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 main antagonists of the Marineford Arc and, after his promotion, he became one of the central antagonists of the 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 doesn't 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.

Abilities and Powers

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.

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.

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.