Summary
The Admirals are some of the most feared and powerful characters in theOne Pieceworld. In the eyes of many fans, the power they hold is on the same level as the strongest pirates in the series, the Emperors of the Sea, so, they’re naturally pitted against one another as enemies on a relative level of strength, at least for the most part. As seen throughout the series, just one Admiral is enough to wipe out entire pirate crews by themselves.
At any given moment,there are 3 active Admirals at a time, with the first ever shown being Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru. The latter has some of the most impressive showings of any Marine inOne Piece, but despite this, he is often glossed over when discussing the strongest and most important Marines in the series. So, let’s go over why Kizaru is one of the strongest and most important members of the Navy in the entire story.
Power Befitting An Admiral
First Appearance
One Piece, Episode 398, “Admiral Kizaru Moves! The Sabaody Archipelago in Chaos!”
Debut Date
July 03, 2025
Although he was first mentioned way earlier duringthe Long Ring Long Land arc, Kizaru made his official debut in the series during the events of the Sabaody Archipelago. Here, he displayed the reason why Admirals are so feared and why they’re considered to be the Navy’s ‘Ultimate Weapon’, as he almost singlehandedly destroyed the entire Worst Generation before they could even enter the New World.
Due to the location of Sabaody being so close to Marijoa, the World Government wanted to take no chances with the most fearsome of the world’s up-and-coming pirates, so they sent Kizaru to deal with them. With barely any effort, Kizaru was able to defeat many of the crews by himself and was only really matched by Rayleigh, who himself is among the strongest characters in history.
Kizaru ate the Pika Pika no Mi,an incredibly powerful Logia Type Devil Fruitthat gives him full control over the element of light. Because of this, he can shoot out light projectiles at blinding speeds and can even make illusions and constructs out of light, as seen with how he was able to make a sword to fight against Rayleigh that seemed to be just as solid and hard as the Dark King’s own. By fully manipulating the forces of light to his whims, Kizaru can even travel through mirrors and reflections.
The Pika Pika no Mi makes Kizaru the fastest character in the wholeOne Piecefranchise, which is ironic considering his slow and relaxed disposition. His speed and strength firmly cement him as one of the strongest characters of the modern era, as seen by how he was willing to attack Shanks during the Summit War, although he chose not to do so upon Benn Beckman’s involvement.
Speed is weight. Have you ever been kicked at lightspeed?
An Incredibly Skilled Fighter:
Although most people attribute all of his strength to his overpowered Devil Fruit, Kizaru is actually an incredibly skilled fighter despite that and can use different forms of Haki. At some point on the Grand Line, Devil Fruit powers can only take someone so far andHaki pretty much becomes a necessity. Due to this, Kizaru is an expert in Observation and Armament Haki, since every Marine at the rank of Vice Admiral and above has it, so it can be surmised that Kizaru’s Haki has been honed to the greatest tier.
Moreover, his fight against Rayleigh showed just how skilled of a fighter he was. Although the Dark King himself was way past his prime, he still holds some of the greatest and most formidable skills of any swordsman in the world, so Kizaru fighting him on equal footing is a testament to how strong the Admiral is. He also played a huge role during the Marineford War by defeating many different pirates and was even willing to take Shanks on.
An Underrated Character
A Layered And Sympathetic Marine
More than just being a powerful commander and one of the World Government’s most valuable assets, Kizaru is also an incredibly layered character. Though this wasn’t always apparent, the Egghead arc showed the start of Kizaru’s journey as an upstart sailor who spent a lot of time underthe tutelage of Dr. Vegapunkalongside Kuma, Bonney, and Sentomaru. However, many years after that, Kizaru was forced to kill one of the people he held most dear in the world.
This showed Kizaru as never before; a conflicted character who had to choose between friendship and duty and what it meant for him once he did. Although he didn’t want to, his sense of duty and justice forced his hand in killing Vegapunk, though this was something he hated, as seen by how he yelled at Akainu for doubting his methods. All of these things go together to make Kizaru one of the best and most layered Marines in all ofOne Piece.
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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.
