The deadliest pirates in the One Piece universe are known as the Yonko. They have a powerful crew and strength to dominate the seas. But well, due to some of the most breathtaking pirate fights, the list of Yonko (emperors) has undergone some changes over the years. Each of the pirates who have attained the ’emperor’ title demonstrated their brilliant abilities, and at the moment, a few new Yonko are starting to emerge in the world. As a result, we have curated this ranked list of all present and past emperors of the seas in One Piece. Find out where your favorite One Piece Yonko ranks in our list.
Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers about the story and the Yonko characters in One Piece. We suggest you watch the anime or read the manga first to avoid ruining the intended experience.
There have been a total of seven Yonko in the history of One Piece. We have ranked the Yonko based on their strength and how vital they were to the story. That said, let’s look at the strongest pirates in the One Piece:
1. Whitebeard
Whitebeard, also known as Edward Newgate, was formerly reputed to be the world’s strongest man. Oyaji possessed the potent paramecia-type Gura Gura no Mi devil fruit, which is dreadfully regarded as the fruit that can end the world. The strongest paramecia devil fruit of all, according to author Eiichiro Oda. Moreover, Whitebeard is an expert user of Haki and has honed all of its forms. He battled opponents like Roger, Oden, and many more powerful opponents with these powers.
He was the only one who could compete with the pirate king Gol D. Roger. Even in his old age and while being terminally ill, he managed to completely upend Marineford and turned the tides in the war. He could’ve easily become the next pirate king after Roger and claim the One Piece treasure. But all this man wanted was a family and to be with them.
Whitebeard is not only one of the strongest characters, he is an amazingly well-written character as well. Thus, in my perspective, none of the other Yonko have attained prime Whitebeard level, and he is the strongest Yonko of all time.
2. Shanks
Once Kaido and Big Mom were defeated, Akagami Shanks became the most powerful emperor of his era. Shanks doesn’t possess any devil fruit abilities. He doesn’t require those powers as he is the most powerful Haki user right now. Shanks has perfected all three types of haki and even discovered a brand-new one, earning him the “Killer of Observation Haki” title.
He stopped Kaido from coming to the Marineford war. More importantly, he put an end to that war and also fought against Akainu (one of the strongest Marine Admirals in One Piece) single-handedly. Even though he was far away, he made admiral Ryokugyu flee for his life while using his conqueror’s haki.
Moreover, he recently eliminated Kid, who is worth 3 billion berries, with just one shot. His accolades keep on piling up, isn’t it? It’s just the beginning of Shanks’ might. He even has a strong team that solely includes non-devil fruit users. Much like Luffy, Shanks aims to claim the One Piece. So, without a question, Shanks is the real deal right now and has the potential to be the strongest Yonko in One Piece history.
3. Blackbeard
Out of all the main characters, Blackbeard’s complete set of powers remain a mystery to this day. But, we know he has been pulling strings like a cunning fox to ascend the power levels and became an emperor of the seas after defeating Whitebeard. Without seeing much of him in a big action sequence, he went on to have a bounty of 3,996,000,000 Berries. Remember that he had to pose a grave threat to the globe in order to receive the sixth-highest bounty in history.
Coming to his powers, he is the only character in the whole world to have two different devil fruit powers. And it’s just not any other regular or average devil fruit, he has the strongest paramecia and logia devil fruit powers at the palm of his hands. Further, he is confirmed to have two types of Haki, but I’m sure he will receive the green signal for conquerors haki too.
With a crew full of heinous and vicious members, he is on his way toward his goals while serving as the major antagonist of our hero Luffy.
4. Luffy
After beginning his pirate quest, Monkey D. Luffy has made remarkable progress to become the next Pirate King. After defeating Kaido, he went on to get a massive bounty of 3,000,000,000 Berries at the conclusion of the Wano Country arc (one of the best One Piece arcs). With Luffy’s Gear Five being animated soon enough, he is practically at the pinnacle of his powers, which continue to expand dramatically. With the Egghead arc, we can be confident that Luffy’s abilities will once again soar to incredible heights. Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates have come a long way, and it was an incredible sight to watch.
Luffy’s devil fruit is not only the strongest zoan devil fruit of all time, but it’s also the greatest devil fruit in existence. The whole World government is shaken by his powers. Luffy’s slowly starting to master the art of Haki and its advanced forms, which is what helped him crush Kaido. He is the latest addition to Yonko’s list alongside Buggy the Clown. In his peak form, it’s only a matter of time before he tops the list.
5. Kaido
Kaido of the Beasts aka the world’s strongest creature was the strongest Yonko among the previous generation of emperors. He had a whopping 4,611,100,000 Berries bounty on his head, which was the third-highest bounty of all time (only next to Roger and Whitebeard). There was a popular quote regarding the powers of this man, “On a 1 on 1 battle, you should always bet for Kaido.” It is a testament to his monstrous powers.
Kaido also had one of the strongest Mythical Zoan devil fruit powers. And not to mention his mastery over all types of Haki including its advanced forms. His devil fruit’s both forms made him untouchable. Only a great haki user could beat him and that’s what happened on the rooftop of Onigashima.
With Luffy awakening his devil fruit power, it was game over for Kaido. But one shouldn’t forget that he fought against multiple opponents on the rooftop like it was an easy job to do. Kaido surely lived up to his title and will always be remembered so.
6. Big Mom
Charlotte Linlin aka Big Mom is the only female character to become an Emperor of the Seas. One can’t rise up to the greatest pirate levels without being backed up by an incredible arsenal of powers. She had one of the strongest devil fruit powers and was well-versed with Haki too.
Big Mom was feared by all the pirates around the world and even by her family too. Big Mom’s ultimate devil fruit powers led to creating her own army of homies and if one’s afraid of her, she can suck up that person’s soul and take years of life away.
Even at this age, Big Mom was able to put up a great fight against two from the worst generation. Keep in mind that she fought against two awakened users, which resulted in her defeat. But it is what it is, she did put up a solid fight, living up to her Yonko status.
7. Buggy
Let’s all be honest, Buggy the star clown is the weakest Yonko in the history of One Piece. He’s neither awakened his devil fruit nor went against an emperor and won. Buggy is the epitome of being the luckiest in life and his luck has saved him many times more than his powers.
After a huge misunderstanding by the Marines regarding the Cross Guild Organization poster, he was thought to be their leader. And since the organization issued bounties on the Marines in One Piece, the threat level started to peak. Also, do not forget that they believe Mihawk and Crocodile are working under him. This series of lucky events turned around Buggy’s life and made him an Emperor of the seas.
Now that Buggy has declared he wants to become the next Pirate King, we can expect some serious moves from him. About his powers, he holds a great devil fruit power that has not been awakened yet, so it hasn’t shown his true powers.
