Highlights
- The Yonko are incredibly powerful pirates who rule the New World and possess exceptional Devil Fruits and Haki. They are known to be the strongest characters in the story.
- The Admirals, who are the strongest of the Marines, are comparable to the Yonko but not necessarily equal or stronger. The debate of Yonko versus Admiral has been ongoing, especially during the Marineford War.
- Luffy, who has recently become a Yonko, proved his strength by battling against Admiral Kizaru. Although he initially struggled, Luffy's new technique infused with Conqueror's Haki proved powerful enough to defeat Kizaru and confirm that the Yonko are stronger than Admirals.
One Pieceis currently in the final saga and the grandest of battles are taking place in the story already. The final saga began with Egghead Island, with Luffy having become a Yonko very recently. It was quite clear that the intensity of the series was going to go through the roof as soon as the story entered the final saga and that is precisely what happened.
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On Egghead Island, Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates are up against a hundred Navy battleships of all sizes and, at the same time, 30,000 Marines. Among the Marines are nine Vice Admirals and also an Admiral of the Navy, Admiral Kizaru. As soon as fans realized that Kizaru was going to be on Egghead, it became clear that Luffy was going to fight against him and the age-old debate of Yonko versus Admiral was going to be answered.
The Strength Of The Yonko
The Yonko are the four most powerful pirates on the seas. They are incredibly dangerous and rule the New World like kings. The Yonko are exceptionally overpowered and hold an influence that even terrifies the World Government to a certain degree. In fact, engaging a Yonko is something that the Marines can't even do without permission. The strength of a Yonko is certainly incredible and it is safe to say that the strongest characters in the story have been these people. For instance, Whitebeard, the strongest man in the world, was one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. Kaido, who was the strongest pirate until recently, also held the position of Yonko. Shanks is known to be one of the strongest in the world, if not the strongest and, now, Luffy has ascended to this position as well. All things point towards the Yonko being extremely overpowered and much of that is down to the fact that they possess not just incredible Devil Fruits in most cases but also terrific Haki.
The strongest weapon of any Yonko in One Piece (except for Buggy) is most certainly Haki. These people are conquerors and, given that they possess so much ambition, they can utilize Conqueror's Haki at the highest level. This Haki allows them to land deadly blows on their enemies. As Kaido put it himself, only a handful of the strongest can utilize the power of Conqueror's Haki Infusion, and those who can are capable of reaching the very top.
The Yonko Vs Admiral Debate
When compared to the Yonko, the Admirals are strong as well. They command impressive control of Haki and they have overpowered Devil Fruits as well. They can take on nearly anyone in the world of One Piece and their bounties issued by the Cross Guild equate to 3 billion berries as well. This is the same amount that Luffy has on his head and just goes to show that the Admirals are comparable to the Yonko, at the very least. However, being comparable is not the same as being equal to them or being stronger.
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Given that the Yonko are incredibly powerful, the Marines, who have always opposed the pirates since they are the military face of the World Government, needed a certain equivalent. Of course, the strongest of the Marines are the Admirals and it was inevitable for them to be compared with the Yonko. This became even clearer during the Marineford War, where some Admirals fought against Whitebeard and did relatively well. However, quite a lot of the time, they ended up fighting against the Yonko Commanders as well. The fact that they triumphed over them, largely due to distractions, was enough for fans to forward the idea that the Admirals are just as strong as the Yonko. However, it appears that this debate has finally ended after the recent One Piece chapters.
Luffy Vs Kizaru
In the Egghead Island arc of One Piece, Luffy ended up fighting against Kizaru and this fight was extremely interesting, although short-lived. Luffy was able to trade blows with him in Snakeman first and it was quite clear that Kizaru was easily able to take care of him in this form. Kizaru even kicked him hard enough to the point where he flew directly out of the Frontier Dome, injuring himself in the process.
However, once Luffy took on Gear 5, the combat became much more interesting. Kizaru was not able to defeat Luffy in Gear 5. In fact, he completely avoided fighting against him in this form.
Kizaru made sure to prioritize assassinating Vegapunk instead and this was likely done because he realized that beating Luffy was not going to be easy for him at all and most likely a task that would see him get defeated in the end. That is precisely what ended up happening towards the end of the battle, where Luffy used a new technique called White Star Gun, which was infused with Conqueror's Haki and struck Kizaru directly on the head. This blow was so powerful that Kizaru ended up getting knocked down. Initially, it was unclear as to how much damage this technique actually did, however, when the aftermath of the technique was seen, it was quite clear to see that Kizaru was not in fighting condition any longer. This goes to show that Luffy, who has newly become one of the Yonko, is still strong enough to take care of Kizaru in battle.
Oda Confirms Yonko Are Stronger Than Admirals
With the fight between Luffy and Kizaru concluding, it has now become clear that the Yonko are, indeed, stronger than the Admirals. For one, Luffy was able to knock him down completely to the point where he became immobilized. While it is true that Luffy himself went out of Gear 5 and is in a state that is no better than that of Kizaru, it must be remembered that Luffy fought against Lucci not long ago using Gear 5 and burned up quite a lot of his energy. If that wasn't enough, he then proceeded to fight against the Seraphims for an entire night and then the morning after, he fought against the Admiral.
While Kizaru entered the battle completely fresh, Luffy had already exhausted quite a lot of his energy while fighting. Furthermore, it must be noted that Luffy has become a Yonko only recently. When compared to the other powerful Yonko, Luffy is likely not the strongest at the time. He still has issues maintaining Gear 5 for long and, if that were not to be the case, Kizaru would stand absolutely no chance against him. For instance, someone like Shanks, who can utilize Observation Haki better than Luffy and, at the same time, commands Conqueror's Haki at a much higher level as well, would easily destroy Kizaru in battle. This was further hinted at when Shanks and his pirate crew threatened Green Bull. The Marine Admiral instantly knew that he did not stand a chance and gave up, deciding to leave Wano immediately after. Now, it is clear for everyone to see that the Yonko are indeed stronger than the Admirals and this has now been confirmed once and for all.
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. Unfortunately, One Piece will be on break next week. The release date for the next chapter of One Piece, One Piece 1096, is set to be October 29, 2023.