One Piece: Kizaru –The Underrated Admiral With a Terrifying Devil Fruit

Admiral Kizaru's Glint-Glint fruit is more powerful than fans realize – the Navy Admiral could be a powerful foe the Straw Hats must face in the end.

When One Piece fans think of powerful admirals, they often mention Akainu and Aokiji, the lava and ice specialists, while overlooking Kizaru. Unfortunately, the light-wielding admiral has always been held back by perceptions. Many fans view Kizaru to be an older, lazier, and potentially less capable fighter than his fellow admirals while ignoring the fact that he has had fewer opportunities to demonstrate the full extent of his powers, unlike Aokiji, Akainu, and even the more recently introduced Fujitora.

However, while the other aforementioned admirals are incredibly powerful and have proven feats, Kizaru's Devil Fruit is light years ahead in terms of potential. His fruit, the Glint-Glint fruit (Pika-Pika no Mi) holds the potential to be one of the most powerful in the world of One Piece. By the end of the series, the misunderstood admiral may finally get his moment to shine, surprising fans by unleashing the fruit's devastating potential.

Why the Glint-Glint Fruit Is Potentially Broken

In One Piece, few Devil Fruit abilities are more overpowered than the ability to manipulate light. Kizaru's Glint-Glint fruit allows him to not only move at the speed of light but also to manipulate and control light particles. Kizaru is equally as effective as a close and long-range fighter. At long range, he can sharpshoot and inflict a devastatingly powerful barrage of light particles on his opponents. During the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, Kizaru demonstrated he could reshape light into a sword. Due to his light ability, Kizaru has super fast reflexes that allow him to dodge unexpected attacks at a close or long range.

One argument that occasionally appears on the internet is that Silvers Rayleigh would have bested Kizaru in an all-out fight, ignoring the fact that Rayleigh had to use observation haki just to keep up with Kizaru's movements and became tired after only 3 minutes while fighting the admiral. Kizaru's speed enables him to effortlessly switch between long and close-range combat, closing or creating a gap whenever it's beneficial to him. Enel, the lightning wielding, self-proclaimed ruler of Skypiea, is another character who is often perceived as having a high potential; however, the speed of lightning that Enel uses (270,000 mph) is only a fraction of the speed of light (670,000,000 mph). The velocity Kizaru generates through movement is then utilized in his attacks to devastating effect. If Kizaru were to go all out, it's hard to imagine there are many people who could stand against him.

Appearances Can Be Deceiving

In One Piece, it's been consistently proven that effort does not necessarily equate to power. There are numerous examples of laid-back but powerful characters such as Sengoku, Garp, Kuzan, and Fujitora. Usually, they are older, more experienced military veterans who no longer take smaller issues too seriously. Kizaru shares this laid-back trait, but unlike the aforementioned, some fans use this trait in arguments that downplay his strength. However, while Kizaru may appear easygoing, there's something inherently duplicitous and insidious about him. This is compounded in One Piece in various ways, such as his military nickname, Kizaru, meaning yellow monkey and his military epithet "amorphous justice" (どっちつかずの正義).

Each admiral has an epithet and animal-inspired nickname that represents their personality. Kizaru's amorphous justice could hint that he's disinterested rather than laid back, with his true motivation yet to be revealed. His appearance was designed to resemble a member of the Italian mafia and it's entirely possible that he could have deeper ties to the World Government. Kizaru may not have demonstrated his full fighting capabilities yet because an opportunity that aligns with his interests has yet to present itself.

When the World Government received an announcement that Big Mom was heading to Wano, Kizaru offered to head to the island, with his intention most likely being to intercept Big Mom before she arrived. This demonstrated his confidence in his fighting ability, as well as the fact that he is willing to step up when he feels motivated. Big Mom is one of the strongest characters in One Piece, yet Kizaru is willing to enter a situation where he may have to fight her without hesitation. During the Marineford arc, Kizaru stood on the blade of the strongest man in the world, Whitebeard, while attacking him from close range. Kizaru may be duplicitous, but he is neither weak nor afraid of fighting.

He May Be Destined to Fight Sanji

During one of the upcoming final One Piece arcs, the Straw Hats may face off against the World Government, starting a second Marineford War arc. It's been suggested that Sanji could face off against Kizaru due to their similar fighting styles. Both have a preference for using their legs in close combat, move quickly, have high stamina, and share numerous other physical traits. While Kizaru has an elemental logia-type Devil Fruit, Sanji's Black Leg style incorporates the element of fire into his attacks.

The fight would be particularly interesting as, more than anything else, the two individuals are both fighters with high potential who are continually undervalued by a large portion of One Piece fans. During their fight, they would be able to demonstrate the full extent of their abilities, highlighting why they should not have been underplayed throughout the series. Kizaru unleashing the full potential of his Glint-Glint Devil Fruit and Sanji's latent exoskeleton powers could lead to one of One Piece's best battle scenes.

There are only a few years left of One Piece before the series finally ends. During this time, there are going to be numerous big battles and story reveals – some expected but others will be a surprise. In One Piece, Kizaru has yet to have a big battle in the post-time-skip era, unlike most of the current and former admirals, including newcomer Fujitora.

When light passes through a prism, it refracts, dispersing outwards in different directions. In a sense, Kizaru's fickle and disingenuous personality represents refraction and how he's one of the series' wild cards. Kizaru is powerful, intelligent and possesses a Devil Fruit with almost unimaginable potential. When his interests finally align with his military objectives, he may finally unleash the full extent of his Devil Fruit and that is truly terrifying.