Specifications

Who will be included?

The Warlords are a group of pirates officially sanctioned by the World Government to act as one of the Three Great Powers of the world in order to maintain balance. As a result they are composed of 7 notable pirates at any given time. So if any spot were to become vacant from a member resigning or their title being revoked by the World Government, a new member is allocated the position to maintain this standing.

The seven initial members were Dracule Mihawk, Sir Crocodile, Bartholomew Kuma, Donquixote Doflamingo, Gecko Moria, Boa Hancock and Jinbe. Crocodile was discharged as a result of his plot on Alabasta and his position was subsequently filled by Blackbeard who had acquired the position from turning in Ace. Following the events of Marineford, Blackbeard had rescinded his status after fulfilling his plans to steal Whitebeard’s fruit, Moria was expelled for being deemed a failure by the government and Jinbe withdrew after refusing to battle Whitebeard. 

During the course of the timeskip these positions would be filled by Trafalgar Law for offering 100 pirate hearts to the World Government, Edward Weevil for his immense strength and his alleged status as the son of Whitebeard, and Buggy the Clown for his involvement in the Impel Down incident and reputation he had amassed from his followers and presence during Marineford. 

Obviously sticking with that 7 number would make them outnumbered pretty badly, so for the sake of having them even out with the rest, we’ll be including every known member that has been part of the Warlords. This includes Mihawk, Crocodile, Moria, Kuma, Boa, Jinbe, Doflamingo, Law, Buggy, Weevil, and Blackbeard. Oh and should go without saying that they cannot bring their crew members into this fight, just the captains only. At that point, the only other person worth talking about is…

Hanafuda

_{(Wake up babe, new Warlord just dropped)}

Somehow, despite the fact that the Warlord system has been abolished, Oda coincidentally introduced a new past Warlord during the blog’s creation process. Go figure.

Hanafuda is the Warlord that Kuma replaced four years ago, and was knocked out of his position among the Shichibukai by a young Portgas D. Ace. He’s known to collect Ancient Zoan Devil Fruits, and based on his artwork he fights with a sickle and a ball and chain. Beyond that, all we know about him is that he lost to Ace in a fight that was not shown. With this in mind, he’s simply far too vague to analyze in any legitimate manner, so he won’t be included here, despite technically qualifying under the ruleset. Needless to say, a featless Warlord with no known abilities won’t be affecting the fight in any meaningful way.

Characters At Their Peak

As with both the Akatsuki and the Espada, some of the Warlords vary in power depending on the point in time at which we take them. For example, Crocodile hasn’t been a Warlord since Alabasta, but has much better showings since then in Impel Down, Marineford, and the Stampede movie. Gecko Moria in the past was a powerful pirate capable of fighting on par with even a Yonko like Kaido, but in the time since his crew was wiped out he has let himself go and become out of shape. Blackbeard, after abandoning his position as a Warlord, acquired Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit and became one of the world’s most powerful pirates. And so on, and so forth.

Like with Akatsuki and Espada, all of the Warlords will be afforded their own personal potential regardless of whether this aligns with their tenure as a Warlord, or whether those points in time align with each other chronologically. Unlike the Akatsuki and Espada, however, nothing in particular needs to be restricted for the Warlords, as nothing they gain before or after their time with the Warlords makes them incomparable to how they were as part of the group. Even Blackbeard, who gained the Gura Gura no Mi and became a Yonko in more recent times, still had a somewhat competitive fight with Law, and is likely not beyond Mihawk even now. Furthermore, he was already Yonko level as a Warlord, capable of scarring Shanks and tanking point-blank quakes from Whitebeard. For this reason, we see no reason to consider his acquisition of the Gura Gura no Mi to be analogous to something like Juubito, which in comparison is much more disconnected from the Akatsuki as an organization.

As with Blackbeard and the Gura Gura, Law will have access to his Awakening as it is his full personal potential. Kuma will be assumed to retain his mental faculties, as he did during Thriller Bark and Sabaody. 

Gecko Moria, in alignment with how we treated Szayel’s modified Fraccion, will have access to the zombies that he employed throughout Thriller Bark, as they are an extension of his Devil Fruit and a necessary part of his combat abilities. Obviously, this excludes individuals like Absalom, Perona and Doctor Hogback, who were not zombies under Moria’s control and simply his subordinates, as they unlike the zombies are distinct people.

Warlords

Background

800 years ago there lived an Ancient Kingdom that thrived all across the land and unified people and culture from many different walks of life. Until one day an alliance consisting of 20 royal families joined together and declared war against this great kingdom ultimately overthrowing it and placing themselves as the new predominant authority of the world. This juncture of time would be completely erased from history and any research into it was prohibited, this would eventually become known as the Void Century. The alliance would eventually form the World Government, a congregation of the royal families and 170 nations that held a ubiquitous grip and enforcement over the entire world, implanting its own laws, regulations and power that would become unassailable.

24 years ago the king of the pirates Gol D. Roger was sentenced to execution in Loguetown, as a means of instilling fear and disparaging pirates all across the world. However before his death Roger had proclaimed that he had gathered everything he had accrued throughout his entire voyage in one place called the One Piece and declared it was open to anyone who could find it. These evocative final words would inspire pirates the world over and incited them to depart in search of One Piece, ushering in a time known as the Great Pirate Era.

Readying themselves for the new deluge of pirates, the World Government had implemented a new system of 7 notorious pirates in order to counterbalance the new uprisings of pirates and maintain their order and stability called the Shichibukai. This would serve as one of the Three Great Powers of the world alongside the 4 Emperors and the Marines for by enlisting the services of revered pirates the Government would hope to dissuade and intimidate anyone with the ambitions of piracy and to tip the scales in their favor. In exchange any pirates part of the Shichibukai would have their bounties frozen and given much more freedom to pursue their own endeavors and crimes at their own discretion 

With this apparatus in place the Shichibukai would garner much infamy and recognition from every corner of the globe and comprised of many of the most prolific and well known pirate crews of the whole world that would become instrumental in many of the most crucial events in history, such as the plot to control Arabasta orchestrated by Crocodile, the paramount war of Marineford from being summoned by the government to combat the combined alliance of Whitebeard and the crisis that transpired at the kingdom of Dressrosa as a result of Doflamingo’s formulated scheme to rule as its king.

However following the events of Dressrosa, a gathering of royalty from 50 of the allied nations of the World Government called the Reverie unfolded. During this the king of Arabasta and Dressrosa Nefertari Cobra and Riku Doldo III proposed a motion to abolish the Shichibukai due to the immense atrocities and catastrophes inflicted on their kingdoms from Crocodile and Doflamingo abusing their positions as Shichibukai to enable these plans to occur. Due to a majority vote agreement, Admiral Fujitora’s resolve to ensure the abolishment of the Shichibukai would come to fruition, and the latest creations of the Government’s most brilliant scientist Dr. Vegapunk, the Shichibukai were promptly dissoluted and were no longer under the protection of their prior agreement.

With the Shichibukai rescinded the World Government would dispatch their marine forces to apprehend them alongside Vegapunk’s creations known as the Seraphim, robotic clones of the Shichibukai created from the lineage factor of the rare Lunarian race and the green blood of Devil Fruits to effectively serve as their replacements. Following the abolishment, Crocodile, Mihawk and Buggy would form an alliance called the Cross Guild which contributed to Buggy’s newly appointed status as a Yonko and capitalizing on it in order to combat the World Government.

Teamwork &
Group Dynamics

The Warlords of the Sea are hard to call a “team” in any way, with them all individually operating their own crews and only ever being united for major events under direct orders of the World Government. As such, it is far more difficult to analyze how they work as a group in comparison to the Akatsuki or the Espada, however there are some instances of individual members of the Warlords partnering up, even if temporarily. The primary example of this would be the Marineford Summit War, the only event we have when all current and former members (at the time) were present.

Buggy, Crocodile and Jinbe were all working together throughout the Summit War, having started this temporary partnership in order to escape Impel Down. Even so, they struggled to operate as a true team, and were all mostly fighting on their own throughout the conflict, albeit there were moments such as Jinbe and Buggy working together to save Luffy from Akainu. While this truce was temporary, it’s worth pointing out that long after Marineford, Crocodile and Buggy formed a new alliance alongside Mihawk, the Cross Guild, with Crocodile and Mihawk working as complete equals while Buggy… handles the propaganda. 

Similarly, Jinbe once had an alliance with Law as part of the Ninja-Pirate-Mink-Samurai alliance that raided Onigashima, though the two barely worked alongside each other directly.

Boa Hancock cares very little for any members of the Warlords, but would likely be willing to ally herself with Jinbe due to him currently being a member of the Straw Hat Pirates and extremely close to Luffy. Even in Marineford, Boa exclusively fought to protect herself and Luffy, so she likely wouldn’t bother helping most of the Warlords in battle.

Doflamingo and Blackbeard both have a long history of being directly antagonistic to other members of the Warlords. In Marineford, Doffy directly faced off against Crocodile, offering a partnership that was immediately shot down by Crocodile as the two continued to fight. He was also responsible for taking some Pacifista units to attempt to assassinate Moria, seemingly having taken orders from the Five Elders to do so. Doflamingo also possesses a long history with Law that resulted in both utterly and completely despising one another, with both working together not being a possibility in the slightest. Meanwhile with Blackbeard, he is a direct enemy of the Straw Hats, putting him at odds with Jinbe, invaded Amazon Lily and nearly killed Boa, almost completely wiped out the Heart Pirates and nearly killed Law, and killed one of Moria’s closest allies. Don’t think anyone is gonna be interested in teamwork there.

Verse Mechanics

Devil Fruits

Devil Fruits are fruits (duh) that can grant supernatural abilities to those who consume them. Though their true origin is unknown, the current theory (in-universe) is that the Devil Fruits are physical manifestations of possible futures for humanity’s evolution formed by the dreams of people. After just one bite, one’s Lineage Factor (effectively DNA) is altered by the fruit, granting them special abilities which come in three specific types.

Zoan Devil Fruits are simple, granting the user the ability to transform into an animal (Leopard, Dragon, Elephant, etc.) and gaining all of their traits, as well as having a Hybrid form with elements of both their animal and human forms. None of the Warlords possess Zoan fruits.

Logia Devil Fruits are capable of turning one’s entire body into an element of nature, being capable of becoming completely intangible while also being capable of completely controlling said element. Crocodile and Blackbeard possess Logia fruits.

Paramecia Devil Fruits are extremely loose in capability, so the best way to describe them is simply by saying that they encompass every Fruit that doesn’t fall into Zoan or Logia. Moria, Kuma, Boa, Doflamingo, Law, Buggy and Blackbeard all possess Paramecia fruits.

On a rare occasion, certain Devil Fruit powers can be Awakened. The process to awaken comes at the cost of death or near death experiences, allowing the user’s Devil Fruit to gain new abilities and an increase in power in response to crisis. The effects of an awakening vary between the user’s specific power, but one of the benefits is it allows the user to affect the environment around them. Crocodile, Doflamingo and Law have all Awakened their Devil Fruits. 

Applying to every Devil Fruit is a weakness to seawater, for they are all hated by Mother Nature (the sea) and as such are left incapable of using their abilities while in contact with it, as well as being completely unable to swim.

Haki

Haki is a spiritual energy that one can utilize for various purposes, though most apply mainly to combat. Everyone has it within themselves in some way, shape or form, but only those aware of it seek out further training to hone it. It is notably a difficult technique to master, as a master like Silvers Rayleigh noted that two years would not be enough time for Luffy to learn even the basics of Haki. According to Kaido, Haki is the true determinant as to who conquers the seas, as its power can surpass even that of the strongest Devil Fruits. An example can be seen in the rivalry between Gol D. Roger and Edward Newgate, where while the latter had the power of the destructive Gura Gura no Mi, the former was considered the stronger of the two due to his mastery of Haki.

There are three distinct types of Haki that one can utilize. This includes:

Kenbunshoku/Observation Haki: This Haki type grants its user a sort of sixth sense ability, allowing them to sense the strength, presence and emotions of those around them. This ability also gives its user semi-precognitive abilities, allowing them to easier read oncoming attacks.

• Known users of Observation Haki among the Warlords include: Mihawk, Crocodile, Boa, Jinbe, Doflamingo, Law, Weevil and Blackbeard. 

Busoshoku/Armament Haki: This technique involves using one’s spiritual energy to form a sort of armor around their bodies, usually seen as a black coating. This not only better protects its user from oncoming attacks, but also strengthens their own attacks. An Armament Haki user can use this on a particular body part, their entire body if they so choose, or even onto their weapons.

• Known users of Armament Haki among the Warlords include: Mihawk, Crocodile, Boa, Jinbe, Doflamingo, Kuma, Law, Weevil and Blackbeard. 

Haoshoku/Conqueror’s Haki: Arguably the most powerful Haki technique, Conqueror’s Haki allows its user to essentially weaponize their willpower, causing those of weaker will to fall unconscious or even intimidate them to the point of submission. It can also be utilized in a similar method to Armament Haki where users can imbue their bodies or weapons with it to increase the strength of their attacks.

• Known users of Conqueror’s Haki among the Warlords include: Boa and Doflamingo.

It should be noted that although only certain members of the Warlords have demonstrated specific Haki types, there is a very high likelihood that at least some of them possess Haki that we simply don’t know about yet. Moria, for instance, was a big shot in the New World, where Haki is essential if you want to achieve any manner of success. With this in mind, though he has not explicitly demonstrated any type of Haki, he very likely has it. Similarly, Blackbeard being a Yonko should almost undoubtedly have Conqueror’s Haki, as should Mihawk, the strongest swordsman in the world, and rival to Shanks, one of the most powerful Haki users. This is to say that you should take the “known users” part with something of a grain of salt, as it’s very likely not indicative of the Warlords’ full capabilities.

Lastly, when pushed to the limit in combat, a Haki user can sometimes experience a sharp increase in power, and/or the rapid development of new Haki abilities, such as advanced applications of different Haki types. This phenomenon is known as Haki Bloom, and essentially just serves as the mechanic by which a Haki user can become more powerful and learn new skills mid-battle.

Haki-Based Resistances

While the full extent of this mechanic has not been explored yet, it is indicated and shown repeatedly in the manga that a powerful enough Haki is able to override and cancel out the Devil Fruit abilities of others. In this sense Haki is essentially the great equalizer in the verse; no Devil Fruit, no matter how powerful or broken, makes you exempt from getting your ass beat by a person with a powerful enough Haki and a strong enough will. This has been expressed explicitly by Law, who stated that a strong enough Haki can “break through” Devil Fruit abilities, and further acknowledged by Kaido, who pointed out that Gol D. Roger lacked a Devil Fruit ability, but that only Haki can transcend all.

Under our rules for verse equalization (abilities interact with other power systems as they would their own), this means that as long as there is a Devil Fruit corresponding to a certain ability, a powerful enough Haki should, in theory, be capable of canceling it out.

Explicit Examples

Elemental Intangibility: Logias who can turn their body into their element are unable to simply phase through Haki attacks, with Haki serving to negate their intangibility and making it possible to strike their real body.

Defensive Body Modifications: Devil Fruit abilities such as Luffy’s elasticity and Buggy’s body splitting, which grant the user’s body various exceptional defenses, are bypassed by Haki-imbued attacks, allowing the Haki user to strike and harm the target as though they were an ordinary person without these special traits.

Spatial Manipulation, Cutting, and Teleportation: During the fight against Kaido and Big Mom on the rooftop, Law was unable to teleport them or cut them with his Room, thanks to the fact that their Haki aura was too powerful for him to meaningfully affect.

Biological Manipulation and Diseases: During his fight against the Blackbeard Pirates in the aftermath of Wano, Law and his crew were affected by a disease from Doc Q’s Shiku Shiku no Mi which caused them to transform into women. Law, recalling the fight with Kaido and Big Mom, charged up his Haki, and it allowed him to not only negate the effect on himself, but produce Haki-based anti-Devil Fruit antibodies that cured the rest of his crew nearby as well.

Soul Manipulation: Both Brook and Big Mom have the ability to affect the souls of others with their Devil Fruits. Big Mom’s ability in particular has been explicitly resisted by both Jinbe and Law.

Sleep Manipulation: Monet’s Devil Fruit grants her the indirect ability to lull a target to sleep by reducing their body temperature, and Luffy was able to resist that even without using Haki.

Gravity Manipulation: Fujitora’s Zushi Zushi no Mi grants him powerful gravity control, allowing him to pull down meteors from outer space. Despite this, characters like Law and Zoro have withstood the pressure effects of this gravity without being crushed. Blackbeard’s Yami Yami no Mi also gives him gravity manipulation as well.

Fire and Heat Manipulation: Strong characters have shown to be able to resist the heat of Ace’s Mera Mera no Mi, and in some cases even Akainu’s more powerful Magu Magu no Mi, with Jinbe in particular having caught a magma punch.

Ice and Cold Manipulation: Strong characters have shown to be capable of withstanding the frigid temperatures and breaking through the ice of Aokiji’s Hie Hie no Mi, with Doflamingo in particular having broken out after being turned into a human popsicle.

Extrapolated Examples

This section will consist of all the known Devil Fruit hax abilities which have not been specifically shown being countered by Haki, but in theory could be, provided the Haki user possesses greater power than the attacker. Depending on the nature of the ability, this could be achieved through amplifying one’s own Haki defensively, striking the target with it directly, or producing a Haki aura that cancels out Devil Fruits in the vicinity, as Law did against Doc Q.

Ability Copying: Chameleone’s Kopi Kopi no Mi grants him the ability to copy the appearance and abilities of others.

Age Manipulation: Jewelry Bonney’s Toshi Toshi no Mi allows her to alter the age of those whom she affects, allowing her to make them younger or older however she chooses. Ain’s Modo Modo no Mi can similarly alter the age of others, though only by making them younger.

Aging, Corrosion, and Decay: Shinobu’s Juku Juku no Mi grants her the ability to mature anything she touches, rapidly aging and decaying it. Similarly, Shu’s Sabi Sabi no Mi grants him the ability to rapidly rust anything he touches, including human flesh.

Body Merging and Possession: Kelly Funk’s Jake Jake no Mi grants him the ability to turn into a jacket, and merge with and control whomever wears him. Similarly, Charlotte Newshi’s Gocha Gocha no Mi allows him to merge himself with other people and objects. Lastly, Nico Robin’s Hana Hana no Mi allows her to grow her own body parts, and even her entire body out of other people.

Consumption and Absorption: Wapol’s Baku Baku no Mi allows him to eat objects that would otherwise be inedible, allowing him to then manifest those objects from his body.

Defensive Barriers: Bartolomeo’s Bari Bari no Mi can be used to create nearly indestructible barriers.

Dehydration: Crocodile’s Suna Suna no Mi can dehydrate those whom he touches, and Charlotte Smoothie’s Shibo Shibo no Mi can create a similar effect by literally wringing the water out of people.

Electricity Manipulation: Enel’s Goro Goro no Mi grants him the ability to produce, manipulate, and transform into lightning and strike with up to 200 million volts.

Hormone Injections: Emporio Ivankov’s Horu Horu no Mi allows him to inject others with hormones to alter the recipient’s body however he desires.

Illusions: Brook’s Yomi Yomi no Mi grants him the ability to create illusions via sound, and Ann’s Bijo Bijo no Mi has a similar power.

Invisibility: The Suke Suke no Mi, used by Absalom and later by Shiryu of the Blackbeard Pirates, is able to turn its user invisible.

Love Manipulation: Bonbon’s Hore Hore no Mi possesses the ability to make others fall in love, either with him or with whatever he chooses.

Luck Manipulation: Baccarat’s Raki Raki no Mi grants her the ability to steal the luck of another person through touching them.

Magnetism Manipulation: Eustass Kidd’s Jiki Jiki no Mi gives him control over magnetism, allowing him to magnetize, attract, and repel that which he affects with it.

Mass and Weight Manipulation: Mikita’s Kiro Kiro no Mi grants her the ability to alter her own weight, increasing or decreasing it as she chooses. Machvise’s Ton Ton no Mi has a similar effect.

Memory Manipulation: Charlotte Pudding’s Memo Memo no Mi grants her the ability to freely manipulate memories, and Kuma’s Nikyu Nikyu no Mi can as well, though to a much more limited extent. There is also a seahorse from the anime named Noko, who possesses the Nemu Nemu no Mi, which also can be used to steal memories.

Mind and Will Reprogramming: O-Tama’s Kibi Kibi no Mi allows her to create dango balls from her cheeks which can completely tame any animal who consumes them. When used on Kaido’s SMILE users, who have an animal-like nature thanks to their SMILE fruits, they were able to completely warp their minds and wills to make them subservient to Tama, turning thousands of Kaido’s men against him throughout the course of the Onigashima Raid.

Mind Reading: Viola’s Giro Giro no Mi grants the user the ability to read the target’s mind.

Pain Manipulation: Kuma’s Nikyu Nikyu no Mi grants him the ability to manipulate and repel the pain of others, transferring it between individuals.

Paper Manipulation and Transformation: Simon’s Pasa Pasa no Mi grants him the ability to create, manipulate, and transform into paper.

Phasing: Tanaka’s Nuke Nuke no Mi grants him the ability to phase through solid objects.

Planetary Mind Hax (Maybe): In the Film Red movie, Shanks’ daughter Uta places the whole world under mental control with her Uta Uta no Mi, transporting everyone’s consciousness into an illusory world known as the Sing-Sing World. It should be noted though that this particular ability was so powerful that even top tier Haki users like Shanks and Gear Fifth Luffy could not break its effects through sheer Haki alone, suggesting that the threshold for Haki to overcome it may be much higher than any level of power currently known.

Poisons, Toxins, and Venoms: One Piece characters have varying levels of performance against poisons, with Zoro and Gin having survived poison through no clear special means, and other characters having proven more susceptible on various occasions. It’s worth noting however that there are poison-based Devil Fruits, notably Magellan’s Doku Doku no Mi, and Musshuru’s Noko Noko no Mi.

Power Nullification: Blackbeard’s Yami Yami no Mi and Kalifa’s Awa Awa no Mi both have differing forms of power nullification, allowing them to negate the abilities or strength of those they affect.

Size Manipulation: Byrnndi World’s Moa Moa no Mi can multiply the size of objects, and Lily Enstomach’s Mini Mini no Mi allows the user to decrease their own size.

Sound Negation: Rosinante’s Nagi Nagi no Mi can nullify sounds occurring within a certain vicinity.

Spatial BFR/Sealing: Charlotte Mont-d’Or’s Buku Buku no Mi allows the user to trap someone within a book’s setting, turning them to an illustration within the book from an outside perspective, and transporting them to a dimension within the book from an inside perspective. In a similar vein, Charlotte Brûlée’s Mira Mira no Mi allows her to trap others within a mirror dimension, which can be accessed from the real world via mirrors.

Stat Amplification: Belo Betty’s Kobu Kobu no Mi grants her the ability to amplify her allies’ strength and resolve by cheering for them. Jesus Burgess’ Riki Riki no Mi more simply amplifies the strength of the user, as does Urouge’s Devil Fruit, which works by converting damage into strength.

Telekinesis and Levitation: Shiki’s Fuwa Fuwa no Mi is able to levitate himself and non-living things into the air.

Transmutation: Sugar’s Hobi Hobi no Mi granted her the ability to transfigure human beings into toys, permanently altering them as long as she herself is not forcefully rendered unconscious. This also doubles as memory manipulation, as those unaffected by the transmutation lose their memories of the people that are affected. Boa’s Mero Mero no Mi also possesses transmutation, allowing her to turn targets to stone, and Giolla’s Ato Ato no Mi can transform people into abstract art.

Velocity Manipulation: Foxy’s Noro Noro no Mi grants him the ability to forcibly decelerate others by emitting special photons, which slow down that which they come into contact with, leaving them nearly motionless if sufficiently slowed.

Voodoo Dolls: Basil Hawkins’ Wara Wara no Mi grants him the ability to create voodoo dolls, through which he can reflect damage onto other people.

Limitations

It should be noted that this is very obviously not a perfect defense. For starters, negating an ability with Haki requires a certain power threshold; presumably the Haki user must be stronger than the Devil Fruit user in order to cancel out their ability successfully. If the ability or the Devil Fruit user are more powerful than the Haki user, it is not guaranteed that the Haki user will be able to cancel out the ability.

Furthermore, Haki negation is an active defense rather than a passive one. In other words, the Haki user needs to actively amp up their Haki and use it in such a way that the opposing power can be negated, rather than them being passively immune to these abilities at all times. This distinction is significant because it means that even if an ability can be hypothetically overcome by Haki, if the Haki user is caught off guard by an attack and incapacitated or rendered unable to increase their own Haki in some regard before getting a chance to respond, their Haki will not matter.

In a similar vein, it’s important to keep in mind the specifics of any individual ability, and what the Haki user would need to do in order to counter it. For example, given the existence of the Suke Suke no Mi, it’s logical to believe that a Haki user could be able to counter invisibility, negating it by striking the invisible opponent directly, or by producing a Haki aura to negate abilities in their surroundings. However, if the invisible adversary sneaks up on the Haki user and stabs them before they realize that someone is attacking them at all, that ability would still be useful in spite of the hypothetical counter.

Dracule Mihawk

Background

“It’s still too early for you to die. My name is Dracule Mihawk! Learn about yourself! Learn about the world! And become strong! No matter how many years it takes, I will hold this seat of the strongest and wait for you. Surpass this sword! Try to surpass me! Roronoa Zoro!”

The World’s Strongest Swordsman. A title many in the sea can claim to seek, but one that has belonged to only one man for as long as most can remember. A man who can easily match the might of the Emperors of the Sea. A man who, in the far past, was known only as the Marine Hunter, having suffered a great betrayal in the past, distrusting others and living in solitude. If one were to challenge him, they would be dead without even noticing. These, and more, are the stories told about Dracule Mihawk. 

Despite living alone in Kuraigana Island, one may have the honor of meeting Mihawk whenever he chooses to travel across the sea to kill time. Of course, if they choose to stand against him, they will simply be cut down by his blade. Hawk Eye greatly enjoys the thrill of a good fight, but there are very few in the entire world that could grant him that. However, in one of his travels, he met a man who sought to take the title of the strongest from him. That man was easily bested by Mihawk, but his sheer willpower and pure passion lit a spark in Mihawk. Perhaps this man, Roronoa Zoro, could prove himself a worthy rival. Before departing, Mihawk made sure that Zoro survived the encounter, and the Strongest Swordsman told him to become stronger, so that they could do battle once more in the future.

Mihawk went on with his life of solitude, partaking in the battle of Marineford exclusively for the sake of challenging Whitebeard, a fight that he never ended up getting. But as he returned to his home, to his shock, he found Roronoa Zoro there, having been launched there by another one of the Warlords. Desperate to become stronger after understanding just how outclassed he was by the New World, Zoro begged Mihawk, the man he wanted to surpass, to teach him. While initially disappointed by this behavior, Mihawk eventually gave in and assisted the young swordsman, believing that he must have found something he held so dear to him that he would even swallow his pride over.

Two years passed, and after a long series of events, the Warlord system was dissolved completely. Once more, the world was against Mihawk, chasing him down for his bounty. While initially glad to finally have some thrill in his life again, Mihawk still desired to live in peace, leading to him joining forces with another ex-Warlord, Crocodile, forming an organization that could allow him to have just that. And so, Mihawk now stands as the strongest force of the Cross Guild. Challenge him, and before you know it, you’ll already be dead…

Experience & Skill

Contrary to the belief of some, Mihawk’s title of World’s Strongest Swordsman is not one to be taken lightly. Mihawk is an experienced pirate who sailed through the Grand Line for years, despite not even having a crew to call his own, and dueled against Shanks, a member of Gol D. Roger’s crew and Emperor of the Seas, several times in the past, with it being stated that his sword skills were even superior to Shanks’ own. During the Marineford War, he was capable of matching fighters like Vista, one of Whitebeard’s commanders, and Crocodile. After the end of the Shichibukai system, the Marines considered Mihawk to be such a powerful threat that they gave him a bounty exceeding that of members of the Four Emperors.

Equipment

Yoru

A Supreme Grade Legendary Blade and Mihawk’s signature weapon. Yoru is a Black Blade, a sword used in countless battles, infused with Armament Haki until it turns black, a process which increases its power a great amount. Mihawk himself has said that Yoru is “the finest in the world”, and guidebooks back him up.

And that’s not a statement to be taken lightly. In One Piece, there’s actually a whole established classification system and hierarchy for swords, with the sword’s quality depending on factors such as how it is forged. An average blade that you’ll see on the street doesn’t even fall within a classification, being unnamed and ungraded. Stronger than those but the lowest of the blades that matter are Grade Blades, which have a higher cutting power and resilience thanks to being forged skillfully, and to accompany this greater level of quality, these swords have names of their own. Stronger than these are the 50 Skillful Grade Blades, which are of a higher standard of quality than those below them – sharper, more durable, and so on. Even stronger than those are the 21 Great Grade Blades, the next step above. Finally, we have the 12 Supreme Grade Blades, the strongest swords in One Piece, at the tippy top of which Yoru sits as the strongest of them all.

“Okay so big deal, his sword is better than a bunch of other random swords, why’s it matter?”

Well, keep in mind that one of the other Supreme Great Blades is Whitebeard’s Murakumogiri. Which is strong and durable enough to withstand direct hits from not only Akainu’s magma, but also, as specifically pointed out by the Road to Laugh Tale guidebook, the full power of Whitebeard’s own Gura Gura no Mi being channeled through it. Prime Whitebeard mind you, with the very same page of said guidebook confirming Yoru’s status as the world’s strongest sword regardless.

While Mihawk has yet to show off his full potential with the blade, combined with his incredible swordsmanship, Yoru can cut through nearly anything with no difficulty, from large galleons to mountains of ice.

Kogatana

A small knife that he typically wears on his neck, Mihawk mainly uses it if his sword isn’t necessary against a weak opponent. He’s not the kind of guy to bring a cannon to hunt rabbits, after all.

Abilities

Swordsmanship

Mihawk is an incredible swordsman, with few being able to even reach his level. His swordwork has been described as being extremely subtle by fellow swordsmen such as Zoro, and he has showcased that by casually deflecting bullets simply by touching them with Yoru. His skill is such that he can completely overwhelm weaker opponents with a miniscule knife, and he has learned how to perform sword swings that unleash massive slash waves that can cut through large distances without losing any of their absurd power. He’s pretty casually matched Yonko Commanders like Vista, and his skill with a blade is great enough that it’s stated to exceed even Red-Haired Shanks, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.

Kokuto Issen

Literally translating to “Black Sword Flash,” this attack consists of a single invisible flying slash with incredible power, enough to bisect ships with no effort whatsoever, and even cut an entire frozen tidal wave in half. While unnamed in the manga and anime, this attack’s name is given in the One Piece: Gigant Battle DS game.

Chi o Hau Zangeki

Translating to “Earth-Crawling Slash Attack,” Mihawk slashes downwards, unleashing powerful slash waves that travel through the ground. The speed and precision of this attack is so great that even in Gear 2, Luffy was unable to avoid being tagged by it. Mihawk used a similar slash to test Whitebeard’s strength, lending credence to the immense amount of force he can output with such attacks. Once again, this attack is only named in Gigant Battle.

Kokuto Arahoshi

Literally meaning “Black Blade Savage Star,” Mihawk leaps high into the air and descends with Yoru, prepared to impale whatever is underneath. Also named only in Gigant Battle, a similar variant is also featured as part of Mihawk’s moveset in the One Piece: Pirate Warriors game.

Kokuto Saku

Meaning “Black Blade First Day,” this attack is a fast and forceful downward slash that Mihawk uses as a counterattack against an opponent’s strike. When Mihawk prepared to use this move to counter Luffy’s punches during Marineford, Luffy realized that his arms would be cut off if he continued, causing him to redirect his own attack just in time to avoid becoming armless.

Kokuto Kogetsu

Translating to “Black Blade Arc Moon,” this attack consists of a series of erratic slashes, each creating slash waves to hit enemies at a range. Unlike Chi o Hau Zangeki, a similar technique where his slash travels along the ground, these sword slashes are an aerial attack, allowing for a more unpredictable pattern of consecutive attacks that are harder to dodge.

Black Blade: Wild Slash

An attack from the Pirate Warriors games, in which Mihawk performs multiple slashes consecutively, before finishing off with a black flying slash.

Black Blade: The Void

Shrouding the area in darkness, Mihawk swiftly strikes his foe with precision slashes, cutting down anyone within a wide range. As with Wild Slash, this technique is currently only seen in the Pirate Warriors games.

Armament Haki

Armament Haki seems to be Mihawk’s specialty, and was the Haki that Zoro came to specialize in through training under Mihawk. Black blades like the one that Mihawk wields are infused with powerful Armament which changes their color permanently, and channeling Armament through one’s blade drastically increases both its durability and cutting power.

While Mihawk has yet to demonstrate them, being the world’s strongest swordsman and a master of Armament Haki, it is very likely that he can employ advanced Armament techniques. This includes abilities such as emitting Haki a short to medium distance to apply concussive force, or channeling Haki into a target to destroy it from the inside out.

Observation Haki

In addition to Armament, Mihawk has also demonstrated mastery of Observation Haki, granting him a greater sense for his surroundings, incoming attacks, the emotions and strength level of others, and so on. With this, he was able to easily keep track of Luffy’s movements in Gear 2, something which even expert Haki users like Boa Marigold and Boa Sandersonia could not do.

As with Armament Haki, it is also a possibility that Mihawk could use more advanced forms of Observation Haki, given that he is a rival and possibly superior to Shanks, one of only four currently known users of Advanced Observation. If so, it’s possible that he might be able to see briefly into the future in combat, to avoid attacks or predict bad outcomes.

Weaknesses

Running out of black paint.

In all seriousness, Mihawk has few clear weaknesses and is one of the most fearsome characters in One Piece as a whole. While he lacks a Devil Fruit and is thus a straightforward swordsman as far as we’ve seen, his strength with Haki alone is great enough to surpass most of his world’s strongest beings. The most one could say in terms of weaknesses is that he typically only uses as much power as he deems necessary, and will not go all out if an opponent does not impress him; as a result, he has yet to actually demonstrate his full power in the series. Still, this has never notably impeded him.

Crocodile

Background

“What good are your happy ideals if you can’t do anything to make them a reality? They’re nothing but dreams, and your dreams don’t stand a chance.”

A country in civil war, torn over the lack of rain. A mysterious mercenary organization operating in the shadows, with a leader that would never show his face. A conspiracy several years in the making. All of these were merely the work of a single man, one who was once called a hero of the desert, Sir Crocodile.

One of the many who witnessed Roger’s execution in person, Crocodile was fueled with the drive to become the Pirate King from a very young age. But as he grew into an infamous pirate, enough to warrant a position among the Warlords, another dream became his focus: to have his very own country, a Utopia of his own making. But to do so, he would need a lot of planning, a powerful army, and immense military power. As he began making his plans, he secretly founded the underworld organization, Baroque Works, and made preparations to acquire the Ancient Weapon, Pluton – a warship capable of mass destruction.

But finding Pluton would be an incredibly difficult task, as all the information Crocodile could find was that it was hidden in the desert Kingdom of Alabasta. But no matter, in that case, all he had to do was destroy the kingdom entirely! Using a special drug that could produce rain by concentrating all surrounding clouds in one spot, Crocodile ensured that only the capital of Alabasta would receive rain, angering the population of the island. Using his status as a Warlord, Crocodile staged several battles against pirates to make the people of the desert see him as a hero, freeing him from suspicion while he made the island into his primary base of operations. After all, why would the hero defending the innocent ever be behind such heinous acts?

The stage was set perfectly for a rebellion, formed out of rage toward the capital and the kingdom’s royal army. The plan was simple – to cause mutual destruction through conflict – but there was one thorn in Crocodile’s side. The Princess of Alabasta, Vivi, had learned the truth behind the entire conspiracy, and that Crocodile was the man behind it all. Crocodile attempted to get her assassinated, but she teamed up with a group of rookie pirates known as the Straw Hats, who eventually made their way to Alabasta to confront him directly. Despite the overwhelming power in Crocodile’s hands, despite everything pointing to the kingdom’s destruction, the sheer tenacity of these rookies allowed them to overcome a Warlord, and Crocodile was completely defeated. His evil now revealed, his status of Warlord was revoked, and he was arrested by the Marines, his dream of acquiring unmatched military might seemingly shattered beyond repair. 

But after spending considerable time imprisoned, what else would fate bring to him but Straw Hat Luffy, the man who dethroned him. While the rookie had recklessly invaded the prison to save his brother, Fire Fist Ace, his actions allowed for a prison break of massive proportions, allowing several inmates, including Crocodile, to escape the prison. Croc made a temporary alliance with Luffy, taking part in the Marineford Summit War in hopes of killing Whitebeard, although he never got the killing blow on the Strongest Man that he desired. 

But as time passed, Crocodile’s ambitions to make his utopia never faltered, and he kept seeking ways to make his dream a reality in the New World. With the dissolution of the Warlord system, a major opportunity presented itself. Dracule Mihawk, a man known for his immense strength, was more than willing to join forces with Crocodile in a brand new organization led by the both of them. With the newly established Cross Guild under his control, it seems like it may only be a matter of time before Crocodile gets what he’s always wanted.

Experience & Skill

Crocodile is confident in his own abilities, and for good reason. Even without the advantage of his Devil Fruit, Crocodile is able to throw hands if he wants to, against the other Shichibukai, pirates like Luffy, marine soldiers, and so on. With it, his skill is exceptional even among Devil Fruit users, as in his own words, he isn’t the type to remain satisfied with his powers as they are, constantly working and training to improve his skills and mastery over his fruit – which he’s showcased again and again, being one of the few Devil Fruit users to Awaken his abilities, and handing Luffy his first major L in the entire series.

Even after his defeat in Alabasta, Crocodile continued to get stronger, possibly through prison brawls in Impel Down, to the point of being able to contend against foes like Doflamingo and the Admirals during Marineford. As of the modern day, Crocodile’s bounty as one of the figureheads of the Cross Guild is just shy of two billion, higher than even Luffy’s was at the beginning of Wano, and just a couple billion shy of the Yonko themselves.

Despite his exceptional skill in combat, if there’s one thing that Crocodile excels at beyond all else, it’s his intelligence. He’s a criminal genius who not only hid his identity as Mr. 0 and leader of Baroque Works from the people of Alabasta for years, but even did the same with the World Government. During this time, he was able to orchestrate an entire rebellion that would’ve brought down a kingdom, had he not been stopped. Nowadays, he’s one of the masterminds behind the Cross Guild, so his skill as a leader and tactician have not dulled in the slightest.

Equipment

Golden Hook

Crocodile’s most distinct weapon, in place of his left hand is a golden hook, which I can only assume is a Peter Pan reference (cuz Crocodile, y’know?). This blade is razor sharp and an excellent melee tool in combat, capable of piercing through even tough opponents like Luffy. Its durability is also exceptional, as it was shown to be able to block Mihawk’s blade.

Poison Hook

Plot twist, underneath Crocodile’s hook…. is another hook!!! By removing the golden hook, Crocodile becomes even more deadly thanks to the hook underneath, which is coated in a deadly poison and is just as sharp, capable of cutting Luffy. It would have been fatal too, had Luffy not been provided the antidote. It should be noted that the poison also has acidic properties, so potent that it can even melt rock.

In fairness, however, it seems as though this hook is less durable than its golden container, as Luffy was able to break it off in their fight. However, hidden beneath it is an additional extendable blade, which Crocodile can use as a contingency if he loses the hook.

Abilities

Suna Suna No Mi

After eating the Suna Suna No Mi, or the Sand Sand Fruit, Crocodile became a Sand Person. As a Logia Type, Crocodile can sense, manipulate, and become sand, able to turn his entire body (or just portions of it) into sand, and even create sand out of thin air. While many Logias need to consciously transform their bodies to and from their element to remain untouchable to attacks, Crocodile seems to be an exception, as his skill with his ability is so great that he was able to turn into sand even when caught completely off-guard from behind by Doflamingo.

With sand, Crocodile can create sandstorms, quicksand, and even travel as sand in order to get close to their opponents for quick strikes. His most deadliest usage of sand is the ability to drain the moisture of whatever he touches, including trees, grass, rock and living beings. Thanks to his Devil Fruit being Awakened, Crocodile possesses the ability to transform his surroundings into sand that he can attack with and manipulate, transmuting all non-living objects in his vicinity with an effect that travels through surfaces. 

Desert Spada

A cutting attack in which Crocodile swings his arm, launching a large amount of sand in the form of a blade through the floor, destroying the area while traveling. This attack is strong enough to carve the Alabasta Royal Palace’s lawn in half, destroying hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of stone.

Desert Girasole

By dragging the sand under an opponent down, Crocodile can transform a large area into a pit of quicksand. In doing so, he can trap his opponent and forcibly submerge them, suffocating them to death as they are unable to escape and slowly dragged down. This attack would have successfully killed Luffy, had Nico Robin not saved him.

Barján (Crescent Cutlass)

After making his arm into a sand blade in the form of a crescent, Crocodile can slash it through his target like a blade. Although it simply passes through a target, dealing no cutting damage, its true danger is that it absorbs the moisture from said target, completely drying it up. In the above instance, Luffy’s arm was left mummified and unusable until he could rehydrate, and in other instances Crocodile has shown to be capable of inflicting this effect on a person’s entire body.

Sables

By spinning sand in his hand, Crocodile can create a miniature tornado which then rapidly expands as he releases it, transforming into a full-sized sandstorm of immense power. In time, it becomes powerful enough that not even Crocodile himself can stop it, and it sucks all the moisture out of anything in its path, to the point where it can destroy entire towns. The wind speed of the sandstorm is also immense, capable of throwing people around if they are unfortunate enough to get caught in it.

Sables: Pesado

By compressing his normal Sables attack into his hand, Crocodile can create a condensed version of his sandstorm and hurl it at an opponent as a projectile, creating a powerful shockwave upon impact. 

Ground Secco

By placing his hand on the ground, Crocodile can dry out and crush the ground around him in a large vicinity, destabilizing the terrain and creating large fissures to throw an opponent off-balance. Needless to say, falling into one of these fissures would be bad for his opponent’s health, if they’re unfortunate enough to end up in that situation.

Ground Death

An even more dangerous variation of Ground Secco, in which by placing his hand on the ground, Crocodile can exert his dehydration ability across a large area, with the effect transmitting through surfaces. The ground, people, nearby buildings; anything that isn’t airborne isn’t safe from his dehydration when he uses this attack, though in fairness the effect is not immediate and requires prolonged contact with the ground to remain affected. This effect is able to transmute nonliving things into sand entirely, as a result of Crocodile’s Devil Fruit being awakened.

Desert la Spada

A variant of the normal Desert Spada in which Crocodile creates four blades of sand, launching them through the air instead of along the ground. This was his final attack against Luffy in their final fight, possibly implying that at the time at least, this may have been his strongest attack.

Desert Grande Espada

_{(Hey, weren’t those the other guys?)}

While unnamed in the manga, this attack was given a name in Gigant Battle. From the ground, Crocodile causes a large amount of sand to erupt, creating a massive spike which pierces through an opponent. This attack was strong enough to cut even Akainu in half, though in fairness, the intangible elemental form of a Logia is typically malleable and not difficult for even a weaker opponent to pierce. Given the name of the attack, it’s possible that this variant of Desert Spada is even stronger than any of the variations that Crocodile had demonstrated previously.

Weaknesses

_{(Bum lost to Pre-Timeskip Pre-Water 7 Luffy)}

While all Devil Fruit users share the weakness of being unable to use their powers while having their bodies submerged by seawater, Crocodile suffers from one even greater: being completely unable to transform his body into sand if any liquid, be it water or blood, makes contact with his body, thus removing one of his greatest assets.

Despite this weakness, he was notably able to withstand baptism in boiling water without even flinching, so his own resilience even without his elemental intangibility is still impressive.

Gecko Moria

Background

“My words come from experience. My subordinates… they were famed far and wide. Why did I have to lose them all?!”

In the darkest corners of the sea, one might wind up finding a pirate ship the size of an entire island, slowly drifting in the waters. Some say that on this island, zombies roam the land, and if you go there, you’ll lose your shadow… Those might sound like horror stories, but they’re all true. And the man responsible is none other than one of the Seven Warlords, Gecko Moria.

Moria was an incredibly famous and powerful pirate during the early days of the Great Pirate Era. Alongside his comrades, he made it all the way to the New World, something most pirates would never dream of achieving! But his ambition was cut short when he faced off against Kaido, one of the Four Emperors. One by one, all of Moria’s subordinates died in front of him, and his crew that had gone so far suddenly no longer existed.

This tragedy greatly affected Moria. The loss of all those whom he held dear hindered his ability to pursue his dream. But he had an idea. If his crew would die if he tried moving forward, why not create a crew that is already dead? An army of undead soldiers of incredible power, all obeying his orders! Teaming up with the infamous Dr. Hogback to prepare the corpses, Moria formed the Thriller Bark Pirates, slowly amassing the bodies of powerful warriors to use as his new lackeys.

But Moria grew complacent. Believing that his army could do everything for him, he became lazy and inactive, slowly turning into nothing more than a shadow of his former self. Because of that, when the Straw Hat Pirates broke into his island and started to destroy his zombies, despite fighting to the absolute best of his ability, Moria could not defeat these rookies. As he was defeated, Moria gave them one final warning: at the level they were on, they would suffer the very same gruesome fate he experienced so long ago.

But death would not stop following Moria afterward. After he was forced into participating in the Marineford War, the World Government realized that he had outlived his usefulness, and ordered his assassination. Through a miracle however, Moria survived, laying low for the next couple of years while the world believed him to be dead. But despite all of this, death struck once more, as one of Moria’s closest allies was murdered by Blackbeard for his Devil Fruit. Moria, in rage, stormed Blackbeard’s island seeking revenge… and has not yet been seen again. Perhaps he is now imprisoned, or maybe death has finally caught up to him – for the monsters he now faces are even scarier and more grim than the ghost tales of Thriller Bark.

Experience & Skill

_{(Bro let himself go)}

Moria is an incredibly experienced pirate captain, having led his original crew all the way to Wano in the New World, a feat only the best pirate crews are capable of achieving.  In his prime, he could even trade blows with Kaido, a pirate so powerful he was known as the World’s Strongest Creature, although the battle destroyed Moria’s entire crew. After forming the Thriller Bark Pirates, Moria’s skill as a fighter took a dive due to his sheer laziness, but his Devil Fruit abilities allowed him to take the battle experience and skill of others to make up for this issue, being able to battle in the Marineford War and invade Blackbeard’s home island without dying in the process.

Equipment

Scissors

Moria possesses a giant pair of scissors, which he usually uses in order to cut out people’s shadows alongside the powers of his Devil Fruit. While they may not seem like much, Moria can use these scissors as a pair of swords in combat. Moria isn’t the best swordsman himself, but he can steal the shadow of one and gain great mastery of these weapons. 

Abilities

Kage Kage no Mi

The Shadow Shadow Fruit is a Paramecia type Devil Fruit that turns whoever eats it into a Master of Shadows. With its power, Moria can make shadows take physical form, and use them in battle. Moria can also steal the shadows of other people, which allows him to implant them in deceased bodies in order to create zombies.

Those whose shadows are stolen become invisible in reflections, and are vaporized if they come into contact with sunlight. Shadows carry the memories and experience of those they are taken from, and as such, Moria can gain other people’s skills by implanting shadows to himself. If he were to take a shadow from a mighty swordsman, for example, he would be able to perform all of their sword skills.

Zombie Creation

One of the primary abilities used by Moria with the Kage Kage. If Moria gets his hands on pretty much any corpse, he can infuse it with a new shadow and bring it back to life. Most of Moria’s crew on board of the Thriller Bark consisted of zombies like these, with him gathering corpses from some of the greatest dead people he could find to serve as his loyal lackeys, but he managed to create zombies in the middle of the Summit War, showcasing a lesser need for preparation when it comes to having zombies around.

Doppelman

Moria’s own shadow, forming a dark silhouette of him, that can be used to fight enemies for him. The Doppelman is completely indestructible, regenerating from any damage it takes and being able to take many different forms for different attacks. It’s a perfect shield for Moria, allowing him to barely participate in battles directly, and even if one tries to target Moria himself, he can swap places with the Doppelman via an ability called Kagemusha, making landing a blow on him even harder. Moria can even combine Doppelman with one of his allies’ shadows, allowing him to bend their bodies by bending the shadow itself.

Kage Giri

Moria’s main method of taking other’s shadows is to just… grab them, and then use his scissors to separate them from the body.

Brick Bat

An attack in which Moria transforms his Doppelman into a swarm of shadow bats to assail his opponents. The bats can also shift into other forms, which Moria uses for a couple of other attacks.

Kage Kakumei

Moria can change the shape of other’s shadows. While that might sound useless at first, an important mechanic of Moria’s fruit is that a person’s body and their shadow must have the same shape. Thus, manipulating one affects the other, and by forcefully alternating the shape of the shadow, the body will follow suit and transform. 

Tsuno Tokage

Possibly one of Moria’s strongest attacks, in which he uses the shapeshifting properties of his Brick Bats to form a gigantic shadow spear, erupting up from the ground and piercing that which is above it. During Marineford, Moria used this attack to impale Little Oars Jr., demonstrating that the attack is powerful enough to pierce even the hide of a giant.

Support

Thanks to the Kage Kage, Moria has amassed a massive number of zombies which he controls and commands for his own purposes, implementing them throughout Thriller Bark. As they are a key part of his capabilities in battle, his zombies will be included as part of his arsenal. These zombies can be divided into several notable sub-categories delineating their composition, function, and importance. This includes…

Wild Zombies

Wild Zombies are made from animal and plant parts all stitched together. While these goofy looking things may look like the least impressive of Moria’s Zombie army, they can still prove themselves worthwhile in combat against weaker foes. They mostly use their appearance to hide around in forests and the like, sneaking up on unsuspecting victims and sending them to Moria so he can remove their shadows.

Soldier Zombies

Composing the vast majority of Moria’s army are the Soldier Zombies, which actually live up to their name by being mostly made out of actual human corpses! They’re decently capable as lackeys, though a strong opponent can easily put them back in the grave. At least they get to go partying on zombie night.

Surprise Zombies

Shadows that are capable of disguising as completely regular objects throughout Moria’s base of operations in Thriller Bark, these zombies’ only real asset in combat, as their name implies, is the element of surprise. Not every day when a bear carpet springs up to kill you, after all.

General Zombies

The real meat of Moria’s army, the General Zombies are on a level much, much greater than all previous zombie types, being born from the corpses of legendary historical figures famed for their incredible power and skill. Some of the most notable Generals under Moria’s employ are Captain John, a member of the legendary Rocks Pirates, and Ryuma, the greatest samurai in the history of Wano Country fabled as the Sword God.

Oars

Undoubtedly the most fearsome zombie in Moria’s vast collection, Oars is the name of a famous giant who lived over 500 years ago, known to be so large and strong that he was named the “Continent Puller.” In death, his massive body was unearthed by Moria and used to create the 900th zombie of his army, fitting into a unique class that consisted of him and him alone: Special Zombie.

Because Moria created the Oars zombie with Monkey D. Luffy’s shadow, it can replicate many of Luffy’s attacks. Though at first he lacked the ability to stretch, as Oars’ body was not elastic, Moria was able to use Kage Kakumei to alter the shape of his shadow, in turn allowing his body to stretch and thus re-create Luffy’s abilities more effectively. This is on top of Oars’ own immense strength and durability, surprisingly high speed and agility despite his size, and complete immunity to pain thanks to being a zombie. Taken altogether, the Oars zombie was so powerful that the entire Straw Hat crew needed to work together to take him down.

Forms

Shadow’s Asgard

When Moria finally feels like getting off his ass, he can enter a more powerful form by absorbing shadows into his body. At his best, Moria managed to absorb one thousand shadows, increasing his power tremendously, enough to split Thriller Bark itself in half with a mighty physical blow. However, this power came with some cost. It severely hindered Moria’s speed, and strong enough blows could make him spit out the many shadows inside him.

Black Box

While in Shadow’s Asgard, Moria’s shadow becomes much larger, and he can turn it into enough Brick Bats to create a box prison to trap his opponent. While contained, they are left vulnerable to being utterly crushed by Moria’s raw strength. 

Weaknesses

Moria’s constant reliance on his underlings doing everything for him has resulted in him becoming incredibly weak and easy to defeat in terms of raw physical strength. While he can absorb shadows to make this less of an issue, it still stands that Moria is one of the weakest of the Warlords on his own.

In addition, his zombies can easily be dispelled by saltwater, or even just being forced to ingest salt by itself. This is because salt is an element of the sea, and thus weakens Devil Fruit users, thereby making it one of the only things that can completely counter Moria’s ability.

Bartholomew Kuma

Background

“If you were to go on a vacation… where would you like to go?”

The story of Bartholomew Kuma is one filled with tragedy. Born a member of the ancient Buccaneer race in the Sorbet Kingdom, he was enslaved by the World Nobles as only a child, suffering extreme physical abuse and watching as both of his parents died, the only thing preventing him from wishing to die as well being his belief in the Sun God of Liberation, Nika. Kuma’s suffering would continue for years, until he met up with fellow slaves Emporio Ivankov and Ginny, who sparked a massive incident in God Valley, leading to Kuma obtaining his Devil Fruit, and sending as many people as he could to freedom. Now a savior of over 500 slaves, Kuma returned to his homeland, where he would spend his days in peace alongside Ginny, eventually becoming a priest at the church that became his home. 

But his story wouldn’t end so happily. When the King of Sorbet, Bekori, attempted to segregate the southern part of his kingdom and leave it a lawless land, Kuma revolted against him, eventually getting himself and Ginny thrown into jail. But just as things looked dire, the Revolutionary Army, led by one Monkey D. Dragon, arrived at the scene, overthrowing Bekori and freeing the country from his evil. After learning that Ivankov had joined this group, Kuma and Ginny joined Dragon as well, traveling the world to face off against tyrants like Bekori, and bring liberation.

Things were great, at first, until one fateful day, when Ginny was kidnapped. Made into the slave wife of a World Noble, Ginny was lost to Kuma for years before he found out the awful truth. Not only was Ginny pregnant due to the Nobles’ actions, but she also had gained a terminal illness, which led to her being free for just long enough to talk with Kuma one more time. Dying at the church they used to live in, Ginny left behind her daughter, Jewelry Bonney, and Kuma raised her as his own. But of course, things got worse. Bonney shared the same terminal illness that her mother had, and she was doomed to die before she was even 10 years old.

As if that weren’t enough, Bekori attempted to return to Sorbet and take back his throne. Far less patient this time, Kuma raided the Royal Palace and single-handedly destroyed it, forcing Bekori to retreat as Kuma became the new King, due to popular demand, despite not wishing to rule. Leaving the last king, Bulldog, to take care of all political matters, Kuma continued to live in his church… until Bekori attacked with an entire Marine fleet. Kuma easily sank the entire armada, and became a wanted pirate, leaving his daughter and kingdom behind so as to not attract any more dangers, all while attempting to find a cure for her disease.

Eventually, he found out that the genius scientist Dr. Vegapunk could cure his daughter. But such recovery would come at an extreme cost. Not only did Vegapunk desire to use Kuma’s body as a template for an army of cybernetic clones to operate as a peace-keeping force, the World Government would refuse to allow Vegapunk to go on with the treatment unless Kuma became a cyborg completely loyal to them, as one of their Seven Warlords. Desperate to save his daughter’s life, Kuma sacrificed his own.

But before he was forced to lose all of his memories and become a mindless machine, Kuma found Dragon’s son, Monkey D. Luffy, and realized that he could be the one to take down the World Nobles that haunt the world so much. Doing everything he could to help the boy become stronger, Kuma’s last act as a human was to protect his ship for two years, before being reduced to nothing but a mindless slave. And so, in spite of his tragic end, Kuma’s will lives on. Not only through Luffy, who went on to make a name for himself in the New World and eventually gain the power of the Sun God that Kuma had long believed in, but also through his daughter Bonney, whose future Kuma had secured.

And when Bonney found herself at the mercy of one of the world’s Five Elders, even after the man’s mind had been gone for years, Kuma’s body somehow found its way to the battlefield, and punched that old bastard right in the face to protect his daughter. Maybe, just maybe, buried deep in the mechanical shell he’s been turned into, Kuma’s will might live on in himself as well.

Experience & Skill

Kuma is a very experienced warrior, having been a part of the Revolutionary Army for several years before his transformation into a cyborg, going on several liberation missions and being considered one of the top members of the entire organization. Even by himself, he was capable of taking out entire Marine fleets with absolute ease.

Even outside of his work as a revolutionary, Kuma has spent a great amount of his life exploring the world of One Piece in search of a cure for his daughter’s condition, going on several adventures across many, many islands in the process, adding on to his experience. As the original Pacifista, Kuma displayed his incredible prowess in battle by easily defeating the entire Straw Hat Crew, who at that point were strong enough to defeat other Warlords like Crocodile and Moria in battle, without any issue, and fighting in the Marineford Summit War against powerful opponents like Ivankov and Little Oars Jr.

In addition, in the two years between the Marineford War and the Straw Hats’ reunion, Kuma managed to fight off every single Marine that tried to destroy the Thousand Sunny without any sort of rest.

Equipment

Pacifista Modifications

Due to becoming a cyborg as per his deal with Dr Vegapunk, Kuma’s body contains a massive amount of special modifications that grant him special abilities that he can use while deployed on the battlefield, including…

Scanner

In order to effectively hunt down pirates with ease, the Pacifistas are equipped with scanners that can detect both their names and bounties with as little as a glance.

Mouth Laser

Pacifista units such as Kuma are capable of unleashing laser beams directly modeled off of Admiral Kizaru’s Pika Pika no Mi, the Light-Light Fruit. While most Pacifistas can fire these light beams from their hands and mouth, Kuma’s Devil Fruit makes it so that only the mouth is available to unleash his lasers. These lasers create massive explosions on impact and are said to move at the speed of light; in Kizaru’s hands, they’re powerful enough to pierce through even Whitebeard, the strongest pirate alive.

Supersonic Hearing

In one of his conversations with Vegapunk, Kuma confirmed that he had been modified to have supersonic hearing, greatly enhancing his ability to hear any sound from great distances away, though the extent of this modification is unknown.

Self-Destruct

If Kuma pisses off the World Government enough, they can completely remove Kuma’s ability to do anything, trapping him in a vegetative state, through a shutdown switch attached to his body. It doesn’t actually destroy him, but it renders him pretty much incapable of fighting back or continuing on.

Bible

Praise Jesus.

Abilities

Nikyu Nikyu no Mi

In a desperate attempt to get the heck out of God Valley, Kuma ate the Paw-Paw Fruit, turning him into a Paw Human. The only obvious difference in Kuma’s body is the presence of cute looking paws in the palms of his hand, but these paws are one of the most incredible Devil Fruits among the Warlords, possessing the power to repel… pretty much anything they touch.

Pad Cannon

Kuma’s signature move. He repels the very air around him at the speed of light, generating incredibly powerful shockwaves (presented as cute little Paw bubbles) to damage opponents. By taking a sumo-like stance, Kuma can unleash several bubbles in one go through his Thrust Pad Cannon.

Ursus Shock

The most powerful version of the Pad Cannon, being formed by Kuma compressing a massive amount of air into a tiny bubble, with the sheer amount of air resulting in a massive explosion the moment it decompresses. The size and strength of this shockwave is great enough to disturb the entire island of Thriller Bark and the surrounding ocean.

Attack Deflection

The Paw-Paw’s repelling abilities effectively mean Kuma can repel virtually any attack by just placing his hand in front of it. By changing the angle of his hand, he can control the angle at which an oncoming attack is deflected, diverting it to the side or bouncing it back to sender.

Repelling Himself

By touching his own body with the Paws, Kuma can repel himself, sending himself flying off into the distance at such speed that to an onlooker, he seems to disappear into thin air. In short bursts, this can be used to blitz opponents faster than eyesight; across large distances, he can travel between islands, covering large stretches of the world at breakneck pace. He can directly control where his destination will be while doing so, though if there is an obstacle in Kuma’s path, he may crash into it and have to find a new route towards his destination.

Repelling Others

He can do it to himself, and he can do it to others too! By just touching someone with the Paws, Kuma can send them flying into a completely different island, which appears to an observer like he just nopes them into nothing with a touch. In the Sabaody Archipelago, he used this application of his ability to separate the Straw Hats, sending them off to different locales across the world. He tends to ask people where they’d want to take a vacation first though, before sending them off. He’s a nice guy like that. Though it should be noted that according to Oda, he can’t send his target anywhere that he hasn’t already been himself, though this is not an issue as he is particularly well-traveled.

Repelling Pain

Okay, this repelling thing is getting out of hand. If Kuma so chooses, he can repel one’s pain and sense of fatigue away from their body, leaving them feeling completely free from those sensations and as healthy as ever, but the bubble that contains said pain needs to be taken by someone, otherwise it will come back to its original owner. Kuma tends to take in that pain himself though. He’s a nice guy like that…

Repelling Memories

Though he has only ever done so to himself, Kuma can repel a target’s memories out of their body in a similar manner as their pain, forming a large paw-shaped bubble. Unlike pain, however, a person’s memories don’t leave them when he does so, with the memory bubble acting more like a copy of their memories that can be viewed by others – just once, before the bubble disappears. Another difference is that unlike pain, these memory bubbles don’t seem to independently return to their owner after a time, as Kuma’s memory bubble was able to remain in Vegapunk’s lab for years after he created it.

Armament Haki

In addition to his naturally exceptional strength, Kuma can further reinforce his body and physical strikes with Armament Haki, making him strong enough to lay an extremely satisfying smackdown on even one of the Five Elders, Saint Jaygarcia Saturn.

Weaknesses

In addition to the standard weaknesses of a Devil Fruit user, Kuma’s reflection requires physical touch via his paws and can be avoided or bypassed by steering clear of the hands.

Of course, it’s also worth noting that with the fullest extent of his cybernetic modifications, Kuma is effectively braindead, his body only moving to follow orders or by pure instinct. As such, in this state he can no longer think in battle, much less strategize, and tends to suffer immense amounts of damage while attempting to complete any missions imposed on him. That said, we are assuming for this fight that Kuma will have access to his mental faculties as he did in his first appearances, when he was almost fully modified but still retained his intellect and free will.

Boa Hancock

Background

“No matter what I do, why, even if I were to commit murder, the world would forgive me. It is because I am beautiful.”

On the jungle island of Amazon Lily dwells the Kuja Tribe, an empire composed entirely of women who possess great strength. They live a warrior lifestyle, they wield weapons themed after snakes, and most of them have not laid eyes on a man in their entire life. And ruling over this island is the strongest of the Kuja, renowned as the world’s most beautiful woman, the Pirate Empress and Warlord of the Sea: Boa Hancock.

However, Boa’s larger than life stature hides a tragic past. From a young age, she and her sisters were kidnapped from the Kuja Pirates by slavers, and sold to the World Nobles, under whose control they would spend four long, traumatic years. The three of them were branded a slave mark on their backs, and Boa in particular was force-fed the Mero Mero no Mi, a Devil Fruit that granted her supernatural powers. The three endured unspeakable horrors as slaves, until one day they were freed. A man climbed to the top of the Red Line and did battle with the Holy Land to free those enslaved therein. In the ensuing conflict, Boa and her sisters escaped, thanks to the man who had set them free – who was not a man at all, but a Fish-Man, the revolutionary Fisher Tiger.

Rescued and taken in by the Kuja Elder Gloriosa, the sisters were brought back home to Amazon Lily, where they took great pains to hide their former enslavement, concealing the slave tattoos on their backs with a rumor that anyone who gazed upon said backs would turn to stone – a story that earned them the nickname “Gorgon Sisters”. 

However, being freed did not rid Boa of the horrific experiences she had suffered as a slave. Gone was the innocent girl who had sailed with the Kuja Pirates, and in her place was a woman who would grow up to distrust everyone other than her sisters, men especially. Over the years, despite Elder Nyon’s love and mercy, Boa became cold, burying any warm feelings, kindness, and sensitivity deep within her, and resolving never, ever, to allow anyone to control her again. In time, her power became renowned, and she earned the moniker of Pirate Empress, and a position among the Warlords for her strength alone.

But like with any good anime tsundere, this would all change when the anime protagonist came crashing in – in this case literally. One day, Monkey D. Luffy fell out of the sky and crash-landed on Amazon Lily, launched there from a faraway island by one Bartholomew Kuma. After he accidentally saw the symbol on her back, Boa attempted to petrify him with the power of her Devil Fruit, but strangely to no avail. The Mero Mero no Mi has the power to petrify anyone who finds Boa beautiful, and she’s as beautiful as they come. Men, women, it doesn’t matter… except for Luffy, who is so completely and utterly uninterested in such things that it had no effect on him. Go figure.

So since the good ol’ reliable didn’t work, Boa kidnapped him instead and went for public execution. Naturally, Luffy escaped death, defeating Boa’s younger sisters and recognizing the importance of the symbols on their back, choosing to help hide them rather than expose them. It was this that caused Boa to test Luffy, offering him the choice between the restoration of three petrified women or a boat home to safety. However, she was shocked to find that he, without a moment’s hesitation, knelt down with gratitude upon hearing that the three women could be recovered. Boa had expected Luffy to be selfish and immoral like all the other men that she had encountered, and this act of selflessness earned her trust.

And so, she took Luffy to her palace and showed him the symbol on her back, confiding her painful past to him. After many years, Boa revealed the side of her that had been buried until then, reduced to tears from recalling the painful memories. She asked Luffy if he hated her for being a slave like so many other people do, but as you’d expect, he responded that the only ones he hates are the World Nobles, for committing such atrocities in the first place. Selflessness, compassion for others, righteous anger on her behalf – Boa’s distrust of others crumbled in the face of Luffy’s good nature, and so she found herself falling ill. Not with the flu or covid-19, but the most deadly sickness of all, contracted by many an empress of the Kuja Tribe… lovesickness!

Yep, she fell in love with Luffy. The one person on the planet who doesn’t have the hots for her. Go figure.

Boa made an unprecedented exception in the Kuja’s tradition, and allowed Luffy to stay in Amazon Lily as a guest. After he learned that his brother Ace was going to be executed during the war against Whitebeard, Boa easily accepted his seemingly selfish and dangerous request to help save him, despite putting herself in mortal danger. They concocted a plan to help sneak him into the most dangerous prison, Impel Down, where Ace was being kept in advance of his execution. However, successful though the break-in was, Luffy was too late to save his brother in the end.

Even after Ace’s death, and Boa finding out that Luffy was the son of the “devil,” Monkey D. Dragon, Boa continued to love and support him through anything he and his team needed. In return, she asked him to marry her a few dozen times, and got a few dozen “no thank you”s in return. As Luffy departed for the New World, he always remained in Boa’s thoughts and heart, even when she lost her Warlord title, or when Amazon Lily was invaded by the Emperor Blackbeard. She’s still as cold and defiant toward her enemies as ever, with even Blackbeard acknowledging her worth as an enemy, but as Boa heads for the New World and seeks to reunite with Luffy again, it’s clear that the wounds inflicted on her heart by the World Nobles have finally begun to heal.

Experience & Skill

Boa’s strength and skill in combat are highly renowned, and she has the accolades to back up her reputation. Upon her introduction, she easily overcame Vice Admiral Momonga and his subordinates, and during the Summit War at Marineford, she was able to quickly and easily take down a Pacifista, with a single Pacifista being more than a match for the entire Straw Hat crew at the time. Her leadership skills should also not go unstated, as she spent years as the empress of Amazon Lily, which went unconquered until it was invaded by Blackbeard in the aftermath of the Warlords system being dissolved.

It’s stated that she was offered a spot among the Warlords for her strength alone, and she was able to take down multiple Blackbeard Commanders with her Devil Fruit. This act caused Blackbeard to compliment her strength, viewing her as a dangerous enemy who could petrify and defeat him if given the chance. This sort of sentiment has been echoed by other high-tier characters, with both Sengoku and Aokiji commenting positively on her capabilities.

Equipment

Salome

_{(Look at this cutie patootie)}

All members of the Kuja Tribe possess Snake Weapons, snake pets with the unique capability of forming into various weapon shapes to assist their owners in battle. Boa’s snake, Salome, is much larger than most of its kind, typically shifting into a throne for her to sit on or allowing her to have a height advantage compared to her enemies.

Salome can also turn into a large bow, assisting Boa in her Slave Arrow attack, and she can even harden him with Haki to use as a weapon. Besides this, Salome also has the ability to track and sense things on the ocean floor, which was shown when he was able to sense Whitebeard’s earthquake before it arrived, and when he helped Boa track the Heart Pirates’ submarine when it was traveling underwater.

Abilities

Mero Mero no Mi

The Mero Mero no Mi, or Love-Love Fruit, is a Paramecia-type Devil Fruit that Boa was forcibly fed as a young woman during her time as a slave. This powerful fruit grants her the ability to petrify her victims. The necessary feelings in order to activate the petrification vary from person to person, and for Boa, it is the endless lust, love and perversion felt towards her that allows her to use her abilities should they fall for her feminine charm (woof), even being slightly infatuated makes them susceptible to the ability. Anyone who experiences any sort of “dirty thoughts” toward her will be susceptible to this Devil Fruit’s powers regardless of their willpower, strength and gender. The Fruit itself amplifies those feelings in order to affect the target(s). While turned to stone, Boa’s petrified victims will have their consciousness frozen and they will lose their memories from right before and after the event.

However, being blind or blindfolded (and thus unable to experience Boa’s beauty), or simply lacking any sort of affection or attraction for Boa (somehow-) can nullify these effects. You can also counteract this state of infatuation by causing yourself intense pain, as Vice Admiral Momonga did to avoid being petrified. Notably, if one is turned into stone by a user of the Mero Mero and said user dies, there is no way to undo the petrification. Even if a new user of the fruit comes in, they won’t be able to undo the petrification that the original user had performed.

Mero Mero Mellow

Boa’s signature move and primary way of petrification. She forms a heart with her hands and fires a heart-shaped beam towards an opponent. If they feel any impure thoughts about her while she is doing this, they’ll be instantly turned to stone. However she’s able to undo this, with…

Mezameyo

Also known as “Awaken”, by blowing a kiss at the statues created by the Mero Mero Mellow, Boa can undo the effect and bring them back to their normal state. However, they won’t remember anything that happened while they were petrified, only what came before.

Pistol Kiss

Boa blows a kiss, creating a heart-shaped bullet to fire at her victim via a finger gun. It simply attacks the opponent, no strings attached and no petrification involved. However it is sharp and fired with enough force to pierce her enemies, such as when she first used it on Luffy. It was able to pierce through his rubber body, despite the fact that he constantly displays the ability to bounce normal bullets off of his body with ease.

Slave Arrow

Boa blows a kiss, generating a massive heart. Said heart then explodes and turns into a large amount of arrows that petrify whatever they hit. This doesn’t stop at just living beings, but it can also petrify inanimate objects such as cannonballs, meaning that unlike Mero Mero Mellow, this technique isn’t contingent on any particular attraction felt by the target toward Boa; it just works on whatever it hits, nothing more complicated than that.

Perfume Femur

Wanting to get a bit more physical? Well Boa can start kicking, and whatever she kicks turns to stone. Notably, this can affect even inanimate objects that can’t feel love or lust.

Perfume Femur Magna

A variation of Perfume Femur, in which Boa dashes forward at breakneck speeds and doles out a single powerful strike. This was powerful enough to push back Douglas Bullet’s giant mech, and inflict some damage on it.

Queen’s Stomp

Boa leaps into the air with a flip and comes down hard onto the ground with her foot. If her foot hits an enemy on the way down, she will proceed to continuously step on him/her in a sadistic manner, while the enemy emits hearts out of him/her. She finishes by kicking the enemy away.

Prisoner’s Crossbow

Also known as “Slave Ballista,” Boa creates a pink arrow with a heart as the arrow head. She then draws it back, using her snake as a bow, and then fires the heart arrow forward, petrifying any enemies it hits. She can even fire five hearts at the same time.

Snake Slam

She does a backwards cartwheel. She then leaps high into the air and lands down hard onto the ground, knocking back enemies. Her snake will then come forward and start to slither around in a circle rapidly for 3 seconds, continuously juggling enemies caught inside. The snake then uses its tail to grab a single enemy, and slam him/her down hard onto the ground.

Snake Pit Dance

Salome sweeps to her front and starts slithering in circles very rapidly, juggling enemies inside. Hancock then blows a kiss forward in the form of a heart projectile, petrifying any enemies it hits.

“I’m Scared…”

This is a counterattack. Boa will strike a cute pose, pretending to be scared and weak. If she is attacked during this pose, she will counterattack by shooting a heart beam and petrifying enemies.

Armament Haki

Many of the Kuja pirates have a natural affinity for Armament Haki, and Boa is naturally no exception. She can use it to coat any part of her body in Haki to bolster strength and defense, as well as bypass the intangibility of Logia users. Such as when she kicked away Smoker from Luffy with one well-placed blow.

Observation Haki

Boa has exhibited proficiency in Observation Haki. Most notably in the aftermath of Marineford, when she was able to detect the presence of Luffy aboard Law’s submarine when others with her were unable to. With her status and accolades she should be more than capable of the basics of Observation Haki, such as sensing others’ whereabouts and anticipating incoming attacks.

Conqueror’s Haki

The rarest form of Haki that only one in one million are capable of, Boa is able to utilize Conqueror’s Haki. While she hasn’t been seen using it directly yet, she did recognize it from Luffy using it on her sisters Marigold and Sandersonia, and confirmed she possesses it herself. With it, Boa can exude her haki to overwhelm and render others unconscious with her willpower, if they are unable to stand up to it.

Weaknesses

If Boa uses the power of the Mero Mero Mellow on someone who doesn’t feel attracted to her in any way, be it via blindness, being overtaken by other emotions like pain, or being a Luffy, she will be unable to petrify them. However, it is worth emphasizing that she has alternative options that don’t require the target to be attracted to her, namely her Slave Arrows and Perfume Femur.

She’s also a massive simp for Luffy.

Jinbe

Background

“I’m a man who wants to be part of the future Pirate King’s crew, I can’t be intimidated by a mere Emperor of the Sea!”

While the Shichibukai certainly have a diverse lineup of mismatched individuals, Jinbe stands out among them as the only Warlord who isn’t human, for he is a Fish-Man who hails from 10,000 meters below the ocean’s surface. A young orphan of the Fish-Man District, he grew up alongside future revolutionaries Arlong and Fisher Tiger, all of them dreaming of a world where Fishmen would live free of oppression by humans. Wuh oh, politics alert!

Arlong was bloodthirsty and hateful, believing in Fish-Man supremacy. Fisher Tiger was compassionate and merciful, imploring his comrades not to kill humans, despite having once been enslaved by them. And Jinbe was somewhere in the middle. He hated pirates and was doubtful of the ideals put forth by the mermaid Queen Otohime, who believed that humans were misunderstood, and that relations between Fishmen and surface dwellers could improve. On the other hand, Jinbe is fundamentally honorable, and understood the damage that a war between the surface and the sea could cause.

After serving some time in King Neptune’s army, Jinbe joined Fisher Tiger’s crew, the Sun Pirates, inspired by Tiger’s liberation of those who were enslaved by the World Nobles. Together, they sought to combat the navy on the surface, with one key rule they followed above all else: do not stoop to the humans’ level and kill anyone. A rule they followed, much to Arlong’s chagrin, until Tiger’s tragic death at the hands of the marines, betrayed by a village to whom they had returned a young slave named Koala.

As he lay dying of blood loss, Tiger laid bare his true feelings about humans: that he could not stop hating them for enslaving him, no matter how much he tried. For this reason, he refused a blood transfusion that could have saved his life, for he could not bear the thought of owing his life to a human’s blood. He had always advocated against killing regardless, however, and agreed with Otohime’s ideals of improving relations between the two races, in spite of his own inability to see past the horrors he had suffered. 

And so Tiger died, and the Sun Pirates splintered into three factions, the main Sun Pirates group led by Jinbe, the Arlong Pirates led by Arlong, and the Macro Pirates led by another Fish-Man named Macro (very creative names). Of the three, Jinbe alone carried on Tiger’s ideals, going on to become a Warlord of the Sea intent on strengthening the bond between species. 

It would be a long and bumpy road to better relations however, as not long after this, Queen Otohime was assassinated, and a human pirate was discovered at the scene and killed for the crime. The Fish-Man who slew the assassin, a young soldier of the Neptune Army named Hody Jones, was a staunch supporter of Arlong’s anti-human sentiments, and was emboldened by the assassination. He formed a radical group called the New Fish-Man Pirates, who sought to conquer Fish-Man Island and ensure that Fish-Man/human relations would never improve.

If you hadn’t already guessed, it was Hody who killed the queen in reality, and the pirate he killed was nothing more than a scapegoat. This went undiscovered for years, until the Straw Hats came to Fish-Man Island and ended up at odds with Hody and his forces. The Straw Hats by this point were no strangers to Jinbe, who had given up his Warlord title and fought alongside Luffy in the Summit War just a couple years prior, seeking to protect Whitebeard, under whose protection Fish-Man Island had remained untouched. Together with Luffy and his friends, Jinbe stood against Hody and learned the truth of Otohime’s death, ultimately aiding in putting a stop to the maniac’s plans for good.

In the end, however, even with Hody defeated, Luffy lay dying on the ground, having lost too much blood in the battle. Unlike Fisher Tiger before him, however, Jinbe willingly volunteered to perform a blood transfusion, giving his own blood to save Straw Hat’s life, harboring no hate in his heart for the human who had saved Fish-Man Island. It was then that Luffy asked Jinbe to be a member of his crew, and Jinbe accepted… kind of. Jinbe was a man of honor after all, and he owed his allegiance to the pirate Big Mom, who had been protecting Fish-Man Island in the wake of Whitebeard’s death.

After severing ties with Big Mom properly, however, Jinbe joined the Straw Hats as the honorable and deeply loyal helmsman of Luffy’s crew. And in service to his captain, he’s faced down top tier Beast Pirates and even Big Mom herself. After all, he stands among the crew of the future Pirate King. As he said himself, “he can’t be intimidated by a mere Emperor of the Sea!”

Experience & Skill

As far as close-ranged hand-to-hand skill is concerned, none of the other Warlords can claim to be as skilled as Jinbe, with his mastery of Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu making him one of the most skilled martial artists in One Piece. His skill with his techniques make other Fishmen like Hody Jones look like amateurs in comparison, he’s fought Yonko Commanders like Ace for days on end, and in battle, he has handled himself in a manner which has allowed him to survive encounters with foes stronger than him, like Akainu and Big Mom.

In terms of experience, Jinbe spent years training and fighting as a member of King Saturn’s army, the Sun Pirates, the Shichibukai, and eventually the Straw Hat Pirates, giving him a wide range of experiences to draw from. Coupled with his calm personality and generally wise outlook, Jinbe is one of the most levelheaded Warlords, capable of calmly responding to situations with the ability of an experienced leader and fighter.

Equipment

None notable.

Abilities

Fish-Man Physiology

As a member of the Fish-Man race, Jinbe is naturally ten times stronger than humans, and is the strongest Fish-Man seen in the series so far. His strength even out of water was enough to contend with Big Mom, one of the Four Emperors of the Sea. In addition, while humans suffer from their strength being cut in half when they are in water, Fishmen like Jinbe actually have their power doubled while submerged. Being a Fish-Man also grants Jinbe the ability to communicate with sea creatures and incredible swimming speed.

Fish-Man Karate

Fish-Man Karate is the main martial art practiced by the Fish-Man species, with Jinbe in particular being a master of it. Fish-Man Karate is a style that emphasizes striking blows, but also heavily involves the manipulation of nearby water, be it the sea itself, the moisture of the air or even the water inside a person’s body. While deadly enough on land, Fish-Man Karate has a number of devastating underwater moves designed to suit the enhanced strength and speed that Jinbe possesses while in his natural submerged habitat.

Karakusagawara Seiken

Translating to “Arabesque Tile True Punch”, Jinbe punches the air, projecting the force of his attack through the water vapor in the air. After a brief delay, the result is a powerful shockwave that can launch an opponent with great force. Jinbe demonstrated the technique against the jailers of Impel Down, in which he was temporarily imprisoned prior to the Summit War.

Gosenmaigawara Seiken

Translating to “Five Thousand Tile True Punch”, this is an even stronger version of the already powerful Senmaigawara Seiken, where Jinbe punches really really good, enough to knock out a Jailer Beast. In the anime, Jinbe shows a different variation of the technique where he unleashes a water shockwave from his fist.

Yarinami

Translating to “Spear Wave”, and only usable when Jinbe is submerged underwater. He twists the water around himself into a whirlpool and heaves the resulting spear-shaped burst of water with extreme force, enough to severely damage a Marine battleship.

Yarinami: Murasame

Translating to “Rain Shower”, Jinbe summons multiple comparatively weak but notably fast spear water projectiles and launches them at his opponent. This attack was strong enough to pierce through Prometheus, a miniature sun who is one of Big Mom’s homies, though in fairness he is weak to water.

Samehada Shotei

_{(SAMEHADA?!?!?!)}

Translating to “Sharkskin Palm Block”, Jinbe palm strikes with enough force to block an attack, even a sword strike from fellow Warlord, Gecko Moria.

Samegawara Seiken

Translating to “Shark Tile True Punch”, Jinbe delivers a devastating punch to his opponent that transmits the force of impact through the water in their body. Because the shockwave permeates through the water within the body, it serves as a light form of dura bypass. This attack was powerful enough to overwhelm Moria even after he had absorbed several shadows.

Uchimizu

Translating to “Water Shot”, Jinbe hurls a single drop of water at his opponent, which can become a deadly bullet with extreme force. This attack was a particular specialty of Hody Jones, but Jinbe was able to use it with just as much skill, canceling out Hody’s Uchimizu with one of his own.

Nanasenmaigawara Mawashigeri

Translating to “Seven Thousand Tile Roundhouse Kick“, Jinbe unleashes a powerful kick that can break even one of the fingers of the gigantic Wadatsumi, on top of halting his punch dead in its tracks.

Buraikan

Translating to “Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Martial Reliant Piercing”, Jinbe hurls a bunch of water in his hands and shoots a powerful water shockwave that pierces through his opponent’s body. This attack hits with enough force to knock back even humongous foes like Wadatsumi and (an admittedly weakened) Big Mom.

Soshark

Translating to “Rough Shark”, Jinbe crushes anything he can hold onto with his immense grip strength, which was powerful enough to damage even Who’s-Who when he was using Armament Haki. This is particularly impressive because Who’s-Who was one of the Tobiroppo, the six strongest Shinuchi in Kaido’s crew, ranked just below the three All-Stars in power.

Onigawara Seiken

Translating to “Fish-Man Karate Secret Technique: Onigawara True Fist”, Jinbe delivers a deadly punch infused with Armament Haki and without connecting to his target, creating a powerful shockwave that was able to defeat Who’s-Who.

Gosenmaigawara Shuto

Translating to “Five Thousand Tile Knife Hands”, this Knifehand strike variant of the Gosenmaigawara Seiken creates a singular line impact instead of the typical broad shockwave. Jinbe used this technique to form openings by attacking the ground and generating dust clouds, allowing him to escape even from speedy foes like Rob Lucci.

Shizurase

Translating from “Leisure Silk Torrent”, Jinbe waves both arms at tremendous speeds and uses his strength to deflect and disperse oncoming attacks using the humidity of his surroundings. This has proven to be highly effective against fire, as seen during Jinbe’s fight against Ace, in which he used said technique to completely dispel Ace’s Fire Fist, his signature attack.

Fish-Man Jujutsu

Alongside Fish-Man Karate, Fish-Man Jujutsu is a practiced martial art among the Fish-Man species, focusing primarily on grapples and throws. While effective enough on land, if he’s submerged in a body of water, Jinbe can use Fish-Man Jujutsu to freely manipulate water itself, as if it were tangible material, and it gives him a huge battlefield advantage on that front. He has several techniques utilizing Fish-Man Jujutsu on both possible habitats, such as:

Mizugokoro

Translating to “Water Heart”, Jinbe performs a bowl-shaped gesture with his hands while submerged, before giving the water itself around him a yank, allowing him to physically grab and redirect water currents as easy as manipulating cloth.

Kairyu Ipponzeoi

Translating to “Sea Current Lifter”, Jinbe heaves the water current he’s controlling upward, which causes it to erupt and fly towards the target as a concentrated stream of water, fast enough to massively outspeed cannonballs fired from battleships.

Murasame

Translating to “Pack of Sharks”, Jinbe grabs water and throws it at his opponent, causing the water to take the shape of numerous liquid sharks that ram and bite at the enemy.

Uzushio Ipponzeoi

Translating from “Whirlpool Shoulder Throw”, Jinbe grabs the shoulder of his target while facing the opposite direction, and hoists them over his shoulder. Thanks to Jinbe’s exceptional physical strength, this has been proven effective against far larger foes than Jinbe himself, including the likes of Big Mom.

Hikishio Ipponzeoi

Translating from “Ebb Tide Lifter”, Jinbe blocks an oncoming attack, grabs the opponent, and flips them over his shoulder, effective as a powerful counterattack technique. Is this that much different from the previous shoulder throw? Eh, not really. But it has a different name!

Kata Guruma

Translating to “Shoulder Ride”, Jinbe picks up someone from over his shoulders and chucks them toward an enemy. He used this technique during Egghead, to assist Zoro in attacking one of the Five Elders, St. Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro.

Armament Haki

Jinbe is extremely proficient in Armament Haki, mixing it perfectly with his Fish-Man Karate and Fish-Man Jujutsu techniques to enhance his power. He’s skilled enough in Armament Haki to even harden his entire body, a feat which few have claimed to replicate. His Armament Haki is durable enough to withstand several attacks from Who’s-Who, and the latter’s hardened fingers broke against Jinbe’s hardened body, proving it to be an excellent defense maneuver.

Kairagi

Translating from “Plum Blossom Peel”. Jinbe’s fish flesh hardens as he employs Armament Haki and takes a defensive stance. This defensive technique is potent enough to block even Big Mom’s Cognac technique for a time, though it eventually broke apart.

Observation Haki

Jinbe has shown the ability to use Observation Haki, albeit not quite as much as Armament Haki. With it, he’s able to sense the presence and Haki of other users, such as Shanks, Jaygarcia Saturn, and Marcus Mars. While he hasn’t shown this specific capability in combat, Jinbe can also likely use Observation Haki to predict oncoming attacks.

Fish-Man Karate: Drunk Driving

The Helmsman of the Straw Hats shows the flowstate mastery of his Fish-Man Karate by adapting it to his masterful driving skills! Similar to the real world Drunken Fist, the unpredictable movements of the Fish-Mans has left his fellow crewmates bewildered! 

Weaknesses

He cries a fucking lot bitch ass fish stop crying so much (<- what you would say if you have no soul)

Jinbe is one of the most well-rounded of the Shichibukai and has few clear weaknesses. He doesn’t even have a Devil Fruit, so unlike many of his fellow Warlords, he isn’t vulnerable to seastone or being submerged in the ocean – in fact, being a Fish-Man, he thrives underwater and gains a power boost while there. Conversely, it is worth mentioning that his strength on land is halved compared to underwater, but he is still incredibly powerful out of the water regardless, with the majority of his best feats taking place there.

Donquixote Doflamingo

Background

“Pirates are evil? The Marines are righteous? These terms have changed throughout all of history. Kids who have never seen war and kids who have never seen peace will have entirely different values… Justice will prevail? Of course it will! Because whoever wins is Justice!”

Warlord of the Sea. Sovereign monarch of Dressrosa. The kingpin who rules the underworld from the shadows, who thinks himself a god above all the garbage beneath him, who built his throne atop the corpses of innocent people – this is the monster known as Donquixote Doflamingo.

Even as a child, the young Doflamingo harbored within himself an unmistakable evil and cruelty. Born to the Celestial Dragons – the one-percenters of the One Piece world – he was pro-slavery and anti-everything else, seeing the peasant humans as a lesser species who ought to be serving him and his ilk. A far cry from his kinder younger brother Rosinante, and his father Donquixote Homing, whose mild nature and naivety relative to the rest of the Celestial Dragons would, unintentionally, give rise to one of the worst men in the world. Despite being a noble, Homing sought a simpler life among the lower class, and brought his family with him. A mistake which ultimately led them to poverty, starvation, the death of his wife, and the entire family being strung up by an angry mob who, quite understandably, despised the Celestial Dragons.

Despite being a child still, the young Doflamingo could not understand why he was in this situation. He was a Celestial Dragon, he was better than these peasants. Why had his father forced this situation upon him? He was meant for more than this, and he would make all those lesser creatures pay the price for making him suffer. In a burst of Conqueror’s Haki, the angry mob collapsed all at once, and after a chance meeting with the gang member Trebol, he returned to his father’s side with the power of a Devil Fruit and, more pertinently, the power of a flintlock pistol, which he promptly unloaded into the back of Homing’s head. Gone was the child who would let the feeble masses push him around. With Trebol and his gang at his back, Doflamingo would reclaim his birthright and make the world fear his name.

As the years went on, the new Donquixote Family terrorized the seas, always remaining one step ahead of the Marines who pursued them, and leaving countless bodies in their wake. One of these bodies was his brother Rosinante, a traitor to the family who recognized the monster that Doffy was, acting as a spy for the Marines and saving the young Trafalgar Law from Doffy’s clutches. As Doflamingo’s infamy skyrocketed, he became the famous underworld kingpin known as “Joker,” manufacturing drugs and arms under the Emperor, Kaido. After becoming a Warlord of the Sea, he even seized control over the entire kingdom of Dressrosa, which had belonged to the Donquixote family hundreds of years in the past. To do so, he forcibly controlled the King, Riku, into slaughtering his own citizens so that the Donquixote Family could jump in, save the day, and usurp control over the country. Favored by the World Government and under the employ of the strongest pirate alive, it seemed that Doflamingo’s reign of terror would never end.

Until of course, the Straw Hat Pirates came knocking at his door. Together with the now-older and very much vengeful Law, Luffy and his crew incited war and upheaval in Dressrosa, exposing Doflamingo for his years-long manipulation and tyranny, tearing down everything he had built one step at a time. The conflict culminated in a battle between Luffy and Doflamingo overtop of the country, a fight that ultimately, Doflamingo would lose. Knocked from his throne, stripped of his Warlord title, and written off as a weak failure by his former employer, Doflamingo was left to rot in the pits of Impel Down, where he remains to this day. But even after losing everything he had worked for, Doflamingo still laughs and schemes in spite of the chains that bind him. He’s lost everything before, after all, been reduced to nothing, and still he came back with a vengeance. Eventually, he’s sure to do so again; it’s only a matter of time.

Experience & Skill

Doflamingo was left on his own to survive when he was a child, forming his own crew and exterminating those who stood in his way at an early age. As a man obsessed with attaining power, Doflamingo seizes any moment that will benefit him for his own personal gain. Despite that he still is a cunning foe, able to manipulate and deceive those around him, like when he was able to pick up on Law’s plan to strip him of his title as Warlord, turning it around on Law and instead leading him and the Straw Hats into a trap.

He also managed to manipulate the residents of Dressrosa to turn on their king and make him their new ruler. He especially loves playing with the hearts of his enemies by mocking them or getting under their skin in order to anger them and go on the offensive. This plays into how Doflamingo usually prefers to fight defensively in battle, by getting an opponent to lower their guard after angering them, so he can use his power to control them with his strings. Doflamingo prefers to deceive and brutalize those above all else, though if needed he can go on the offensive, demonstrated in both Marineford and Dressrosa. He’s often ruthless and cold hearted in battle, humiliating and torturing his victims as he pleases. 

Doflamingo’s skills with his Devil Fruit also should not go unstated, with his ability’s seemingly simple nature being deceptive, not because it isn’t simple but because Doffy is simply absurdly creative with it. He can fly by attaching strings to clouds, make clones out of string, stitch up his organs, and much, much more, turning a basic ability into an incredibly fearsome, multifaceted array of tricks and powers.

Equipment

Flint-Lock Pistol

Reserved for those he particularly hates a lot, Doflamingo will on occasion pull out a firearm to rain down bullets on his enemy. This gun is loaded with lead ammunition that will poison the target with lead. He uses this as a form of execution on his opponent to make them suffer and humiliate them, only ever used against his father, brother and Law (he really hates Law). It should be noted that Oda has stated that flintlock pistols in the One Piece world are stronger than they are in real life, due to being modified.

Feathered Coat

Doflamingo’s signature coat he always wears around. In addition to being drippy as fuck, he’s also used it as a shield, reinforcing its durability and defensive capabilities with Armament Haki. Strangely, the coat never seems to fall off, even when Doffy moves at high speed and performs complex maneuvers.

Abilities

Ito Ito no Mi

After Doflamingo ate the String String Fruit, a Paramecia-class Devil Fruit, Doffy gained the ability to manipulate extremely durable strings in a plethora of ways. Most commonly, he can use his strings to cut through people and objects with ease. The strings themselves are incredibly thin and almost invisible to the naked eye. Doffy gets very creative with this power, as he can shape his strings as a tool to help him traverse long distances, control people, and produce an extremely diverse manner of string-based attacks. 

Parasite String

Doflamingo’s most terrifying and signature technique with his Devil Fruit. By shooting out strings that enter the cervical from the nape of the victim’s neck, Doffy is able to forcefully control their physical movements, forcibly bending them to his command to care out any action he pleases. He’s even able to control multiple people at once, such as when he first invaded Dressrosa and controlled the king along with his soldiers. The victims are still conscious during the process, often begging for mercy to be let go and set free. Doflamingo uses this as a method of manipulation to frame others or to torment them by forcefully making them attack their loved ones for his own pleasure.

Alternatively, Doflamingo can wrap his strings across his victim’s limbs, limiting their movement and controlling them. However this method can be broken out of, if the victim possesses strength great enough to shatter the strings. 

Sky Road

Utilizing his strings, Doflamingo can walk on in the sky by attaching his strings to clouds in the air, somehow, which makes him mobile enough to travel between islands at high speed, or take to the sky in battle. This does require the presence of clouds though if his birdcage is active, he can do it as long as he wants.

Doffy is just as dangerous in the air as he is on the ground, arguably moreso, with aerial combat and mobility being a particular specialty of his. His skill with his strings allows him to quickly and deftly outmaneuver other airborne foes. 

Five Color Strings

An attack in which Doflamingo produces strings from each of the fingers on one hand, slashing them through the air with a swing of his arm. The attack has decent range, and possesses cutting power great enough to butcher Fujitora’s meteors, or cut through Sanji and make him bleed heavily with just a single hit. 

Excess Whip String

Doflamingo shoots a thread from the palm of his hand, which generates enough heat to catch on fire, and can be used as a whip to slice any target in his path. This whip is also incredibly long, spanning many kilometers. For example, when he attempted to use it against Sanji and Law diverted the attack, it reached all the way back to Dressrosa from an adjacent island and sliced a building in half. 

Bullet String

With the point of his finger, Doflamingo is able to shoot string based projectiles from it, striking with concussive and piercing force similar to that of a bullet. He can fire these from all ten of his fingers at once, and they are strong enough to pierce Law, who was at that point durable enough to withstand Fujitora’s immense gravity.

Fretsaw

By making a string from the heel of his foot to the other end of his leg, Doflamingo can create a makeshift saw using his leg. He used this attack to cut down on Law’s arm and sever it. Don’t worry! He got better.

Shadow Knight String

Utilizing a ton of string, Doflamingo can make a clone of himself entirely from thread, visually indistinguishable from his real body. He’s able to command it from a distance and it is notably difficult to take down, even able to continue fighting after being decapitated. He can also fight alongside the clone together, performing team attacks. The clone can seemingly operate on its own as well, having fought Luffy offscreen while Doflamingo was facing off with Law, while seemingly not maintaining constant command of its movements. In the One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 game, Doffy is shown to be able to create and command multiple clones at once. 

Falling Villainous String

An attack in which Doflamingo rains down five strings from above to impale his target below them. He used this to impale Law because abusing Law is kind of his thing. Don’t worry! He got better. Again.

Leg Shave String

Doflamingo can grow a multitude of strings from his foot to help accelerate the speed of his kick and give it more power. The result is a powerful blow that harmed Luffy, even when he attacked back to block the blow. In addition to the strength of the kick itself, the threads from the kick strike with just as much deadly force and cutting power as they do when used for his other attacks.

Repair Operation

Should Doflamingo receive any internal or external injuries, he can use his threads to repair the damage. He’s able to reconstruct any damaged parts inside his body and start up any organs that had ceased moving like his heart or lungs. Should there be anything beyond repair, he can replace the dead tissue with his own makeshift one from strings in order to keep on fighting for a good while. This is how he was able to survive a nearly fatal attack from Law that destroyed all of his organs from the inside, which otherwise would have killed him.  

Spider’s Web

A defensive technique that Doflamingo shoots out from his hand, which creates a spider web based shield to block any incoming attacks in front of him. The defense isn’t impervious, having been penetrated by Gear Fourth Luffy’s King Kong Gun, but is still an extremely sturdy defense all the same.

Birdcage

Used as a last resort if the situation is dire for Doflamingo, the birdcage is a massive construct of strings which are shot up from Doffy’s location, before branching out into a dome from high above, encasing a large area, usually the size of an entire island or country. This covers the entire area in a birdcage that Doflamingo can (if he wants) slowly contract inward, crushing and slicing everything within in order to ensure there are no survivors. The threads of this birdcage are so strong that they can even withstand and slice through meteors without being damaged themselves.

While within the birdcage, Doflamingo himself also receives plenty of benefits. He can use Sky Road without the need of clouds, Spider’s Web is much easier to use as it’s able to attach itself to the birdcage, and he can use Parasite String on a massive scale to control a large number of people and force them to kill each other.  

Awakening

Doflamingo is one of the rare few who has awakened his Devil Fruit, achieving the power boost after his near-death experience from Law’s attack. With this latent power, he can transform any non-living nearby object into string and increase the power of the strings. He’s also able to layer the strings in Armament Haki, increasing their power and durability.

Raging Waves White String

An attack in which Doffy turns the ground into a ton of strings and causes it to erupt upward, wrapping itself around his target, before then slamming together in an attempt to crush them. 

Shield White String

A defensive technique in which Doflamingo creates two large pillars of string from the ground, which rise up and intersect in order to block any incoming attacks. 

Billow White String

An attack in which Doflamingo turns entire buildings and other large objects in his surroundings into strings, which then hone in on his target in an attempt to pierce them as threads.

Ocean Whitecaps

A technique in which Doflamingo touches the ground and unleashes a large amount of strings around himself, the tips of which are imbued with Armament Haki, allowing him to impale people on the ends of them. 

Wing Strike String

An attack in which Doflamingo uses the threads from Ocean Whitecaps to hone in on his target and pierce them with numerous spikes at once. The sheer speed and piercing power of this attack was overwhelming enough to harm Luffy. 

God Execution

With his most powerful technique, Doflamingo summons sixteen thick and incredibly durable threads that are fully imbued with Armament Haki which he calls “Holy Ammunition”. He compresses them until their tips are incredibly thin and fires them all once towards his opponent, attempting to pierce them with great force. In the anime, this attack was even powerful enough to pierce through Gear Fourth Luffy’s King Kong Gun slightly, though was not powerful enough to stop it and was overpowered all the same.

Conqueror’s Haki

Outside his Devil Fruit, Doflamingo also has access to Haki, including its strongest and rarest form. He’s used Conqueror’s Haki to induce unconsciousness to an angry mob as a child and Smoker’s subordinates as an adult, and weaponized it during his battle with Luffy and Law. He was even able to match Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki after having suffered a massive injury, with Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki having previously proven strong enough to knock out 50,000 members of Hody Jones’ army all at once. 

Armament Haki

In addition to Conqueror’s, Doflamingo is able to use Armament Haki quite efficiently. He can apply it to his arms and legs like any average user of this Haki can do, but he’s also able to apply it on a large amount of his body as well. He can cover his coat in it, for example, to increase his defenses. He’s also capable of spreading this Haki across his strings and awakened threads as well, for extra power. Doflamingo can manage covering this large amount of Armament Haki onto himself and attacks for a long amount of time too, seemingly not even tiring himself out. 

Observation Haki

Lastly, Doflamingo can use Observation Haki. He’s used it to watch his blind spots in battle, with its range covering a large distance that ranges multiple kilometers. Thanks in part to Observation Haki, he was even able to keep with Luffy while he was in his Gear Fourth state, despite the fact that it made Luffy near FTE to him visually.

Weaknesses

You’ve probably noticed by now that Doflamingo has quite the god complex, and while that does make him an excellent manipulator and scheming genius, it also makes him overconfident and arrogant, believing himself to be far above others. This mindset is something that Law in particular has exploited to anger Doffy in the past and leave him open to attack.

He also doesn’t typically fight as an offensive fighter, mainly preferring to prey on the hearts of his enemies, to anger and manipulate them. If they aren’t as easily manipulated, he may be forced to face them head on, which to be clear he’s no stranger to, but is not his preferred tactic, and he can lose his cool in a fight if his opponent is difficult to take down. 

He also really fucking hates Law, which isn’t as much a weakness in any normal situation, but is a weakness in this one, because… well…

Trafalgar D. Water Law

Background

“The weak don’t get to decide anything, not even how they die.”

Born within the country of Flevance in the North Blue, Trafalgar Law was met with great hardship from the outset. Despite his ambition to practice medicine as a doctor, he had contracted a dangerous disease known as Amber Lead Syndrome. A debilitating illness that negatively affected his health as well as drastically reducing his lifespan predisposing him to death before adulthood. While not contagious, this epidemic caused Flevance to become known as the White City, and prompted neighboring countries to mount a war against it, resulting in numerous casualties and devastating ravaging of the area.

Amidst this, Law’s parents were tragically shot right in front of his eyes, and his sick little sister was killed in his parent’s hospital, which had been set on fire. After managing to escape the cordoned off area by hiding among piles of corpses, Law was immensely scarred by these events, becoming rifled with nihilism and losing all faith in life, no longer wanting anything but to destroy as much as possible before his life ran out.

From there, Law eventually met with the Donquixote Pirates and asked them to let him join their crew. Noting his emptiness and utter disdain for life, Doflamingo became interested in Law, and took him in as part of the Donquixote Family. Soon after, Law met Doflamingo’s younger brother Donquixote Rosinante, also known as Corazon. Initially appearing to be a mute and clumsy man who dislikes children, Rosinante tossed Law out a window, seemingly out of sheer annoyance. Angered by this, Law sought revenge by stabbing him with a knife, much to the horror of fellow family member Buffalo. After all, anyone who dared to hurt Doffy’s brother died, by the rules of the Donquixote Family. Luckily though, Rosinante kept quiet about Law’s involvement to cover for him. Law spent the next few years under the care of the Donquixote pirates, learning various skills like marksmanship, hand to hand combat and swordplay, as well as partaking in the crew’s numerous escapades.

With only a year left to live, Doflamingo promised Law a way to cure his disease by acquiring the Ope Ope No Mi, a revered fruit said to grant its consumer the capacity to cure any illness. During this time, however, Rosinante came to learn that Law’s true name was Trafalgar D. Water Law, a member of those infamously ascribed with The Will of D. Terrified by this, Rosinante urged Law to escape from Doflamingo’s care in order to ensure his safety, and so he wouldn’t become the exact same man he is. Rosinante adopted Law and sought any hospital he could find to help cure him, but to no avail.

After receiving a call from Doflamingo about their plans to steal the Ope Ope No Mi, Rosinante plotted to depart to Minion island to claim the Devil Fruit for himself in order to cure Law of his Amber Lead Syndrome. After successfully taking it, he force-fed the fruit to Law, and then asked him to deliver a message to the marines. Unbeknownst to Law, however, the marine he stumbled upon was none other than Vergo, a member of the Donquixote Family who had infiltrated the marines under Doflamingo’s orders, and subsequently reported back to him that Rosinante betrayed them. Furious the fruit was taken under his nose, Doflamingo enclosed the entire island in a birdcage to ensure escape was impossible. Laying down his life for Law, Rosinante placed himself in front of Doflamingo’s pistol shot and used his Devil Fruit to ensure Law could escape without being heard.

Following his escape, Law met two boys named Shachi and Penguin, who were bullying a polar bear mink named Bepo. Afterward, he went on to form the Heart Pirates, their name derived from Rosinante himself. Garnering enough infamy to become part of the Worst Generation, Law delivered 100 pirate hearts to the World Government, earning him a spot among the Shichibukai. A spot which Law planned to exploit to further his own plan. Forming an alliance with the Straw Hat Pirates, he traveled to Dressrosa to defeat Doflamingo once and for all, to avenge Rosinante’s death. In the end, they were successful, and even went on to take down the Yonko Kaido, though soon after the alliance went their separate ways, and Law ended up suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the next Yonko he met, Blackbeard.

Luckily for him however, Law managed to escape. Even with all his tragedies, he had grown to become one of the most notorious and formidable pirates in the world, living up to his moniker as the Surgeon of Death, and becoming one of the centerpieces that will inevitably shift the whole world upside down. 

Experience & Skill

Law is an exceptionally skilled fighter, with his skill with his Devil Fruit deserving special mention. While the Op-Op Fruit is overpowered thanks to how Law uses it, in a normal person’s hands it would actually be practically useless. It is only Law’s remarkable talent as a doctor that allows him to utilize its gifts to their greatest potential, with medical skills being a key prerequisite in its use.

Outside of this, Law is also an incredibly accomplished pirate. From childhood, he was trained to be a member of the Donquixote Family, showing promise as a pirate while just a young boy with no Devil Fruit. After leaving the family behind, he went on to gain notoriety across the seas as a member of the Worst Generation. Then, within a few short years after that, he was granted a position among the Warlords at a relatively young age thanks to masterminding the Rocky Port Incident, in which he stole the hearts of 100 pirates and sent them to the World Government. From there on, he played a key role in bringing down Caesar Clown’s operations on Punk Hazard, defeated the Marine Vice-Admiral Vergo with relative ease, helped defeat Doflamingo in Dressrosa, and was one of the key players in the Onigashima Raid, defeating the Emperor Big Mom alongside his ally Kidd.

Equipment

Kikoku

Kikoku (named after a japanese term for the wailings of restless ghosts and commonly translated as Demon Howl) is Law’s sword, classified as a Cursed Blade. Law is far from a traditional swordfighter, however, with Kikoku essentially functioning as his scalpel while he uses his Devil Fruit.

Abilities

Ope Ope no Mi

The Op-Op Fruit, short for “Operation” Fruit, is one of the most powerful Devil Fruits in the entire One Piece world, with its core power being the ability to surgically rearrange anything in any way possible. This allows for not only unparalleled medical skills, but also the ability to alter space, matter, and a target’s body in essentially any way Law chooses. Earning it a reputation among fans as the “O.P.-O.P. Fruit” instead.

ROOM

The basis behind the Op-Op Fruit’s power, Law can create Rooms, spherical spaces that surround him and his opponents of varying sizes, in which he can utilize the fruit’s power. Fitting for the fruit’s name, it is akin to an Operation Room where Law is the doctor, and everyone else is a patient.

Amputate

Inside the Room, Law can freely and painlessly separate parts of an enemy’s body with little to no effort, and technically not cause any harm to them either, with their body parts functioning normally even whilst disconnected from each other. He has used this move to bisect and even decapitate several opponents, and it’s generally his go-to offensive option. It is, however, possible to reattach those body parts.

Radio Knife

A move Law created specifically to make it NOT possible to reattach those body parts. At least for a while. It’s effectively just Amputate, but with an electric shock that leaves the body unable to reform for a time.

Shambles

With this application, Law can freely swap the positions of any objects located inside the Room. Typically used to do things such as avoid attacks, ensure enemies are forced into a position where they’ll be hit by an attack, and recover objects.

Jinkaku Ishoku Shujutsu

Shambles can even be used to swap people’s souls. Because why not! Though they’re represented as hearts visually. Effectively used to make others swap bodies, leaving them completely disoriented, and permanently unable to swap back unless Law himself undoes the effect.

Takt

With this application, any and all objects located within the Room can be telekinetically controlled by Law and used as projectiles for his own benefit. This can be used to lift objects as large as a pirate ship, or part of a castle.

Sterben

When Law’s own arm was (ironically) amputated, he managed to use Takt to control his own arm telekinetically, using the fact that it was still holding Kikoku to spin it around like a buzzsaw. Interesting that he for whatever reason had an attack name prepared for this very specific eventuality. Presumably, I can only assume he could probably do it with just his sword, in the event that his arm is not cut off.

Scan

A technique in which Law scans those inside his Room to find out the location of items they’re holding, allowing him to use Shambles to take them away.

Mes

An attack in which Law pushes an opponent’s heart out of their body, in the form of a tiny little cube that looks nothing like you’d expect a heart to look. He can freely hold it, squeeze it to cause its owner pain, and stab it to kill them if he so desires. Most typically, he uses it to keep others hostage, using their heart as leverage to compel them to behave themselves, and act in accordance with his orders.

Counter Shock

Law can cause electric shocks on enemies through contact, akin to a defibrillator. Because at this point, what CAN’T he do in that Room? If it’s vaguely doctor-like, he can probably do it.

Injection Shot

After Law makes contact with an opponent through his sword, he can suddenly pierce through, perforating them in a manner more like a gunshot than a sword thrust.

Gamma Knife

One of Law’s deadliest attacks, and that’s saying a lot. Gamma Knife is an energy blade that can directly target and rupture one’s internal organs without doing any damage to anything else. Law used this against Doflamingo, destroying all of his organs with a single stab without inflicting an external wound, though Doffy was able to survive thanks to stitching up his own organs. Law also tried it on Kaido and it proved ineffective, possibly suggesting that a durable enough enemy can withstand its effects.

Curtain

A defensive technique in which Law generates a veil, akin to a surgical drape, that can be used to protect himself from incoming attacks.

Perennial Youth Operation

The ultimate ability of the Ope Ope no Mi is the power to perform the Perennial Youth Operation, which can grant anyone “eternal life” at the cost of the user’s life. As of right now, we do not know the specifics of the eternal life that the operation grants, or how exactly the process happens. However, it is this ability above all else that makes the fruit so coveted, and the reason why Doflamingo wanted it in the first place.

Awakening

Law, much like Doflamingo, has awakened the full powers of his Devil Fruit. In the case of the Ope Ope no Mi, the awakening allows Law to effectively “coat” specific objects or people with his Rooms, making it so that he can use his abilities without the prerequisite of him being within the Room to do so.

K-ROOM

Standing for Knife-Room, Law coats his Kikoku sword with a Room, allowing him to affect it and it alone with the Ope Ope’s abilities.

Anesthesia

With K-ROOM, Law can grant his sword the ability to phase through any object or person without causing any harm to them. He can also enlarge the blade through this, exponentially increasing its range. 

Shock Wille

Once he has pierced through a target with Anesthesia, Law can unleash the electrical shock ability of the Ope-Ope No Mi to cause massive damage to said target from the inside, completely ignoring any and all external defenses one may have.

Puncture Wille

After piercing an opponent with Kikoku, Law extends the blade to extreme lengths, Anesthesia allowing it to phase through any obstacle in its path, before unleashing a devastating shockwave that deals massive damage to anything the sword is making contact with. This attack was so powerful, it speared Big Mom through Wano and into the magma chamber below, blasting a massive hole into the ground that it pierced her through.

R-ROOM

Standing for Remote-Room, Law can apply a Room directly on an opponent, granting him the ability to affect and manipulate them externally.

Silent

Law can use the R-ROOM to ensure that no sound produced by the target affected by it can reach the outside of the Room, an ability directly inspired by his mentor Rosinante, who had the ability to negate sound with his Devil Fruit. 

Weaknesses

Creating larger Rooms can be extremely draining on Law, taking away part of his lifespan if he does it too often, forcing him to be in proximity of his opponents in order to use his Devil Fruit’s powers. While the Awakening may ultimately be a way of getting rid of that issue, Law claims that it too is extremely taxing on his body. He also can’t use the immortality operation without dying, and requires a medical understanding of how to do something with his fruit in order to pull it off.

He also hates Doflamingo just as much as Doflamingo hates him, which is saying a lot.

Buggy the Clown

Background

“Your pirating is legitimate under the name of the Warlord, Buggy the Genius Jester!”

Imagine, if you would: you are Monkey D. Luffy, up-and-coming King of the Pirates! Sailing the East Blue in search of a crew, scooping up bounty hunters and cat burglars to join your squad. Only to drown in despair as you come face to face with the most powerful and terrifying pirate to ever sail the Seven Seas! Isn’t that just so unfair? To meet your greatest and most dangerous rival when you’re still only a novice? Well, too bad! Say hello to the man who served under the Pirate King himself, the Warlord and Emperor of the Sea who commands the legendary Cross Guild, and the absolute GOAT who will no doubt claim the One Piece someday: Buggy the Clown!

…Underwhelmed? You shouldn’t be! Believe it or not, this bumbling, clown makeup-wearing buffoon was once an apprentice of the late Gol D. Roger, alongside the legendary Red-Haired Shanks. After his captain’s execution, Buggy parted ways with Shanks to sail the seas alone, concealing his affiliation with the late Pirate King to avoid the eyes of the World Government keep the World Government safe from him! Becoming a terror of the East Blue, the clown’s life would change forever upon meeting Luffy, who launched him out of Orange Town and into the prison cells of Impel Down fought the clown in a climactic battle, leading to a tactical retreat in which Buggy would begin to gather followers. At last, people saw the clown for what he was: an inspiring and powerful leader destined to rule the seas!

Plucked from anonymity, Buggy soon found himself a spot among the Seven Warlords, and later as Emperor of the Sea, his influence growing by the day. Definitely all through his own scheming and incredible accomplishments, and not in any way the result of blind luck and the stupidity of those around him, no sir. Now standing at the top of Cross Guild alongside Mihawk and Crocodile (much to their chagrin) Buggy has rediscovered his dream of following in Roger’s footsteps and becoming King of the Pirates. And who knows? With his devoted army and two powerful pirates under his command, maybe, just maybe, Buggy the Clown will be the man to claim the One Piece.

Experience & Skill

Buggy became a pirate in the Gold Era of the One Piece world, where piracy was at its peak under the reign of the Pirate King himself, Gol D. Roger. Much later, he returned to the seas after his encounter with Luffy, and as a result has been through hell. Few people have traversed as much of the Grand Line as him, from Wano all the way to Laughtale. During his tenure, he’s been in some pretty serious battles too, even surviving Whitebeard and Roger’s crew clash, which went on for over 3 days. He may be a clown, but don’t sneeze at his experience. 

On top of that, beyond his time with Roger, he’s managed to weasel his way out of several wars, most notably Marineford. He’s survived Impel Down and even managed to escape, albeit not without help, and  has used his unrivaled charms and smarts to convince Crocodile and Mihawk into forming Cross Guild with him. 

Also, all jokes about his competence aside, there’s little denying that the man does genuinely have a way with his words. He was able to influence hundreds, maybe even thousands of pirates to aid him in Impel Down, and has amassed a large enough crew to be considered an Emperor of the Sea. Is it because his followers are stupid? Probably. But it undeniably takes some talent to get as far as Buggy’s gotten.

Equipment

Buggy Balls

No, not those ones. One of the most dangerous weapons in his arsenal as he terrorized the East Blue, the Buggy Balls are extremely powerful explosive cannonballs that, when fired, are strong enough to destroy an entire row of houses. Unfortunately, while these were quite effective in his earlier adventures, in order to survive the dangers of the Grand Line, Buggy needed to improve on his Balls in some way, which led to…

Muggy Balls

Muggy Balls are, in essence, smaller and more compact Buggy Balls.  But as a wise man once said, it’s not the size that matters. The Muggy Balls still retain the full destructive capabilities of the previous iteration, but are now small enough to where Buggy can throw them like hand grenades, first seen severely injuring a Jailer Beast that had previously knocked Luffy onto his back. It’s unknown how many Buggy holds at one time, but considering their size, he can likely carry quite a bit on his person.

Knives

He makes every child’s dream of becoming an X-Men real. By equipping himself with three blades in each hand, and can craftily use these blades to pull off abilities such as the Bara Bara Blender.

Bladed Shoes

One of the Star Clown’s many tricks, his shoes contain retractable blades in them, which allow him to use his Bara Bara Senbei technique.

Battle Axe

Seen in Impel Down, Buggy’s been known to carry this absurdly large axe on his back for the majority of said arc, though only kept it until Marineford… to be brutally honest, he made good work with it.

Large Red Robe

It’s a very big robe he uses for ‘intimidation’ tactics. Just to make himself look bigger or to become a flying squirrel of all things. He’s quite handily used this in combat to capture foes and overwhelm them with his ‘fake’ size… issue is that it’s still just a robe. And it’s bound to just be torn. It does however hide where his central torso is, so bonus points? 

Abilities

Bara-Bara No Mi

The second Devil Fruit to be shown in all of One Piece, also known as the Chop Chop Fruit. This Paramecia type Devil Fruit grants the user the ability to split apart their body into multiple segments, granting him immunity to being cut by any means.

Bara Bara Ho

The Chop-Chop Cannon! Buggy sends one of his hands flying towards an enemy at high speeds, usually to shank them.

Chi o Hau Bara Bara Ho

Buggy can also use the cannon to CHEAT (like any truly great pirate) and grab an enemy’s legs while they’re busy in other fights.

Bara Bara Ho Kirihanashi

In a genius move, Buggy can fire his entire forearm with the Chop Chop Cannon. If a foolish opponent grabs the forearm to stop the attack, the hand detaches and stabs them regardless!

Bara Bara Senbei

This guy put knives in his shoes so he could chuck his legs at people like a giant stabbier boomerang.

Bara Bara Kinkyu Dasshutsu

Remember kids: The best way to avoid getting punched in the head, is decapitating yourself so your head isn’t in the attack’s way!

What do you mean that only works for Buggy

Bara Bara Festival

When Buggy gets truly angry, he separates pretty much all of his body into small chunks, surrounding an opponent and giving him plenty of room to beat the crap out of them.

Bara Bara Car

Buggy Car. Buggy. Car.

Kuchu Kirimomi Dai Circus

First, Buggy detaches his hands. Then, he grabs the target and takes them high into the air. And then he turns them upside-down and smashes them into the ground in a downward spiral!

Bara Bara Hade ni Gattai

Buggy this isn’t even a move you’re just putting your body back together

Bara Bara Kick

Buggy KICK

Bara Bara Punch

Buggy PUNCH

Bara Bara Carnival

Buggy DOUBLE AXE-HANDLE

Man, he’s so flashy.

Weaknesses

Despite Buggy’s amazing doings and outlandish battle smarts, he’s the weakest member here. 

…SIKE! Never question the GOAT. He has no weaknesses. Absolutely none. Sure, he doesn’t have Haki. Sure, he can’t swim like any Devil Fruit user, and is vulnerable to Seastone. Sure, his feet always need to remain on the ground for him to use his Fruit. Sure, in order to make his body parts levitate and move on their own they must be within a radius of 200 Bara Baras of said feet (whatever that means).

HOWEVER… He is Buggy D. Clown, so none of that matters. Next question.

Edward Weevil

Background

“I’m gonna kill them in the name of Whitebeard!”

Very little is known about Edward Weevil, the man who calls himself the son of Whitebeard. Alongside his mother, Miss Buckin, he has sailed the sea in an attempt to claim Whitebeard’s treasure, destroying several pirate crews that worked for the former Emperor in the process. After the abolishment of the Warlord system, Weevil fought against many marines and tried to protect Whitebeard’s home island, before being captured by the Marine Admiral Ryokugyu.

…and that’s it!

Also he might be a clone.

Experience & Skill

Weevil is a complete mystery in terms of background, so exactly how experienced he is as a pirate is unknown. However, he has shown to be highly capable as a fighter, single-handedly defeating several pirate crews associated with Whitebeard and all of the Marines sent to capture him, with the exception of Ryokugyu.

Equipment

Naginata

Much like Whitebeard, Weevil uses a naginata as his weapon of choice. It bears resemblance to his alleged father’s Murakumogiri, though is not actually the same blade, since Murakumogiri is placed atop Whitebeard’s grave. As such, Weevil’s naginata is (as far as we know) an ordinary weapon of no special quality.

Abilities

Immense Strength

He’s supposedly strong enough to be compared to Whitebeard himself (in his youth). It’s difficult to gauge the accuracy of this statement, and currently unknown who originally made the comparison or what their reasoning was – only that it is an accepted fact among the Marines, with Admiral Kizaru being the one to mention his reputed strength.

Armament & Observation Haki

Weevil is confirmed in the Vivre Card Handbook to have both Observation and Armament Haki. The extent of his capabilities with either one has yet to be shown.

Weaknesses

Despite his incredible physical strength, Weevil has all the brain capacity of an actual toddler, with pretty much all of his actions being thanks to his mother telling him what to do. He also has a tendency to go on major tantrums, turning even simple conversations into violent beatdowns. Additionally, his legs are much lankier compared to the rest of his body, making them a weak point according to the Vivre Card Databook.

Blackbeard

Background

“This new era they keep rambling on and on about is a load of crap. The era when pirates’ dream of treasure will come to an end? Yeah, right! The dreams of pirates will never end!”

The pirate Whitebeard is considered by many to be the strongest man in the world, but unlike his contemporaries who sought wealth, fame, and power, all he desired was a family to sail the seas at his side. Throughout his decades as an Emperor of the Sea, Whitebeard took in all manner of wayward folk, offering them a ride on his ship and a place in his family. But one day, he picked up a young orphan who little did he know, would one day bring an end to everything he cared about and become a terror of the sea. This was Marshall D. Teach, who would one day be known as the Emperor, Blackbeard.

Sailing the seas under Whitebeard’s flag, Teach learned about the world during the time of the pirate king, Roger. Known for never having slept a day in his life, the boy quietly planned and schemed for years and years, eventually coming to learn of a power that he thought would bring his dreams to fruition: the Yami Yami no Mi. Desiring the fruit deeply to the point of memorizing its appearance, Teach could not stand idly by when a crewmate, Thatch, found it before he did. Killing his fellow in cold blood and taking the power of darkness for himself, Teach deserted Whitebeard’s crew and set out to form his own Blackbeard Pirates, in hopes of securing even greater power.

As Blackbeard began to amass a crew of the scummiest criminals in the Seven Seas in hopes of becoming a Warlord, he found himself pursued by Whitebeard’s Second Division Commander, the famous Fire Fist Ace. Seeking vengeance for Thatch’s murder, Ace confronted Blackbeard and did battle with the deserter. But unfortunately, in an outcome that would change the very course of history, Blackbeard emerged victorious. Presenting Ace, the son of Roger himself, to the World Government, Blackbeard earned himself a spot amongst the Seven Warlords, and Ace was set to be executed.

As Whitebeard prepared for war with the Marines to save Ace, the next step in Blackbeard’s plan was simple. With his new Warlord status, he gained easy access to the world’s greatest prison, Impel Down, within the deepest levels of which the world’s nastiest and most powerful convicts were imprisoned. In the chaos caused by one Monkey D. Luffy’s break-in to the prison, Blackbeard instigated a fight to the death between all the prison’s fiercest prisoners, with the worst of the bunch being allowed to join his crew.

Finally, with the Yami Yami and an incredibly powerful crew to call his own, Blackbeard set sail for Marineford, where the Summit War to end all wars was reaching its peak. After the death of Ace and much violence and bloodshed, Whitebeard was on his last legs. With his crew behind him, Blackbeard unloaded his gun on the man who had taken him in and raised him like a son, the man he had once called his father. And with that, the era of Whitebeard reached its end, and the family that Blackbeard had betrayed was officially no more. Through means unknown, Blackbeard seized Whitebeard’s Devil Fruit for himself and began to wield it alongside the Yami Yami, leaving the Warlords behind for a spot amongst the Yonko, the strongest pirates alive. 

As the New World trembles before the Gura Gura, and those who oppose him are left in darkness by the Yami Yami, Blackbeard’s reign of terror won’t stop even if he claims the One Piece and the title of Pirate King for himself. After all, in the man’s own words, “a man’s dream will never die!”

Experience & Skill

Though Blackbeard’s skill in direct combat is relatively unexplored with most of his major accomplishments taking place offscreen, his accolades as a pirate speak for themselves. Raised as a member of the strongest pirate’s crew, permanently scarred Shanks (a Yonko) before he even had a Devil Fruit, killed Thatch (one of Whitebeard’s commanders) like it was no big deal, defeated Ace (another Whitebeard commander) shortly after gaining the Yami Yami, became a Warlord in no time flat, convinced the world’s most dangerous criminals to follow him, killed (an admittedly old and heavily wounded) Whitebeard and stole his fruit, defeated Whitebeard’s remaining commanders largely by himself, conquered Whitebeard’s territories in the New World and became a Yonko in record time, defeated Law 1v1 shortly after Law’s victory over Big Mom alongside Kid, and has recently defeated former Warlords like Boa and Moria with utmost ease. Little more needs to be said about the man; he’s one of the most accomplished pirates of all time.

Equipment

Flintlock Pistols

Blackbeard is always seen carrying around multiple flintlock pistols on him, and has used them in battle before, primarily during his fight against Whitebeard during the Summit War. In fact, Blackbeard’s flintlock is one of the weapons responsible for the final wounds inflicted on Whitebeard that ultimately ended his life. And its ability to harm the strongest man in the world is no inconsistency or oversight; according to Oda’s SBS sections, flintlocks in the One Piece world have been modified to make them much more powerful than their real-life equivalent.

Claw Weapon

Though Blackbeard doesn’t use this weapon in the modern day, in flashbacks he has been shown to have once wielded a claw-like weapon on his left hand. The weapon’s three claws notably match up with the three scar marks above Shanks’ left eye, a scar that is known to have been inflicted by Blackbeard.

Abilities

Yami Yami no Mi

The Darkness Fruit that Blackbeard spent a huge part of his life chasing after. The Yami Yami is a Special Logia with properties unlike any other, with its main ability being that of “gravity.” It operates somewhat similarly to a black hole, and many of Teach’s attacks use that to his advantage. However, because of that, unlike other Logias, Blackbeard cannot become intangible and avoid attacks. Because his gravity pulls attacks into himself, he actually takes more damage from those attacks than a normal person. Which may seem counterintuitive for a Logia, but it’s a trade-off for the fruit being one of the most powerful in the world.

Black Hole

By spreading his darkness across the ground, Blackbeard can suck in everything it touches in a manner somewhat akin to an actual black hole, be it buildings or even other people. The gravity inside the darkness crushes all that ends up inside, and leaves all people that survive it utterly and completely overtaken by fear.

Liberation

The second part of the Black Hole attack, in which Blackbeard releases everything previously taken in all at once, thoroughly crushed and in pieces of course. This serves as a good showcase of what happens to that which gets sucked in by the darkness.

Kurouzu

By focusing the Yami Yami’s powers into his hand, Blackbeard can drag an opponent toward him and easily grab them, leaving them open to another attack. This move is especially deadly when combined with the most dangerous property of the Yami Yami no Mi…

Power Nullification

By touching another Devil Fruit user with his hands, Teach can negate any and all properties of their Devil Fruit, making them vulnerable to any attack. Not only does this negate the elemental intangibility of Logia types, but can also prevent the affected target from using their power at all, defensively or offensively, essentially leaving them helpless as long as they remain in Blackbeard’s grasp. It is this property that motivated Blackbeard to seek the fruit in the first place, and an invaluable contributor to his status as such an overwhelming enemy.

Gura Gura no Mi

The Quake-Quake Fruit, taken from Whitebeard’s corpse… somehow. As its name implies, its power is capable of causing devastating earthquakes, but in reality it is better described as the ability to generate incredibly powerful vibrations, spreading across the earth, the seafloor, and the air itself. It is highly regarded as one of the most destructive Devil Fruits out there, with the power to destroy the world.

Kaishin

The most prominently used variation of the Gura Gura’s power, in which Blackbeard punches the air, creating cracks which extend out of his impact point and releases devastating shockwaves similar to an earthquake. These quakes are powerful enough to create massive tsunamis and convulsions in land, and have enough range that they would be capable of wiping out the entire world, allegedly even to the point of killing a Marine Vice-Admiral on the opposite end of the world. In addition to its incredible offensive power, the technique can also be used defensively to block and dispel attacks.

Blackbeard can also use a close-ranged variant called Gekishin, where he fractures the air right in front of an enemy and causes them to bear the main brunt of the shockwave.

Shingen no Ichigeki

By concentrating the power of the Gura Gura no Mi into his fist, Blackbeard can form a bubble around his hand, and then strike a target with that hand to impart the full force of an earthquake onto that target. This attack possesses enormous power and can basically tear anyone a new asshole, in Whitebeard’s case even top tier Marine Admirals like Akainu. It can also be concentrated into the feet rather than the hands, or concentrated into a target’s head (that Blackbeard is grasping) via the Kabutowari variant of the technique.

Shima Yurashi

By grabbing the air around him and pulling on it as though it is tangible, kind of like a curtain, Blackbeard can rapidly tilt the ground and surrounding area, causing massive shifts in the environment, the scale of which dwarfs all of Marineford in range. A powerful area-of-effect option for unbalancing foes across a wide area.

Devil Fruit Theft

Through methods still extremely vague and unclear, Blackbeard managed to steal the Devil Fruit of Edward Newgate, Whitebeard, after killing him. Specifically, he covered Whitebeard with a black tarp and disappeared under it for a while with him, and when he emerged he had gained the power of Whitebeard’s fruit. 

As of now, the method he used to do this is one of the biggest mysteries surrounding his character. For reference, if a normal person eats two Devil Fruits to try and gain both of their powers, the person will explode. Somehow, however, Blackbeard is able to wield two fruits at once with no drawbacks, due to an unexplained irregularity with his body. Though unconfirmed, it’s possible he might even be able to claim more fruits beyond the two he already has.

Armament Haki

Naturally given his status as an Emperor, Blackbeard can use Armament Haki to amp his limbs both defensively and offensively. It’s possible that he might also be able to use Advanced Techniques, though unconfirmed.

Observation Haki

Blackbeard is also capable of using Observation Haki, sensing the power level, location and so on of other characters.

Offscreen Haki

If the fight happens offscreen, always bet on Blackbeard.

Weaknesses

Blackbeard isn’t him. Bro pulled up on a geriatric 70-year old Whitebeard who was pissing and shitting from being off his life support, had half his face burned off and a hole in his torso from Akainu, had been stabbed through the chest by Squard, had been pierced by Kizaru’s laser beams, and had just watched one of his adopted sons die. Blackbeard then started talking mad shit about how all Devil Fruit powers are useless against him and how Whitebeard’s quakes wouldn’t work, and then Whitebeard SLAMMED him in the shoulder with his naginata and blasted him in the face point-blank with a quake and suddenly it was “WAIT! NO! STOP!!”

This is to say that as strong as he is, Blackbeard is a little bit bitchmade and consistently not unwilling to run away if he thinks he can’t win. In fairness, in some circumstances this is the smart thing to do. On the other hand, he’s also overconfident in some circumstances and doesn’t always recognize that he can’t win right away, which he has certainly been punished for at times. He also has all the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses, in addition to the fact that his fruit makes him feel pain and damage more intensely than a normal person.

Feats

Overall

• [Mihawk] World’s Strongest Swordsman
• [Mihawk] Considered a rival and sometimes superior to Red-Haired Shanks
• [Crocodile] President of Baroque Works crime syndicate
• [Crocodile] Nearly overthrew Alabasta via Operation Utopia
• [Moria] Did battle with Kaido in the past
• [Moria] Captain of Thriller Bark
• [Kuma] Prominent member of the Revolutionary Army
• [Kuma] Defeated the Straw Hats twice
• [Kuma] Saved Bonney from St. Jaygarcia Saturn
• [Boa] Smuggled Luffy into Impel Down
• [Boa] Survived a battle with the Blackbeard Pirates
• [Crocodile, Buggy, Jinbe] Broke out of Impel Down
• [Kuma, Moria, Doflamingo] Killed Little Oars Jr.
• [Jinbe] Saved Luffy from Admiral Akainu
• [Jinbe] Aided in battling Hody Jones & the Big Mom Pirates
• [Jinbe] Defeated Who’s-Who
• [Doflamingo] Usurped the throne of Dressrosa
• [Doflamingo] Defeated Law… like, a lot
• [Law] Defeated Vergo & helped take down Punk Hazard
• [Law] Helped dethrone Doflamingo
• [Law] Defeated Big Mom alongside Eustass Kidd
• [Law] Survived a one-on-one fight with Blackbeard
• [Buggy] Member of Gol D. Roger’s pirate crew as a young man
• [Buggy] Nearly killed Monkey D. Luffy
• [Buggy] Survived encounters with all three Admirals
• [Buggy] Became an Emperor of the Sea
• [Weevil] Compared to Whitebeard in his youth
• [Weevil] Presumably cut off Zephyr’s arm
• [Weevil] Survived a battle with Admiral Aramaki
• [Blackbeard] Scarred Shanks before getting a Devil Fruit
• [Blackbeard] Defeated Whitebeard Commanders Thatch, Ace, and Marco
• [Blackbeard] Broke many prisoners out of Impel Down
• [Blackbeard] Killed Whitebeard and stole his Devil Fruit
• [Blackbeard] Conquered Whitebeard’s territories and became an Emperor of the Sea

Power

• [Mihawk] Accidentally cut a glacier in half
• [Mihawk] Considered the World’s Strongest Swordsman over Shanks
• [Mihawk] Yoru is the world’s strongest sword above Whitebeard’s Murakumogiri, which can withstand Prime Whitebeard’s full power
• [Crocodile] Created town-destroying sandstorms
• [Crocodile] Cut through a portion of the Alabasta Royal Palace’s lawn with his Desert Spada
• [Crocodile] Clashed with Doflamingo
• [Moria] Cracked Thriller Bark apart, a ship as large as an island
• [Kuma] Shook Thriller Bark with his Ursus Shock, and disturbed the surrounding ocean
• [Kuma] Made St. Jaygarcia Saturn bleed with a punch
• [Boa] Broke Smoker’s Jutte with a kick
• [Boa] Smashed the head of a Pacifista, albeit only after turning it to stone first
• [Jinbe] Blocked Akainu’s magma punch with his bare hands
• [Jinbe] Clashed with Post-Timeskip Gear Second Luffy
• [Jinbe] Knocked a weakened Big Mom off of the Thousand Sunny
• [Jinbe] Knocked out Who’s-Who
• [Doflamingo] Carved apart Fujitora’s meteor
• [Doflamingo] Matched Luffy’s Conqueror’s Haki in Dressrosa
• [Doflamingo] Nearly destroyed all of Dressrosa with his birdcage
• [Law] Cut full-body Armament Vergo in half along with the entire island of Punk Hazard
• [Law] Bisected one of Fujitora’s meteors
• [Law] Pierced Big Mom through Wano into the magma chamber below, rupturing a massive hole in the earth
• [Buggy] Caught and carried Jinbe and Luffy (woah!)
• [Buggy] Cratered stone (wow!)
• [Buggy] Lifted and slammed a Bluegori (ooh!)
• [Buggy] Buggy Balls can knock out Awakened Zoans (yooo-oh wait that’s actually impressive what the fuck)
• [Blackbeard] Won a clash with Ace that engulfed an entire island
• [Blackbeard] Caused massive upheavals throughout Marineford and the surrounding ocean

Speed

• [Mihawk] Kept up with the Whitebeard Commander Vista
• [Crocodile] Kept up with Gear Second Luffy, Doflamingo, and Akainu during Marineford
• [Moria] Relative to a version of Luffy who had previously dodged Foxy’s Noro Noro photons and Enel’s lightspeed electricity
• [Moria] Kept up with Kaido when he was younger
• [Kuma] Released dozens of lightspeed air blasts at once, moving his hands fast enough to perform many arm thrusts in the time it takes the air blasts to travel a short distance from himself
• [Boa] Can petrify cannonballs midair
• [Jinbe] Fast enough to intercept Akainu’s killing blow
• [Jinbe] Comparable in speed to Post-Timeskip Gear Second Luffy
• [Doflamingo] Butchered Fujitora’s meteor, outspeeding it significantly with multiple string slashes in the time it took the meteor to travel a couple meters
• [Doflamingo] Dodged attacks from Gear Fourth Luffy
• [Law] Also reacted to Fujitora’s meteor
• [Law] Dodged Kaido’s charge
• [Buggy] Dodged an attack from Akainu
• [Buggy] Reacted to a light beam from Kizaru
• [Blackbeard] Reacted to and blocked a quake from Old Whitebeard

Durability

• [Crocodile] Took a punch from the Whitebeard Commander Diamond Jozu
• [Crocodile] Tanked Luffy’s Bazooka to his chest and was fine
• [Crocodile, Jinbe] Endured baptism via boiling water in Impel Down without flinching
• [Moria] Tanked a pistol from Nightmare Luffy
• [Moria] Tanked several hits from Jinbe
• [Moria] Survived a assault from Doffy
• [Kuma] For two years protected the Thousand Sunny from anyone who tried to steal it
• [Kuma] Got kicked by Ivankov and sent flying but was unharmed
• [Kuma] Tanked Zoro’s Iaijutsu techniques with slight harm
• [Jinbe] Fought Ace for five straight days before collapsing
• [Jinbe] Took a hit from Akainu
• [Jinbe] Took a hit from Luffy
• [Jinbe] With Armament Haki, blocked an attack from Big Mom
• [Doflamingo] Survived Gear Fourth Luffy’s King Kong Gun, which folded a city in half with Doflamingo’s body, though he was knocked out by it
• [Doflamingo] Survived having all his organs destroyed by Law’s Gamma Knife
• [Law] Withstood Fujitora’s meteor-level gravity
• [Law] Survived attacks from Big Mom and Blackbeard
• [Buggy] Survived being hit with one of his own Buggy Bombs
• [Buggy] Survived being frozen by Akoiji
• [Buggy] Survived being struck by lightning
• [Blackbeard] Withstood being burned by Ace’s fire
• [Blackbeard] Took a hit from Whitebeard’s naginata
• [Blackbeard] Survived a point blank quake to the face from Whitebeard

Scaling

Overall

Mihawk

Though he still has yet to show anywhere close to his full power, it’s clear Mihawk is among the strongest characters in One Piece, capable of matching Yonko Commanders with little effort and even having been compared favorably to the Yonko themselves, being the world’s strongest swordsman over Shanks, to the point of considering Shanks a has-been. His sword is also superior to Whitebeard’s Murakumogiri, even in spite of the latter’s explicit ability to withstand Prime Whitebeard’s full power.

For good reason, Mihawk is thus widely considered the strongest Warlord, with only the current Blackbeard potentially rivaling him. He is however not the absolute strongest in One Piece, as by his own admission, becoming the Pirate King is an even greater challenge than surpassing him, and he seemingly did still believe himself to be Whitebeard’s inferior overall.

Crocodile

Crocodile’s scaling is perhaps the most confusing of the Warlords. In Alabasta, his strength was depicted as overwhelming in comparison to what was, at that point, still a very early Luffy, but ultimately Crocodile lost to him at the end of the arc. This was a Luffy who had only recently entered the Grand Line, had no knowledge of Haki and had yet to develop his Gear forms, and yet Crocodile was defeated by him all the same, albeit not without great difficulty.

After this loss, Croc was stripped of his status and hauled off to prison, ending up in the deepest levels of Impel Down with all the highest-profile criminals. Fast forward a few arcs, and he gets busted out by Luffy and joins the war at Marineford, where he performs vastly better feats than he had demonstrated prior. Not only holding his own against a much stronger Luffy with Gear Second active, but also clashing with high level characters like Doflamingo, the Whitebeard Commander Diamond Jozu, and even Mihawk without being overwhelmed. Near the end of the arc, his sand even manages to cut through Akainu, though admittedly the malleability of Logias makes the impressiveness of this showing debatable.

All of which comes in spite of the fact that between Alabasta and Impel Down, Crocodile was locked up in prison and thus not doing much of anything to justify such a substantial power jump. The most we can say is that the chapter covers do suggest that he got into some prison brawls during his time incarcerated, so maybe he could have gotten stronger through fighting other prisoners. It’s also indicated that during Alabasta, his drive to achieve his dreams had been shattered by a devastating loss against Whitebeard in the past, whereas later on, after his defeat against Luffy, he managed to regain his drive. Which might further explain his poorer performance in Alabasta relative to later on.

Post-timeskip, now a free man again, Croc has yet to do much, but what we have seen of him is already pretty impressive. For starters, as one of the heads of Cross Guild, his bounty has leapt up into the billions, a level of infamy usually reserved for characters on or above the level of Yonko Commanders – though in fairness bounties are based on a lot more than just power, and Crocodile’s is noted to be in large part due to his leadership skills, in addition to the threat that the Cross Guild poses overall.

More substantial than his bounty though less canonical, in the post-timeskip Stampede movie, Crocodile was shown to be strong enough to fight a post-Whole Cake Zoro, as well as aid against the movie’s villain, Douglas Bullet, who was not only strong enough to scare Blackbeard, but was directly compared to Silvers Rayleigh in his prime, with even an elderly Rayleigh being Admiral level.

Moria

Moria sucks but also doesn’t, is the long and short of it. As he appears in the story, Moria is probably the weakest Warlord, with the least impressive showings at Marineford and no good post-timeskip feats just yet, though he’s ended up at odds with Blackbeard and may end up fighting him in the future.

In the past, however, Moria was much less of a joke, capable of clashing evenly with a young Kaido, Emperor of the Sea and strongest creature alive. Though Moria ultimately lost the fight, lost his crew, and let himself go as a result, he was a genuine threat to one of the most powerful beings in the world, and so isn’t a threat to be taken lightly, when taken in his prime.

Kuma

Prior to the timeskip, Kuma essentially represented a hurdle that was impossible to overcome, completely overwhelming the Straw Hats and leaving them at his mercy on two separate occasions, and sending them off to train because – as he himself demonstrated – they were not yet ready to face what the New World had to offer. After the timeskip, his showings are fewer, as by this point he had been converted completely into a robot without access to his mental faculties, but he has reappeared recently in Egghead and shown that his strength is still impressive even now.

Among his repertoire are light-based laser beams replicated from Admiral Kizaru, with Kizaru having demonstrated that his are strong enough to pierce through an elderly Whitebeard. Kuma’s physical might is similarly impressive, being capable of clobbering St. Jaygarcia Saturn, one of the Five Elders. Though the Elders are able to withstand a lot of damage thanks to their immortality and regen, it’s worth noting that they were able to tank Sabo’s Fire Fist with no damage whatsoever, despite the fact that Sabo is Admiral level. In comparison, Kuma’s punch caused Saturn significant harm, requiring him to regenerate from it. 

Though the comparison is less clear-cut thanks to their regen, it is also worth mentioning that the Gorosei were able to take hits from Gear Fifth Luffy, recovering more effectively than Kizaru could.

Boa

Primarily speaking, Boa is a hax-based character with her ability being an insta-win against most foes, and capable of bypassing and reducing an opponent’s durability, which has allowed her to defeat powerful opponents like Pacifistas with relative ease. However, she is still incredibly strong physically, with many high-tier individuals such as Sengoku, Aokiji, and Blackbeard having commented positively on her strength. As with Crocodile, her current bounty is in the billions, but unlike Crocodile she doesn’t have the Cross Guild or any notable events to thank for it, only her strength and the strength of the Kuja Tribe that she rules, among whom she is the undisputed most powerful.

She has defeated multiple Vice Admirals with ease, and even taken down two of Blackbeard’s most fearsome Commanders. The latter act caused Blackbeard to acknowledge her as worthy of being called the Pirate Empress, and to decide that killing her was safer than allowing her to live, in spite of the fact that this would mean his Commanders could never be un-petrified.

Jinbe

Jinbe is exceptionally strong even pre-timeskip, capable of blocking even a magma punch from Admiral Akainu, despite the fact that a similar attack had just previously killed Fire Fist Ace, one of Whitebeard’s top commanders. Speaking of Ace, Jinbe fought him to a standstill for five days straight, exceptionally impressive given that Ace has clashed evenly with Admiral Aokiji, fought on par with Kaido’s son Yamato, and has flames strong enough to burn Whitebeard himself.

Post-timeskip, Jinbe was a match for Gear Second Luffy in strength and speed, and later proved capable of contending with even stronger characters more recently. He was able to withstand attacks from a weakened Big Mom, and as of the Onigashima Raid was capable of fighting and defeating Tobiroppo members like Who’s-Who, with other Tobiroppo like Ulti being capable of matching and injuring a Post-Udon base Luffy.

Doflamingo

_{(Top Ranking Member of Black Force Energy)}

Contrary to his reputation and relative level of hype in One Piece communities, Doflamingo is probably on the lower end of the Warlords in strength (not the weakest; Buggy, arguably Crocodile and Boa due to lack of concrete showings, and in every aspect but strength Weevil, should still be below him), though this isn’t for lack of impressive feats or to say that he isn’t an absolute monster in his own right, he just isn’t all that compared to more recent threats that his fellows have fought in the time since his defeat.

His best showings are probably from Marineford, where he was able to halt Diamond Jozu in his tracks, one of Whitebeard’s top commanders. He also clashed with Crocodile and trashed (an admittedly injured) Moria with little difficulty, so compared to some of the lesser Warlords, he’s certainly nothing to take lightly. Post-timeskip, during Dressrosa, he was also able to completely dominate Law on multiple occasions and overwhelm strong fighters like Smoker and Sanji with casual ease. Less casually, he was able to cut through Fujitora’s meteors, and later on in the arc, he was able to maintain an upper hand against Luffy all the way up to Gear Third.

That said, once Gear Fourth came out things started tilting the other way, by which I mean that Luffy smacked him across the city and could have essentially oneshot him with a solid enough hit at any time, with only Luffy’s time limit and Doffy’s various tricks making the fight more prolonged. After Dressrosa, Luffy went on to challenge Big Mom Commanders like Cracker and had a comparatively much harder time damaging them, requiring further power boosts to eventually reach the level of stronger Yonko Commanders like Katakuri. This is to say that for all Doffy’s merits, he was surpassed by Luffy by the end of Dressrosa and is not comparable to the modern-day Yonko Commanders that Luffy went on to fight afterward.

This is backed up by numerous statements and showings as well, with Kaido openly calling Doffy a weakling in the aftermath of his defeat against Luffy, despite the fact that Kaido would later speak more highly of his own commanders, even Jack, the weakest of the three All-Stars. Doffy also elected to avoid fighting Aokiji with tacit acknowledgement that he would lose, and was understandably terrified of angering Kaido, his employer. With this in mind, while he does scale to pre-timeskip Yonko Commanders like Jozu, and is certainly not a joke at all, he doesn’t reach the same heights as Jinbe, current Law, prime Moria, Kuma, Weevil (physically speaking), and certainly not Mihawk or Blackbeard.

Law

Law has progressed in power as the series has gone on, but currently is one of the strongest Warlords, arguably third behind Mihawk and Blackbeard. Shortly after the timeskip, he was capable of defeating strong opponents like Smoker and Vergo in one-on-one fights, and could cut through Fujitora’s meteors, though was weaker than Doflamingo, albeit relative.

After Dressrosa however, he went on to awaken his Devil Fruit and fight much stronger opponents in Wano and beyond. Together with Eustass Kidd, he was able to defeat the Yonko Big Mom, and later on his own he was able to put up a somewhat competitive fight against Blackbeard, though was ultimately defeated and forced to flee. With this in mind, as he is now Law is capable of contending with Yonko level opponents, though is currently still a shade below them, requiring Kidd’s help against Big Mom and losing to Blackbeard in a more fair 1-on-1.

Buggy

Buggy is, without a doubt, the weakest STRONGEST Warlord known. He was a member of the Pirate King’s crew and close friend of Red-Haired Shanks himself, he is among the list of pirates who came close to killing Luffy, he was a Warlord of the Sea, he’s one of the only characters in the series to have fought all three Admirals and lived to tell about it, he founded the legendary Cross Guild, and ultimately he was named an Emperor of the Sea alongside Luffy, Shanks, and Blackbeard.

Of course, none of this ALL OF THIS is thanks to incredible skill or AND strength on his part, but rather AND ALSO sheer dumb luck and unintentional INCREDIBLE AND INSPIRING charisma.

Weevil

Weevil is basically featless but he does have some statements and in-universe hype that can be used to judge his strength, which in fairness, is probably on the higher end of the Warlords in terms of sheer might; he was directly compared to Whitebeard in his prime after all.

He was also fearsome enough that the Marines sent an Admiral to deal with him, and though it has not been explicitly confirmed, through process of elimination he is very likely the Warlord who is known to have cut off Zephyr’s arm in the past – Zephyr being a former Admiral who was able to contend with Whitebeard and Roger.

Blackbeard

Blackbeard is a Yonko.

…Okay fine, we’ll elaborate.

Even before gaining the Gura Gura no Mi and claiming Whitebeard’s title and territories, Blackbeard was incredibly fearsome. He scarred Shanks and killed the Yonko Commander Thatch before ever getting his Devil Fruit, and shortly after acquiring the Yami Yami achieved a clear cut victory over Fire Fist Ace. From here, he went on to coerce the world’s most dangerous criminals into joining his crew, and fearlessly challenged Whitebeard in Marineford, negating his quakes with the Yami Yami and tanking multiple point blank bloodlusted hits that he couldn’t negate, including one from Murakumogiri, and a quake directly to the head. After this, he gunned down Whitebeard alongside the rest of his crew.

After gaining the Gura Gura from Whitebeard’s corpse, Blackbeard declared himself the strongest man alive, and proved himself just as fearsome as his former father by wiping out Whitebeard’s commanders and crew, including his first mate Marco the Phoenix, among others. He’s defeated Supernovas like Bonney effortlessly, taken down other high-level Warlords like Boa, and completely overpowered Law in direct combat, even after Law had previously taken down another of the Yonko, Big Mom. All of which is to say that Blackbeard is one of the strongest and most dangerous men alive, and faces competition only from Mihawk as the strongest on this list.

Notable Feats

Monkey D. Luffy

_{(Yo Ho Ho he took a bite of gumgum)}

The majority of the Shichibukai have fought Luffy at one point or another. Crocodile in Alabasta, Moria in Thriller Bark, Kuma in Sabaody, many of them in Marineford, Jinbe in Fish-Man Island, Doflamingo in Dressrosa, and so on. Even nowadays, with Gear Fifth, Admirals like Kizaru can still keep up with Luffy, with Admirals in general being consistently capable of posing a threat to the Yonko, and the majority of the Warlords in turn being at least somewhere in the ballpark of Admiral level, with Buggy, Doflamingo, and possibly Crocodile and Boa being the exceptions. And of course, characters like Mihawk and Blackbeard still surpass Luffy altogether.

• Stretched his arms a massive distance away from Drum Island and then launched them back quickly to strike Wapol
• Smashed a large hole up through the ground with his Gomu Gomu no Storm against Crocodile
• Dispersed Enel’s Raigo with his Gomu Gomu no Fireworks: Golden Peony
• Slammed Enel through a gigantic golden bell with his Gomu Gomu no Gold Rifle
• Dodged Foxy’s Noro Noro photon beams
• Pierced a hole through the Aqua Laguna alongside Zoro
• Dodged a laser beam from a Pacifista
• Dodged another laser beam from a Pacifista
• Dodged ANOTHER laser beam from a Pacifista, this time he calls it slow
• Shattered Merville with a stomp
• Blasted away a giant octopus’ tentacle with his Elephant Gun in Gear Third
• Smashed part of Dressrosa in half with his King Kong Gun against Doffy
• Split the sky above Onigashima in a clash against Kaido
• Slammed Kaido with a massive fist relative in size to Onigashima with his Bajrang Gun

Straw Hat Pirates

Much like Luffy, the Warlords have come into conflict with the rest of the Straw Hats on various occasions. Kuma specifically defeated all of the Straw Hats by himself during Sabaody, and even nowadays, the strongest Straw Hats sans Luffy are still at a point where Yonko Commanders and Admirals are difficult opponents for them. Like with Luffy, degree of comparability would vary between different Warlords, but generally speaking the majority of them should scale to all notable feats.

• Nico Robin created a massive explosion to destroy Igaram’s ship
• Nami and Usopp both dodged Enel’s lightspeed electricity
• Zoro pierced through the Aqua Laguna alongside Luffy
• Nami dodged Kalifa’s lightning strikes
• Usopp Sogeking sniped some dudes from kilometers away in a split second
• Zoro reacted to Kuma’s barrage of lightspeed air blasts
• Zoro leapt over a Pacifista’s laser beam, outspeeding it
• Zoro bisected the mountain-sized Pica, launching his top half high into the air
• Nami used Zeus to blast Big Mom with a lightning strike, damaging a large area
• Zoro sliced off the horn of Onigashima
• Sanji’s Boeuf Burst blasted a hole through a portion of Onigashima in a fraction of a second
• Sanji saved Edison from one of the Seraphim’s lasers
• Sanji intercepted and kicked away Kizaru’s laser beam

Enel

Enel is a pre-timeskip villain from Skypiea, with even a current past-his-prime Gecko Moria having fought a significantly stronger Luffy than the one who beat Enel. All of the Warlords should surpass him easily, even Buggy.

• Created massive lightning blasts with his El Thor
• When amped tenfold by clouds, created even more massive lightning blasts capable of decimating large areas
• Destroyed Angel Island with his Raigo, and would have gone on to decimate all of Skypiea with an even stronger version
• Raigo would have destroyed the Upper Yard, which the Knock-Up Stream did not
  • The Knock-Up Stream launched the Upper Yard into the sky to begin with
• His lightning is stated in both the manga and SBS to be lightspeed
• Fought an alien guy who somehow blew up part of the moon

Cipher Pol

CP9 are a group of government operatives who served as the primary antagonistic force in the Water 7 and Enies Lobby arcs, before eventually returning after the timeskip as CP0, a much more powerful force. Pre-timeskip, they were fearsome villains but still in all likelihood below even Moria, with their part in the story taking place prior to Thriller Bark. Post-timeskip is a different story, with their Zoan Devil Fruits having awakened, allowing their leader, Rob Lucci, to contend with current Zoro and even Gear Fifth Luffy to an extent. Regardless, most of the Shichibukai should scale to feats performed by members of Cipher Pol.

• Kalifa dodged lightning from Nami
• Kaku would have been capable of destroying the Thousand Sunny
• Lucci created a huge shockwave in his Haki clash with Gear Fifth Luffy

Donquixote Family

The Donquixote Family are all weaker than Doflamingo and thus far weaker than anyone YC level or higher, which includes most of the Warlords. Feats performed by the family’s officers should scale to practically all of the Warlords, maybe even Buggy.

• Trebol destroyed a portion of a large structure in order to swat a fly
  • The fly tanked it
• Trebol created a large explosion
• Pica moved a massive amount of stone from Dressrosa’s Royal Plateau to form his gigantic body
• Pica threw a massive punch while moving all that mass
• Diamante carved a huge trench through the Royal Plateau
• Gladius expanded a portion of the Royal Plateau until it popped

Worst Generation

The Worst Generation, also known as the Supernovas, are a group of young pirates who made a name for themselves at around the same time. Law is a member of this generation, as are Luffy and Zoro, with the rest of the Supernovas generally being weaker than them or at best comparable, in the case of Kidd and possibly Bonney. Regardless, most of the Warlords should generally scale to or above feats performed by the Supernovas.

• Hawkins barely reacted to a lightspeed kick from Kizaru
• Apoo, Hawkins, and Drake all survive though are injured by attacks from a casual Kizaru
  • Earlier in Sabaody, a casual kick from Kizaru blew up a massive area, incinerating gigantic trees
• Kidd’s Damned Punk blasted Big Mom through Onigashima, breaking off a large chunk of its side

Yonko Commanders & Officers

Each of the Emperors of the Sea have high-ranking officers that work under them, with the highest-ranked of these officers being known as commanders. Whitebeard’s commanders are known as “Whitebeard Division Commanders”, Big Mom’s are known as “Sweet Commanders”, Kaido’s are known as the three “All-Stars”, and Blackbeard’s are known as the “Ten Titanic Captains”. In Kaido’s case, there are also six officers ranked right below the All-Stars known as the Tobiroppo. 

Generally speaking, you’ll hear “YC level” or some variation of it thrown around a lot when discussing One Piece power scaling, and this is what that’s referring to. It’s also not uncommon for people to discuss “YC1” and “YC2” and so forth, which just refers to the commander’s ranking under their Emperor. For example, Katakuri is the strongest of Big Mom’s Sweet Commanders, so he would be YC1, and Cracker and Smoothie would both nebulously be YC2 since neither is established to be stronger than the other.

These are fan terms and don’t necessarily mean anything. There’s no statement, for instance, that every YC1 character (Marco, King, Katakuri, Ben Beckmann, Jesus Burgess, Zoro) is equal to every other one, and in actuality it’s very evidently not the case. For this reason, it’s best not to put too much emphasis on terms like YC1 and YC2, though YC level in general does have merit. The commanders are, generally speaking, consistently shown to be relative to the Yonko and Admirals but still weaker, serving as a broad tier of power that you can categorize various characters into.

As far as the Warlords are concerned, Mihawk, Prime Moria, Law, Weevil and Blackbeard are all varying degrees of Yonko level and should thus be beyond any commander. Kuma and Jinbe both have showings that would make them roughly Admiral level and thus should be at minimum relative to any commander. Crocodile and Doflamingo both have showings against Admirals and Yonko Commanders during Marineford, but more recent showings indicate that Doffy in particular is weak compared to post-timeskip Yonko Commanders, so mileage may vary. And Boa has recently defeated Blackbeard commanders, though did so with her Devil Fruit and not via overcoming them in direct combat. With all this in mind, most of the Warlords should be somewhere within YC level, and in some cases even higher.

• Ace halted the perpetual snowfall on Drum Island simply through his presence
• Van Augur’s bullets can snipe gulls from well beyond the horizon in a fraction of a second
• Ace engulfed part of an island in his clash with Blackbeard
• Marco intercepted and blocked a beam of light from Kizaru
• Diamond Jozu lifted and threw a massive iceberg
• Charlotte Oven, an officer, boiled a large area of the ocean
• In his fight with Yamato, Ace created a blast of fire that engulfed Onigashima
• King’s Jackpot created a blast which engulfed part of Onigashima
• King’s Tempuraudon shears off the side of Onigashima at a fraction of the speed of light

Marine Admirals

Essentially the next step above a Yonko Commander, though not to a massive extent, the Admirals are the Marines’ equivalent to the Yonko, and along with the Warlords are meant to balance out the Yonko and their crews in terms of power. Akainu, Aokiji, and Kizaru all have good showings against Whitebeard in Marineford, as well as various commanders like Marco and Ace. Post-timeskip, Aokiji has easily defeated Big Mom’s Sweet Commanders, and Aramaki was able to 1v2 an injured King and Queen. That said, the strongest Yonko like Shanks are still a bit much for an Admiral to handle, with Aramaki running away as soon as he sensed Shanks’ Haki, and even Akainu pre-timeskip being unwilling to fight Shanks.

With all this in mind, Mihawk, Prime Moria, Kuma, Jinbe, Law, Weevil, and Blackbeard should all be at least Admiral level and in some cases higher, Boa and Crocodile are more up in the air but arguably there, and Doflamingo and Buggy are both definite “no”s.

• Aokiji froze the ocean between distant islands with his Ice Age
• Kizaru blew up a large area with a casual kick
• Kizaru can move at the speed of light, even with casual attacks
  • It is established that he can accelerate even further beyond that
• Akainu survived multiple direct, bloodlusted quakes from Whitebeard
• Akainu and Aokiji permanently altered the climate of Punk Hazard with their battle
• Fujitora pulled multiple huge meteors from outer space
  • Given the enormous size of some of these meteors and the fact that Fujitora only pulls them rather than create or accrete them, it’s likely he pulls them from larger and more distant sources such as the asteroid belt
• Fujitora pulled down a much larger meteor, visible in size relative to the entire country of Dressrosa
• Monkey D. Garp, who is at least Admiral level, was capable of crushing eight mountains without Haki during his training
• Zephyr, a former Admiral, survived an explosion that destroyed a whole island
• Zephyr reacted to Kizaru’s laser beams from close range
• Monkey D. Garp causes a massive explosion with Galaxy Impact

Emperors of the Sea

The Emperors of the Sea are generally depicted as some of the absolute strongest characters in One Piece, with Admirals and Commanders being able to pose a threat to them, but not match them outright. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of the best feats in the verse come from them. Anyone previously established to be Yonko level should obviously scale to them, while those who are more in the range of Admirals and Commanders should more so downscale.

• Whitebeard is stated repeatedly to be capable of destroying the world with his quakes, with one statement suggesting that the world may not be there tomorrow after the Summit War, and another suggesting that even a Vice Admiral like Tsuru would not be safe even from the farthest end of the planet
  • Note that none of these statements refer to the planet and are more likely referring to widespread devastation on a planetary scale, though given the massive size of One Piece’s planet, this is still especially notable
• Whitebeard caused massive earthquakes during Marineford that could be felt from remote islands
• Whitebeard and Shanks split the sky with a clash (this happens with Yonko a lot)
• Big Mom created a storm overtop of her castle on Whole Cake Island
• Kaido’s blast breath destroyed part of a mountain
• Kaido and Big Mom split the sky with their clash (see?)
• Big Mom’s Ikkoku Sovereignty blasted a huge hole through the side of Onigashima
• Big Mom’s lightning strikes disturbed a massive area of the ocean in the anime
• Hybrid Kaido and Big Mom’s combined attack created an explosion larger than the Onigashima skull
• Big Mom’s Fulgora creates a blast comparable in size to the side of the Onigashima skull
• Kaido split the sky in his clash with Luffy (and again)
• Dragon Form Kaido’s passive heat emissions are great enough to melt one of the horns off of Onigashima
• Kaido lifted Onigashima into the sky and transported it toward the Flower Capital
• Prime Whitebeard and Roger split the sky with a clash (one last time for the boys)

Miscellaneous

As some of the strongest pirates in the world, there are various random characters and individuals whose feats the Warlords should generally scale above, most of whom aren’t particularly noteworthy in the grand scheme of things.

• Oars was reputed to have pulled continents when he was alive
• Oars busted through a huge wall on Thriller Bark
• A bunch of randos survived a huge blast of air created by Monkey D. Dragon
• Vander Decken launched the massive Noah toward Fish-Man Island with his Devil Fruit
• Sea Kings are capable of traveling massive distances near-instantly
• Caesar Clown’s chemical weapon decimated Punk Hazard
  • Smiley/Slime is stated to be the living form of this explosion
• Don Chinjao split an ice continent in half in the past
  • While Chinjao was past his prime when he showed up in the story, he regained his former strength
  • Don Sai was also stated to be capable of replicating Chinjao’s famous feat
• Don Sai drilled through a large portion of Dressrosa’s Royal Plateau
• Elizabello’s fully charged King Punch blew away the debris of Pica’s sliced up body
• Zunesha produced a massive water blast to bathe itself
• Zunesha swung its massive trunk at high speed to wipe out Jack’s ships
• Vinsmoke Niji has a technique that allows him to move at the speed of light
• Shinobu’s Ripe-Ripe Jutsu broke off a portion of Onigashima
• Momonosuke replicated Kaido’s feat of moving Onigashima 
• Koby’s Honesty Impact split apart a massive stone arm

The Combatants Are Set…

(1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10)