The admirals are outclassed by the Yonko in One Piece, and Kizaru is proof of that.

Kizaru is one of the Navy Admirals and one character that has been heavily involved in the Final Saga of One Piece already. Fans have seen quite a lot of Admiral Kizaru in the Egghead Island arc of One Piece, where he plays the role of a major antagonist. While fans had rarely ever seen the Marine Admirals go all out, Egghead provided an opportunity for Oda to illustrate Admiral Kizaru at the peak of his abilities

Unsurprisingly, Kizaru was not able to prove his superiority against the Yonko of the Sea, Luffy. Through that, fans now get the proper idea of where the Admirals aren’t when compared to the Yonko of the One Piece world.

Kizaru’s Arrival On Egghead Island

Admiral Kizaru was seen headed to Egghead Island quite early into the story arc. As soon as the plan to take down Vegapunk was conjured by the Navy, Admiral Kizaru was sent to Egghead with the intention to kill him and, of course, guard Saint Saturn. The Navy Fleet that was heading to Egghead was tasked with the goal of eliminating every single body of Vegapunk, who had crossed all boundaries by studying the ancient history itself, which, as fans know, is prohibited according to the World Government. While this would have been somewhat of an easy job for Kizaru, things got more interesting when Luffy arrived on Egghead.

As soon as Kizaru found out that the Straw Hat Emperor was now on Egghead, he ordered every single Navy ship in the vicinity of Egghead to head to the island immediately and lay siege to it. As fans know, the Marines were successful in laying siege to Egghead and completely surrounded the Straw Hat Pirates. Ever since then, they have even launched a powerful attack on the island, which has been led by Admiral Kizaru himself. In fact, he was the very first Marine to enter the island officially and immediately after doing so, he was seen clashing with Sentomaru. As expected, Sentomaru proved to be an insufficient challenge for Kizaru, which is why he immediately moved to the Labophase, where Luffy recognized his threat immediately.

Kizaru Vs Luffy, Round 1

As soon as Kizaru arrived on the Labophase, Luffy recognized his threat and decided to engage him in battle. With a powerful blow that was charged with the Color of the Supreme King, Luffy launched himself at the Admiral, showcasing his growth over the years. These two characters had already met once before during the Sabaody Archipelago arc, where Kizaru was partially responsible for the destruction of the Straw Hat Pirates. This time, however, Kizaru was facing off against a monster and that was quite clear from the beginning. Luffy immediately tapped into the power of Gear Fourth and, utilizing Snakeman, he was able to keep up with Kizaru’s immense speed.

He threw some very powerful attacks his way, however, in the end, this incredible strength of his was clearly not enough for Luffy to take him down. Gear 4, while very strong, proved to be insufficient to take down the Marine Admiral, and realized that he had to tap into the power of Gear 5. When he did that, the tides of the battle shifted entirely. Luffy was able to overwhelm Kizaru in combat, and the Admiral’s strategy shifted from getting rid of Luffy to avoiding him in battle completely, simply because he knew that in an extended battle, he would not be able to take him down.

Despite the incredible effort of the Admiral, Luffy was eventually able to beat him in the most bizarre of ways. Even though Kizaru launched some powerful attacks at him, Luffy was largely unaffected. In the end, Luffy charged a completely new attack, called White Star Gun, and launched it at Admiral Kizaru. This attack connected directly with his skull, and given that it was charged with the power of the Color of the Supreme King, the Admiral fell to the ground, completely concussed and paralyzed. In fact, Admiral Kizaru remained paralyzed for quite a while after being hit by this powerful technique, signifying that Luffy had won the first bout.

Of course, Luffy himself was knocked out of Gear 5 as well, however, he was the last man standing, which clearly implies that he was the victor of the fight.

Kizaru Vs Luffy, Round 2

While Luffy and Kizaru fought once on Egghead, Oda gave him a second shot at taking on the Admiral a bit later in the arc. Once, Kuma’s flashback included, Kizaru was able to walk once again, and immediately after doing so, he decided to attack the group of Kuma and Bonney. As soon as he was about to strike them down, Luffy returned with the power of Gear 5 once again and it was clear for the fans to see that he was able to overwhelm the Marine Admiral again. In fact, even without a technique that was powered by Conqueror’s Haki, he was able to punch the Admiral hard enough to send him flying. Admiral Kizaru was seen struggling to recover from this technique, but fans already know that he will once again get back up to fight.

It is clear for fans to see that Kizaru is quite resilient. However, what is also clear is that Luffy has the upper hand in the battle against him. Kizaru is powerful as an Admiral, but in a battle against a newly appointed Yonko, he is clearly struggling. This all but confirms the fact that Kizaru would struggle even more against a stronger Yonko, such as Blackbeard or Shanks. Clearly, his level of strength is inferior to that of Luffy, and that, by extension, implies that Admirals in general are weaker than the younger.

How Admirals Are Weaker Compared To The Yonko

It appears that in every aspect of battle, the Admirals are much weaker compared to the Yonko. First and foremost, they do not have access to the Color of the Supreme King, which is a real difference-maker when it comes to battles of the highest order. The Admirals, no matter how strong, don’t seem to have access to this power, at least yet. Furthermore, none of them have showcased Devil Fruit Awakening either. Without these powers, it is impossibly difficult for them to compete against the strongest of the One Piece world, such as the Yonko. In the case of Luffy, he has access to both Devil Fruit Awakening, and the Color of the Supreme King. While Awakening is something they might eventually have, Haki still makes a big difference.

It paints quite a picture when Luffy, who still hasn’t gotten used to his Gear 5, can defeat Kizaru in battle. Once Luffy reaches his peak, it is going to be even easier for him to take on an Admiral in battle. In Wano, Green Bull was quite scared of Shanks as well and that, once again, goes to show that the Admirals are quite inferior when compared to the Yonko.

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 1107, is set to be February 18, 2024.