Key Takeaways
- Garp vs. Akainu fight is highly debated in the One Piece community due to power scaling disagreements.
- Garp and Akainu are closely matched in power, but Garp may have an edge due to experience and stamina.
- The winner in a hypothetical battle between Garp and Akainu would ultimately be determined by the author’s choice.
Power Scaling in One Piece has always been one of the community’s favorite pastimes. Trying to figure out if one character could reasonably defeat another in combat is always a source of fun, though usually heated discussion. In fact, One Piece even referenced the community’s penchant for Power Scaling in One Piece: Fan Letter, poking a little fun at that subset of the community.
However, when it comes to Power Scaling discussions, one of the most widely debated topics is whether or not Garp could have defeated Akainu on Marineford. Since a brawl between the two Marines was hinted at, fans have taken both sides, arguing why either character could emerge victorious from this epic confrontation. Although it’s hard to say who could win, with more information revealed in the modern One Piece chapters, it may be a bit more clear who would have won that hypothetical battle at Marineford.
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Garp and Akainu Almost Fought On One Piece’s Marinford
A Navy Clash
On Marineford, after Akainu kills Ace, Garp is shown completely enraged. The hero of the Navy was dead set on attacking Akainu before being held back by Sengoku, the Fleet Admiral. Of course, Garp’s old friend was able to calm him down, preventing what could have been a devastating clash between top-tier One Piece characters.
How does the touch of magma feel? – Akainu
Since these events, Garp has also been shown having a clash with his former student and current member of the Blackbeard Pirates, Kuzan, on the pirate Island Hichinosu. During this clash, for various reasons, including emotional hang-ups from Garp, the Hero of the Navy was defeated and captured by the former Navy Admiral. While Garp’s true fate has yet to be revealed, it won’t be the last time the character is shown in One Piece.
Garp Versus Akainu Is Closer Than Most Expect
When it comes down to it, Akainu versus Garp is going to be an incredibly close fight. Using Kuzan as a scale, in the battle between Kuzan and Garp, the two were shown to be fairly equal in terms of fighting. At the same time, Kuzan versus Akainu himself was almost a stalemate with Akainu barely winning after multiple days of fighting. In terms of what the One Piece story has revealed to the audience, Garp, Akainu, and Kuzan are all on a similar level at this point.
However, since the fight between Garp and Kuzan took place two years after the events of One Piece’s Marineford Arc, the former Admiral may have gotten stronger since his departure from the Marines. Garp, on the other hand, despite still being incredibly powerful, is past his prime. With that being said, if an older, and presumably weaker, Garp was able to nearly defeat Kuzan, if Garp was two years younger, the fight may have been a different story.
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As for Akainu, the fight for Fleet Admiral was fairly soon after the events of the Marineford Saga, meaning his power during his fight with Kuzan is equal to what his full potential could be at Marineford. Here, Akainu showed off the true extent of his Devil Fruit power, completely altering the landscape of Punk Hazard. Additionally, he showed off stamina that allowed him to fight for many days on end.
Garp Would Most Likely Emerge Victorious
Though Anything Can Happen
Overall, in a fight between Akainu and Garp, Garp may have a slight edge over One Piece’s Fleet Admiral Akainu, despite being similar in terms of power. Mainly, Akainu has been struggling in his battle with Whitebeard and has suffered some substantial blows, while Garp has barely participated in the fight. This difference between two otherwise matched characters could be the deciding factor that gives Garp the win. Plus, Garp’s skills in Armament Haki could give the Hero an upper hand on someone like Akainu, who primarily relies on his Devil Fruit.
Only weaklings lose their way! – Garp to Kuzan
In the end, the winner of this fight would be determined as whoever the author of One Piece, Oda, wanted to win. A million different environmental factors, like bystander casualties, or other characters stepping in could sway an actual fight between the two characters on Marineford. Although it’s fun to create these hypothetical fight scenes between characters in One Piece, in reality, it’s almost impossible to determine who would win in a fight.
