Sakazuki

Admiral Akainu (赤犬大将, Akainu Taishō), formerly known as Vice Admiral Sakazuki (サカズキ中将, Sakazuki Chūjō), is an Admiral of the Marines, one of only three to hold such a position and subordinate only to Fleet Admiral Sengoku. He was first mentioned by Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji.

Appearance
Twenty years ago at the Ohara incident, he wore a simple white marine cap and he also wore a dark gray hood that seemed to be a part of a cloak he wore beneath his suit, or marine coat. Like any other high ranking marine, he was dressed in a simple white/gray suit with a white marine coat draped over his shoulders. His entire face was not seen during his appearance, as it was hidden by his cap.

At the execution of Portgas D. Ace Akainu is seen wearing a dark-colored suit, with a flower greatly resembling a rose on the left side of his jacket; underneath this he wears a shirt with floral print. He is also wearing black gloves and boots and the same Marine cap covering the top half of his face.

Akainu has a square-shaped face with hollowed out cheeks. There also appears to be a tattoo on the left side of his chest, but it is largely obscured from view by his shirt. However, from what is seen, it appears to contain numerous images of flowers integrated into the design. He's just as tall as his fellow Admirals, Aokiji and Kizaru.

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.

Akainu is a firm believer in "Absolute Justice", ruthless to the edge in maintaining justice. Of the three Admirals, he is the only one who has maintained a dead-serious disposition in all of his appearances.

Akainu's beliefs led him to go as far as destroying the refugee ship simply due to the possibility of even one scholar sneaking 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, who called him a fool for overdoing things.

Akainu is also a very good manipulator willing to lie or confuse his enemies, pretending to be sympathetic with them, in order to achieve results, as he managed to deceive Squad through Sengoku's master plan, or insulting Whitebeard to get Ace angry and stop his flee. It indicates he use perfectly his opponent's mental weakness. Despite being a believer of "Absolute Justice", Akainu is willing to use cowardly or underhand tactics as seen when he attempts to attack a weakened Luffy.

Additionally, he seems to have no tolerance for Marines who desert their post, even though that soldier did so for the sake of his beloved family, to the point of killing them using his lava-based unnamed Devil Fruit powers. He also sees little threat in the older veterans, both Pirate and Marine. When Garp stepped up to the front lines in the Marine Vs Whitebeard Pirate war, Whitebeard states that he is just an old man and responds that Whitebeard is of the same generation as Garp before attacking him.

Prior to Sengoku making it public, Akainu is one of the few who knew that Luffy was Dragon's son. Whether he has some relationship with Dragon or if some of the Marines know that Dragon is Garp's son is unknown. As a believer of Absolute Justice, 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.

Abilities and Powers
As an Admiral, Akainu is able to command vast number of Marine troops that are under his rank. Most of all, he has the ability to order a Buster Call attack on any island. It appears that Akainu and his fellow Admirals have very acute hearing; they were able to hear activity underwater before anyone else.

Devil Fruit
Akainu possesses an unnamed Logia-class Devil Fruit which gives him control over magma that can be fired at long range in the form of meteor-like fists. He has also been seen creating a magma wave, shaped like a dog's head, that he can control and use to attack his opponents. The magma is hot enough to instantly evaporate ice without melting it first, as well as greatly heat up the sea. His ability is of a higher order than Ace's fire, allowing him to burn Ace.


 * Dai Funka (大噴火, Great Eruption): Akainu transforms his right fist into one made out of pure magma before throwing it forward, like some over sized rocket, similiar in size to that of Luffy's Gear third fist. 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.


 * Ryūsei Kazan (流星火山, Meteor Volcano): Akainu creates a great number of magma fists that he fires into the air in order to let them rain down upon the battlefield, causing enormous amounts of 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.

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).

Current Events
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. Akainu was seen sitting beneath the execution platform of Portgas D. Ace with his fellow Marine Admirals.

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). 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 Squad, making him believe that Whitebeard has betrayed his allies, trading their lives with Ace's one. He demonstrates his words making Squad notice that the Pacifistas has attacked everyone in the bay but Whitebeard's pirates, this being also part of Sengoku's plan. He tells Squad 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, Squad believes him and attacks Whitebeard, stabbing him in the chest.

Whitebeard survives Squad'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 lava can consume Ace's fire (lava can extinguish fire by smothering it) and is thus able to injure Ace despite his Logia intangibility, making him his natural enemy. Saying that both Luffy and Ace deserve to be executed thanks 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. Marco and Vista try to strike Akainu down; however, with his Logia abilities, Akainu nullifies their attacks. He did feel discomfort, commenting on how irritating it is that they were both Haki users. He then chides to them that it is too late for Ace.

Major Battles

 * Akainu, Kizaru and Aokiji vs. Monkey D. Luffy
 * Akainu vs. Whitebeard
 * Akainu vs. Portgas D. Ace
 * Akainu vs. Curiel
 * Akainu vs. Jinbei
 * Akainu vs. Marco and Vista

Translation and Dub Issues
Sakazuki's alias, "Akainu", means "Red Dog" in Japanese.

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.
 * 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)
 * Before being revealed in the manga, Akainu's abilities were the center of many myths among fans.
 * He is the only Admiral who has not directly harmed Luffy (but attempted to), as well as the only one who has not fought the Straw Hat Pirates, aside from Luffy.
 * He is the first Admiral to harm Whitebeard and also the only Admiral who remains unharmed in the war.
 * Akainu is also the first Admiral to use an attack that resembles his nickname (Red Dog): a dog's head made out of magma.
 * Oddly, some Marines seem to refer to him by his real name (Sakazuki) instead of his alias.
 * He is the only Admiral who has yet to reveal the name of his Devil Fruit.
 * Akainu is the first person to actually kill a major character in the present storyline, accomplished when he successfully executed Portgas D. Ace in combat.
 * He is the second Marine, and first Admiral to kill a D. Aokiji killed Jaguar D. Saul but was not an Admiral at the time. Interestingly enough, he is the second D. killing Marine by killing the 2nd Division commander of Whitebeard's Pirates.
 * Interestingly, Akainu and Aokiji are polar opposites in many ways. Akainu is a strict believer of Absolute justice while Aokiji stands for moral justice, their way of fighting/devil fruits are different as one tends to burn and throw punches while the other prefers to freeze and throw weaponry; Akainu is hotheaded, active and strict as to Aokiji is calm, lazy and forgiving and finally, one has short hair while the other has long hair.
 * Akainu did the most damage to the Whitebeard Pirates during the war: his lie to Squad caused Whitebeard to suffer a critical injury; his meteoric magma fists destroyed one of the crew's ship, as well as the Moby Dick; he gave Whitebeard a critical injury in the chest; he successfully killed Ace.

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