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In One Piece, every Marine has their own idea of how justice should be enforced, and their actions often reflect that interpretation. Admiral Borsalino “Kizaru” is an extremely prominent member of the Navy, given his remarkable rank and impressive fighting skills. Kizaru believes in Unclear Justice, an enigmatic ideal that epitomizes his unexpectedly complex persona.
Kizaru sees himself as a “cog in the machine”, preferring to receive orders and carry them out rather than make his own personal assessments. True to his casual, permanently relaxed attitude, Kizaru doesn’t question his orders but executes them at his own pace, which can be surprisingly slow even though the powers of the Glint-Glint Fruit make him one of the fastest characters in the series.
He appears absent-minded even in the most serious moments, but can quickly become ruthless on a whim. Doing the bare minimum without really taking responsibility for his actions, Kizaru always has a snarky smirk on his face. In Egghead, however, the Admiral revealed his human feelings for the first time. He won’t be able to hide them anymore, meaning that his ideology may soon change.
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Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1131.
Kizaru's actions in Egghead are the epitome of One Piece’s Unclear Justice
A deep inner struggle that nerfed Kizaru's mind
After receiving the order to kill Dr Vegapunk, Kizaru faced a tremendous inner struggle due to his friendship with the scientist. In the past, Kizaru spent a lot of time with Vegapunk and his bodyguard Sentomaru, as well as Bartholomew Kuma and Jewelry Bonney, creating a bond of cheerful fellowship with them. The Admiral even participated in the construction of Vegapunk's laboratory on Egghead.
This left the Admiral torn between protecting his bonds or ignoring his feelings to carry out his duties as a Marine. One Piece fans know Kizaru as a fearsome antagonist who, under normal circumstances, would mercilessly—though lazily—complete his mission. However, the Egghead Incident put him in the same mental state as Monkey D. Garp was during the Paramount War.
At the time, Garp tried to find a balance between his pride in the name of the Navy and his love for his family. He attacked Marco, but also let his grandson Luffy get past him, showing his evident inner turmoil. Similarly, Kizaru fought Luffy, but his lack of commitment was noticeable.
Kizaru’s character is based on Kunie Tanaka, a famous Japanese actor who typically played roles of morally ambiguous characters. Given his behavior during the Egghead Incident, it seemed that Kizaru was constantly wavering between listening to his heart and performing his duty.
He never fully embraced either of the two radically opposing options, as might be expected of someone acting under the inspiration of “Unclear Justice”. In fact, Kizaru did the bare minimum necessary to obey Saint Saturn’s orders and, at certain moments, even defied them by intentionally lying to his hierarchical superior.
Kizaru helped Luffy, hoping to save his friends
Kizaru went crashing into the surroundings after Luffy struck him with his Gum-Gum Star Gun move. This move combined the Gear 5’s cartoonish properties with the might of Armament and Conqueror’s Haki to deliver a spinning hook punch. The effort exhausted Luffy, who had reached his limits, and he fell to the ground.
As for Kizaru, the Admiral claimed that he wouldn’t be able to move for some time. But this was a total lie. When Luffy was down, someone fed the young pirate, allowing him to replenish his energy. It is worth noting that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda confirmed in the latest SBS that the mysterious benefactor was none other than Kizaru himself.
To be fair, this was clear from the start, as no one else could have helped Luffy at the time. The only allies around were Sanji, Franky, and Bonney, who couldn’t move because Saturn was holding them down. Despite his previous words, Kizaru was shown in two different positions before and after Luffy received the food.
As Oda pointed out, Kizaru used the power of the Glint-Glint Fruit to move at the speed of light. The Admiral gathered food, brought it to Luffy, and went back before anyone could even notice him. He moved Luffy's body so he could hit without the Navy soldiers attacking him.
Given Kizaru’s role and allegiance, these actions seem incomprehensible. But there’s a precise reason for them. Unable to openly betray the World Government but still haunted by his feelings, Kizaru followed his Unclear Justice as he carried out his duty while trying to secretly help Vegapunk’s side via Luffy.
Kizaru fed Luffy to get him back into fighting shape, as with him around Saturn, he wouldn’t be able to kill Bonney and the others. Meanwhile, Kizaru would indirectly refuse to attack them by pretending to be down for the count. Luffy would save Kizaru’s friends without the Admiral having to switch sides and go directly against Saturn and the World Government.
This may be the turning point for Kizaru’s character
Under normal circumstances, Kizaru tries to do his job without any emotional attachment, but the conflict on Egghead blew away all his certainties. It would have been interesting to see Kizaru’s actions without Saint Saturn being present. With the Gorosei member around, the Admiral couldn’t really save his friends without outright disobeying his orders and betraying the World Government.
So, Kizaru’s idea was to have Luffy do what he couldn’t. It was the epitome of Unclear Justice, as Kizaru was resolved to save face and follow his orders, but also didn’t want to kill all of his friends, so he did what he could to help both sides. He reluctantly made up his mind about Vegapunk, understanding that the scientist’s fate was sealed the moment he decided to research the Void Century.
After all, Saturn had already Vegapunk wounded mortally. However, Kizaru was determined not to let Bonney and the others be killed too, and that’s why he helped Luffy. In fact, immediately before Luffy was fed, Kizaru was shown thinking about Sentomaru and Bonney.
When Sanji tried to escape with Vegapunk, Kizaru kicked him away and struck the scientist, giving him the coup de grace. While it can be said that the Admiral just spared his friend, who was going to die anyway, some suffering, when Vegapunk died, Kizaru was completely overcome with emotion.
He used Luffy’s subsequent attack as an excuse not to get up and continue fighting. Kizaru never put his best effort into the struggle of the young pirate and deliberately threw the fight away when his emotions reached the breaking point. As Luffy sent Kizaru crashing into a Navy ship, some Marines asked the Admiral about his wounds, but he told them to leave him alone. He claimed to be in a great deal of pain, even though his body appeared almost unharmed.
When Luffy was lying on the ground, helpless and completely vulnerable, Kizaru could have easily killed him. Hitting Luffy’s vital points with a laser would have been child’s play. Instead, he chose to feed the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates in a desperate, convoluted attempt to save at least some of his friends.
Even though he was prepared for Vegapunk’s death, the actual occurrence still left Kizaru feeling guilty. Not even Luffy’s Gear 5 hurt Kizaru as much as his own actions. When he killed Vegapunk, Kizaru probably killed a part of himself as well. The Admiral likely cursed Saturn, the World Government, and the constraints of his role.
Kizaru’s subsequent emotional outburst at Akainu for questioning his work on Egghead was only a consequence of what the former had been through up to that point. The Egghead Incident could very well be the turning point for Kizaru’s character.
As a high-ranked Marine officer who even became an Admiral, Kizaru has always known about the lights and shadows of the World Government, but never left the organization. Until now, Kizaru might have believed that working as an Admiral to prevent the pirate attacks that could throw the One Piece world into chaos would offset the job's dark side. The evil actions ordered by the Five Elders and the Celestial Dragons represent the dark side of the job.
After all, as someone who believed in Unclear Justice, Kizaru wouldn’t even feel responsible for the consequences of his actions. This time, however, those actions affected him firsthand, causing him pain that he had never felt before. A chord has been struck in Kizaru’s heart, and the facetious Admiral will never be the same person again.
Related Links
- One Piece chapter 1131: Release date and time, where to read, and more
- One Piece: Each Straw Hat timeskip training, explained
- Latest One Piece Vivre Card reveals Devil Fruit names, the Seraphim's Haki, and more
- From Luffy's Gear 5 to Figarland Garling's strength - Eiichiro Oda answers 10 One Piece questions
- One Piece: Is Yamato an Awakened Devil Fruit user? Explored
