Is Akainu the leader of the swords?

Since his partial debut during Robin's flashback to the Ohara incident in the Enie's lobby arc, everyone knew that Akainu would be one of the most fearsome villains ever One piece has to offer. This was proven by his full appearance in the Marineford War, where he proved to be one of the strongest characters in all of history, capable enough to even stand before and mortally wound the legendary Whitebeard.

Since the war and his merciless killing of Ace, One piece Fans have always portrayed Akainu as a ruthless villain. Although 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 look at why many fans think Akainu is their leader.

Related

One Piece: Usopp is tougher than fans give him credit for

While many consider Usopp to be the weakest Straw Hat in One Piece, he is far tougher than fans give him credit for.

Why some believe Akainu wields the sword

Reasons to be the leader

After the Marineford War, Sengoku resigned as fleet admiral, creating a power vacuum that had to be filled by each of his successors. Both Akainu and Aokiji chose this role, leading to their battle on Punk Hazard, the winner of which was to become the new Fleet Admiral. After ten grueling days of fighting between the strongest Marines, Akainu finally won and took the highest position in the entire Navy.

From then on, the glimpses fans received of the character were generally brief One piece Fashion. However, Chapter 592 of the manga sparked a long-standing debate among fans about Akainu's loyalty and secret plans, as the title story showed him shirtless, trimming and decorating a bonsai tree. While this is probably just another cover story not worth delving into, fans spotted a strange tattoo of a sword on his right shoulder.

This is where the rampant theorizing began, as many fans believed that the tattoo was a way for Oda to subtly hint that Akainu was the secret leader of the non-World Government-aligned special forces unit known as Sword. Contextually speaking, there are some reasons to believe this. First, once someone becomes an admiral (and later reaches higher ranks), they are placed under the direct control of the World Nobles, which is why Garp never took up that position.

Because of this, Akainu, as a fleet admiral, is much more subject to the whims and desires of the Celestial Dragons, despite having far more power over the navy. In Chapter 793, after Doflamingo's false departure from the ranks of the 7 Warlords, Akainu is shown in the Room of Authority talking to the 5 Elders, the highest authorities in the world.

This already shows that he is incredibly stubborn and, despite his very high position within the World Government, does not agree 100% with their methods. This gives him every reason to be the leader of Sword as he wants things to happen in a certain way that the World Government does not approve of. By having a covert operations unit, he could send them on secret missions.

Another aspect taken into account here is Aokiji's entire journey. On the surface, fans believe that after Aokiji lost his battle against Akainu at Punk Hazard, he left the Navy because he didn't want to work under Akainu and joined the Blackbeard Pirates instead. However, the theory states that Aokiji was also on a covert mission given to him by the new fleet admiral to infiltrate the ranks of the Blackbeard Pirates as a Titanic captain, although in reality he is a high-ranking member of Sword.

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

Related

Why don't One Piece silhouettes resemble the characters?

One Piece suffers from a strange phenomenon where characters look nothing like their silhouettes.

How likely is this to happen?

Is Akainu the leader of the sword?

As for the meaning of this theory, one has to admit that most of it has to do with speculation and wishful thinking. Although the reasons listed are entirely possible, Akainu believes in absolute justice, a method that preaches the powerful and absolute nature of justice to secretly ally him with a group that is not in alignment with the world government and is full of characters serving as “opposites” to himself is highly unlikely.

The truth is that Akainu's sword tattoo is probably just a coincidence that many fans have simply read way too much into. However, it remains an interesting thing to speculate about, and considering how masterfully Eiichiro Oda writes characters and their motivations, it's entirely possible that Akainu as the true leader of Sword could be the real deal.

One piece can be streamed on Crunchyroll.

MORE

Smiling is the most important aspect of One Piece

Smile is one of One Piece's most important symbols and represents everything that makes the series great.

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

Release date

October 20, 1999

Seasons

20

Creator

Eiichiro Oda

Number of episodes

1122