Sakazuki

Admiral Akainu (大将赤犬, Taishō Akainu) is one of the three Marine Admirals. He was first mentioned by Robin during the initial encounter with Aokiji. His real name is Sakazuki (サカズキ, Sakazuki) 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, about as tall as his fellow Admirals, with a square shaped face, very pronouced facial features and black short hair. He usually wears a standard Marine cap and 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 deltoid and a small part of the biceps.

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 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, 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. 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. 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.

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.

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 worried when he discovered her running away.

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 showed frustration when Shanks' intervention allowed Luffy to escape. Even though he failed to take Luffy's life during the war, he managed to do the only thing that no one 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 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.

Akainu's background, his black-heart behavior, is renowned, especially to stronger figures in the New World, striking fear into the hearts of pirates and marines alike. After Van Augur identified Akainu aboard a marine ship for negotiations, Blackbeard immediately fled, knowing the consequences of battling against him, 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.

He is also a very skilled manipulator, using his understandings to twist his opponents to the direction he wants. He made it appear to be sympathetic to Squardo in order to get the pirate to betray the man he (Squardo) who took him in, using the knowledge of Ace being Gol D. Roger's son, a fact that shocked Squardo the most. He also took Ace's loyalty to Whitebeard to his advantage, insulting Whitebeard in order to prevent Ace from escaping, and ultimately killing the young pirate by aiming for his younger brother.

Being one of the strongest characters in the series, 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. He also shows to possess unimaginable strength, as seen when he stopped the two-handed Whitebeard's bisento with just one leg. He also has extremely acute hearing, being able to hear activity underwater, before the Whitebeard War began.

Haki
It was stated that all Vice Admirals possess Haki, 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. Akainu was also seen using his foot to stop an attack from Whitebeard's bisento while it was imbued with the power of the Gura Gura no Mi.

Devil Fruit
Akainu possesses a currently unnamed Logia-class 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 expand it with a forward motion (in the anime is also shown that Akainu can launch his magma fists, much like a rocket punch). 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. In the anime it was shown to clash equally with the Gura Gura no Mi, a fruit known with the power to destroy the world.

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. Our powers are in a relationship of superiority!

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 for 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 Jinbe 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. However, in the anime, Akainu was still able to push aside Marco in order to reach Luffy with another burst of his Devil Fruit.

Below is a list of Akainu's named techniques:


 * Dai Funka (大噴火): Akainu's signature technique, he transforms his fist into one made out of pure lava before throwing it forward, like an over-sized rocket (similar to Luffy's Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol or Ace's Hiken). 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): 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 anime, the meteors first fly high into the sky and above the clouds, and then fall back down as though they truly descended from space. In the Viz Manga and FUNimation subs, this is called Meteor Volcano.


 * Inugami Guren (犬噛紅蓮): 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. Notably, Inugami is the name of a mythological Japanese creature, which resembles a dog. Though remained unnamed in the manga, the technique's name is introduced in the anime. In the video game Gigant Battle, the technique is called Ganshō Kenga (岩漿犬牙) . However, it is still unknown if either of the names are officially given by Oda or not. In FUNimation subs, this is called Hound Blaze.


 * Meigō (冥狗): Akainu transforms his hand into magma and lashes out at the opponent with a claw-thrust; in the manga, its execution stance is similar to Dai Funka. This technique is powerful enough to tear off half of Whitebeard's face with a glancing blow (in the anime, Akainu used it to burn up Whitebeard's torso instead). In the Viz manga this is called Hellhound, and in the FUNimation subs it's called Hell Hound.

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. Following the gathering at Marineford, 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 was 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 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. After Ace's attack backfired, Akainu 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 Jinbe as the latter attempts to protect Ace from a second strike for the head. Marco and Vista attack him with their haki, which he comments on how much of a nuisance they are. 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, nearly taking off half of Whitebeard's face. In the anime he instead punches a second smoldering hole in Whitebeard's body. He was defeated by a quake punch to his body, as his unconscious body fell into the cracked island below.

Akainu, having survived Whitebeard's onslaught, tunneled underground and reappeared in front of Jinbe as he was making his way to the escape ship. Akainu demanded Jinbe to hand over Luffy, but Jinbe refused, stating that he will protect Luffy with his life. Akainu then prepared 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 Jinbe and Luffy, which ends in Akainu piercing through Jinbe and straight towards Luffy, critically injuring the both of them. When he was prepared to finish them off, Crocodile repelled him and got Luffy and Jinbe out of the admiral's reach. Akainu then prepared to face off against Crocodile and the Whitebeard Pirates. The events of this battle are not seen but he remained unharmed from the confrontation.

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 was 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 was 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 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.

Filler Battles

 * Akainu vs. Squardo (before deceiving him)

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. Even Akainu's birthday is based on Sugawara's.
 * 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.

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Akainu Akainu Akainu 赤犬 薩卡斯基