One Piece‘s world is one of the largest in anime and manga, and as such the series boasts many compelling people. In a world where pirates are ready to pillage, navy officers are ready to arrest and bandits are always on the prowl for victims, this prompted people to become as strong as possible to defend themselves.
Strength is everything in the dangerous world of One Piece. Characters who want to make a name for themselves need the power to do it. When pirates are ready to attack civilians or monsters roaming the sea, survival can only be guaranteed through fists and weapons. Here are the 25 strongest characters in One Piece.
30
Jesus Burgess
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 222 & Episode 146
The 10 Blackbeard Titanic Captains each wield some of history’s most formidable Devil Fruits. While many of them allow their users to manipulate themselves and their enemies, none personifies strength as much as Jesus Burgess’s Strong-Strong Fruit. Its full power and limits have yet to be demonstrated, but the loud-mouthed wrestler has showcased a level of pure strength that should be challenging for any of One Piece‘s strongest characters to face.
During the Earth-shattering battle between Trafalgar Law’s Heart Pirates and Blackbeard’s crew, viewers received the best look yet at the series’ most broken Devil Fruit abilities, including the sight of Burgess lifting an entire mountain and throwing it like a beach ball. Still, with a Devil Fruit solely based on its ability to increase strength, it only feels like a tease for a grand showcase author Eiichiro Oda has in store with Burgess in One Piece‘s final arcs.
29
Jimbei
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 528 & Episode 430
“First Son of the Sea” Jimbei is a former Warlord of the Seas who has been a major ally to Luffy ever since they fought together to try and save Ace. When Luffy and Jimbei reunited in the Fishman Island arc, Jimbei’s obligations to Big Mom prevented him from traveling with Luffy, but after formally settling things with her, Jimbei was free to join the Straw Hat Pirates and officially became their helmsman in the Wano arc.
Jimbei’s mastery of Fishman Martial Arts made him one of the strongest Warlords of the Sea, and that level of power has been maintained through things like Jimbei’s handling of Big Mom and his defeat of Who’s-Who, the strongest of the Tobiroppo. Jimbei is easily one of the strongest members of the Straw Hat Pirates, and that will only become more apparent as he gets more time to shine in future arcs.
28
Donquixote Doflamingo
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 233 & Episode 151
Donquixote Doflamingo is a former Warlord of the Seas and the main antagonist of the Dressrosa arc. Doflamingo spent years developing a powerful crime family that distributed weapons across the world, and most notable of all was how he, in conjunction with Caesar Clown, helped manufacture the artificial Devil Fruits known as SMILEs for Kaido, a fact that was one of the main driving forces of the conflict in the Dressrosa arc.
Doflamingo fights with the String-String Fruit, a powerful Devil Fruit that has its strength and versatility further bolstered by Doflamingo’s mastery of Haki and by him being a rare fighter who awakened their Devil Fruit, the latter ability allowing him to turn his environment into strings. Doflamingo gave Luffy his first truly challenging fight in One Piece‘s post-timeskip era that he nearly won, and even in defeat, he still stands as one of Luffy’s toughest opponents, by far.
27
Queen
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 925 & Episode 918
Queen “The Plague” is one of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates and third-in-command after Kaido and King. Queen was also a former member of MADS, an illegal science research institute led by Vegapunk, and thanks to his time there, Queen developed a rivalry with Sanji’s father, Vinsmoke Judge that, in turn, formed the basis of his antagonism toward Sanji.
Queen’s Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Brachiosaurus, lets him turn into a brachiosaurus at will, and just like the real-life dinosaur, Queen is incredibly powerful in both his animal and hybrid forms. More than that, though, Queen’s cybernetics give him an incredibly versatile arsenal that includes rocket launchers, laser beams, and replications of the Vinsmoke family’s raid suits, and because of that, Queen quickly established himself as Sanji’s strongest opponent, to date, a feat that easily makes him one of the strongest pirates, by far.
26
Sanji
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 43 & Episode 20
Sanji is the chef of the Straw Hat Pirates and the last person to join the crew before they entered the Grand Line. Before coming to work at the Baratie, Sanji was the outcast of the Vinsmoke family, a notorious group of warmongering mercenaries from the North Blue, and it wasn’t until the Whole Cake Island arc that Sanji was forced to confront them with help from Luffy.
Sanji fights using powerful kicks further strengthened by Armament Haki and, most recently, his cybernetic enhancements courtesy of his father, and he can even set his legs on fire to further increase his power and set his opponents ablaze. Sanji’s biggest and most recent feat of strength is defeating Queen, one of the strongest members of the Beast Pirates, and there was no better way of solidifying his place within the “Monster Trio” of the Straw Hat Pirates.
25
Charlotte Katakuri
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 860 & Episode 825
Of all the fearsome opponents Luffy has come across in the New World, Charlotte Katakuri is undoubtedly right up there along with Kaido and Doflamingo. Luffy’s fight against Katakuri was incredibly challenging and this was greatly due to Katakuri’s Future Sight which allowed him to see a few seconds into the future and foresee every one of Luffy’s attacks. Katakuri’s advanced Observation Haki is often underappreciated, and it is arguably a miracle Luffy was able to defeat him at all.
Katakuri also wields the power of the powerful Mochi-Mochi Fruit, which together with his advanced Armament & Observation Haki and reflexes, makes it nearly impossible to land a hit on him. Awakended Devil Fruit users in One Piece are rare, making Katakuri all the more impressive. With Big Mom’s defeat, Katakuri is easily the top candidate to fill the void left behind and lead the Big Mom Pirates.
24
King
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 925 & Episode 918
King “The Conflagration”, real name Alber, is one of the All-Stars of the Beast Pirates and Kaido’s second-in-command. Kaido freed King from imprisonment when they were both being experimented on at Punk Hazard, and ever since then, King has been Kaido’s most loyal confidant and the one who most supported Kaido’s quest to become the Pirate King,
King’s mastery of the Dragon-Dragon Fruit, Model: Pteranodon gives him a lot of versatility with his attacks, but the biggest source of King’s strength comes from his being a Lunarian, a secret race of winged people with powerful fire abilities and immense speed and durability. Zoro only barely defeated King in their fight, and the fact that King’s Lunarian Lineage Factor was used as the basis for the powerful Seraphim only further cements his status as an incredibly powerful fighter.
23
Rob Lucci
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 323 & Episode 230
Rob Lucci is a Cipher Pol agent who’s repeatedly fought Luffy and his friends in One Piece‘s story. Originally, Lucci was a member of CP9 and was involved in the plot to kidnap Robin, and following the timeskip, Lucci graduated to CP0, the World Government’s most elite group of assassins, and he fought Luffy once again at Egghead.
Between his mastery of the Six Powers and the strength of his Cat-Cat Fruit, Model: Leopard, Lucci has always been a force to be reckoned with and gave Luffy one of his toughest fights ever at Enies Lobby. Lucci became even stronger by the Egghead arc thanks to Haki and awakening his Devil Fruit, and while he was no match for Luffy in Gear 5, Lucci could fight almost evenly with Zoro, despite the latter having advanced Conqueror’s Haki, so he’s still one of the strongest One Piece villains, to date.
22
Roronoa Zoro
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 3 & Episode 2
Along with Luffy, Zoro has considerably increased his skills and power after setting out to sea only a few years ago in One Piece‘s timeline. Before he met his future captain in Shells Town, Zoro was already one of the most renowned and feared swordsmen of the entire East Blue. Still, as Mihawk demonstrated to him during the Baratie arc, he still had a way to go before he’d earn the title of the World’s Greatest Swordsmen.
Zoro has a habit of pulling off unbelievable feats of strength, like cutting through solid steel and cleaving the Enies Lobby tower in two, and that was before he endured intense training during One Piece‘s time skip. During his time in Dressrosa and Wano, Zoro cut apart the mountain-sized Pica and deflected Kaido and Big Mom’s combo attack, Ocean Sovereignty, which might be the most vigorous attack in the series yet. Fans would be devastated if Zoro’s rematch against Mihawk did not happen because it would show Zoro undoubtedly surpassing his previous feats yet again.
21
Eustass Kid
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 498 & 392
Eustass Kid is the captain of the Kid Pirates and a member of the Worst Generation, the group of pirates responsible for the most trouble in the world following the Paramount War. Kid and his crew teamed up with Luffy and Law to defeat Kaido and Big Mom at Onigashima, but following their defeat, the three groups returned to being rivals in pursuit of the One Piece.
Kid uses the power of his Magnet-Magnet Fruit to create powerful mechanical constructs to deal with his opponents, his strongest creation being a railgun that can blow away an entire armada of ships. Kid’s power is so great that Kid and Law’s combined power was enough to defeat Big Mom, although his quick defeat at Shanks’ hands did do a lot to tarnish his reputation in-universe and out.
20
Trafalgar Law
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 498 & Episode 392
Trafalgar Law, real name Trafalgar D. Water Law, is a member of the Worst Generation and a former Warlord. Law entered an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates to defeat Kaido, something that began as a ruse before turning real, and sure enough, they went their separate ways after Kaido was defeated in the Wano arc.
With the power of the Op-Op Fruit, Law can manipulate anything within a specific area as if he were a surgeon performing an operation, and the things he can do become even more fine-tuned when using his Awakening. Law and Kid together were strong enough to defeat Big Mom, and Law, unlike Kid, narrowly survived a one-on-one fight with an Emperor following the Wano arc, so that’s another great showing for his power, even if it was a loss for him.
19
Kizaru
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 504 & Episode 398
Admiral Kizaru is no doubt one of Luffy’s strongest enemies from before the time skip. In fact, Kizaru is the entire reason Luffy decided to get stronger over the time skip in the first place. the Straw Hats’ crushing defeat at Sabaody was greatly due to Kizaru’s presence, making him one of the most anticipated rematches in One Piece.
Kizaru’s strength stems from his Devil Fruit called the Glint-Glint Fruit, which gives his body the properties of light. As such, Kizaru can move at the speed of light itself, making it very difficult to defend against his laser-based attacks. That said, Kizaru’s appearance in One Piece‘s Egghead Arc extensively showcased Borsalino’s range of abilities and finally proved how much Luffy had evolved since their last battle.
18
Kuzan
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 303 & Episode 225
As a former Admiral in the Navy alongside Akainu and Kizaru, Aokiji is undoubtedly one of the strongest characters in One Piece history. Aokiji’s strength is reflected in the fact that he competed with Akainu for the title of Fleet Admiral and left half of Punk Hazard’s climate permanently frozen in the process.
Aokiji’s powerful Devil Fruit powers stemming from the Chilly-Chilly Fruit allow him to control and manipulate ice in a variety of ways. As a Logia, Kuzan can also turn his body into ice, but the truly frightening aspect of his Devil Fruit power is its range, which can easily freeze over large areas. Unsurprisingly, Aokiji also possesses the ability to use Armament and Observation Haki at an advanced level, making him a dreadful enemy the Straw Hats are sure to encounter again now that he has joined the Blackbeard Pirates as one of their ship captains.
17
Kozuki Oden
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 920 & Episode 910
Kozuki Oden was a legendary samurai from Wano who left to become a pirate and sailed with both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates, even helping the latter find the way to Laugh Tale. Following his adventures as a pirate, Oden returned home to find Wano under the tyrannical rule of Kaido and Kurozumi Orochi, and while he failed to defeat them, his mission was completed decades later by Luffy and a wide assortment of allies in and out of Wano.
As a high-ranking member of both the Whitebeard Pirates and the Roger Pirates, Oden is one of the strongest fighters in One Piece with his incredible sword skills and Haki, and it’s to the point that Oden almost singlehandedly defeated Kaido, albeit a Kaido who was weaker than the one Luffy fought. Oden’s story ultimately ended in failure, but his power can’t be underestimated, in the slightest.
16
Silvers Rayleigh
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 19 & Episode 8
As Roger’s first mate, Rayleigh’s strength is all but given. Even though he may not possess a Devil Fruit like many of the other strong characters in One Piece, Rayleigh more than makes up for it with his powerful Haki. Having taught Luffy everything he knows about Haki, Rayleigh himself is a master of all three types of Haki which is quite a rare occurrence in One Piece.
Rayleigh’s Armament Haki, in particular, is incredibly powerful and was able to block an attack by Kizaru with relative ease at Marineford. His advanced Observation Haki can instantly perceive every living thing across an entire island with no effort. Rayleigh still retains a lot of physical strength and vigor, as seen from his ability to swim across the Calm Belt and fight Sea Kings with his bare hands. However, he is not immune to the effects of age and even suggests that he no longer has the strength to defeat newer-generation powerhouses like Blackbeard.
15
Blackbeard
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 223 & Episode 146
A member of the Worst Generation, Emperor of the Sea and a Warlord, Blackbeard did the impossible by wielding two Devil Fruits at once. His thirst for power and strength is incredible – killing his own crew member, capturing Ace, and stealing Whitebeard’s powers in a plan that finished off the strongest Emperor of the Sea. His pursuit of strength propelled him to monstrous levels.
With One Piece nearing its end, Teach will play a key role as one of One Piece‘s final villains, as Luffy’s brother and adoptive father were killed by him. Blackbeard has been set up as Luffy’s ideological opposite in many ways, with the villain using piracy as an excuse to further his own selfish goals, as opposed to Luffy, who is constantly freeing the oppressed. With Blackbeard’s ability to wield two Devil Fruits, it will truly be a blowout when he and Luffy finally get their long-awaited true fight.
14
Akainu
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 397 & Episode 278
The current Fleet Admiral of the Navy, Sakazuki is as twisted as he is powerful. His Devil Fruit gave him the scary power of becoming lava. Although he was no match for an angry Whitebeard, he dealt serious damage to him and contributed to his death.
Akainu’s endurance is off the charts, as he battled Aokiji for ten days straight on Punk Hazard and came out on top. His body is extremely strong, withstanding two consecutive full power punches imbued with both Haki and Devil Fruit powers from Whitebeard and still getting up to fight. Given that his Devil Fruit power is heat-based, Akainu might also be Luffy’s ultimate enemy, with his magma able to seriously wound the Straw Hat Captain no matter how far he stretches.
13
Big Mom
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 651 & Episode 571
Charlotte Linlin, better known as Big Mom, is easily one of the most frightening people to go up against in the world of One Piece with Devil Fruit powers capable of sending a chill down anybody’s spine. Big Mom not only wields all three forms of Haki but also possesses the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit, which allows her to manipulate the soul of any living thing that is afraid of her.
Big Mom’s most deadly power is the ability to take away years from one’s lifespan, even to the point of instantly killing them. Big Mom is also incredibly durable, freakishly strong, and quite agile, which made her practically unkillable. While all three forms of her Haki are quite advanced, Big Mom’s Armament Haki is surely her specialty. That said, Big Mom’s Conqueror’s Haki has even split the skies like many other powerful users of the variant.
12
Kaido
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 795 & Episode 736
Known as the King Of Beasts, Kaido has tried to take his own life multiple times, but his body was just too tough. Nothing could damage him, and it took Luffy in his Gear 5 and many other powerful foes while he was holding up an island to defeat him.
Kaido is an unstoppable force even without using his Devil Fruit powers or Haki. Cities can be leveled with an attack in his dragon form and his size, strength, and speed are out of this world. Part of what makes Kaido so intimidating too is that, for all his power, he never even awakened his Devil Fruit. If he had, then even Luffy’s Gear 5 probably wouldn’t have been enough to stop him. As the best villain in One Piece, he deserves a high rank among the series’ most powerful characters.
11
Monkey D. Luffy
First Appearance: One Piece Chapter 1 & Episode 1
The 19-year-old Emperor Of the Sea is the youngest on this list and has the highest potential and talent. He managed to defeat the world’s strongest creature, Kaido, even though he needed some help along the way. With him awakening his Devil Fruit and being able to transform into Gear 5, it’s only a matter of time until he fully masters it and increases its endurance.
He has earned the respect and fear of the most powerful characters, such as Shanks and Kaido. With his battle experience and proficiency in Haki only increasing, Luffy is on his way to becoming one of the strongest pirates in One Piece‘s massive world. Despite Luffy’s strength in One Piece, he still has a lot of growing to do before he’s ready to take on some of the series’ most powerful characters.