Well it just goes to show you how weak the pool is. I mean legitimate top tiers are pretty rare, it's quite an accomplishment to reach top commander level in this verse.
Remember how Marco was a Yonkou candidate? I'd figure the same goes for the Admiral candidates, they prob cap out around this level.
Which is why Akainu would rather hold a draft to hire and promote two randoms with no Marine background, to such an influential position in the entire Navy, right off the bat. Shows you how desperate they were, if the Admiral candidates were anywhere near top tiers, them having the Marine background would be more than enough to just apoint them to the position, at least temporarily.
The Marines that truly carry justice and act without killing innocents in the process are the strongest characters on some levels.
Sometimes I wonder if the Marine "Draft" was actually a tournament of sorts and Fuji and Aramaki won.
The real Marines are the toughest of the bunch. Being able to deal with the Celestials Dragons in order to protect civilians is so difficult. These guys are constantly dealing with child sexual abusers and murderers, who rule over them, to try to protect people.
People act like the Marines are in charge.
The Marines are ruled by genocidal whiny loser babies, and doing everything they can to stop them from destroying the world.
I dislike a lot about Akainu, but I respect the fact that he wants to destroy criminal activity, and is pissed the people. who say they hate it, are stopping him from stopping it. After Sakazuki saw how Doflamingo got protected, he went to the Gorosei and shouted them down to their faces (REST IN HELL SATURN YOU FUCK).
It's so hard to be a Marine Admiral. You have to be able to be the strongest bastion of justice, while sucking up to genocidal psychopaths that will erase you and everything you love if you revolt.
The modern world in One Piece had made it very hard to justify that kind of commitment to child sex traffickers.
Kuzan quitting had more to do with the Celestials than we know, IMO.
Even Blackbeard seems to be more moral than the Celestial Dragons, and Teach has NO morals.