Theories That Don't Deserve Their Own Thread v.2

[Kaku-Kaku Fruit]

Doesn't seem like she needs to touch her victims, and she was standing on a roof with her crewmates while the marines on the ground below turned into kids and old men, so I suppose it works similar to Mero Mero and Noro Noro.

An age beam? That would be neat! Also, when she got captured, didn't San Juan break the Blackbeard raft? How will they transport with him????

[Urouge]

Of course, these big shots aren't Admirals or Emperors, so don't get me wrong; they aren't at the top yet.

I don't think most of the admirals are on the same level as the emperors, so they might be able to deal with one now. I mean, the whole of Marineford basically gave up when Shanks got there, and Marco and Jozu were managing just fine against them.

This isn't exactly a theory, but I want a scene of Bonney in Impel Down (since Blackbeard left her for the government just before the timeskip) where she escapes and turns Magellan into a kid. I also want an exact limit on her powers. Does she have to have touched the people she ages or is it a range thing like Law?

Based on Akainu's comments when she was captured, she wasn't a criminal when she ran away. She was probably returned to where she came from, whether it was a situation like Sabo's or a slave or something.

[Coruscation]

Well, be that as it may (I personally feel that there now being three Admirals and three Emperors, with the only man to beyond any doubt stand above them taken out of the equation seems a bit too convenient not to imply a degree of equality, as did to me the way Oda portrayed Blackbeard saying essentially the same thing about fighting Shanks as about fighting Akainu, and the whole strongest Marines vs. strongest pirates deal) but I don't think the SHs would be on the level of the Admirals even if they are below the Emperors.

[Urouge]

I think Akainu is probably stronger than the other two, and I also always felt that the admirals + warlords was a balance against one emperor, not all 4. The 4 of them are all enemies of each other, which makes this possible. This is proven by the fact that they struggled against Whitebeard despite the fact that he was old, sick, and dying. It's also supported by how much MHQ was crapping their pants when Shanks and Whitebeard made contact since they can't hope to fight them both. Garp also said the Marines can't handle two legends at the same time, and he was referring ONLY to Rayleigh as the other legend, not another entire army.

Blackbeard should have grown quite a bit over the last two years as well, and him and Luffy shouldn't all THAT far off now, even if Luffy is a bit weaker. There's no reason to assume he wouldn't be willing to try to fight Akainu now.

[Coruscation]

Oh, I do agree. The balance is created by the Marines + Shichibukai making up a force powerful enough to keep any of the individual Emperors from possessing the greatest military power, deterring them from ever attacking the World Government. That's why even Shanks and WB meeting each other was deemed too dangerous to happen and when they did it put the entire world at risk. I still tend to feel that it befits the strongest Marines to be on fairly even grounds with the strongest pirates, especially given how favorably the Admirals have been consistently portrayed. About their performances, I always thought they did a splendid job fighting Whitebeard, just as it also befits the strongest Marines to be capable of doing with the strongest man. They're the ones who should do that job, you know? Someone may mention Garp & Sengoku but to me it feels lame for the current best Marines there are to be insufficiently strong compared to the old guard, even when the old guard is, well, old. Oda took care to never show two Admirals teaming up on someone, even Whitebeard, which makes me feel that their individual strength is sufficient for just about anyone (as it, broken record time, befits the strongest Marines there are).

By now Teach shouldn't be as hesitant to take on Akainu, but it's the fact that Oda chose to portray him in very similar situations facing the prospect of battling an Emperor and an Admiral and say the same thing about both of them that makes me feel they're roughly the same in power.

[Urouge]

I think Akainu is just the exceptional admiral. Kizaru and Aokiji were shown to be pretty even with Marco and Jozu and won because they got distracted (and Kizaru had help). Akainu fought Whitebeard and then took on all the commanders + Crocodile at once. Having one guy who can match up with the very strongest pirate captains is fine, and then there's Kong as well. Having 3 that can do it sort of diminishes the threat that the emperors represent to them.

Jozu, at the very least, shouldn't be emperor level.

[Coruscation]

I can very much sympathize with that viewpoint. For me the biggest thing about Akainu being the stand-out Admiral is that bit where he took Marco & Vista's attacks simultaneously. I definitely got the vibe that Marco was just about on par with Kizaru, and I just don't know if Oda would choose to portray Akainu in that manner against two people one of which is equal to him, especially as he basically just shrugged off the attacks. It kind of goes against my OP-senses... know what I mean? It definitely looked like Akainu was stronger than either Marco or Vista individually in that scene. And as you said, he stood in front of every commander at once. Now I don't really think he would win that fight and he did have back-up, but I can definitely see some symbolism there.

The alternative would essentially be that Jozu (maybe Marco) is to the Admirals, what the Admirals were to Whitebeard or Vista to Mihawk. In all these cases pirate confidently fought Marine (or Shichibukai) and weren't showing any weakness, but in the end we know that WB > an Admiral and that Mihawk > Vista. Jozu's perceived equality with Aokiji, and Marco's with Kizaru, could be a case of the same thing. Oda giving some hype but in the end there's one clear stronger guy. This would be the same strength, different personalities approach. They are all equally strong but Akainu's personality basically brings it out the most.

Although I can't say I'd be overly happy with Kong > Kizaru and Aokiji, but that's a different discussion and this doesn't really need to be extended.

[Kaku-Kaku Fruit]

Don't forget about the letter Buggy got! It was from the government, right? I think the Navy might be making Buggy into a Warlord!
Also, Sengoku stepped down and nominated Akainu for the position of Fleet Admiral. Who will be the new admiral?

[sanji499]

Don't forget about the letter Buggy got! It was from the government, right? I think the Navy might be making Buggy into a Warlord!
Also, Sengoku stepped down and nominated Akainu for the position of Fleet Admiral. Who will be the new admiral?

Not to mention that Jinbei's invitation was delivered by a very similar bat.

For Akainu, I am not sure because the world withnessed him trying to kill a defenseless soldier (Coby) without hesitation. I have a hard time imagining Akainu with a desk job, I think hunting and killing is what he does best. He is a man action.

[RomanceDawn]

Don't forget about the letter Buggy got! It was from the government, right? I think the Navy might be making Buggy into a Warlord!
Also, Sengoku stepped down and nominated Akainu for the position of Fleet Admiral. Who will be the new admiral?

Not quite, Aokiji was recommended for Fleet Admiral. And yeah we all speculated about Buggy even before we saw Jimbe's invite.

[Urouge]

Aokiji was recommended, but Oda teased us by not telling us who got the job in the end. It's perfectly reasonable to think Akainu might have gotten it. Whoever got the position made a lot of changes, which could easily include the Fleet Admiral being more involved in the field.

At the very least, Aokiji doesn't seem like the type to be as aggressive as to move operations into the New World to challenge the remaining emperors.

[sanji499]

I think the new base isn't very far from the previous one.

This decision made by the new fleet admiral seems...lazy.

[Urouge]

Well, it has to stay near Mariejoa since the presence of it protects the nobles. Restrictions abound.

[Strawhat Chan]

Aokiji was recommended, but Oda teased us by not telling us who got the job in the end. It's perfectly reasonable to think Akainu might have gotten it. Whoever got the position made a lot of changes, which could easily include the Fleet Admiral being more involved in the field.

At the very least, Aokiji doesn't seem like the type to be as aggressive as to move operations into the New World to challenge the remaining emperors.

Well, nothing indicates that Aokiji wouldn't take his job as the Fleet Admiral seriously. He did kill a good friend of his.
I prefer him to be the new FA because Akainu will do better out in the field, instead of sitting behind a desk for most of the day (something that Aokiji won't mind doing I guess). Plus, I'm having a hard time imagining Aokiji fighting against the Strawhats later on. We've Kizaru who tends to fight the first mate (Rayleigh, Marco, Beckman, Zoro) or the second strongest, and Akainu with whom Luffy has personal issues. Aokiji is a good guy, he doesn't have much reason to fight them other than them being powerful pirates. He could stay as the FT until the very end of the series, with Coby becoming an Admiral, etc. I can't see Aokiji going around hunting down pirates like Akainu will probably do.

Also, do you think Akainu will accept the job?

[Don Quichotte De Flamingo]

I had an idea about Bonney.
Maybe the reason why she is called a glutton, is because of her DF she has to eat such huge amounts of food to stay in shape.
I may be a bit Toriko-affected, but i think her DF-ability makes her cells ageing all the time.
Her cells need all the time new power(which comes from the food), becaus they`re working x-times so quick as normal cells.
So by eating a lot she keeps her young age,while she is ageing to a grandmother, when she isn`t eating for a longer time.
But she sure is able to make her every age she wants with her "ageing-beam", but those cells are the downside of her ability.

[I survived the buster call]

Well, nothing indicates that Aokiji wouldn't take his job as the Fleet Admiral seriously. He did kill a good friend of his.
I prefer him to be the new FA because Akainu will do better out in the field, instead of sitting behind a desk for most of the day (something that Aokiji won't mind doing I guess). Plus, I'm having a hard time imagining Aokiji fighting against the Strawhats later on. We've Kizaru who tends to fight the first mate (Rayleigh, Marco, Beckman, Zoro) or the second strongest, and Akainu with whom Luffy has personal issues. Aokiji is a good guy, he doesn't have much reason to fight them other than them being powerful pirates. He could stay as the FT until the very end of the series, with Coby becoming an Admiral, etc. I can't see Aokiji going around hunting down pirates like Akainu will probably do.

Also, do you think Akainu will accept the job?

Aokiji killed his friend when he was much younger and more idealistic, perhaps. Certainly he was instilled with the sense that his duty required certain things of him as a marine officer--and right afterwards he let Robin go in honor of said friend, then much later did it again when she was much older and clearly on track to be a major threat to the Gov't,--putting Aokiji himself clearly already on track to start questioning things and going a little rogue--in other words I do in fact think he might not see the job in the same light as the Gov't might like him to--Seriously yes, as limited in POV, certainly not.

I realize we as readers "like" Aokiji better because so far he is the only one of the three that has shown and hesitated due to compassion for another human being, but as far as the navy itself is concerned, he may not be the best choice for just that reason. It truly depends on the view the higher ups have taken of his actions compared to those of Akainu during the war. As someone else here pointed out some time ago, Akainu was the hero of that war, in many ways, for the marines. The WG and the Gorousei proved years ago what sort of marine they appreciate most, I think, during the buster call on Robin's home island. It is not in any way inreasonable to think they may have picked Akainu, and I would bet his ambition would allow him to take the job, yes, if he feels he can "change and purify' the marines to his liking from that position, lol.

I had an idea about Bonney.
Maybe the reason why she is called a glutton, is because of her DF she has to eat such huge amounts of food to stay in shape.
I may be a bit Toriko-affected, but i think her DF-ability makes her cells ageing all the time.
Her cells need all the time new power(which comes from the food), becaus they`re working x-times so quick as normal cells.
So by eating a lot she keeps her young age,while she is ageing to a grandmother, when she isn`t eating for a longer time.
But she sure is able to make her every age she wants with her "ageing-beam", but those cells are the downside of her ability.

Hmm interesting idea, Don, but completely unsupported as of yet by anything other than her eating habbits.

[Coruscation]

I think people are jumping the gun a bit when they think that Akainu would necessarily have to be a "deskjob" type Fleet Admiral just because Sengoku was one. He'll have the highest authority, true, but it is in fact the Admirals (1 of them that is)that we know for certain always need to be present at MHQ due to the Tenryuubito's demands. It could be entirely possible for the FA to, if he deems it necessary, go out and take action for himself.

[Urouge]

Well, nothing indicates that Aokiji wouldn't take his job as the Fleet Admiral seriously. He did kill a good friend of his.
I prefer him to be the new FA because Akainu will do better out in the field, instead of sitting behind a desk for most of the day (something that Aokiji won't mind doing I guess). Plus, I'm having a hard time imagining Aokiji fighting against the Strawhats later on. We've Kizaru who tends to fight the first mate (Rayleigh, Marco, Beckman, Zoro) or the second strongest, and Akainu with whom Luffy has personal issues. Aokiji is a good guy, he doesn't have much reason to fight them other than them being powerful pirates. He could stay as the FT until the very end of the series, with Coby becoming an Admiral, etc. I can't see Aokiji going around hunting down pirates like Akainu will probably do.

Also, do you think Akainu will accept the job?

You quoted me saying that he probably wouldn't keep the position as a desk job anymore if he took it. So yes, I think he'd like to be the one calling the shots and going out into the field whenever he wants.

I'm also not saying that Aokiji would have declined the position or not taken it seriously. I'm just saying that I don't think he was offered the position in the first place, and aggressively moving the Marines operations against the emperors isn't really his style.

[mcdreamy]

I'm pretty sure Sengoku's recommendation for fleet Admiral means a lot and it probably won't be overturned. Besides, if Akainu was fleet admiral, his threat level would go down since he wouldn't be scouring the seas for pirates any more. It wouldn't be good for the marines to be lead by a mad dog that loves to kill and is an advocate of dark justice. Akainu's lack of emotion is disturbing, he's too much like Rob Lucchi.

[sanji499]

I'm pretty sure Sengoku's recommendation for fleet Admiral means a lot and it probably won't be overturned. Besides, if Akainu was fleet admiral, his threat level would go down since he wouldn't be scouring the seas for pirates any more. It wouldn't be good for the marines to be lead by a mad dog that loves to kill and is an advocate of dark justice. Akainu's lack of emotion is disturbing, he's too much like Rob Lucchi.

I agree. Sengoku is a legendary marine who lived during Roger's era and fought Shiki. According to WB, one of the few legends who knew the GL well.

The WG definetely "cares" about their reputation. They don't want to see any scandals popping up or any embarassing stories (the straw hats saving Alabasta). If Akainu is not FA, you limit the risks of scandals. Akainu is very impulsive and shot down one of the Ohara boats without hesitation.

Aokiji is not as intimidating. I miss Aokiji being silly.