Summary
Since the very beginning of theOne Pieceseries, bounties have been one of the major metrics of a character’s strength and how they’re perceived in the world. So, as Luffy has gotten stronger over the course of the series, his bounty has reflected that increase in power since he started at 30,000,000 and currently sits at a whopping 3 billion, which is one of the highest in the entire world, befitting a pirate of an Emperor’s status.
Still, though, Luffy’s current bounty is a ways off from being the highest in the franchise. Of all pirates, the Pirate King,Gol D. Roger, and the world’s strongest man, Whitebeard, have had the largest bounties ever, sitting at an eye-watering 5.5 and 5 billion berries respectively. However, the largest active bounty inOne Piece, which is around that of these two legendary characters, doesn’t even belong to a pirate, so let’s see who holds this honor.
Story Arc
Enies Lobby Arc
Coming as a surprise to most fans, the character with the highest active bounty in theOne Pieceworld is none other than Sakazuki or, as he’s more commonly known; Akainu. Fans were under the impression that, after thedeath of Whitebeard at Marineford, Kaido was going to be the most wanted man on the planet, since his bounty was revealed to be close to 5 billion itself, which is still technically true for the pirates of the world.
However, the Cross Guild eventually set up a bounty system against the members of the Navy, proving themselves to be one of the greatest threats to the World Government. In doing so, they established a system to combat the Navy by targeting notable members, with special symbols demarcating the worth of the bounty. In the SBS of Volume 110, Oda revealed that the Crown symbol represents one billion berries and that the Fleet Admiral has a bounty of 5 Crowns, giving Akainu the whopping bounty of 5 billion berries, making him the character with the highest active bounty in the currentOne Piecesetting.
Why Akainu Deserves This Bounty
His Strength Is Enough For Him To Have It
Akainu is, by far, one of the most powerful characters in the entireOne Piecesetting. Although the common belief is that he probably won’t stand as much of a threat to Luffy’s Gear 5 state, Akainu has still shown great power to be seen as a huge danger to other notable allies. Not only was he powerful enough to be an Admiral in the Navy, which are considered to be its ultimate weapon, but he also defeated and maimed Kuzan in abattle to become the Fleet Admiral, proving that he was a step above even his peers.
Akainu is the user of the Magu Magu no Mi; an incredibly powerful Logia Type Devil Fruit that allows him to control, manipulate, and become magma. In fact, Oda has even outright stated that Akainu’s Devil Fruit gifts him the highest attack power and offensive output of all Devil Fruits in the story, which is an insane feat considering some of the abilitiesOne Piecehas to offer. Oda even said that his power, coupled with his cold and pragmatic attitude, would have let Akainu find the One Piece treasure in under a year if he chose to do so.
The world may hate me, but I will uphold justice, even if I must bear the weight of that hatred alone.
Such strength stands out inOne Piece. His Magma powers allow him to melt through pretty much everything that he can get his hands on and his attacks are so hot that they can even overpower fire itself, as was seen when he killed Ace.Although Whitebeard was already weakenedby the time they fought, Akainu still managed to put a large hole through his chest and even blow half of his face off with one of his attacks. In this altercation, he also showed his incredible durability, taking a Devil Fruit-infused punch from Whitebeard at point-blank range.
Moreover, Akainu’s endurance is the stuff of legend, as seen when he fought Kuzan for 10 days straight on Punk Hazard for the title of Fleet Admiral, in a fight which he ended up winning. His Haki is incredible as well, since a great degree of it is needed to reach past a certain level on the ocean, which was seen with how he and the other 2 Admirals managed to perform at Marineford against a plethora of enemies.
All in all, Akainu’s unmatched power, tactical mind, and ruthless personality all come together to make one of the most powerful characters in the entireOne Pieceworld. This has led to him holding thehighest office in the Navy of Fleet Admiral, which is deserved considering there are very few who can match him, definitely earning him the 5 billion berry bounty.
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
