I mean it happened to Doffy...
Anyways, it's not like we're saying it's gonna be some random 1v1 fight or something. Just that there's both a motive (Sabo wants revenge) and narrative (Revos opposed to WG) that exists that can easily setup a confrontation between them if Oda wants to go there.
Doffy didn't have the standing of a post Timeskip Akainu though, dude had a crew of cannon fodder and was scared of Kaido...yet pretended he would become Pirate King xD
You are right though - def. a narration thread that would make sense and would be easy to justify. I just don't think thats were Oda is going....and even Sabo doesnt seem like someone who would go out of their way to get some Revenge on Akainu for something that happened during a War.
By that logic luffy is a brat next to almost all the villains. He still beats them.
You are missing the point if you think Akainu is just some villain - he is the head of the Marine and not someone you will get close too unless the Marine himself gives up on him for whatever reason.
Being a brat doesn't mean he cant defeat an OG but Oda isn't about to let pillars of the OP world being defeated in a simple battle. Pretty much all big guns in OP died or lost in the end because they decided to sacrifice themselves for some cause and not just because they were defeated in a battle.
Sure WB Pirate failed to rescue Ace and both of them died in the End....but considering how he died, can't even call that a real loss. The Marine showed up with all their power and they still had to resort to foul tricks, to end a half dead and sick Whiteboard....doubt he expected to leave this battle alive anyway. BB had to swoop in on a pretty much dead WB- with half of it's head missing - only to still nearly get killed by him because he was too cocky.
Same way with Oden in recent chapters - he sacrificed himself to secure a future for the people he cared about. He is portrayed as too powerful and strong to be just defeated by Kaido and co. - like some people expected beforehand. Even incarnation its clear that if he wanted he could have broken free and escaped Wano with his family and retainers - but he stuck around.
Whitebeard, Garp, Gold Roger, Post Timeskip Akainu, Prime Oden etc. - none of these charachters were defeated because they lost some 1:1 fight.
We won't see stuff like a Legendary Sannin getting exposed by some 13yo Uchiha boy in OP.
Anyway just guessing here and I might be wrong but I don't see a Akainu being defeated because of some Ace revenge motivation. That was something that the Marine and even Garp backed .....he is just the representation of lawful evil and order in the OP world.
Akainu is the most likely Marine to turn against the WG when shit gets real near the end - which might result in his demise.
