The debate and anticipation surrounding the most powerful characters are always on, and the One Piece series is not exempt from it. Since the release of its first episode in 1999, One Piece characters have been featured in series, movies, and Manga. Over time, creator Eiichiro Oda introduced viewers and readers to many memorable characters.
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Some of these characters are feeble and endearing, like Nami, while others are incredibly enduring and threatening, like Kaido and Big Mom – and they retain the most potent devil fruits. The series boasts a plethora of formidable personalities who hold the potential to defeat an entire fleet of armies. However, there are still some characters who are exponentially stronger than the others.
10 Monkey D. Luffy
Image via Toei Animation
It might be shocking to witness the main protagonist of the series at the bottom of the list, but in fact, there are other characters who can subjugate Luffy. Actually, Luffy is 20 years old and has just begun his life as a pirate, and will eventually get stronger, climbing the ladder of this list.
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With the awakening of his Gomu Gomu no Mi Devil Fruit, Luffy has managed to overpower most of the characters. In recent episodes, Luffy is apprised as a reincarnation of Joyboy, the one who created One Piece and is able to undergo an impressive transformation as a Sun God. Some fan theories state that Luffy is not the only one with the God transformation, there exist other two gods – Weather and Fire.
9 Blackbeard
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One of the strongest Yonko, Marshall D. Teach or Blackbeard, really defines the very meaning of Pirate. He boasts all the qualities that a pirate should have. He waited for years in Whitebeard’s crew until he got his hands on Yami Yami no Mi devil fruit, which negates all devil fruit powers within his range.
Yami Yami no Mi is among the few devil fruits that allow its users to ingest more than one devil fruit capacity. It is the recent development in the story, that this devil fruit can even extract other devil fruits. For instance, Blackbeard extracted Law’s Ope Ope no Mi and Whitebeard’s Gura Gura no Mi.
8 Dracule Mihawk
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Dracule Mihawk or Mihawk Hawkeye is currently the strongest Swordsman, who wields the Yoru Sword. Yoru is one of the 12 strongest swords in One Piece, called the All-Black Sword. Unlike other swords where the wielder has to infuse Haki, Mihawk’s blade is continuously coated with the armament.
Mihawk, the formal Warlord of Sea, in the Baratie Arc, wiped out the entire fleet of 50 ships. Mihawk’s swordsman skills can be ascertained by his feat of defeating Zoro effortlessly in the same arc. Currently, Mihawk sees Shanks as the only potential enemy to confront.
7 Shanks
Shanks, one of the strongest Emperors of the Sea, has merely aired in 18 episodes and still has managed to remain a formidable character. Unlike other Emperors, Shanks does not possess any Devil Fruit powers, which means he manifests his true strength from his physical resilience. The scene of Shanks’ entry in the Marineford War to stop the war demonstrates how fearsome he is.
Related: All Devil Fruit Awakenings in ‘One Piece’, Ranked by Strength
It is rumored that his Conqueror’s Haki can even knock down a Fleet Admiral. Meanwhile, some fan theories speculate Shanks is a Celestial Dragon.
6 Monkey D. Dragon
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The most wanted criminal and the Revolutionary Army, Monkey D. Dragon is the most mysterious figure in the entire series, with hardly airing in any episode. Even though One Piece viewers have not glimpsed Monkey D. Dragon in any clash yet, Dragon might be enclosing some rare Devil Fruit capabilities. The fight between Smoker and Luffy was the initial shot where spectators caught the attention of Dragon.
As Dragon heads the Revolutionary Army, which openly defies the World Government authority, he might have the highest bounty on his head (his bounty is not disclosed yet).
5 Edward Newgate
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Edward Newgate or Whitebeard was not just the longest-serving Emperor of the Sea, but also the strongest man alive. In his younger days, Whitebeard was able to go one-on-one to fight against Gol D. Roger, resisting for 3 days and 3 nights. The battle ended up with an indecisive outcome. Even with his illness and mature phase, he was able to summon Earthquakes and a Tsunami.
Unlike other pirates, Newgate was not lured by Gold and Power and only hoped for a family. He looked at his crew as his family and even went on a war against Marines when his son, Ace, was declared to be executed.
4 Gol D. Roger
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Gol D. Roger, The Pirate King, was the foremost character who unveiled the dark secrets of World Government and secured the One Piece – treasure. Roger was the captain of Roger Pirates, which included Dark King Rayleigh, Shanks, Buggy, and even Kozuki Oden. It was Gol D. Roger who mentioned Joyboy for the first time.
If it wasn’t for his incurable illness, and his wife bearing Ace, Roger would have not been caught by the Marines. Due to his illness, fans can’t even speculate how emphatic he actually was.
3 Prime Monkey D. Garp
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Monkey D. Garp – the Hero of Marines, despite not having any devil fruit, is one of the oldest yet the most emphatic Marines right now. After fulfilling his wish of remaining free from World Government control, Garp turned down the position of Fleet Admiral.
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He fought alongside Gol D. Roger and defeated Rocks Pirates. Rocks Pirates was a notorious pirate crew with monstrous personalities like Kaido, Big Mom, and Xebec. Even the Pirate King, Roger, admired Garp as among the few Marines who could seize him. Even though Garp is not in his prime, in the recent Manga chapters, he was even able to dominate Kuzan in a clash.
2 Rocks D. Xebec
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Another individual sharing the Will of D., Rocks D. Xebec, the captain of Rocks Pirates, a prominent group of pirates that maintained the revolting personas like the two formal Yonkos and Shiki. It took the combined efforts of Monkey D. Garp and Gol D. Roger to defeat him.
Some theories put forth suggest Dragon is the son of Xebec. As Garp has already clarified that Dragon is his Son-in-Law, it makes sense due to the similar appearances of Dragon and Xebec.
1 Imu
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Imu is currently the head of the World Government, ruling over the Empty Throne. The information regarding his past, current state, and devil fruit powers is unknown. But it is certain that he has devil fruit powers, as he was able to destroy the entire Kingdom of Lulusia. The community speculates that Imu’s awakening might be analogous to Luffy’s Gear 5th.
Despite deciding that the throne of World Government will be empty, and the powers will be decentralized, Imu stays the topmost and the ultimate authority.
Next: Every Major Pirate in Netflix’s One Piece, Ranked