The Admirals and the Yonko are two sets of the most incredibly powerful people in the One Piece world. With One Piece now entering the Final Saga, these two characters are at the forefront of things. The Admirals, who have not been directly involved in the plot for quite a while, are now one of the main antagonistic groups and it is clear to see what they are capable of doing and how strong a punch they pack.
At the same time, the fans can now closely observe the power levels of the Yonko as well. The Four Emperors Saga gave them a clear look at what the Yonko are capable of and how strong these people are. Now, it is clear for the fans to see that the Yonko and the Admirals might not be equally powerful and the group of pirates hold a significant advantage over their Marine counterparts.
The Strength Of The Admirals
The Admirals have always been some of the strongest people in the world of One Piece and that is never going to change. The Admirals were incredibly powerful and intimidating before the timeskip and they continue to be powerful as well as scary after it as well. Regardless of how strong Luffy and the pirate crew gets, Admirals are always a threat and that will never change. For instance, these powerful Marine Admirals have caused quite a lot of problems for Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates even after they rose to the status of a Yonko crew.
Kizaru proved his worth when he was seen fighting against Luffy in Gear 5, although the result of the fight was not something that he would have wished for. The Admirals are certainly very skilled and they possess incredible devil fruit powers that can be considered among the strongest in the One Piece world. This is absolutely no surprise for the fans and, on top of this incredible power, they also seem to have tremendous Haki. Another indication of their tremendous strength is the fact that they possess 3 billion beri bounties on their heads. A bounty that high can only be given to a top-tier fighter in the One Piece world. For instance, Luffy currently has a bounty of 3 billion berries, however, fans must also remember that along with Luffy, Law and Kid also have a bounty of 3 billion berries and they are significantly weaker than him.
The Yonko Vs The Admirals In One Piece
Oda has been saving the strength of the Admirals for quite a long time and, because of that, fans were having a hard time figuring out how strong these characters really are. However, the Final Saga has more than clarified their true standing in the One Piece world. In terms of strength, all the Admirals seem to be under the power level of a Yonko and fans have already gotten more than one confirmation for that.
With the end of Wano, it was clear to the fans that Green Bull was absolutely no match for Shanks and that even from miles away, he could not help but get scared by his mere presence and back away. In the Egghead arc, a direct confrontation between the Yonko and the Admirals was observed when Luffy took on Kizaru in an extended fight. While the fight was certainly a very close one, at the end of it all, Luffy was the one who ended up delivering the final blow and defeated Kizaru for good. It was clear for the fans to see that Luffy was far from using his full power in the fight against Kizaru and, despite that, he was the one who ended up being the victor in the fight.
To make things worse for the Admiral, Luffy had already fought against Rob Lucci in Gear 5 the night before and was extremely drained. Then, he continued to fight against the Seraphims, who fans also know are incredibly powerful. Essentially, Kizaru was not even able to defeat a weakened version of Luffy who was already restricting himself in more ways than one. This just goes to show that the Admirals, while strong, are no match for the Yonko in One Piece and, even though they have more than enough strength to engage in combat against the Yonko for an extended period of time, they do not have it in them to defeat these powerful pirates.
The Main Reasons Why The Admirals Are Weaker Than Yonko
One of the biggest reasons why the Yonko are stronger than the Admirals of the Navy is the fact that the Yonko have one of the strongest weapons in their arsenal in the entire story and that is the usage of the advanced level of Conqueror's Haki. Conqueror's Haki is a power that a few people in the One Piece world are born with and, it is clear for the fans to see that it is more prevalent among the pirates than it is in the Navy. This is largely because pirates have more ambition than their Marine counterparts and, in the Marines, the vast majority are simply servants to the Celestial Dragons.
As such, pirates, who have more ambition, generally are blessed with this power. With the usage of Conqueror's Haki, especially at an advanced level, this balance can easily be tilted in the fight between these powerful pirates and Marines. Conqueror's Haki saw to it that Luffy jumped from not being able to scratch Kaido to making him fall flat on his back within a matter of chapters. This power-up is absolutely massive and can be considered to be one of the biggest in the One Piece world. The fact is that no Admiral in the story has access to Conqueror's Haki in the current era.
In fact, when Luffy fought against Kizaru, he only utilized Conqueror's Haki once and that was with White Star Gun, and this attack was strong enough to knock Kizaru down. Had he used this skill from the beginning, perhaps Kizaru would have not even gotten a chance to get that far in the fight.
Among the Marines, the only ones who are confirmed to possess Conqueror's Haki are Garp and Sengoku. Fans know that Garp was a free-spirited marine and, because of that, he was blessed with this skill. Meanwhile, Ssngoku is one of the only Marines in a high position who had this skill and, this is likely because he was the Fleet Admiral and had incredible ambition himself. Only these two characters from the Navy can be considered in the same league as the Yonko and the legends.
This also further explains why the Yonko are stronger than the Admirals. There is a position above the Admirals in the Navy and that is the Fleet Admiral. The Admirals and the Yonko cannot be at the same level of strength because if the Admirals were to equal these powerful pirates, then the Fleet Admiral would most certainly be stronger than them. The fact is that the only Marine currently, apart from Garp and Sengoku, who can rival the Yonko is Fleet Admiral Sakazuki. If any of the Admirals are on the same level as the Yonko, it is most definitely going to be him. The others, while strong, will not have it in them to rival these powerful pirates and will have to settle for the number twos and number threes.
One Piece is available to read via Viz Media. The series can be read by the fans officially and for free on the Shonen Jump and the Manga Plus app. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1100, is set to be December 3, 2023.