Highlights
- Admiral Kizaru, also known as Borsalino, is a powerful and unpredictable character in One Piece.
- His ability to turn into light itself grants him immense speed and strength, making him a formidable force in combat.
- However, advanced Observation Haki allows certain characters to keep up with Kizaru's speed, making him not the fastest character in the series overall.
Beginning with his introduction during the Sabaody Archipelago Arc at the conclusion of the first half of One Piece's storyline, Admiral Kizaru — also known as Borsalino — has always been a dormant powerhouse. From effortlessly vanquishing members of the Worst Generation, to casually strutting about and taking down extremely powerful pirates at Marineford, Kizaru is a wild card who does not seem to take his powers seriously at times. In turn, this makes the thought of him going all out even more terrifying.
After consuming the Logia type Pika Pika no Mi Devil Fruit, Kizaru has been granted the ability to turn into light itself at will. Besides the standard intangibility associated with Logia types, the most important aspect of this fruit's power is its capacity to greatly enhance the speed of its user. Since Kizaru can turn into light itself, he should also be able to travel at the speed of light, outpacing the other Marine Admirals and quite a few characters in the series. Considering this, would it be safe to say that he is the fastest character in One Piece?
The Power Of The Pika Pika no Mi
Even among the broad spectrum of Logia type Devil Fruits, the Pika Pika no Mi is quite unique as it is one of the few truly overpowered ones in its class, alongside the likes of the Magu Magu no Mi, the Goro Goro no Mi, and the Yami Yami no Mi. The boost to Kizaru's speed and strength provided when using the fruit's powers are almost immeasurable, not to mention the sheer number of ways its abilities can be applied in combat scenarios. This is particularly true since Kizaru's ability to turn into light permits him to travel at the actual speed of light.
From rushing opponents to delivering deadly kicks at the speed of light, Kizaru's prowess in combat is no joke. The sheer destructive potential of the Pika Pika no Mi — with its ability to fire lasers and focused beams of energy — is enough to take out most opponents in a single hit, especially if they are unable to evade or block it. This holds true even for some of the strongest characters in the series as most of them are limited by their senses and can neither react nor move at the speed of light.
Striking At The Speed Of Light
Since he can move faster than the eye can follow, Kizaru could easily mow his way through swarms of opponents without even giving them a chance to react. When fighting seriously, Kizaru would normally obliterate anyone slower than him, as they will not even be able to physically perceive his attacks, let alone devise ways to counter them. One of his signature moves, "Yata no Kagami," involves Kizaru forming a beam of light with his hands and then reflecting it off any surfaces he desires. He then proceeds to become the beam of light itself, traveling at incredible speeds to reach his destination.
In fact, the only way to actually keep up with Kizaru is with the aid of advanced Observation Haki that has been honed to a degree where the user can tap into the power of Future Vision. Hence, this reduces the pool of individuals that could stand up to him to a very select few, who have access to extremely advanced Observation Haki, where they can preemptively react to Kizaru's attacks, which cannot otherwise be countered by normal means if he is using his maximum speed.
While using another one of his signature moves, "Yasakani no Magatama," Kizaru crosses his arms to fire a wave of deadly light particles, which impact their targets as devastating bullets of energy, raining down destruction on any area he desires. Kizaru can alter the spread and volume of the light particles to pinpoint targets or cause widespread damage across a large region, depending on the intent behind his attack. The only real way to evade or counter this move would be with the aid of Future Vision, since the particles travel at the speed of light itself.
Outpacing The Competition
When attempting to compare characters in One Piece based on speed, the parameter here is the pace at which they can move and react, including abilities such as Future Vision, which would allow a character to react preemptively. Such an act is premeditated but augments an individual's overall speed, such that it appears as if they can keep up with characters much who would be faster than them without it.
For instance, Luffy being unable to keep up with Kaido during his initial fight with the Emperor on Onigashima, indiciated that he was both slower and possessed inferior advanced Observation Haki. He was only able to bridge this gap by elevating his Future Vision to peer further ahead and gauge Kaido's attacks even earlier than before, while matching them with the boost in speed he gained after Awakening his Devil Fruit and gaining access to Gear 5.
There is no doubt that Kizaru would be the fastest character in the series in a straight line race or over long distances, but more questions arise when there are comparisons of attack speed or reaction speed. Quite a few characters such as Silvers Rayleigh on the Sabaody Archipelago, and Luffy on Egghead Island have been depicted as being able to keep up with Kizaru's speed due to their Future Vision.
Consequently, it would also be safe to put Shanks, Dracule Mihawk, Zoro, and even Kaido in a similar bracket as they have comparable levels of proficiency at Observation Haki, with Shanks decisively coming out on top in this match up. Therefore, Kizaru is the fastest in certain respects, but he cannot be declared the fastest character in the series outright, as there are several characters who can keep up with him in combat or over shorter distances.
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