One Piece is an anime that certainly has its share of strong and powerful characters. And while its protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, is certainly one of them, some characters might be even more powerful than the manga's cheerful and quirky protagonist. In this article, we'll be comparing two of those characters, pitting Kaido against Akainu, or Sakazuki, the current leader of the Marines, to see who is the stronger of the two.

Akainu wouldn't win in a fight against Kaido. It would be an extremely complex confrontation, but Kaido would most likely emerge victorious. Akainu is incredibly strong and is roughly on par with Kaido, but two things speak in Kaido's favor. First, if Akainu had managed to defeat Kaido, he probably would have tried at least once, but he didn't. Second, it took Luffy's Gear 5 to defeat Kaido, and Akainu has lost battles to characters far less powerful than that.

The rest of this article will expand on the answer given above, as we compare Akainu and Kaido in more detail. Through several categories, you'll see who is the stronger of the two and why our answer is the way it is—that is, why Kaido would, according to our analysis, be able to ultimately defeat Akainu.

Physical powers

Sakazuki displayed astonishing physical prowess during the war against the Summit, such as when he used a single leg to stop Newgate's massive Bisento. He is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant who combines his skills with those of his lodge to unleash formidable lethal power. His victories over Inazuma, Ivankov, and Jinbe, as well as his victory over Kuzan in their duel for the position of Fleet Admiral despite both suffering serious injuries, are among his accomplishments.

Sakazuki is incredibly durable in combat, as evidenced by the fact that he survived two extremely powerful earthquakes at close range from Whitebeard—one of which ripped through Marineford—and was still able to actively participate in the conflict, subsequently engaging in combat with Sakazuki, the leaders of the Whitebeard Pirates, and two former warlords of the sea, Crocodile and Jinbe. His resistance to damage also extends to assaults imbued with Busoshoku Haki, as neither Marco nor Vista were able to significantly damage him with such an attack. Sakazuki also possesses exceptionally keen hearing; even before the fight with Whitebeard began, he was able to hear underwater activity.

Thanks to his muscle mass, Kaido possesses enormous physical strength. He has managed to capsize nine giant prison ships. Kaido is powerful enough that his scream alone causes visible damage to the area around him. One of Kaido's greatest strengths is his inability to die; in fact, he has suffered seven defeats, been captured eighteen times by the navy or enemies, been tortured over a thousand times, and ultimately been sentenced to death forty times. However, no execution, whatsoever, has worked.

Additionally, Kaido jumped 10,000 meters above the ground, sending out a powerful shockwave that could have sunk a nearby ship, but he only suffered from a headache; suicide became a hobby for him. Like Shanks and Edward Newgate, Kaido and Big Mom were able to split the sky in two with a single blow, proving they were as powerful as Charlotte Linlin. Big Mom has yet to be defeated, which is a strong indication of Kaido's strength.

There is absolutely no doubt that Kaido is physically stronger than Akainu. Kaido is extremely strong, and Whitebeard was one of the few characters stronger than Kaido, meaning this point goes to the pirate captain.

Points: Akainu 0, Kaido 1

Devil Fruit

Akainu possesses the Magu Magu no Mi, a Logia-type Devil Fruit that allows him to transform his body into magma and control it at will. Akainu can withstand physical blows since he uses the Logia-type fruit, and only Haki, the Sea Granite, can harm him when Akainu is elementally vulnerable or has lowered his guard.

Even after Marco and Vista cut him in the neck with Haki-infused attacks, it seems Akainu is aware of Haki and has discovered some techniques to evade them. Since the heat of magma is greater than the heat of fire, his talent is inherently more powerful than Ace's pyrokinetic skills. The innate advantage of his power ultimately allows him to assassinate Ace.

With the help of his Devil Fruit, Akainu can easily pursue targets like Emporio Ivankov and Jinbe. Akainu once again demonstrated the ferocious power of his Devil Fruit during the 10-day war against Punk Hazard for the title of Admiral-Commander-in-Chief by turning part of the planet into a veritable furnace.

Kaido ate the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, a Zoan-type Mythical Devil Fruit that allows him to transform into an oriental dragon, similar to Momonosuke, the main difference being that Kaido is gigantic in size in dragon form and seems to control his transformations.

However, he will be unable to maintain this appearance if he is hit by too many powerful strikes, such as those launched by Luffy. He can also growl loud enough to unleash lightning. The entire island of Onigashima has been seen to be able to be lifted by Kaido, and he appears to be able to move it all the way to the Flower Capital.

The Devil Fruits used by these two characters are completely different, and it was difficult to compare them properly. We know that both are extremely powerful, but due to their different natures, we decided to share the points in this category.

Points: Akainu 1, Kaido 2

RIGHT

Since all Vice Admirals have Haki, Akainu, who is one level above the Vice Admirals, also has access to this power. He was seen, with the help of his fellow Admirals, forming a pair of shields from their three Haki to thwart Whitebeard's attempts to demolish the execution platform using his Armament Haki. He also possesses Observation Haki. It is unknown if he can use Conqueror's Haki.

One of the few individuals to master all three varieties of Haki is Kaidou. Kaidou was shown to be able to command Kenbunshoku Haki by detecting Kozuki Oden's presence on Enma while Roronoa Zoro was using it. After her and Big Mom's joint strike, she also used it to detect the voices of supernovae, allowing her to pretend they were still alive.

Like Charlotte Katakuri or Luffy, Kaidou's control allows him to use it in sophisticated ways and predict the future. Kaidou's mastery of Busoshoku Haki is also exceptional; according to Law, the Royal Haki was too strong for her to move Kaidou directly into her room. He is also able to have skin that is virtually impervious to common attacks thanks to his Busoshoku Haki.

Kaidou is one of a very small number of people capable of using Haoshoku Haki. Upon colliding with Charlotte Linlin using her Kanabō, they both generated a typical lightning discharge. Kaidou can use the advanced variant of Haoshoku Haki, imbuing his Kanabō with his will, which violently expels black lightning from its tip and causes it to expand towards his enemies.

Kaido is capable of using all three types of Haki, while Akainu is known to only use two. Therefore, according to tradition, this point should be attributed to Kaido, as he knows more types of Haki than Akainu.

Points: Akainu 1, Kaido 3

Weapons

Regarding weapons, Akainu rarely uses them. He was seen using a dagger as a child and also a katana, but his actual skills are unknown. He certainly possesses some skills, but the exact level is unknown.

Kaidou uses his Hassaikai, a giant metal Kanabō full of spikes and adapted to his size, against his opponents. In addition to its immense physical strength, he can use it to crush his opponents and send them great distances and was able to knock Luffy unconscious with a single blow, breaking the enormous defensive power of his Busoshoku Haki enhanced with his Gear Fourth form. Thanks to this, he was also able to block Charlotte Linlin's attack with Napoleon, an extremely powerful sword. Kaidou killed Kozuki Oden using a double-barreled pistol, but it is unknown what happened to this weapon today and if he still has it in his possession.

Kaido may not be the best swordsman in One Piece, but he's certainly skilled enough to be among the best. On the other hand, Akainu's weapon skills are a complete mystery, which is why we have to give Kaido the last point as well.

Points: Akainu 1, Kaido 4

Akainu vs. Kaido: Who Would Win?

And now, let's move on to the most important and interesting section of our article: the analysis. Here, we'll take what we've discovered about these two characters and analyze how all these facts would help them (or not) in their fight against each other. Let's continue.

This duel was relatively easy to compare because the points were clearly in favor of one character, and this time, the points actually reflect the real-life situation. There's no doubt that Kaido is a stronger fighter than Akainu, but not because Akainu is a Marine—we don't think Marines are necessarily weaker than pirates, that's a myth—but because Kaido is actually that strong.

Of course, Akainu's Devil Power could cause damage to Kaido, but the difference between them isn't that great, despite Akainu's Devil Fruit being a Logia type; namely, even these Devil Fruits have some sort of weakness, and Kaido—with all his other skills—would be able to expose and use that weakness to his advantage.

We know that Kaido is physically stronger than Akainu and has better weapon skills and mastery of all three forms of Haki, which puts him significantly above Akainu's level and makes him the clear winner of this duel. If you still have any doubts, we'll just state that Akainu is a hunting dog and, if he had sensed a chance of victory, he would have certainly attacked Kaido at least once; with Akainu actively avoiding a direct confrontation with Kaido, it's clear that the admiral is aware that Kaido is the stronger character. Furthermore, it took Luffy activating both his Devil Fruit and Gear 5 to defeat Kaido in Wano Country, while Akainu was always defeated with much less power than that. This is why Kaido wins this one.