Warning: This article contains spoilers from the One Piece manga! One Piece‘s protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, begins his journey ten years after mistakenly eating the Devil Fruit that granted him special powers. During his adventure, Luffy came across several powerful villains, and each fight helped him grow in some way. While he’s usually carefree and goofy, Luffy has incredible battle IQ and unparalleled creativity, which he incorporates into his fighting style, including his Gear 2 and Gear 3 forms. No matter how powerful an opponent was, Luffy would somehow always emerge victorious. However, he got a powerful reality check in the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, where he realized that he was too weak in front of Admiral Kizaru and Warlord Bartholomew Kuma.
After separating from his crew, Luffy did everything he could to save Ace, but failed. He returned as a pirate after a two-year break, mastering all forms of Haki. While his training with Rayleigh paid off, Luffy truly reached his peak in the Wano Country Saga during his fight with Kaido. He awakened his Devil Fruit, and the series revealed the true nature of his transformation. In his Gear 5 form, Luffy feels freest, and that’s why he fights his opponents with ease. Even though the abilities he possesses are basically unparalleled in theory, Luffy can’t reach his true potential until he masters his stamina. At his current level, he still hasn’t been able to surpass these seven characters.
7) Monkey D. Garp
Although it’s debatable how the fight between the current Garp and Gear 5 Luffy would go, the young Yonko is still not stronger than his grandfather in his prime. Using nothing but Haki and his fists, Garp proved his might as one of the Marine powerhouses. However, he refused to be promoted to Admiral so he wouldn’t have to directly serve the Celestial Dragons again. He was often compared to Roger during his prime, which proves his abilities, even though we never saw the true extent of his powers during his younger days.
6) Shanks
Shanks is not only one of the most crucial characters in the series, but his powers are overwhelming, even to characters like the Admirals. His Haki is second to none, as shown in the Wano Country Saga, when he intimidated Admiral Green Bull from a massive distance, a feat no one in the series has been able to accomplish. Luffy has always looked up to Shanks as his role model, but despite his unique abilities, his Haki isn’t strong enough to overwhelm the Haki Killer like him.
5) Edward Newgate
Edward Newgate, famously known as Whitebeard, lived and died a legend, reaching the heights of power many could only dream of. He literally shook the entire battleground during the Summit War, and his presence was enough to overwhelm even the Admirals. Whitebeard was Roger’s rival on almost an equal level, and the power we saw in Marineford was only a fraction of what he could do during his prime. Over the years, he grew old and sick, leaving him significantly weaker than before, but even that was enough to shake everything in his wake.
4) Gol D. Roger
The reason fans often struggle with power scaling in One Piece is that more legends are being passed down instead of flashbacks of the characters revealing their full powers. As the Pirate King, Roger didn’t fight to his full extent in any backstory, but the fact that he arrived all the way to Laughtale while crossing countless hurdles is a testament to his strength. His Divine Departure is enough to send Kozuki Oden flying, even though he was the strongest samurai in Wano during his time.
3) Harald
Harald was the most beloved and strongest King of Elbaf, descending from a special ancient bloodline of the Giant Warriors. He’s introduced in the Elbaf Arc of the Final Saga, and only a glimpse at his abilities is enough to convince everyone that he’s almost on an equal footing with Rocks D. Xebec, the legendary pirate. After infiltrating the Reverie with his friend, Harald clashed with Xebec, and the impact blew everyone away within a five-kilometer radius. The impact of that clash of weapons was significantly greater than the one between Roger and Whitebeard that was shown in Oden’s backstory.
2) Rocks D. Xebec
The legendary pirate, who was feared by the World Government, finally revealed his face during the ongoing backstory in Elbaf. Several decades ago, he took advantage of the Reverie and infiltrated the Flower Room to bargain with Imu. Since he couldn’t strike a deal, he left the place and killed an Admiral, appearing unharmed, meaning that one of the Marine powerhouses was not even a challenge to him. After creating havoc in the Holy Land of Marijoa, he clashed with Harald and escaped unscathed. The ongoing backstory continues to hype the character, and the true extent of his powers is greater than any pirate we have seen before.
1) Imu
Ever since their introduction, One Piece has given us more than enough reasons to believe that Imu is the most likely candidate for being One Piece’s final antagonist. As an immortal, they have a few horrifying abilities at their disposal, including their ability to remotely kill Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, who was near Egghead Island. Not only that, but they have the ability to create an army of powerful puppets and take control of their minds and bodies. A lot about Imu is still shrouded in mystery, but their powers are nothing to scoff at. No matter how much strength Luffy gains in the Final Saga, he won’t have an easy time defeating this force of nature.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
