines to support Gild Tesoro, provocatively asking him for how long CP0 will be "Tesoro's lapdogs", to which Lucci replies that supporting Tesoro is necessary for CP0's mission and that, therefore, Akainu must "shut up" and comply with the order. This audacious answer angers Sakazuki, who tells Lucci to mind his words.

When hearing that Luffy is at Egghead, Sakazuki ordered his soldiers to stop Rob Lucci from fighting Luffy until Kizaru arrives. Unfortunately for Sakazuki, Rob Lucci disobeyed the Fleet Admiral's direct order and fought Luffy but he lost to him for a second time.

Seven Warlords of the Sea
Even though the Warlords of the Sea were on the World Government's side, Sakazuki saw them as nothing more than pirates and believed they could not be trusted. Despite this, Sakazuki saw them as a necessary evil and was unhappy that the Warlord system was abolished, but Admiral Fujitora believes the reason why Sakazuki thinks this way is because Sakazuki has never personally suffered from the Warlords the same way others have.

Edward Newgate
During the war at Marineford, Akainu tricked Squard into stabbing Whitebeard. When Whitebeard was unleashing his Gura Gura no Mi powers at the plaza, Akainu engaged him in combat, trying to prevent him from causing any more significant damage to Marineford. After he provoked and killed the second division commander Ace, Whitebeard brutally injured Akainu. During the ensuing conflict, Akainu burned off a portion of Whitebeard's head.

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 then admiral. Akainu, in turn, viewed Ace as one of the two most dangerous individuals (the other one being Luffy) in the world, due to his father being Gol D. Roger.

Akainu feigned sympathy towards Squard 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 have been killed. Whitebeard himself brutally injured Akainu (an example of this would be when Akainu was placed at the epicenter of a shockwave, courtesy of the Gura Gura no Mi) 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
Is every single one of you... willing to die for the sake of that kid? Due to Luffy being the son of the Revolutionary Dragon, Akainu views him as the most dangerous threat to the world, along with Ace, and possesses an immensely dangerous obsession with ending Luffy's life. 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 showed frustration when Shanks' intervention allowed Luffy to escape. Even though he failed to take Luffy's life during the war, he managed to give Luffy an X-shaped scar that covers most of his chest. Furthermore, Akainu did the only thing that no one else could do in the entire series: completely break Luffy's spirit.

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 costs. Two years after the war at Marineford, he wasted little time in sending an admiral to capture or kill him. On the other hand, Luffy holds great hatred towards Akainu for killing his brother, although after learning of Akainu's promotion, he was quick to return to his old carefree attitude after a brief moment of anger.

After Luffy defeated Doflamingo, Sakazuki was shocked and angry over the incident and during a heated argument with Fujitora, Sakazuki demanded him to arrest Luffy. Akainu became even more enraged by Luffy's fame after the Totto-Land incident. After Kaido and Big Mom's downfall as well Luffy becoming an Emperor, Akainu's anger towards Luffy's fame continues to get even worse. When hearing Luffy is at Egghead, Akainu shows his anger when Luffy wants to declare war, he could have consulted with the Fleet Admiral first. Sakazuki sent Kizaru to deal with Luffy and help Lucci.

Luffy, in turn, has shown his greatest hatred towards Fleet Admiral Sakazuki for murdering his brother Ace and placing a massive scar on his chest as well, thus becoming one of the future Emperor's archnemeses (besides Blackbeard).

Jinbe
Akainu considers Jinbe a traitor after his resignation from the Warlords of the Sea and for cooperating with Luffy. Although he was more interested in taking Luffy's life, he showed absolutely no mercy to Jinbe on the battlefield and attempted to kill him numerous times while Jinbe was protecting Luffy. Jinbe is aware of how dangerous Akainu is and wasted no time in warning the Straw Hats about how ruthless the Marines have become under his command.

Crocodile
During the war at Marineford, the former Warlord of the Sea Crocodile became enemies with Akainu. When Akainu attempted to kill both Luffy and Jinbe, Crocodile intercepted Akainu by using Desert Grande Espada.

Jewelry Bonney
After learning of Jewelry Bonney's whereabouts, Akainu said that the World Government had been worried due to her disappearance, and Bonney replied that she hates the World Government and the Marines.

Trafalgar D. Water Law
After learning that Law formed an alliance with Luffy, Sakazuki was deeply concerned with Law's actions and sent Fujitora to Dressrosa to capture both him and Luffy. After his heated argument with Fujitora, Sakazuki ordered him to arrest Luffy and Law. When hearing Law is clashing with Blackbeard at Winner Island, Akainu was angered as he was forced to wait for the outcome.

Shanks
Shanks intervened on Sakazuki's attempt to kill Koby, while Sakazuki was shocked to see him at Marineford. Aware of Shanks' threat, Sakazuki made no attempt to attack him though the latter earned Akainu's fury because his arrival had allowed Luffy to escape his grasp.

Marshall D. Teach
Two years ago, when Blackbeard arrived at Marineford and stole Whitebeard's Devil Fruit power, Akainu heard his speech but ignored him to pursue and attempt to kill Luffy which ended in failure. After the war at Marineford, Akainu was sent to deal with Blackbeard, but Blackbeard and his crew got away, due to knowing his threat. Hearing that Blackbeard is fighting against Law, Akainu shown enraged when he was forced to wait for the outcome between Blackbeard and Law.

Abilities and Powers
Under the command of Fleet Admiral Sakazuki, Marine Headquarters has become an even more powerful "army of justice".

As fleet admiral, Sakazuki has total operational command of the Marines, with at present only six direct superiors to answer to: the World Government's Five Elders and Commander-in-Chief. On top of any prior-held authorities as admiral (e.g., issuing special orders like the enactment of a Buster Call on any island he deems a threat, at any time, and granting others such privilege), Sakazuki can now fully lay down the organization's strategy, decide tactics and set policy, discretionally assign and reassign forces to deploy globally in missions (including the admirals), promote or demote the lower ranks, and delegate any such powers as he sees fit; during the two-year timeskip, he exercised his authority to have the Marine Headquarters relocated to the New World as well as institute a global-scale draft.

In terms of combat, Sakazuki as the current fleet admiral is among the world's strongest figures, having been held with his fellow admirals as the World Government's "Greatest Military Force" (i.e., the strongest individual combatants that it can offer, feared by criminals the world over).

Sakazuki's background, specifically as a black-hearted extremist, affords him a particularly fearsome repute even by admiral standards, as seen chiefly following the Summit War when Blackbeard, upon learning of Sakazuki's presence aboard a Marine ship meant for negotiations, immediately fled off the island he dwelt on with his crew, noting their unreadiness to face the admiral despite Blackbeard, at that point, having come to wield two of the strongest Devil Fruit powers in existence and bolstered his crew with five of Impel Down's most dangerous and powerful ex-prisoners.

During the Summit War, Sakazuki's fighting prowess was well-established against Whitebeard, an Emperor and the world's strongest man, whom the admiral matched up to in a head-to-head confrontation. While Whitebeard managed to gain the upper hand against and delivered a serious blow to Sakazuki in their second clash, the admiral did the same and melted off half of Whitebeard's face in exchange. After being left to fall into a chasm caused by the enraged Emperor's quakes, Sakazuki would soon recover and reenter the battle.

Further during the war, Sakazuki proved himself firmly superior to Ace, one of Whitebeard's strongest division commanders despite his young age, effortlessly overpowering Ace in a clash; beforehand, Ace had more or less soundly fended off Aokiji (though in fairness, Sakazuki enjoyed the inherent superiority of his own ability over Ace's, unlike the other admiral). Soon following Whitebeard's rage-fueled onslaught on him, Sakazuki reemerged in what still seemed perfect fighting condition, managing to take down in little time, with utmost ease, a Revolutionary Army commander and deputy commander simultaneously, then another of Whitebeard's commanders. Ultimately, Sakazuki proved to be so unstoppable that not even the likes of Jinbe (a former Warlord of the Sea), both Marco and Vista at once (two of Whitebeard's strongest men), and later (despite Sakazuki's injuries) the collective of most of Whitebeard's commanders (minus Ace and Jozu), alongside some of Whitebeard's subordinate captains and Crocodile (yet another ex-Warlord), could do anything more than slow down the admiral, merely stalling for time in Luffy's escape from him. It took another Emperor, Shanks, to appear and personally stop Sakazuki for him to desist from his pursuit. Ultimately, Sakazuki left the war with no wounds other than those dealt by Whitebeard.

Sakazuki would later find his equal in then-fellow admiral Kuzan, their one-on-one duel on Punk Hazard seeing them evenly matched and meeting another blow for blow through most of a ten-day duration; while both men sustained grievous injuries, Sakazuki was the one to prevail and emerge as the victor, with his longtime comrade supposedly left at his mercy.

Leadership and Intelligence
Attesting to Sakazuki's perceived leadership competencies and military acumen, he had many dignitaries of the government strongly push for him to succeed Sengoku as fleet admiral, over the latter's personal nomination of Kuzan. While known, feared, and disdained by some for his hardline, over-the-top methods, Sakazuki's prowess as a leader is undeniable. Indeed, as noted by Jinbe, the Marine HQ under him has grown far stronger and more determined than ever before, despite the resignations of Kuzan, Sengoku, and Garp, thus bearing out Sakazuki's capabilities.

Beside combat, Sakazuki is a shrewd manipulator, using whatever knowledge he holds of enemies to try to deceive them into doing what conforms with his goals. He feigned sympathy to Squard, exploiting his hatred of the late Pirate King to influence him into betraying his loyalty to Whitebeard, and later purposefully insulted Whitebeard's honor to goad Ace into attacking him, successfully doing so as to prevent Ace from escaping, and killing him shortly after by aiming for his younger brother and letting Ace take the blow in the former's stead.

Physical Abilities


As with all admirals, Sakazuki's physical prowess is immense. His raw physical strength was enough for him to go up against and clash evenly with Whitebeard in close quarters—the "Strongest Man in the World" who, in his old age, could still overpower a giant's strength easily. Using a single leg, Sakazuki held back a two-handed swing of the elder's large naginata, which came clad in a quake bubble to massively enhance its power.

Perhaps most impressive, however, are Sakazuki's vast durability and endurance, best illustrated by how not even two successive, point-blank quake punches from Whitebeard (one to his neck and another to his midsection, and both coming imbued with Haki, further increasing damage) could keep him down, the second blow strong enough to split the island of Marineford in two as a side-effect (in retrospect, a relatively weaker version of the same quake attack had sufficed to incapacitate a vice admiral giant). Sakazuki retained not only consciousness thereafter but had enough strength left to keep on fighting without at any point evincing exhaustion or impediment by injury, with only some bleeding visible on his face. Another testament to his stamina, endurance, and willpower is Sakazuki's face-off against Kuzan, in which he equaled the other admiral for ten days total, in the process of which both men suffered heavy injuries; despite the sheer amount of time their duel took to settle, Sakazuki emerged the decisive winner over Kuzan.

Otherwise, Sakazuki has shown himself quite fast, using his powers to propel himself forward at great speeds. He can easily gain ground on others that are noticeably fast and in flight from him, as seen with Jinbe whom the admiral caught up with swiftly despite the former's head start that resulted from the powerful people trying to keep Sakazuki at bay. Additionally, the admiral has shown acute hearing, able to perceive underwater movements from afar.

Devil Fruit


Sakazuki ate the Magu Magu no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to create, control, and transform his body into magma. His magma is extremely hot and highly explosive, thus making it well-suited for combat, allowing Sakazuki to burn, melt, and destroy anything in his path—in fact, among all Devil Fruits, Sakazuki's is said to offer the greatest attack power.

Sakazuki's primary method of combat is transforming his arms into magma to launch burning punches (or clawed thrusts) that can easily penetrate human bodies, drastically enlarge his arms to throw forward giant magma fists meant to reach enemies farther away, and even launch multiple magma fists as a barrage of meteor-like projectiles, devastating the battlefield. Otherwise, he has been seen shaping his magma fist into a fanged dog head, as a nod to his animal motif.

Beside the invulnerability of Sakazuki's magma body against all but Haki attacks, its heat has enemies heavily discouraged from coming near and striking him physically, lest they be burned. Also, his powers bestow him high maneuverability; he can melt himself through anything in his path, even tunneling through the very ground, and can briefly fly using jet bursts of magma to propel himself.

Even for a Logia, this ability has great potential and power; when used excessively by Sakazuki for ten days, it warped the very climate of half an island, permanently rendering it a blazing inferno that embroils even the surrounding sea.

Haki
As the fleet admiral of the marines, Sakazuki is a highly skilled Haki user.

Busoshoku Haki


During the Summit War, Sakazuki was seen using advanced-grade Busoshoku Haki to block and disperse a long-distance quake shockwave sent out by Whitebeard, by generating, with his fellow admirals, an emitted shield combination of their three Haki.

Kenbunshoku Haki
Sakazuki possesses the ability to use Kenbunshoku Haki.

Weapons
Sakazuki was seen wielding a dagger as a child and a red-hilted katana during his youth as a Marine.

Childhood
Sakazuki was born in the North Blue. It was clear that he lived a rough childhood, as he already had a grim disposition, and a sense of justice showcased on the hat he wore.

Joining the Marines
At the age of 23, Sakazuki joined the Marines alongside a 26-year-old Borsalino. Sakazuki and Borsalino came under the tutelage of instructor Zephyr. The two were already considered "monsters".

A Storm in the Edd War
Three years before the death of the Pirate King, Sakazuki was on Marineford when the Marines learned that the Roger Pirates and the Golden Lion Pirates were about to battle in the Edd War. Hearing this, Monkey D. Garp walked out of the meeting, with Sakazuki, Kuzan, Jaguar D. Saul, Tsuru and others doing the same.

Ohara Incident
Sakazuki was one of the five vice admirals leading the Buster Call bombardment on Ohara. He ordered the destruction of an evacuation ship of civilians and soldiers, claiming it needed to be destroyed in case even a single scholar managed to sneak on board.

At some point after the Ohara Incident, Sakazuki was promoted to admiral and given the code name, "Akainu".

Amazon Lily Arc
Vice Admiral Momonga mentioned to Boa Hancock that the three Marine admirals, including Akainu, would lead the Marines against the Whitebeard Pirates following the announcement of Portgas D. Ace's execution.

Marineford Arc


Following the gathering at Marineford, Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru sat beneath the execution platform for Ace. After the Whitebeard Pirates' allies appeared near Marineford, the Admirals sensed Whitebeard and four of his ships underwater, before they surfaced in Marineford's bay. As Whitebeard and his subordinates declared war on the Marines, Akainu and the other Admirals grumbled about the trouble. When Whitebeard's quakes formed tsunamis that threatened Marineford, Akainu remained seated while Aokiji froze the giant waves and the bay and Kizaru attacked Whitebeard directly. Akainu finally stood up when Jozu hurled a massive iceberg at the Marine base. After vaporizing the iceberg with a magma punch, Akainu showered the battlefield with molten rock, destroying one of Whitebeard's ships.

Akainu later confronted a Marine officer who was fleeing from the battle not wanting to die out of concern for his family. Akainu brutally executed the officer for this "cowardice", much to the horror of Koby and Helmeppo who were watching (having nearly run into the admiral themselves while doing the same thing). Akainu then received a report on the Den Den Mushi that the preparations for Sengoku's plan were set. Upon Monkey D. Luffy's sudden arrival at Marineford, Akainu acknowledged that Luffy, as the son of Monkey D. Dragon, also needed to be eliminated.

Following Sengoku's orders, Akainu talked to Captain Squard, one of Whitebeard's allies, and convinced him that Whitebeard had betrayed his allies in exchange for Ace's life. He warned Squard that the Marines' counterattack would target the allies instead of Whitebeard and his direct subordinates. Akainu claimed to not agree with this operation and offered to spare Squard and his crew if he betrayed Whitebeard. After an hour and a half of battle, the Marines preparations were complete, so Sengoku prepared to execute Ace early and called for the broadcast to be ended as the Pacifistas closed off the pirates' retreat from the bay. Seeing the Marines' attack play out as Akainu had said, Squard stabbed Whitebeard in the chest.

Whitebeard survived Squard's attack, however, and forgave his ally. Whitebeard then shattered the frozen waves so his allies could escape if they wanted. Meanwhile, he charged at the Marines. After shaking the whole island and the waters around it, Whitebeard sent a quake at the execution platform, but the three Admirals together managed to deflect the attack. Akainu complained that Aokiji's ice was blocking the walls from rising, and Kizaru pointed out that Akainu could melt the ice. Once the walls eventually rose up, Akainu sent another shower of molten rock, melting the remaining ice beneath the pirates and destroying the Moby Dick. While the pirates aimed for the gap in the wall where Little Oars Jr. blocked a section from rising, Jinbe sent Luffy in a stream of water over the wall. Luffy landed in front of the Admirals and immediately attacked them. They were unfazed by his attacks due to their Logia intangibility, and when he tried to run past them, Kizaru kicked him aside.



After Whitebeard and his crew successfully entered the plaza, Akainu confronted Whitebeard and stopped the swing of his naginata, since the attacks threatened to destroy the island. Whitebeard then told him he should try and protect it, and their Devil Fruit powers clashed with each other. When Monkey D. Garp joined the battle, Whitebeard told his men that Garp was just an old man and that they should not be fooled. Akainu retaliated and said that Whitebeard himself was also of the same generation. The two clashed again, causing another rampage in Marineford. Akainu was angry at Whitebeard and shouted at him for destroying the city, and Whitebeard repeated what he said before and told him he should protect it. Suddenly, Whitebeard grabbed his chest and coughed up a massive amount of blood, and Akainu commented on how Whitebeard could not escape the effects of old age. Taking full advantage of the Emperor's weakness, Akainu landed a devastating blow, burning a hole into Whitebeard's chest. With Whitebeard further weakened, Sengoku ordered more Marines to attack the Emperor, and Akainu stood by and watched the Marines attack. After their attacks landed, Whitebeard summoned strength to cut them down, and his allies gathered to guard his back.

When Luffy unleashed a wave of Haoshoku Haki to save Ace from the second execution attempt, Akainu noticed that Luffy used the power unconsciously. As Luffy raced up to the execution platform, Akainu watched as Garp confronted his own grandson. Garp hesitated in his attack, allowing Luffy to knock him down.



Once Luffy freed Ace, Akainu assured his men that there was nothing to worry about, since the two pirate brothers were going to be captured again and executed. When Whitebeard ordered his pirates to retreat while he stayed behind, Akainu pursued Luffy and Ace, and provoked Ace into attacking him by repeatedly disparaging Whitebeard. After Ace's attack backfired, Akainu said that his magma can smother Ace's fire and was thus able to injure Ace despite his Logia intangibility, making him his natural enemy. He went on to state that both Luffy and Ace deserved to be executed due to their parentage and attacked Luffy, but Ace threw himself in the way. Ace took Akainu's devastating attack through his torso, fatally injuring him. Akainu tried to finish off Ace, but Jinbe blocked the punch, burning his arm in the process. Marco and Vista then attacked Akainu, who found their Busoshoku Haki attacks to be nuisances. Shortly after, Ace succumbed to his injury.



While the others were distraught over Ace's death, Akainu charged at the comatose Luffy, but Marco blocked the attack. As Jinbe grabbed Luffy and ran, Akainu reiterated his intention to kill both pirate brothers. Enraged at the death of Ace, Whitebeard attacked Akainu, striking him from the back with a crippling blow. Akainu got back up and attacked back, burning off a portion of Whitebeard's head. Whitebeard then gave the admiral another devastating blow, sending him falling into a crater.

After the Blackbeard Pirates killed Whitebeard, Akainu tunneled underground, emerging in front of Jinbe, and demanded that the fish-man hand over Luffy, but Jinbe refused, stating that he would protect Luffy with his life. Akainu then prepared to attack, but Emporio Ivankov and other Whitebeard allies interrupted. Akainu later heard Blackbeard as he declared to the entire world that the age of Blackbeard had begun. Despite Blackbeard's grave announcement and his newly acquired power, Akainu continued pursuing Luffy and burned through the pirates in his way. As Jinbe leaped into the bay, Aokiji froze the water, preventing the fish-man from using it, and Akainu's magma punch then pierced through Jinbe and struck Luffy, critically injuring both of them. Akainu offered to end Luffy's suffering, but Crocodile cut the Admiral in half and launched Luffy and Jinbe up into the air, where Buggy happened to catch them. Akainu tried to attack Buggy, but as the pirate flew away, the Whitebeard Pirates and Crocodile stood in the Admiral's way.



In a blind rage, Akainu took down Curiel and called for the Marines to slaughter the pirates. When Koby stood in Akainu's path and yelled for the fighting to stop, the Admiral was outraged by the insubordination and attacked Koby. His punch was blocked by Shanks, who had come to end the war. Akainu was further aggravated that Shanks' interference had allowed Luffy to escape. After Aokiji's and Kizaru's failed attempts to stop the Polar Tang, Sengoku complied with Shanks' demands and called for an end to the war, which displeased Akainu.

Post-War Arc


When the crew's raft was damaged because of the size of Sanjuan Wolf, Teach took Jewelry Bonney and her crew as a means of exchange with the World Government for a new ship. The Marines did not seem to accept the exchange, since Akainu was sent to the island. Blackbeard and his crew escaped, and left Bonney behind. Akainu faced Bonney and said that the World Government had been worried due to her disappearance, and Bonney replied that she hates the World Government and the Marines.

A Rise in Rank


Sakazuki was nominated for the position of fleet admiral after Sengoku had retired. Kuzan, however, was against the idea of having him become the new fleet admiral and the two admirals battled each other for the position on Punk Hazard. The battle lasted for ten days, and their respective powers caused Punk Hazard to permanently be frozen on one half and burning on the other. In the end, Sakazuki ended up as the victor of that battle, although both men were seriously wounded. Sakazuki, however, decided to let Kuzan live because they were comrades.

His new leadership had given the Marines a stronger sense of Absolute Justice. Not wanting to serve under Sakazuki, Kuzan decided to resign from the Marines. After becoming fleet admiral, Sakazuki decided to relocate the Marine Headquarters to the New World in exchange for the Marine branch.

As fleet admiral, Sakazuki instituted a mandatory draft to bolster the forces of the Marines; Admirals Fujitora and Ryokugyu were recruited in this draft.

3D2Y
When Byrnndi World and the World Pirates made their return and threatened the Government, Sakazuki and the Marines, summoned by Buggy, ambushed World's ship and began to attack it, during which Sakazuki did heavy damage with his magma powers.

One Piece Film: Z


After Borsalino informed him of Z's return, Sakazuki ordered a summit meeting at the new Marine Headquarters. He was enraged of hearing the news of the Dyna Stones being stolen and the destruction of the Marine base at Firs Island. Reluctantly, he dispatched Borsalino and six vice admirals to eliminate him and the Neo Marines, while quietly wishing that he did not have to resort to killing their former instructor.

Dressrosa Arc
After Donquixote Doflamingo supposedly renounced his title of Warlord of the Sea and Luffy and Trafalgar Law formed an alliance, Sakazuki and the other high-ranking marines discussed the next course of action. After he declared that he would not let Law and Luffy do whatever they wanted, Sakazuki asserted that the situation would be cleared in a day and noted that he had sent Admiral Fujitora to take care of it.

Later, Sakazuki communicated with Fujitora via Den Den Mushi to inform him that the report given to Marine Headquarters regarding Doflamingo's resignation was fraudulent, and noted the situation was infuriating, and that he was heading to Mary Geoise to confront the Five Elders about it.



Sakazuki later had a meeting with the Five Elders and a heated argument broke out between them. After learning that the false news about Doflamingo leaving the Warlords of the Sea was by the order of the World Nobles, he angrily asked the Five Elders why the whole world had to be misled for Doflamingo's sake, noting that if an incident like this were to occur again, he as fleet admiral would be disgraced. The Five Elders ignored him, saying that they were not concerned with his reputation as the Marines were only the public face of the World Government. When he was told that the case had been left to the Cipher Pol, Sakazuki retorted that even the Five Elders had been walked over by the "Celestial Dragons' puppets". The Five Elders responded in anger, blaming Sakazuki for Kuzan joining Blackbeard. Sakazuki replied that Kuzan's actions after he left the Marines were not his concern. Suddenly, a Marine interrupted the meeting and reported about what had transpired on Dressrosa.

Sakazuki then contacted Fujitora and scolded him for allowing the true news of what transpired at Dressrosa to spread throughout the world without approval. The two angrily argued about the World Government's cover-ups and justice, and ultimately, Sakazuki demanded Fujitora to bring back the heads of Luffy and Law as recompense for his actions at Dressrosa, and forbade Fujitora from entering any Marine base until he carried out this order.

One Piece Film: Gold
In Marine Headquarters, Sakazuki received a report from Rob Lucci about the Marines sending forces to aid Gild Tesoro. Sakazuki was not happy about serving a pirate, but Lucci replied that the World Government had motives of its own.

Levely Arc
While reading the newspaper detailing Luffy's exploits at Totto Land, Sakazuki received a report that Komane, the princess of the Lulusia Kingdom, was kidnapped by pirates, making him furious and questioning why the escort allowed that to happen.

He was later enraged to hear that Fujitora arrived at Mary Geoise when he had not yet claimed the heads of Luffy and Law and refused to consider the admiral's reasoning. When Sengoku popped his head through the doorway and asked him if being fleet admiral was difficult, Sakazuki told him to shut up.

After the Marines intercepted a communication between Big Mom and Kaidou, Borsalino asked if he should go to handle the situation. Sakazuki told him to wait because they did not know the strength of Wano Country's forces.

One Piece: World Seeker
Suspicious about what was happening on Jail Island, Sakazuki eventually landed on the island and fought against Luffy and then Sabo. Their battle was interrupted by Fujitora, as the island needed to be evacuated.

One Piece: Stampede
Sakazuki sent Kizaru with a fleet to Delta Island in order to surround and trap the pirates on the island. With the growing threat of Douglas Bullet's rampage, Sakazuki ordered a Buster Call on the island.

Afterward, Sakazuki was enraged that the Supernovas managed to escape.

Wano Country Arc
After the Warlord system was abolished, Sakazuki spoke to Fujitora via Den Den Mushi and explained that the timing was bad due to the pirate alliance of the Big Mom and Beasts Pirates. Sakazuki later interrupted a meeting Sengoku was holding and said that the Marines were leaving Wano Country alone due to not having enough manpower to deal with both Big Mom and Kaidou. Sakazuki and Sengoku then talked about Kozuki Oden.

When Ryokugyu made his way towards Wano, Sakazuki warned him to not worsen the situation at Wano.

One week after Kaidou and Big Mom were taken down by Luffy, Kid and Law, Sakazuki discussed the recent events, which happened at the Levely, with Borsalino and Tensei. He acknowledged the threat the Revolutionary Army posed but stated they had no troops to deal with them, though he concluded Cobra's assassination must have been meaningful for the Revolutionary Army while dismissing Tensei's thoughts about the defeat of the Admirals. He then asked if they had any information about Vivi's disappearance and, when asked by Borsalino if Saint Mjosgard's assault on Saint Charlos has been resolved, Sakazuki stated that the happenings around this were too messy, and they should leave it in the jurisdiction of the Holy Knights. He then grumbled about the difficulties of being the Fleet Admiral before stating that he'd extinguish any threat to the Marines.

One Piece Film: Red
After Uta organized a concert on Elegia in order to enact her plan of bringing everyone in the world into her dream world and live a life free of suffering, Sakazuki sent Kizaru and Fujitora with a fleet to Elegia in order to kill Uta. After the brainwashed audience began to attack Marine soldiers, Sakazuki ordered the fleet to not hesitate to eliminate any civilians who got in the way and that such "puny sacrifice" was nothing to be intimidated over in their mission to protect the world.

Egghead Arc
During Blackbeard and Law's clash, Sakazuki was informed of the battle but forced to wait to see the conclusion, causing him to call the job of being Fleet Admiral frustrating. He was later informed about the recent events happening at Egghead, pondering the question if Vegapunk could have found out about his assassination at the hands of CP0 and that the Marines would lose an important source of combat power should he join forces with the Straw Hats. He was additionally informed about Kizaru making his way towards Egghead and had his subordinates order CP0 to stand down and not engage the Straw Hats until Kizaru and the Marines arrived.

Filler Battles

 * Sakazuki vs. Squard

Translation and Dub Issues
Sakazuki's alias, "Akainu", means "Red Dog" in Japanese. His real name Sakazuki (盃) means "sake cup".

Anime and Manga Differences
The anime-only vice admiral Jonathan is said to be Sakazuki's protege, but unlike his mentor who is a pure believer in Absolute Justice, Jonathan believes more in Moral Justice.

In the anime, the events of the Summit War of Marineford after Whitebeard's death are touched upon showing massive explosions rocking Marineford, sending nearby pirates flying back. Large geysers of magma are shown showering the escaping New World Pirates. His efforts to pursue Luffy are consistently stalled by Marco deflecting all of his attacks and the Whitebeard Pirates forcing him back with a barrage of bullet and cannon fire, at which he comments is irritating.

Merchandise


Sakazuki has been a choice character in several series of merchandise. He has been featured in the Portrait of Pirates Figuarts Zero, One Piece DX Figure, One Piece High Spec Coloring Figure, Ichiban Kuji One Piece and Super Modeling Soul One Piece lines. But also in the World Collectable, One Piece Super Effect, One Piece Amazing Log Collection, Deformeister Petit One Piece, One Piece Super Deformed Figures, Anichara Heroes, One Piece Full Face Jr. and the One Piece Logbox series.

Enemy Appearances

 * One Piece Romance Dawn: The Dawn of the Adventure
 * One Piece: Pirate Warriors
 * One Piece: World Seeker
 * One Piece Odyssey

Other Media

 * In One Piece Premier Show 2011, Akainu and the other admirals come to the Marine Island where the Straw Hat Pirates try to rescue Nami and Robin. They leave after Bentham, disguised as a Marine, tells them that Charlos has been injured and needs to retreat.
 * Akainu appears in Super Kabuki II: One Piece during the retelling of the Marineford Arc.
 * An image of Sakazuki appears in the first One Piece Water Spectacle show.
 * Sakazuki appears in the Nami and Marineford versions of the Hungry Days commercials.
 * One of the guests on One Piece Variety: I Will be the Pirate King TV dresses up as Sakazuki during one of the show's skits.

Trivia

 * The way Sakazuki's character design is drawn resembles the famous late 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 Sakazuki's birthday is based on Sugawara's.
 * His favorite foods are white rice and red pepper.
 * His hobby is growing bonsai trees.
 * His nickname, along with the other admirals' (Aokiji, Akainu, and Kizaru), are taken from Momotarō legends (Momotarō met Pheasant, Dog, and Monkey as friends to accompany him in his journey).
 * According to an interview with Eiichiro Oda, Sakazuki is so strong that, if he were to become the protagonist, he could end the One Piece series within a year.
 * In the 5th fan poll, Sakazuki ranked 47th.
 * Before his full appearance was revealed, many non-canon sources had attempted to depict Sakazuki after the timeskip, which would later turn out to be highly inaccurate to his actual appearance in the manga. In these sources, his face is depicted as being totally intact, as well as having identical attire to the clothing he wore before the timeskip in non-canon sources, including One Piece Film: Z, Wake up!, Hard Knock Days and Super Grand Battle. In One Piece Film: Gold, Sakazuki is depicted with the scars on his face, but he still wears his pre-timeskip clothing.
 * In the spin-off manga One Piece: Kobiyama Who Looks Like Koby - Two Piece in a Pod, one of the characters, Akaishi Papa, is a man who resembles Sakazuki.
 * He and Hibari are the only characters in the series to speak the Hiroshima dialect. Coincidentally, both are also Marines.

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