Character Discussion Akainu's Portrayal Revisited

Who Will Defeat Akainu?


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#1
I will use this thread to present an in-depth analysis of Sakazuki's portrayal, naturally this will include other characters mainly Wb & Aokiji.
Considering the final saga just started, there couldn't be a better time to revisit Akainu's portrayal so far to better help tune our expectations in the future. Hope you enjoy this read as much as I did making it.

Whitebeard
Due to the maximum number of images allowed I had to include Oldbeard in a different thread. It is advised to read it first as it completes the narrative I'm going for
Link-> Oldbeard Respect Thread


Akainu
First half of the war

War starts with admirals showcasing their well tuned CoO by detecting Wb's activity underwater from far away


We get a first look at Akainu's fruit power. After he evaporated Jozu's ice block, his magma fist exploded on its own dealing heavy damage to the other side, even took one Wb's 3 ships with it. This shows how this fruit unintentionally has high lethality and aoe. Small possibility but he may have triggered the explosion himself.


Oda uses this chance to pair up Whitebeard and Akainu from the get go. From his first scene Oda establishes the admiral hierarchy.


Akainu then sets his eyes on the prize, as you'll see later he never hesitated a second to achieve this goal


Then comes his meteor volcano that he spammed for a couple of minutes, really shows how busted his fruit is


In this badass hands in pocket form, Akainu faces Wb for the first time in the most stylish of entrances. He manages to totally negate the quake bisento with his leg.
He then clashes equally with the gura fruit which I've already shown how destructive it can be. First showing of Akainu's haki strength



During this interaction Akainu complains about Whitebeard destroying the town, Wb ofcourse is nerfing his powers but it also shows how Akainu is not using a fraction of his devil fruit powers, especially when you know how Punk Hazard's weather changed permanently after his 10 day deathmatch with Aokiji

This screams logia awakening


Wb then get a heart attack, Akainu takes this opportunity to open a hole in his chest. What separates Akainu's power from ACoC attacks is that you cannot retrieve your strength after this, no amount of food Luffy e.g. can eat that can compensate for having a hole in his chest with his insides burnt. This is what Oda meant by the most offensive devil fruit.


After Ace escaped, Sakazuki remained calm and composed. This tenacity is not something Sengoku showed during the time.
Really contradicts how people perceive Akainu as some mindless bull who charges forward without hesitation, when in fact he's one of the more intelligent characters, able to maintain his composure in the direst of situations.


He then displays how cunning he is by the playing with Ace's emotions and urging him to challenge him.
In the most raw panel in the manga, Akainu busts a hole in Ace, a logia, and kills him with one blow. Umatched Ap.


Jinbe jumps in to block what seems to be projectile magma, note how Jinbe used water to block and to put out the fire from his hand
Bottom left has a line that is slept on. We know Akainu is not someone to boast himself or go after glory, he's a straight shooter. He tells Jinbe as a former WG associate that he should know of his personal strength, not the admirals in general. This is straightforward portrayal that Akainu is special among his peers.


Marco and Vista, who are YC of the utmost caliber, couldn't do any significant damage and were described as irritating by Sakazuki. This is the second showing of Akainu's incredible haki. Combined with his logia intangiability, his durability is no joke, I can't think of any other than Linlin, Kaido and Nika who boast better durability.

Akainu and Whitebeard's exchange
Then comes bloodlusted Wb from behind, from the way Ace is shown in the panel you know this is some serious business, sending Akainu to hell was his last life act.


Akainu immediately retaliates from this cheapshot by melting a third of Wb's head. However in exchange for this mortal blow, while he's still hanging in the air, Wb lands the infamous island splitter. Comparing this with the commanders' attacks, we can safely say that Wb in his final rage moments used all his might to kill Akainu


Akainu doesn't lose conciousness but instead curses Wb on his way down. Note the bottom left corner how Akainu loses his footing due to Wb splitting the island.
When you evaluate the whole skirmish, Whitebeard was the one who ultimately lost the exchange due to suffering a mortal injury, and that's after he was the one to initiate the fight by attacking Akainu from behind.

Chasing after Luffy
The red circle marks the spot where Akainu fell. During the time it took Wb's death to take place, Akainu didn't waste time by flying accross this gap to the other side, continuing on his promise to not let Luffy leave the island alive. There was no point in continuing the fight with Wb after the mortal blow.


Akainu digs the tunnel all the way to appear infront of Jinbe showing explosive power in the process.


He blitzes through a revolutionary commander blocking his way


After Blackbeard went lunatic with his new power, Akainu gave the I'm going after your ass later look but continues with his main goal and leaves Bb for Sengoku.


He then catches up to Jinbe who tries to attack him with no use, he effortlessly penetrates Jinbe, Luffy gets his eternal scar.


Even after Croco cleaves him in two, he immediately throws this massive magma fist after Luffy.


He's finally confronted by 14 accomplished Wb commanders and Crocodile in this sexy doublespread. His immediate reaction was to ask why they were willing to give up their lives for Luffy. He disregards their small talk and gets straight into business. In the end he managed to push back the whole group before Coby went on his tantrum.

The war ends
Shanks jumps out of nowhere to block Akainu from attacking Coby, Akainu is shocked and seen sweating.
What to understand from this scene is: Akainu, as worn out as he was, was still aiming for Luffy's head. There are 2 main reasons why Akainu didn't attack Shanks:
1. Shanks wasn't on the offensive, he only blocked the attack
2. It is not Akainu's place to start another war with yet another yonko crew, this decision belongs to Sengoku.


Akainu insults Shanks and tells Aokiji to assault the submarine, which Kizaru too joined in later. This disproves any nonsensical ideas that Akainu was afraid of Shanks.


Shanks and Sengoku do some politics and end the war, Akainu is still pissed he couldn't secure Luffy's body.



A month after the war he goes solo after the BBPs, whom basically almost amount to a yonko crew. They flee him so fast that they forget to take Bonney with them

Akainu vs Aokiji
Some people use this fight to downplay Akainu and bring him closer to the other admirals, I think they're making a mistake for 2 reasons:
1. Rayleigh described how haki blooms occur when fighting strong opponents, and a 10 day fight with another admiral is no joke. Akainu got a boost from it + the war
2. Aokiji's devil fruit allows him to nullify Akainu's magma, leaving it to be a battle of attrition. Not to underestimate Aokiji, I still believe he's #2 after Akainu, but as admirals go his ability is the worst matchup of Akainu.

Note here the speed by which Aokiji jumped from his chair and appeared infront of Whitebeard, basically in a flash of a second the whole tsunami was frozen. During his debut he could freeze an entire ocean where it stays frozen for a week. The fact that punk hazard is split between the two clears up how their abilities nullified each other.


Aokiji casually one shotting Jozu with all his durability after a second of distraction.

Hints on who will fight Akainu
Akainu has been placed in the same light as Blackbeard twice



He's the only one to break Luffy's will to the extent that he disregarded becoming the PK. Add on that Luffy's iconic throbbing scar.


When you think about it really doesn't make any sense for the manga to end without Luffy fighting an admiral, Oda definitely won't miss out on a fight of this caliber considering how all fans have been hyped up for this revenge deathmatch for more than a decade


Some people suggest Sabo as his opponent, which doesn't really make sense since not only is Akainu leagues above Sabo, but the latter is at a devil fruit disadvantage. Awakening and blue flames are some arguments suggested but it still doesn't close the gap. Revos aren't even concerned with the navy anyway but with the CDs.


As you've seen Akainu has been constantly portrayed as the top dog of this marine generation, if Luffy and Blackbeard from the pirate side will surpass the old gen, it's safe to assume that Akainu is on the same path. To think that people want to ruin this character by having him fight some nobody like Sabo. Get over your agenda lol

 
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#4
Luffy > Sabo > Dragon . So Luffy is still the most likely to fight him IMO .

I don't think it's a coincidence Oda ended Kaido-BM with a double-spread of spectacular volcanic eruption which dwarfed Onigashima & Flower Capital
https://mangasee123.com/read-online/One-Piece-chapter-1050-page-12.html

And that was right after Luffy's Bajrang Gun , and Kaido's Flame Dragon which prob mimicked magma
We also had an entire arc showing the SHs the aftermath of Akainu's and Aokiji's Logia Awakenings usage ( PH )

My point - i feel like Oda is eager to draw Awakened Akainu fight ( and most likely it'll be vs Luffy )
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Also Oda's country ( Japan ) have 2 natural disasters that they have experienced numerous times :

1. Earthquakes & Tsunamis ( and Oda made the 2 men who could create them in OP the WSM - WB and BB ) .

2. Volcanic Eruptions - since Japan has a lot of Volcanoes ( more than 100 ) . And Akainu's Awakening is obviously Volcanoes .

And maybe it can be argued that Akainu is the Marine parallel of Luffy .
Kizaru has a few similarities with Sanji ( and Zoro's gonna fight him ) .
Ryokugyu has few similarities with Zoro ( and Sanji's gonna fight him ) .
 
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#7
My point - i feel like Oda is eager to draw Awakened Akainu fight ( and most likely it'll be vs Luffy )
Akainu is one of Oda's favorites, he's a huge fan of the actor he's based on. After his death Oda vowed to draw Akainu well.
He's among few characters without silly gags behind them, his only gag is being angry all the time, which I dislike but understandable.
 
#13
Luffy > Sabo > Dragon . So Luffy is still the most likely to fight him IMO .
You mean powerlevel wise or best chances?
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Some people use this fight to downplay Akainu and bring him closer to the other admirals, I think they're making a mistake for 2 reasons:
1. Rayleigh described how haki blooms occur when fighting strong opponents, and a 10 day fight with another admiral is no joke. Akainu got a boost from it + the war
2. Aokiji's devil fruit allows him to nullify Akainu's magma, leaving it to be a battle of attrition. Not to underestimate Aokiji, I still believe he's #2 after Akainu, but as admirals go his ability is the worst matchup of Akainu.
1st. Rayleigh didn't say everytime you fight your haki blooms. He told a noob Luffy that in order to really bloom his haki he needs to fight real battles in extreme conditions.
There is 0 implications of a 53/54 year old Akainu getting some haki boost that put him at a level above the rest of the admirals.

2. Aokiji & Akainu's DFs nullify each other, no point in wasting time trying to argue for one over the other, their portrayal was been clear as far as their DFs are concerned. Meaning neither had an advantage or disadvantage against the other, hence not once does Oda bring it up. Where as in the events of Luffy & Enely's fruit or Ace-Smoker's fruit or Akainu-Ace's fruit, the disadvantages are brought up by Oda to make sure the readers know. Or even the latest with Cracker & Nami where the disadvantage Cracker had was pointed out by Oda.


And nobody uses this Aokiji argument for Fujitora & GreenBull as the two have nothing to do with him. Nobody also uses this argument for Kizaru-Akainu, since Aokiji has nothing to do with Kizaru.

And the fact you have Aokiji as the #2 strongest simply because of his fight against Akainu, sorts of showcases the bias you have for the other admirals in favor of Akainu. Which is typical in the Akainu fandom. Since rating Aokiji below the other admirals makes Akainu look bad I suppose.
 
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#15
Unrivalled under the Heavens
:steef:
Dragon, Gorosei, Kong (if still reigning), Blackbeard are all superior.

Best chances

I have no problem with Sabo/Dragon beating Akainu though .
But getting defeated by PK Luffy or Dragon will be better than by Sabo i guess .
The fight wouldn't make sense, in my opinion, since I can't think of a single major fight involving Luffy where he's gone as the superior opponent against the opposite. Which is what he will be as the Pirate King, since it symbolizes being above the Emperors & Admirals.

And Dragon would be a waste on Akainu, it's like when you're aiming at the final boss for your whole life, but end up having to only deal with one of the Boss's many subjects. Would just dehype Dragon if anything.

Sabo, seeing as Akainu and co are treating him a bigger deal than even the newly named emperor Luffy, makes the most sense. Due to there being political reasons for them to fight over, which should flesh out Sabo as a revolutionary if Oda decides to have the two fight over not just the Ace revenge factor (which alone is a pretty bad reason), but also for ideological differences that the two could bring up in their fight. He'd be a more meaningful fight for somebody as complex as Akainu, rather than the "every one of my friends should have meat!!!" guy.
 
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