One Piece honors Kizaru and Akainu's brotherhood in chapter 1124

Throughout One Piece, Admiral Borsalino “Kizaru” is emphasized as an intimidating and ruthless Navy officer who serves the World Government without a second thought. However, the Egghead Arc has revealed Kizaru’s human nature, slowly delving into his touching bond with Bartholomew Kuma, Jewelry Bonney, Sentomaru, and Dr Vegapunk.

In the past, Kizaru spent a lot of time with Sentomaru, Kuma, and the others. Sadly, all those joyful memories were swept away by the World Government’s order to kill Vegapunk. Clearly displeased at the idea of hurting the people he was fond of, Kizaru ended up torn between his feelings and his sense of duty.

Ultimately, however, Kizaru chose the second option, as he struck Vegapunk with a lethal blow that eventually led to his death. One Piece chapter 1124 now sheds new light on Kizaru’s internal conflict, while also emphasizing the latter’s unexpectedly strong bond with Fleet Admiral Sakazuki “Akainu”.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1124.

Latest One Piece chapter frames Kizaru’s inner torment while revealing his fraternal bond with Akainu

Borsalino "Kizaru" (Image via Toei Animation)

Set to officially release on August 26, 2024, One Piece chapter 1124 focuses on the aftermath of the Egghead Incident. Following Dr Vegapunk’s death and the conclusion of his message’s broadcast, the Straw Hat Pirates are preparing to set sail for Elbaf. Meanwhile, Akainu tries to contact the Navy fleet deployed on Egghead.

However, no Marine can answer, as all the officers were knocked out when Emet released Joy Boy’s Haki blast. Akainu’s call is eventually picked up by Kizaru, who gets up and responds to his superior. Until then, Kizaru was lying on the deck of a Marine ship, where he was sent crashing by one of Luffy’s attacks.

Sakazuki "Akainu" (Image via Toei Animation)

Akainu tells Kizaru that he is doing a lousy job, to which the latter, with tears in his eyes, rabidly replies by asking the former if he had ever killed his best friend. Kizaru then remembers his friendship with Vegapunk, from the day they first met to the moment when he struck the scientist dead.

Bursting into tears, Kizaru yells at Akainu that if he really doubts his capabilities, he should come to Egghead and test them for himself. Startled by Kizaru’s reaction, Akainu uncharacteristically apologizes to his fellow Marine, uttering words that no one would have ever expected to hear from him:

“My bad. Sorry… brother.”

Akainu and Kizaru’s comradely bond

Admiral Kizaru and Fleet Admiral Akainu (Image via Toei Animation)

One Piece typically depicts Kizaru as a humorous man who takes everything lightly. Nonchalant, playful, and laid-back, he seems careless, if not absent-minded. As for Akainu, he has always showed a stern, absolutist attitude. Hence, the emotional moment that they shared in One Piece chapter 1124 was a total surprise.

The Egghead Arc had already began to expand Kizaru’s character, showing his emotional side, as well as his inner struggle between protecting his bonds or permanently severing them to carry out his mission.

Still, given Kizaru’s usual calm and laxity, the former’s emotional reaction in the latest chapter was absolutely unprecedented.

Vegapunk's death was too much for Kizaru (Image via Toei Animation)

Likewise, the last thing fans would have expected was to see Akainu, the most ruthless Marine, apologizing to someone, and showing heartfelt empathy. The scene was even more staggering as Kizaru openly badmouthed Akainu despite the Fleet Admiral being his direct superior, and yet the latter didn’t feel offended.

It’s interesting to note that Akainu called Kizaru his “kyoudai”, a term meaning “brother”. For the record, this word was the same that One Piece author Eiichiro Oda used to describe the relationship between Luffy, Ace, and Sabo.

As it’s well known, Kizaru’s character is heavily based on Yakuza-themed movies. In the context of Yakuza, the word “kyoudai” indicates someone who has taken an oath of brotherhood, becoming a “sworn brother”.

This relationship of mutual respect explains how Kizaru could yell at Akainu, even calling him a brat, despite the latter being, as a matter of fact, his chief.

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For a moment, the leader-subordinate etiquette was put aside in favor of a more authentic dynamic between brothers-in-arms. While Akainu and Kizaru’s past remains largely unknown, One Piece has revealed that these two joined the Navy at around the same age, trained under the same teachers, and rose the ranks together.

Kizaru is about three years older than Akainu, which further contextualizes their interaction in One Piece chapter 1124. Interestingly, both Kizaru and Akainu come from the same place, the North Blue.

Hence, they have not only been comrades ever since they became Marines, but it’s highly likely that they were friends even before they joined the Navy.

In fact, after the time skip, Borsalino “Kizaru” is depicted as Akainu’s closest advisor among the three Admirals. The fact that Kizaru is slightly older than the current Fleet Admiral only hints at the former’s right-hand man-like role, considering that right-hand men are often older than their leaders.

Zoro is older than Luffy, Benn Beckman is older than Shanks, Killer is older than Kid, and so on.

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Looking forward to seeing Akainu and Kizaru’s shared backstory, it’s safe to say that all three Admirals of the original “Color Trio” stand up as some of the most compelling characters in Eiichiro Oda’s story. As for Kizaru, who has played a particularly prominent role during the Egghead Arc, fans widely praised his unexpected complexity.

The Glint-Glint Fruit’s owner described himself as a cog in the machine, a corporate slave who will simply obey his superiors. However, his inner conflict emphasized him as someone who, despite his claims, is not exempt from dilemmas.

This is anything but surprising, given that Kunie Tanaka, the famous Japanese actor on which Kizaru is based, typically played in movies revolving around moral ambiguity.

As Kizaru himself noted, he should have brought a darker pair of sunglasses to hide the tears in his eyes. When the Admiral carried out his mission and killed Vegapunk, his friend, a part of his soul also died along with the scientist.

One Piece honors Kizaru and Akainu's brotherhood in chapter 1124

Latest One Piece chapter frames Kizaru’s inner torment while revealing his fraternal bond with Akainu

Akainu and Kizaru’s comradely bond

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