Summary
The debate of the Yonko versus the Admirals is one of the oldest and most popular in all ofOne Piece. Since both are portrayed as the strongest forces on the sides of the pirates and the World Government respectively, it naturally ensures that fans of either allegiance will debate this topic. In truth, an argument can be made for either being stronger than the other, for the most part.
The common sentiment among theOne Piecefandom is that, among the pirates, the strongest in the current settingis none other than Shanks, while the Fleet Admiral, Akainu, holds the position of the strongest Marine in the series at the same time. Because of this, many fans greatly speculate that these two are destined to clash, so let’s go over what such a battle would look like and who would likely be the winner of the altercation.
The Strongest Pirate vs. The Strongest Marine
Shanks' First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 1, “Romance Dawn - The Dawn of Adventure”
Akainu’s First Appearance
One Piece, Chapter 397, “In Hopes of Reaching the Future”
Although every character has their own motivations and ambitions in the story, the most notable way of describing the greater conflict ofOne Pieceis that of the pirates going up against the World Government. In a general sense, the pirates represent freedom and breaking away from the status quo while the World Government seeks to impose the order of the world which championsthe rule of the Celestial Dragons.
As such, it is natural that each of these opposing sides has characters who have come out on top and are more powerful than all of their contemporaries. For the pirates, none stand above the Yonko, whereas for the World Government, the Admirals are generally considered to be the top brass. While the debate is still ongoing, many are still convinced that Shanks is the strongest among the Emperors, mainly due to his unparalleled feats with the various forms of Haki, while, at the same time, Akainu is the Fleet Admiral of the Navy and is outright stated to be the strongest Marine of the current generation.
To start the debate of who is stronger, Shanks was shown to have clashed at an equal level to the legendary Whitebeard and was even the person who managed tostop Kaido from arriving at Marineford. Because of these feats, he is clearly already at the top level of Emperors, but even more than this, he has shown the second-greatest feat of Conqueror’s Haki in the series, behind only Joyboy’s feat of repelling the Gorosei overall. At the closing of the Wano arc, Shanks incapacitated a Navy Admiral from miles away using only his Conqueror’s Haki.
On top of this, he also has arguably the most potent Observation Haki in the world. When his fleet was attacked by the Kid Pirates, he foresaw a whopping 10 seconds into the future and stopped the threat before it could even manifest. Here, he used Gol D. Roger’s ‘Divine Departure’ attack, which he was stated to have learned merely by observing it, differentiating him as an incredibly prodigious warrior. This attack, mixed with his Conqueror’s Haki, singlehandedly destroyed the Kid Pirates.
Think what’s going on in our territories these days. If we just let it slide, I would lose people’s trust in me!
On the other hand, Akainu is considered to be the most dangerous and powerful Marine in the current setting. Although most of his feats are vague and much of his greatest showings have happened off-screen, Oda has outright confirmed that he is an incredibly important and powerful character. He is the user of the legendary Magu Magu no Mi, which has been stated to be the most offensively powerful Devil Fruit in the entire story. After fighting for 10 days straight against Kuzan, Akainu defeated him and got promoted to the position of Fleet Admiral.
Before him, Sengoku was in this position and was on the same level as Garp, Roger, and Whitebeard, as stated by the Pirate King himself, so at the very least, Akainu’s strength is comparable. Moreover, many fans are convinced thathe also has Conqueror’s Haki, as one of the prerequisites for it is to have great ambition and strength, both things which Akainu is the perfect match for. He even fought Whitebeard at Marineford and didn’t back down even slightly, dealing the most damage to the World’s Strongest Man and continuously coming back to face him despite taking his full offensive might.
Who Is The Official Winner Of This Fight?
Who Would Actually Win?
Shanks versus Akainu has all the makings of one ofOne Piece’sgreatest battles and would surely be a close one if it were ever to happen. However, from what can be gauged from the series so far, Shanks would be the probablevictor due to his incredible Haki, which alone has propelled him to such a high level. However, contrary to the beliefs of some, this fight would be closer than one would think.
An example of why this is comes from the Marineford War after Shanks made his appearance. When Shanks made his way onto the battlefield, Kizaru was still willing to attack him, implying that he could definitely have hurt him, as well as the fact that Akainu didn’t back down from the confrontation either. This puts them at a relative level, so while Shanks would likely be the victor, it wouldn’t come easily.
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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, in order 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.
