In this blog I'll be sharing my thoughts on an issue that first popped up when Law told Luffy that they only have a 30% chance of beating Kaido, got worse post the Doflamingo battle and resonated in my mind with a proverbial clang after reading chapter 838. That is, of course: just how the hell is Luffy going to beat Kaido and Big Mom and rise to Yonko status when Gear Fourth is quite frankly underwhelming or at least just not good enough? Now I've discussed this tangent in brief with Medivh and Prince but instead of using my words verbatim, I'll expand upon my general issues.
Law is one the smartest characters in the series and he has proven so with how well he can prep and strategize, so I don't have any issues believing him. But I realize he didn't take Gear Fourth into consideration here obviously because he didn't know about it. However 30% infers Luffy alone is no where near Yonko level yet, considering that Law isn't just talking about himself and Luffy, he's talking about his Heart Pirates and Luffy's Straw Hat Pirates, of course Luffy now has a Grand Fleet but my opinion hasn't changed.
I won't delve too much into this since I've talked about this already in my Admiral level blog, but it's being mentioned because it's wholly relevant to this discussion: Luffy is inferior to Doflamingo. As we all know, Luffy had an abundance of help to defeat the Warlord with just a touch of PIS. Gear Fourth itself is above Doflamingo however under normal circumstances if Doffy were healthy, he'd outlast it then murder a defenseless Luffy.
Doflamingo was terrified at the prospect of angering Kaido if his SMILE production was ruined, this of course denotes a countenance belonging to a man who knows he isn't on Kaido's level, and by extension, Luffy isn't either of course.
This next point is rather interesting: there's a lot of talk among the fandom that Jack got taken out by Zunisha prematurely to the narrative (or rather to our hype) because Oda knew he was too strong for the Straw Hats and would have royally messed their shit up had he confronted them, so the mangaka needed to temporarily remove him via an island sized elephant plot device. Meh, fair enough. However this only serves to raise my concern for Luffy, if his crew would get fodderized by Kaido's first mate, how can he face Kaido himself?
Luffy was getting his arse beat by Cracker until he used Gear 4th to even the odds, notice I said even the odds and not surpass. With Cracker's actually quite broken Devil Fruit (really think about it) it seems as though Luffy is going to have an even harder time with Cracker than he did with Doflamingo.
This is a problem that I thought of after Luffy's initial Gear Fourth assault on Doflamingo: Gears 2 and 3 are now useless. I'll clarify, they aren't useless in general, they're useless against non fodder. There will only be characters stronger than Doflamingo from here on out and during Luffy's fight with him, the ex-Warlord actually pointed out the problems with Gears 2 and 3- 2 lacks power and 3 lacks speed. So what is Luffy going to do now that he has to go straight into Gear 4th against stronger enemies to stand a chance when he runs the risk of screwing himself over if he can't finish them in time and his Haki runs out?
As some of you guys might be aware, I don't treat Bounties like DBZ power levels, nor do I think anyone should. I treat them in the same vein as capture levels in Toriko. However I'd be a fool if I didn't acknowledge that Bounty does represent power to a certain extent and with Cracker's bounty being 860,000,000 yet still an underling to Big Mom, the future is looking grim for Luffy realistically. But...
It's not all doom and gloom!
There are easily ways for Oda to rectify this and abate my fears:
Advanced Gear Fourth techniques
Gear Fifth
Gum Gum's Awakening
Luffy, Zoro and Sanji (if Luffy gets him back) teaching the crew Haki
Another time skip where Luffy does all of the above plus complete mastery of Haki since he only got taught the basics by Rayleigh
This isn't so much a blog as it is just my general thoughts and predictions about Ryokugyu aka Admiral Green Bull. There have been some theories pertaining to what his power might be, and some like to believe it will follow the trend set by Admirals Kizaru and Fujitora- light and gravity, two fundamental forces in the universe and therefore Green Bull might have a nuclear type of Devil Fruit and while that makes sense, it isn't what I'd want him to have. Yes I'm going to go with the obvious and say I want Green Bull to be...a Green Bull. We have never seen a Zoan Admiral so I think it would be cool for Ryokugyu to be the first, of course he'll already be awakened and therefore have increased regenerative capabilities and strength. What would be great is to see a battle between him and Kaido too, to establish his strength. Anyway this wasn't mean to be a long entry, just my thoughts, feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on Admiral Green Bull.
Judging by comments made on the Vine, I came to the conclusion that there seems to be some ambiguity regarding who in One Piece is and isn't Admiral level. It's understandable and highly debatable, many characters either briefly fight against the Admirals themselves, demonstrate Admiral tier feats, or can be scaled to be within their tier, which, just to clarify is the second highest tier in One Piece right below Yonkou level.
In this blog I'll delve into a deep analysis on who is and isn't Admiral level using feats, statements, scaling and common sense. Of course this topic will still be up for discussion long after this blog is made and I hope to receive an abundance of opionions following this threads creation. It's important to note that this is just my opinion, who is and isn't Admiral isn't set in stone, I'll be trying my best to come up with an accurate assessment. This will be a work in progress that might possibly never end. How I define 'Admiral level': being within their tier, either at least able to win 4 fights out of 10 or having feats/ hype to match them. So guys, let's get started ;)
First of all we must look at the Admirals themselves in order to compare them to the character's I'll be talking about and see if we can find a bench mark for the feats a character needs to be capable of to be placed in their tier. The first character analysed won't be in as much depth as possible because there's always information to be added.
Above we see just what four of the Admirals are capable (Admiral Green Bull's gotta hurry up and get some feats!). And the scary thing? That isn't close to their true power. To our knowledge none of them have shown Awakened powers yet. Better yet, Fujitora while holding back a tremendous amount of his power, performed a country level feat with utmost ease.
It's important to show these feats as it will make things easier deciding who can fit the bill for Admiral level by way of direct comparison.
Based on these feats for the Admirals we can come to these factors that determine if a character be Admiral level:
At least casual city level damage output
The endurance to fight for several days non stop
Of course worth mentioning would be high level Haki proficiency, high hypersonic combat speed, multi-megaton strength yadda yadda yadda, those were obvious and go without saying.
I've decided to start with Doflamingo.
This is mainly because I feel as though he's the easiest to argue about in favour of being Admiral level.
The Heavenly Demon is recognised by many fans as being the most impressive antagonist in One Piece so far. The Dressrosa arc cemented the Tenryubito near the top of the Warlord food chain.
Let's take an in depth look as to why. Let's take a look at his feats:
His most powerful attack: the Bird Cage.
This ability is so powerful it can literally only be stopped by taking Doflamingo out, until he's defeated these strings will continue to stay surrounding Doffy's chosen land mass and enclose at speeds that carve up an entire country within an hour.
Why this puts Doflamingo at Admiral level: it's a country level feat and most importantly: Admiral Fujitora failed to slow down the Cage's progress.
He's Awakened
Doflamingo being the first major antagonist to reveal the Awakened potential of Devil Fruits is a huge deal. Oda specifically chose him to be the one to show Luffy (and us fans) that we weren't closer to seeing just what Devil Fruit's were capable of up until this point.
His nonchalant kick on Fujitora
This, behind my first point is clear proof Doflamingo is within Admiral tier.
He kicks Fujitora without hesitation, this shows he isn't the least bit intimidated by him and couldn't care less about the consequences that could have followed (Fujitora choosing to fight him). Furthermore near the start of the Dressrosa arc, Doflamingo himself was the one to tell the readers this:
He calls him a Beast, so he knows how fearsome Issho is, ad to the fact that Kenbunshoku Haki tells the user how powerful someone is and it becomes clear that Doflamingo's kick on Issho became less 'OMG he kicked an Amiral!" to "He kicked someone he felt he had a chance of beating in a fight."
Doflamingo vs Luffy and Law
Ok, let's be honest. Everyone knows Doflamingo should have and would have wiped the floor with Luffy- Gear 4 notwithstanding-if not for some good ol PIS. Luffy's victory over Doflamingo was only achieved by the sheer amount of help he had: Law's intel and assistance, help from the people of Dressrosa and his own crew mates.
Doflamingo took on Law and Luffy at the same time while also having to defend Trebol and he kicked their arses. Gear 2 overall was slower than Doffy, the Warlord swiftly recovered from Red Hawk, Gear 3 + armament Haki attacks couldn't break through Doffy's defence, Law's hax couldn't put Doffy down- Doffy stitched his organs back together after Law's Gamma Knife and Counter Shock was straight up tanked. Doffy overwhelmed Law with a combination of; a stat advantage, experience, cunning and ruthlessness.
After Doflamingo sustained injuries from his fight with the two Supernovas, he was clearly not at 100% anymore, so one would think Gear 4 Luffy should have won with ease...right? Nah.
Despite Gear 4 enhancing Luffy's elasticity and therefore striking power by tenfold, Doflamingo managed to survive his initial onslaught. Kong Gun, Rhino Schneider, Culvarin canon, Lion Bazooka, all devastating attacks yet Doflamingo wasn't put down by them despite being wounded and his organs barely functioning. He managed to even land some shots on Gear 4 Luffy prior to using his Awakened abilities.
King Kong Gun
Luffy's King Kong Gun was powerful enough to overpower God Thread and Spider's Web then hit Doflamingo with enough force to split a city in half. This is the minimum requirement of force necessary the knock a tired and injured Dolfamingo out after Luffy's numerous blows in Gear Fourth. Had Doflamingo been completely fresh I have no doubt that he would still be conscious after King Kong Gun (I have a feeling this is a controversial opinion ;)
Luffy vs Fujitora
Fujitora is one of the most powerful characters introduced to us so far. To say nothing of his title of Admiral, he actually has the feats to back up his hype. Stalemating Sabo while holding back, summoning meteors and levitating country wide rubble in the sky while fighting Luffy
I want to emphasize once more that Doflamingo should have stomped Luffy under normal circumstances, the fact that he's above the Straw Hat needs to be beared in mind for what I have to say next.
Luffy was fighting equally with Fujitora, however the Admiral was still holding back. But holding back less than he did when fighting Sabo, Evidence, let's take a look at his Ferocious Tiger attack on Sabo:
It wrecked a few buildings, can be scaled to town level at best by looking at the panels detailing parts of Dressrosa.
His Ferocious Tiger attack on Luffy:
It crumbled two of the cliffs surrounding Dressrosa, these cliffs are the size of small mountains.
So what can we make of this? Fujitora was holding back less against Luffy than he did against Sabo evidenced by his dialogue and attack potency, yet Luffy still kept up and gave him a good fight. If Luffy can do this, why can't Doflamingo? No ABC logic is being used here, Doflamingo by feats is faster, more hax and more powerful than Luffy.
Conclusion, Doflamingo is Admiral level because:
His bird cage was country level
He showed no fear of Issho, even going so far as to attack the blind Marine
Based on his fights, status and scaling he should easily have the stamina to fight for several days on end, Ace did it, Jimbei did it, two people below Doflamingo. Sabo, somebody who stalemated Fujitora after just obtaining his Devil Fruit was Ace's equal during childhood, Jack fought for 5 days straight. The Admirals themselves showed they could fight for at least 10 days non stop. I have no doubts Doffy could do so too.
Fujitora failed to staunch his bird cage
By scaling he should easily deal much more damage and pressure to Issho than Luffy did.
His feats are much more impressive than Whitebeard's Commanders who could hold their own against the Admirals
"She barred her teeth and in a crazy-woman smile, said "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."
They definitely thought they were hard enough, and they came in strong and fast.
- The Maleficent 7, page 10
Cheeky bit-o dark banter from her man:
Sanguine chuckled. "I like you, boy. You got optimism in these bones. I like you so much that I ain't gonna tell you what I did to poor old Jethro, may he rest in piece, may they someday find his head. I'm gonna let you hold on to that little sliver of hope you got burning inside you, that I let him go, that he lived out the rest of his life in happiness and harmony."
"Th-thank you..."
The Maleficent 7- page 17
Yet another one from book 8, but what I can I say? I r8 the banter in this book 8/8! This time Tanith and her hubby have an amusing chat before a mission:
Tanith shrugged. "I like Harry Potter."
"This ain't about Harry Potter!"
"You liked Harry Potter as well."
"They're good books," he snapped, "But I do not agree with this wand business. All those guys down there, criminals and mobsters, and who are they taking orders from? A wizard with a wand. How can they take him seriously? How are they going to take us seriously when we attack."
"Hopefully they won't," said Tanith. "If they're waiting for us to wave our wands, maybe they won't shoot, and then we can kill them more easily."
The Maleficent 7, page 128
Well said, Tanith, well said.
Now, some context for this polished piece of banter: a necromancer had previously tried to take Val's life in her own bedroom but she fends him off and he jumps out of her bedroom window. After this, her parents come running into her room:
"I panicked. Dad, it was a bat. A massive one. I woke up and it was fluttering around the room, and fell against my desk. It landed on the floor and I tried to push the bed over it. Then it flew straight through the window."
Valkyrie hoped it wouldn't register with her parents that all the broken glass was on the inside.
Her Father sagged as relief spread through him. "I thought something awful was happening."
"She frowned. Something awful was happening. It could have got stuck in my hair."
100 Beast Kaido. Doflamingo (Joker) was scared shitless of him, he fell from the sky and it didn't put a scratch on him and...he's a Yonko!
Hype: 8
Red Haired Shanks, Captain of the Red Hair Pirates, Luffy's sole inspiration for becoming a pirate, former crew member of the deceased Pirate King; Gol D Roger, former sparring partner of the World's Greatest swordsman; Dracule Mihawk, a Yonko and... anything more need to be said to intruduce this man's crazy hype?
He has blocked Whitebeard's sword attack with only one arm and can knock out 100,000 superhumans with his burst of Haoshoku Haki (author statement)...
This badass's hype gets a solid 10!
Dracule Mihawk; World's Greatest swordsman, rival of Shanks the Yonko, strongest of the Seven Warlords of the sea and best of all...Roronoa Zoro's final opponent.
Mihawk has stomped Zoro with a 1 inch blade, while the latter was going all out with his 3 sword style, he has carved an ice mountain in half from hundreds of metres away and do you wanna know the best thing about these feats? All of them were performed casually.
Hype: 10
Monkey D Dragon: father of the figure head of the Eleven Supernovas, son of the Hero Marine; Monkey D Garp. This man is the most wanted criminal in the world, and rightly so since he's the leader of the World Revolutionaries who are destined to overthrow the corrupted World Government.
His hype is... 11/10.
Sabo: second in command of the World Revolutionaries, brother of our protagonist: Luffy, inheritor of Fire Fist Ace's will and winner of the Corrida Colosseum's gladiator tournament!
Sabo has fought a Marine Admiral to a standstill, made Jesus Burgess (Blackbeard's right hand) look like a joke. Moreover he also has immense swag wearing leather.
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