The tradition for an arc’s final chapters in One Piece usually involves two things- new bounty posters for the Straw Hat crew, and new power-scaling arguments for fans over who the strongest character is. While some rankings will never change, with Zolo and Sanji always close behind Luffy in their journey to become the strongest and make him King of the Pirates, other new additions have seemingly upset the scales and tossed themselves right into the thick of things.
While these rankings are considered with the end of the Wano Country arc in mind, some characters are still a bit too mysterious to include, with only hints of their strength but nothing other than hearsay to go off of. This will exclude some characters like Dragon as while he’s a powerful figure, it’s yet to be determined how he fights. Without further ado, the ranking for One Piece’s strongest character begins with…
11. Gorosei
- Who: The World Government’s Shadowy Leaders
- Bounty: N/A
- Power: Mythical Zoan Fruits, though not made clear.
The Gorosei might be cheating a little, seeing as they’re actually a group of old dudes that sit atop the Red Line in Marijoa and direct the World Government from high above. That only serves to throw off any opponents who may have the audacity to attack though, as each member is also a terrifying monstrosity with power beyond imagination. Even Sabo admits that he didn’t expect to find Hell atop the Red Line, but upon seeing the Gorosei believes that it really must be Hell thanks to their destructive powers and appearance.
The Gorosei will likely remain shadowy until the final arc, making themselves known only just before the final stand by the World Government. Although, fans have been thrown off by strong characters before so they could just be bluffing, despite giving Sabo quite the chase to escape Marijoa after he completes his mission.
10. Shanks
- Who: Current longest-serving Emperor.
- Bounty: 4.049 Billion
- Powers: Skilled Haki user, Swordsman
Shanks is one of the most enigmatic characters in One Piece, but he’s done enough to prove he’s also one of the strongest. Found in God Valley after the Roger Pirates and Marines defeated Xebec’s crew, Shanks was just a baby and raised as a son to the crew in the years following. After Roger was executed, Shanks went on to form his own pirate crew wearing Roger’s old straw hat that he had given to him as a boy. Shanks is mostly a relaxed person, preferring to avoid fighting whenever possible.
While Shanks lost his arm to the Sea King while saving Luffy, he’s by no means weaker because of it. In all the fighting of Marineford, even after the death of Whitebeard and Ace at the hands of the Navy, Shanks’ arrival brought all fighting to a stop immediately, just in time to save the lives of Koby and Luffy. Mihawk considered him an equal in duels before he lost his arm as well, which was years before he gained the title of Emperor if that gives any indication of his power level.
9. Luffy
- Who: Captain of the Straw Hats, Emperor of the Sea, future King of the Pirates.
- Bounty: 3 Billion
- Powers; Nika Nika no Mi, Mythical Zoan of Sun God Nika.
Of course Luffy would be here, with the unofficial fifth emperor now assuming his rightful place among the official four with his defeat of Kaido. Luffy has taken on every challenge throughout the almost twenty-five years One Piece has been running and is just as much the strongest character as he is the favorite among fans. While his powers may not be quite up to par with someone like Shanks, his drive and tenacity to become King of the Pirates is unmatched as he sails ever closer to the One Piece.
Luffy’s powers of the Gum-Gum Fruit were ridiculous from the start, allowing the young boy to stretch and bend like rubber and letting his imagination run wild with different attack ideas. While he’s always been creative with moves, his newly Awakened Devil Fruit takes it a step further and allows him to manipulate his body and the area around him in any way he wants, essentially allowing him to pull off slapstick, cartoon elements without the drawbacks of his previous Gears.
8. Blackbeard
- Who: Emperor of the Sea, Former Warlord.
- Bounty: 3.996 Billion
- Powers; Wields both the Dark Dark Fruit and Tremor Tremor Fruit.
Blackbeard is the greatest wildcard in the One Piece world right now. He exists to sow chaos wherever he goes, destroying the longstanding power structures in the process. His raid on Impel Down, theft of Whitebeard’s Fruit, and attack on the Revolutionaries have made him a villain to everyone whether they be pirate, government, or revolutionary. He poses one of the greatest threats in the current race to Laugh Tale, and very well may have the power to become King of the Pirates.
The Dark Dark Fruit is incredibly overpowered as is, allowing Blackbeard to create pools of dark abyss wherever he chooses as well as absorb opponents into it. This gives him a distinct advantage against Logia types as seen during his fight with Ace, using his power to snuff out Ace’s fire. While he hasn’t used the Tremor Tremor fruit a whole lot since stealing it from Whitebeard after the Paramount War, it’s still a mystery as to how he was able to do it and what his plans are for other fruits. He was stopped from obtaining the Flame Flame Fruit thanks to Sabo, but there may be even more out there that he’s gathered since.
7. Admiral Sakazuki
- Who: Former Admiral and current Vice Admiral of the Navy.
- Bounty: N/A
- Powers: Magma-Magma Fruit
While he’s most notable for punching a hole right through Ace, Sakazuki has risen through the ranks of the Navy and now commands the entire Fleet, taking orders only from the World Government themselves. While he’s proven to be a good enough lap dog for the Celestial Dragons, it remains to be seen if his sense of absolute justice can be changed by the Gorosei’s reaction to events unfolding. Until then, Sakazuki will stand for everything the Navy is, or says it is, at least.
His powers are some of the most destructive in the series, with the ability to both control, create, and become magma giving him a distinct advantage in taking out large groups of enemies. His magma even proved hot enough to hurt Ace, killing the former Flame Flame Fruit wielder with a lava punch through the chest. The last time his powers were seen in action was the Paramount War though, and who knows just how much he’s powered up since then.
6. Kizaru
- Who: Navy Admiral
- Bounty: N/A
- Power: Glint-Glint Fruit
Kizaru is so stupidly overpowered One Piece only pulls him out to scare characters into moving the story along. The man got to Sabaody Archipelago and made the Worst Generation scatter like ants, even leading the Straw Hats to separate and in turn, lead to the events of the Paramount War. He’s made appearances since in flashbacks, wiping the floor with Arlong during the Fish-Man Island arc, but has mostly stayed away from any actual fights since Marineford, though he has recently shown up at Egghead Island in the manga.
He’s already incredibly tough, a skilled fighter and an advanced Haki user at his base level. Add to that the power of his Glint-Glint Fruit, a Logia type that allows him to become light, and he becomes One Piece’s strongest character without plot armor. His ability to move at the speed of light coupled with highly advanced Observation Haki is a deadly combo, and he’s been shown as resilient enough to take a full power hit from Marco without a scratch.
5. Sabo
- Who: Revolutionary Army Chief of Staff, Luffy’s Brother.
- Bounty: 602 Million
- Powers: Expert in hand-to-hand combat and wields the Flame Flame Fruit.
Sabo, Luffy’s long-lost brother and right hand of Dragon the Revolutionary, was certainly a surprise when he was revealed to be alive during the Dressrosa arc. While he was on a mission for the Revolutionaries when he happened upon Luffy and the tournament, it couldn’t have been a better way to introduce his dangerous Dragon Claw techniques before giving him just the right Fruit to go with it, his brother Ace’s Flame-Flame Fruit. His fight with Burgess during Dressrosa’s finale showed Sabo was still getting used to his new powers, but already putting them to devastating use.
Sabo’s power and proficiency have only grown since eating the Fruit, with his rescue mission to Marijoa atop the Red Line being such a threat that the Gorosei revealed their own powers, leading Sabo to muse that he was in Hell. Though he didn’t show off any new fighting moves, instead choosing to swiftly take Vivi to safety (and somehow getting stuck with Wapol). Even with Sabo skipping out on fights now, infiltrating Marijoa is something that nobody has done since Fisher Tiger, and is no doubt going to make him a high-priority target.
4. Fujitora
- Who: Navy Admiral.
- Bounty: N/A
- Powers: Press-Press Fruit
Fujitora made his debut in Dressrosa much like Sabo and was… divisive. While his concern for the citizens was genuine and his attitude toward the Straw Hats seemed to set him up as a New World foil of Smoker, it didn’t quite work out with the haphazard uses of his Press Press Fruit powers, which often led to more danger of collateral damage than any kind of meaningful help. That said, he’s one of the few members of the Navy actually questioning decisions by the World Government, so that makes him one of the strongest characters in the smarts department, at least.
His powers are a whole other deal, with the methods of gravitational control his fruit allows (summoning meteors, among them) it’s no surprise he was made an Admiral almost immediately following his being drafted after the Paramount War. He has yet to take part in a serious battle onscreen, but based on the demonstrations of his powers he gave in Dressrosa, he belongs here.
3. Yamato
- Who: Son of Kaido,
- Bounty: None (Yet)
- Power: Mythical Zoan Dog Dog Fruit: Model Divine Wolf
Already getting a massive power boost by being part of a race known as the Oni and son of Kaido, Yamato was a fierce foe even as a child, before taking on the role of his hero Kozuki Oden. Yamato was able to go toe to toe with both Luffy and Kaido at different points in the raid on Onigashima, giving his father enough of a fight that Luffy could finish things up when Yamato was needed elsewhere, helping him gain an edge in his fight against the Beast Pirates captain.
While a relative newcomer, Yamato’s sheer strength and resilience make him a force to be reckoned with. Add in the Mythical Zoan that allows him to become Wano’s guardian wolf and create ice, and Yamato will pose a threat to anyone that dares try to invade Wano with hostile intent. Until he finally joins up with the Straw Hats like his hero Oden, that is.
2. Zolo
- Who: First Mate of the Straw Hat Pirates.
- Bounty: 1.111 Billion
- Powers: Three Sword Style, Haki, Stubborn
No, he’s not lost this time. Zolo has been Luffy’s right hand from the beginning, with the two meeting up and bringing a much-needed ass-kicking to Axe Hand Morgan, and has grown right alongside his captain into one of One Piece’s consistently strongest characters. With a long absence during the Whole Cake Island arc just after learning how to combine his Armament Haki and Three Sword Style into a deadly finisher in his fight against Pica, Zolo got his much-earned moment in his fight with King during the Onigashima raid.
With his newest title of King of Hell, Zolo has taken another step toward his goal of World’s Greatest Swordsman. Finally learning to utilize his powers, mastering Kozuki Oden’s famed blade Enma and using it to perfect King of Hell Three Sword Style. Zolo is notably one of the few non-captain characters to possess Haki of the Supreme King, allowing him to combine it into even more devastating moves with his fighting style.
1. Sanji
- Who: Former Germa Prince, Straw Hats Chef
- Bounty: 1.032 Billion
- Powers: Germa Engineering, Haki, Sky Walk
Sanji is only last because of his overwhelming absence from fights post-time skip, with Wano being his first real fight since Zou, which was mostly offscreen anyway. While he’s always been one of the stronger members of Luffy’s team, he usually gets underestimated by both his enemies and whoever sets the bounties, leading to getting a massive upper hand on occasion. His big power boost in Wano came from his Germa 66 Raid Suit awakening his latent Germa enhancements that were suppressed at birth, enhancing his speed, strength, and resilience.
His early training with Zeff made him a sturdy fighter, but his training during the time skip and enhancements in Wano have given him a massive boost on One Piece’s strongest list, whereas previously he would have been second to someone like Jimbei. Sanji’s resilience and dedication to making Luffy the Pirate King, as well as his own dream of seeing the All Blue, give him a distinct edge in battle along with advanced Observation and Armament Haki.
While these rankings of the strongest characters One Piece has to offer are current to where the anime is (or thereabouts), fans of the series know things can change at any time. The introduction of a new Devil Fruit or the development of a new power by one of the Straw Hats is always possible, with each character growing and gaining new abilities during every fight (Chopper will have his moment!). One thing that will happen, no doubt, is Luffy ending the series at number one on every ranking of One Piece’s strongest character!
