Is Akainu the leader of the sword?

Since his partial debut during Robin's Ohara Incident flashback in Enies Lobby arc, everyone just knew Akainu was going to be one of the scariest villains, One piece has to offer. This was demonstrated in his full appearance in the Marineford War, where he proved to be one of the strongest characters in the entire story, capable enough to stand up to and mortally wound even the legendary Whitebeard.

Since the war and his merciless killing of Ace, One piece fans have always painted Akainu in the light of a ruthless villain. However, while his views on justice are absolute, many believe that he is the secret leader of the Sword; a special services group within the Navy that is not officially affiliated with the World Government. Since this group operates separately from the Navy, let's take a look at why many fans think Akainu is its leader.

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Why some believe that Akainu is guided by a sword

Reasons to be a leader

After the Marineford War, Sengoku stepped down as Fleet Admiral, creating a power vacuum to be filled by any of his successors. Both Akainu and Aokiji decided to take on this role, leading to their battle at Punk Hazard, with the new fleet admiral being the winner. After 10 grueling days of battle between the strongest marines, Akainu was finally victorious and took the highest position in the entire navy.

Since then, the glimpses fans have gotten of the character have typically been brief One piece fashion. However, chapter 592 of the manga started a long-running debate among fans about Akainu's loyalties and secret plans, as the title story showed him shirtless trimming and decorating bonsai. While this is probably just another cover story that isn't worth looking too deeply into, fans have noticed a strange tattoo of a sword on his right shoulder.

This is where the theorizing began, as many fans believed that the tattoo was a way for Oda to subtly hint that Akainu was the secret leader of a non-world government special operations unit called Sword. Contextually speaking, there are several reasons to believe this. First of all, once one becomes an admiral (and subsequently higher ranks) they come under the direct control of the world nobles, which is why Garp never took that position.

Because of this, Akainu is much more subject to the whims and desires of the sky dragons as a fleet admiral, despite having much more power over the navy. In chapter 793, after Doflamingo's fake departure from the 7 warriors, Akainu is shown in the authority room talking to the 5 elders who are the highest authority in the world.

It already shows that he is incredibly headstrong and despite being in a very high position in the world government, he doesn't agree with their methods 100%. This gives him enough reason to become the leader of Sword because he wants things to be done a certain way that the world government doesn't approve of. By having a covert ops unit, he could send them on covert missions.

Another thing that comes into it is Aokiji's whole journey. On the surface, fans believe that after losing his fight against Akainu at Punk Hazard, Aokiji left the Navy because he didn't want to work under Akainu and ended up joining the Blackbeard Pirates instead. However, the theory posits that Aokiji was also on a secret mission given by the fleet's new admiral to infiltrate the ranks of the Blackbeard Pirates as the captain of the Titanic, when in fact he is a high-ranking member of Sword. .

Many are quite skeptical of Aokiji's current loyalties, believing that he is merely playing Blackbeard's side. Otherwise, he would have killed Garp outright with the rest of the Titanic's captains, but left him alive. It would be incredible to witness such a monumental reveal, especially since many fans already believe it will happen.

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How likely is this to happen?

Is Akainu the leader of the sword?

As for what sense this theory makes, it's true that most of it has to do with speculation and wishful thinking. While the reasons given are quite possible, Akainu believes in Absolute Justice, a methodology that preaches the power and absolute nature of justice, so he has secretly allied himself with a group that is not affiliated with the World Government and is full of characters. who serve as 'opposites' to himself is highly unlikely.

The truth is, Akainu's sword tattoo is probably just a coincidence that many fans have read too much into. However, it remains an interesting thing to speculate, and judging by Eiichiro Oda's masterful writing of the characters and their motivations, it's entirely possible that Akainu being the true leader of the Sword could be the real deal.

One piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

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One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his crew of Straw Pirates as they explore the Grand Line to find the Pirate King's ultimate treasure, One Piece, to become the next king. The manga's popularity helped it expand into a larger media franchise, including an anime with over 1,000 episodes.

Release date

October 20, 1999

Season

20

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of episodes

1122