Sengoku

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Sengoku (战国)
Alias(es)	Buddha Sengoku 192 208
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Marines; remains associated with Marine Headquarters after retirement 286 320
Occupation/Role	Retired Fleet Admiral; formerly a Marine Admiral 192 251 287
Status	Alive; retired from command 251 320 332
First Appearance	Chapter 3

Background / History

Marine career and Jiang Liu’s release

Sengoku’s rivals for the Fleet Admiral position included Garp and Jiang Liu, also called River. Garp withdrew from consideration, while Jiang Liu went to Impel Down, leaving Sengoku to obtain the position without a direct contest. He later remembered Jiang Liu as the candidate whose prestige and strength had once made his own chances seem slim 81 251.

Jiang Liu’s twenty-year assignment at Impel Down served as both atonement and protection. When reconsidering his confinement, Sengoku recognized his value against powerful pirates but feared that his ambitions would make him dangerous to the Marines themselves. After consulting Garp, he authorized Jiang Liu’s release as a Marine trainee—an appointment that permitted him to leave prison while restricting his career prospects 3 4.

Sengoku continued monitoring Jiang Liu after his departure. He warned him about fighting Doflamingo and reminded him of his Marine obligations, but their first conversation in years exposed the distance between their former friendship and their current institutional roles. Jiang Liu’s subsequent clashes with Mihawk and Kuzan also threatened Sengoku’s efforts to conceal his return 28 29 54.

Preparing the war against Whitebeard

Ace’s capture by Blackbeard gave Sengoku an opportunity to weaken the Four Emperors before retirement. He nevertheless warned the Five Elders that fighting Whitebeard was an enormous gamble, particularly given Ace’s ties to Garp and Jiang Liu. Under the World Government’s direction, he accepted the plan to use Ace’s public execution as bait and recalled Garp from Water 7 68 69.

Sengoku personally secured permission to summon Jiang Liu back to Headquarters, accepting responsibility for any repeat of his earlier rebellion. He believed Jiang Liu’s experience against Whitebeard could reduce Marine casualties and regarded the recall as a loyalty test that might open a path to the next Fleet Admiral position. To prevent internal conflict, he asked Zephyr to mediate between Jiang Liu and the three current Admirals 73 74 81.

The preparations called for 100,000 elite Marines at Marineford. Sengoku assigned commanders, countered rumors of defection, and entrusted Jiang Liu with gathering and controlling the Shichibukai. He made Jiang Liu’s requested visit to Ace conditional on completing that assignment. At the same time, he watched the return of Jiang Liu’s 3,000 former recruits and considered the Admirals’ forces a necessary counterweight to their influence 86 92 102 154 159.

Sengoku intervened when Jiang Liu fought the Admirals at Headquarters and privately reprimanded them for attacking a colleague. When Jiang Liu later dueled Rayleigh at Sabaody, Sengoku coordinated with the World Government and mobilized Akainu and Aokiji. At the final war conference, he initially preferred a combined attack on Whitebeard but accepted Jiang Liu’s request to fight him alone. In private, he admitted that using Ace as bait might have wronged both Jiang Liu and Garp 91 137 160.

Marineford and Jiang Liu’s defection

On the execution platform, Sengoku publicly identified Ace as Gol D. Roger’s son and framed his death as the elimination of the “world’s most evil bloodline.” He reaffirmed the execution even at the cost of all-out war. Whitebeard’s arrival through the underwater Inner Bay caught the Marines off guard, forcing Sengoku to direct the defense as the pirates advanced 167 168 170.

The battle became increasingly difficult to control after Luffy and escaped prisoners arrived. Reports of mass breakouts at Impel Down added another crisis. Following Ace’s rescue and Whitebeard’s fall, Jiang Liu denounced the Marines and declared war on the World Government. Sengoku ordered the Marines to treat him and his Recruit Corps as enemies, then sought Garp’s help in bringing him down 182 183 192 193 194.

Sengoku attacked Crocodile in his Buddha form before Shiki intercepted him. Their renewed battle escalated until Shiki hurled him through ruined buildings. When Blackbeard’s stolen quake power threatened Marineford, Sengoku shifted his attention to the new danger and intervened in Blackbeard’s duel with Jiang Liu, striking both fighters with a shockwave 199 208 212 215 216 217.

Surveying the corpses, wounded soldiers, and destruction, Sengoku questioned whether continuing the battle served any purpose. Shanks’s intervention offered a way to stop the wider conflict, and Sengoku formally ordered the Marines to regroup. He then prioritized casualty assessment and investigation of Impel Down over pursuing Jiang Liu’s separate confrontation with Shanks 217 218 219 221.

Retirement and the changing world

Before the World Government, Sengoku accepted responsibility for the war’s consequences. Whitebeard’s fall had fulfilled its original objective, but Marine losses were enormous. A week later, Marineford was judged unsuitable for reconstruction, prompting him to order a new headquarters site. Learning that Rayleigh was alive also convinced him that Jiang Liu had deceived the world about some of his abilities 223 224.

Sengoku announced his intention to resign and promised a smooth succession. He opposed Akainu’s demand for an immediate attack on Dressrosa, arguing that Jiang Liu’s rooted military power, the New World’s conditions, and the Marines’ depleted strength made such an operation impractical. More than half a year after the war, he accepted Akainu’s victory over Kuzan and prepared to complete the handover, though he and Garp had placed their hopes in Kuzan 224 230 251.

Retirement did not end Sengoku’s concern for the institution. Zephyr’s departure made him question his own past choices, while Ace’s emergence as an Emperor raised fears of an alliance with Jiang Liu. He later accompanied the Marine fleet facing Jiang Liu’s forces, observed that Zephyr and Kuzan seemed better off after leaving, and began wondering whether Jiang Liu could actually overthrow the World Government 286 287 320 321 332.

Appearance

Sengoku wears a Fleet Admiral’s uniform decorated with medals; his hair is graying during the postwar period 160 230.

• Later-life appearance: Gray-haired when walking with Garp at Neo Marine Headquarters 286 287.
• Buddha transformation: Becomes an enormous golden Buddha, with a body described as resembling cast gold and radiating Buddhist light 192 199 208.

Personality

Sengoku combines strategic caution with a willingness to take responsibility for dangerous decisions. He refuses to underestimate Whitebeard and understands that victory cannot be assumed merely because the Marines hold home-ground advantage. Nevertheless, he stakes his authority on recalling Jiang Liu, explicitly accepting the consequences if the decision causes another major incident 69 74 160.

His friendships remain genuine, but duty repeatedly governs his public actions. He speaks guardedly to Jiang Liu, maintains Ace’s execution despite Garp’s anguish, and organizes resistance when Jiang Liu defects. In private, he is more vulnerable: he admits guilt over using Ace, exhaustion from command, and uncertainty about how many of his lifelong decisions were right 29 160 194 286.

Sengoku is quick to anger at reckless officers and threats to Marine authority, yet he can recognize when continued aggression is counterproductive. He reprimands the Admirals, condemns Jiang Liu’s declaration, and attacks the fighters destroying Marineford, but ultimately accepts the war’s end and argues against an immediate retaliatory invasion of Dressrosa 91 193 216 219 230.

Abilities & Skills

Buddha Transformation

Sengoku can transform into a colossal golden Buddha, greatly increasing his battlefield presence and delivering attacks through enormous palms 192 199.

• His descent creates crushing pressure that makes the surrounding air ripple 199.
• His transformed body withstands repeated exchanges with Shiki’s swords, producing showers of sparks 208.
• The form does not make him immovable: Shiki’s invisible force sends him crashing through ruined buildings 208.

Shockwaves

Sengoku releases powerful shockwaves through his Buddha-form palm strikes 199 208.

• Shatters Crocodile’s heavily compressed Sand Shield, which is described as harder than steel 199.
• Generates repeated shockwaves while exchanging blows with Shiki 208.
• Sends both Blackbeard and Jiang Liu flying during their confrontation, leaving them badly injured and exhausted 217.

Combat Proficiency

Despite his reputation as a strategist, Sengoku is described as one of the world’s strongest fighters, with combat power befitting a former Admiral and Fleet Admiral 192 208.

• Fights Shiki at close range using his transformed palms against dual swords 199 208.
• Identifies Ace’s post-Kaido strength as comparable to his own and Garp’s 286.
• Maintains confidence in his strength after retirement, protesting Garp’s suggestion that he could no longer defeat Jiang Liu 287.

Strategy and High Command

Sengoku directs large-scale mobilization, political negotiations, and battlefield command 74 86 159.

• Organizes the concentration of 100,000 elite Marines and assigns commanders to prevent battlefield disorder 86 159.
• Uses Jiang Liu to restrain the Shichibukai while balancing his faction against the current Admirals 86 92 94.
• Secures World Government authorization for risky deployments and accepts personal accountability 74.
• Prioritizes force recovery and headquarters reconstruction when immediate retaliation would exceed Marine capabilities 230.

Relationships

• Jiang Liu / River — Old friend, former rival for Fleet Admiral, and eventually an institutional enemy. Sengoku tries to restore his place in the Marines through a loyalty test, but orders his capture after his public defection 29 74 81 194 251.
• Monkey D. Garp — Longtime friend and trusted colleague. Sengoku relies on his enduring Marine allegiance, while Ace’s execution repeatedly exposes the conflict between their duties and Garp’s family ties 4 69 74 194.
• Tsuru — Senior colleague and adviser. She challenges Sengoku to account for Jiang Liu’s uncertain loyalties and assists with monitoring events after the war 83 84 221.
• Zephyr — Veteran colleague whom Sengoku asks to mediate the Admirals’ conflict with Jiang Liu. Zephyr’s later departure leaves Sengoku troubled by the World Government’s treatment of him 81 286.
• Kuzan / Aokiji — Sengoku’s preferred successor alongside Garp’s. After Kuzan loses the contest and a leg, Sengoku worries that the defeat may profoundly change him 251.
• Sakazuki / Akainu — Subordinate and eventual successor. Sengoku reprimands his conduct toward Jiang Liu, rejects his demand for an immediate attack on Dressrosa, and ultimately accepts his appointment as Fleet Admiral 91 230 251.
• Five Elders — Political superiors who direct the strategy surrounding Ace. Sengoku warns them of the risks, negotiates Jiang Liu’s recall, and later accepts responsibility for the war’s outcome 69 74 223.
• Portgas D. Ace — Prisoner used to draw Whitebeard into battle. Sengoku recognizes the pain this causes Garp and Jiang Liu but publicly presents Ace’s ancestry as justification for his execution 160 167.
• Whitebeard — Principal target of Sengoku’s Marineford strategy. Sengoku respects the danger he poses and considers his fall the war’s achieved objective despite its immense cost 69 74 223.
• Golden Lion Shiki — Old enemy who renews their nearly twenty-year-old conflict at Marineford. Shiki’s restored youth and healed injuries alert Sengoku and Garp to extraordinary recovery powers 199 208.
• Marshall D. Teach / Blackbeard — His delivery of Ace creates the opportunity for war, but his later possession of two Devil Fruit powers makes him a catastrophic threat Sengoku seeks to stop 68 69 212 217.
• Shanks — An Emperor whose arrival initially draws Sengoku’s suspicion. Sengoku accepts his intervention when it offers an end to the devastated battlefield’s fighting 218 219.

Notable Quotes

“I will bear every consequence!” 74

“There may be official duties between us, but the friendship we once shared was real, too.” 160

“History will judge this war, Garp.” 221

“In the end, this world has to be left to the young!” 224

Trivia

• A sheep on Sengoku’s desk chews discarded paperwork while he reviews the crisis caused by Ace’s capture 68.
• Garp has to remind him that retirement makes the world’s latest crises Akainu’s responsibility, then drags him away to celebrate Ace’s rise as an Emperor 287.