In One Piece, the status of Yonko, or Emperor of the Seas, is a title unlike any other. The Yonko are recognized as one of the Three Great Powers of the world alongside the Marines and Seven Warlords of the Sea (until they disband and are replaced by the Special Science Group.) To be one of the Four Emperors is to be one of the most powerful individuals in the world and one of the closest to becoming King of the Pirates.

To be a Yonko, you must be the captain of a notorious pirate crew with immense power, territories, influence, and subordinates. There are only seven pirate captains who have become Emperors: Whitebeard, Blackbeard, Big Mom, Kaido, Buggy, Shanks, and Monkey D. Luffy. The original four Yonko were Whitebeard, Big Mom, Kaido, and Shanks. Each has a history as a member of legendary pirate crews. But who among this collective powerhouse of names reigns supreme as the strongest Emperor of the Sea?

7 Buggy The Clown

Buggy the Star Clown Buggy Is By Far The Weakest Yonko Ever, But That’s Part Of His Charm

The great thing about Buggy as a character is his ability to fail upwards. From a member of the Seven Warlords of the Sea to one of the Four Emperors, Buggy has been able to raise his position in the world through sheer luck and charisma. Although Buggy was a cabin boy alongside Shanks on Gold Roger’s crew, he isn’t nearly as powerful or battle-tested as his peers.

A reflection of this is Buggy being one of the first villains Luffy thwarts in his early adventures. Thanks to a chain of events involving Luffy breaking him, Sir Crocodile, and a handful of prisoners that adore Buggy, he became a Warlord and, later, the face of Cross Guild. However, Buggy has never displayed any Haki abilities, and his Bara Bara no Mi devil fruit, which allows him to split and control pieces of his body, isn’t much to be reckoned with.

6 Blackbeard

Marshall D. Teach Is Powerful, But The Extent Of His Abilities Has Yet To Be Seen

Marshall D. Teach, also known as Blackbeard, is an immensely powerful individual with strong devil fruits and a mastery of Haki. He’s the only individual in One Piece who is known to possess two devil fruit abilities, one of which (the Gura Gura no Mi) he stole from his former captain, Whitebeard, and his own Yami Yami no Mi. They give him the power to cause tremors and control darkness and gravity. The Gura Gura no Mi is considered to be the strongest devil fruit of its type, with the reputation of being able to destroy the world. However, little is known about how the Yami Yami no Mi works at full capacity, as audiences have yet to see a Blackbeard battle in full. However, it is known that it can negate the ability of other devil fruits.

Blackbeard has been seen using Armament Haki in his battles against Trafalgar Law and the Heart Pirates and in his battles in Amazon Lily. He also showcased skill in Observation Haki in Jaya and Impel Down. Although the extent of his true power is unknown, he was able to give Shanks the scar over his eye during a battle that Shanks says he didn’t take lightly. How Blackbeard did this, especially before acquiring Whitebeard’s devil fruit, is unknown. However, it leaves much to say about his prowess in Haki and the true nature of his devil fruit ability, especially since Shanks can nullify devil fruits with his own Haki.

5 Big Mom

Charlotte Linlin And Her Devastating Power Are Heavily Underestimated

Although Big Mom may be sometimes dimwitted and emotionally compromised, she is a walking calamity and a force of nature that can’t easily be defied. She is a mountain of a woman who was able to defeat one of the strongest giants in Elbalf when she was just a little girl. Beyond her immense physical strength, she is the possessor of the Soru Soru no Mi, which allows her to interact with and manipulate souls in various ways. It’s an abstract devil fruit with overbearing possibilities.

However, it has some limitations, especially if someone against her has no fear of her, as this nullifies the fruit. She can give life to inanimate objects, called homies, and make them fight for her. Some of these include Zeus, a powerful thundercloud, and Prometheus, a literal sun with immense flames.

Before her defeat, Big Mom owned her own country and dominated it alongside her children, who comprise her massive Big Mom Pirates crew. She is also one of the few people in the world who possesses all three forms of Haki: Supreme King, Armament, and Observation. Despite appearing higher on the list, she is a deadly foe that not even Luffy could defeat if he faced her during the Whole Cake Island arc.

4 Monkey D. Luffy

The Protagonist Has Finally Become A Yonko, But He Still Has Room To Grow

Luffy is an opponent to be reckoned with, especially now that he’s awakened his devil fruit, the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Nika (formerly known as the Gomu Gomu no Mi). His ability to stretch his limbs has extended to him having the freedom to do anything his imagination can think of. Luffy already got as far as fighting Kaido, a Yonko with the highest bounty at the time, purely based on the imaginative ways he could utilize his stretching ability.

As such, the more time Luffy has utilizing Gear 5, the more he will come to understand it and its power since he doesn’t actually know the details of his fruit like the audience learned. Luffy is strong now, but like always, he will become stronger as the series continues. Through his keen intuition, yearning for freedom, and charisma (which may be an offshoot of his ability), Luffy amassed territories, influence, and subordinates through the power of friendship.

Luffy has mastery over all three forms of Haki and can use advanced techniques of them. And although he currently has feats of contending with iral Kizaru and the Gorosei following Egghead Island, there’s much speculation on if Luffy could defeat Kaido one on one at full strength. Although this debate may never get a conclusive answer within the story, as it stands, Luffy will eventually become stronger than Kaido if he isn’t already.

3 Kaido

Kaido Of The Beasts Has The Epithet Of “Strongest Creature” And It’s True

Kaido is one of the most impressive fighters in all of One Piece and commands respect as one of the strongest characters despite his defeat at the hands of Luffy. He has the most impressive resume of feats we’ve seen in the show so far. He had a 20,000 pirate organization, ruled Wano with an iron fist, and kept Onigashima afloat during the raid. At the same time, he contested against The Nine Red Scabbards, The Worst Generation, his daughter Yamato, and Luffy himself a handful of times, before being defeated.

Kaido’s durability and physical prowess are unlike anything seen up to that point in the series, making any injury he receives in battle significant as a result. He has a mythical Zoan-type devil fruit, the Uo Uo no Mi, Model: Seiryu, that allows him to transform into a hybrid or full-scaled Azure Dragon, further boosting his durability and power. He has mastery over all three forms of Haki and can use advanced applications of all three forms. As such, Kaido has the third-highest bounty of all time, and only a handful of people have ever or could ever stand up to him.

2 Shanks

Red-Haired Shanks Is One Of The Most Mysterious Characters In The Series

Shanks has no confirmed devil fruit but can contend with Kaido and quickly dispatch Kid with one strike. His mastery over Haki extends beyond the likes of anyone in the series, and his Observation has been shown to see possible futures. Shanks’ Haki can be felt from great distances away and is so strong it makes irals freeze and retreat. With abilities reminiscent of Roger himself, Shanks has proven himself to be not only one of the strongest but a unique case in the world.

Not many characters have powers on the scale of Shanks, and despite his small crew and weak subordinates, the powerful giants of Elbaf recognize his strength and remain his ally. It has taken decades to see Shanks land a single blow, so little is known about his powers. But being one of the strongest in the series and not having a devil fruit speaks to how great Shanks is.

1 Whitebeard

Edward Newgate Was Second Only To Roger Himself

Blackbeard didn’t defeat Whitebeard. Sickness, old age, Sakazuki, and a full-scale war are what took out one of the greatest pirates that ever lived. The original possessor of the Gura Gura no Mi, Whitebeard, had complete mastery over the immensely powerful devil fruit. He had complete mastery and advanced application of all three types of Haki and, in his prime, was one of the only people capable of contending with Roger and his crew. He had the highest bounty next to Roger due to his power, his massive crew and subordinates, his influence, and his ability to strategize.

He was known as the Strongest Man in the World, and Kaidou sees him as one of the only men who can challenge him. His durability allowed him to take several fatal blows during Marineford, including losing half his head and still being able to fight despite his age and illness. Whitebeard endured 465 injuries, multiple magma blasts from Sakazuki, and a brutal assault by Blackbeard’s Pirates, yet died standing, shocking even Teach himself.