The Emperors of the Sea, aka the “Four Emperors,” aka the “Yonkou,” are One Piece’s strongest characters. Since the introduction of the Four Emperors back in manga chapter 96 of the series and then a proper introduction following the Water 7 arc, they have been the biggest threat to the Straw Hat Pirates, apart from the Marines.
Since then, though, we have seen a lot of changes in their ranks, from the death of Whitebeard to the defeat of Kaido and Big Mom. Despite that, the group holds a lot of power amongst fans and in the universe of One Piece itself.
Pirates awarded the title “Emperor of the Sea” are some of the strongest individuals in the series…. except for one, of course, but even he has a massive influence that rivals the strengths of other pirates. For the pirate world to work, the Emperors have to be a thing. They run the biggest parts of the world, like Big Mom and Kaido, for example, and their strength is enormous.
So, before we get to the list featuring the strongest Emperors in One Piece, why don’t we take a look at exactly what is a Yonkou and why they are a vital existence in the narrative?
What is a Yonkou? Who Are The Emperors in One Piece?
The Four Emperors are one of the “Three Great Powers” in One Piece, along with the Marine Headquarters and the Seven Warlords of the Sea.
However, a lot has changed in the series as the Four Emperors have undergone a considerable change, and the Seven Warlords system has also been abolished. So, the peace that the citizens enjoyed isn’t going to last a lot because there’s an impending war coming soon that will shake the very foundations of the world.
But that’s not what we want to talk about here, right? We only need to know what Yonkou are and why they are intrinsic to the One Piece narrative.
The Yonkou, aka the Four Emperors, are the strongest pirates in the world of One Piece, and they rule over the second half of the Grand Line, known as the New World, like kings. Each of these pirates has overwhelming power, enough to topple entire nations and pose a massive threat to the Marines and the World Government if they were to start an all-out war.
Moreover, they have several subordinates working under them, pirates and entire pirate crews, and they have various islands as their territories to whom they provide protection against hostile forces.
Basically, the Four Emperors are pirates who are so strong that, with the exception of a few, no one in the world can hope to match them, let alone defeat them!
When the Yonkou were introduced in the story, the group consisted of Whitebeard, Kaidou, Big Mom, and Shanks. However, these have changed as new Emperors were introduced recently. So, in this article, we’ll look at the most powerful Emperors in the world of One Piece!
The Strongest Emperors in One Piece:
7. Buggy the Clown
Is Buggy a Yonko? You must be wondering if that is true, but it is one-hundred percent true. Buggy the Clown has become one of the Four Emperors of the Sea.
It won’t be wrong to say that Buggy might be the strongest Emperor in One Piece! Now, stay with me. It’s entirely possible that by the end of the series, Buggy will become the most powerful pirate in the eyes of the world.
Of course, his strength will not stand up to the likes of Shanks or Luffy, but how people see him will change the course of history.
The only reason he is an Emperor right now is that the Marines assumed he was the one in control of the Cross Guild and was leading ex-Warlords, Dracule Mihawk and Crocodile. In the eyes of the World Government, he brought the strongest swordsman in the world and Crocodile under his command, so it’s no wonder they called him Emperor of the Sea!
Through sheer comedic energy and his connection to Luffy, Shanks, and Roger, Buggy might just come out to be the strongest Emperor in One Piece. At this point, there’s nothing Buggy can’t do, and with his recent claim of wanting to find the One Piece treasure and become the King of the Pirates, Buggy might get to the top before even Luffy does!
6. Monkey D. Luffy
It’s still a crazy thing to see the boy who set out to become the King of the Pirates over 25 years ago earning the status of “Emperor of the Sea.” Monkey D. Luffy has finally achieved another title in the series, which brings him quite a bit closer to his goal.
So, is Luffy a Yonko? Yes, the Marines announced him to be one of the Four Emperors at the end of the Wano Kingdom arc. After defeating Kaido with his Gear 5 technique, Luffy tore the world apart and became an Emperor of the Sea. He is now in contention for being the strongest pirate in the world.
Luffy even has a massive fleet of strong pirates at his side, thanks to the creation of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet after Dressrosa!
Unlike the other Emperors like Kaido and Big Mom, Luffy doesn’t use his power to make people fall into line. Instead, he uses his goodwill nature, his fixation on helping people, and his loveable personality to guide people into the light. He gives people freedom, food, and of course, the power to stand up to others.
5. Marshall D. Teach, aka Blackbeard
Speaking of strong, the next Emperor we will talk about is Marshall D. Teach, aka Blackbeard, who is supposedly the final villain of the series or one of the final villains in One Piece.
So far, he has shown his strength to be immeasurable. Unlike other devil fruit users, Blackbeard somehow consumed two devil fruits without dying on the stop and can wield the power of both to become a unique existence. He has his own Yami Yami No Mi and the stolen Gura Gura No Mi from the late Whitebeard.
With the status of an Emperor, Blackbeard has become one of the strongest enemies in the series and holds a huge threat over the heads of the Straw Hats.
Rather than influencing territory or people, Blackbeard uses the sheer fear he emits to punish those around him. His crew is made up of some of the strongest fighters in the world, and now he has given them powerful devil fruits to increase his crew’s strength further.
4. Charlotte Linlin, aka Big Mom
Big Mom was the first real villain in One Piece anime that the Straw Hats just couldn’t touch. They may have broken into her home, destroyed her party, and stolen her Poneglyph, but they couldn’t do any real damage to her. Not even Luffy could leave a scratch on the only female Emperor in the world.
Big Mom was a tyrannical leader, ruling over her territory with ease. Although she is prone to temper tantrums where she loses control of herself and goes on a rampage, most of the people in her kingdom live in relative peace.
But Big Mom is a terrifying existence who never got anything handed to her. Her grasp over the world came from her pure power and natural toughness, and her strength further increased after she acquired her devil fruit, the Soru Soru no Mi.
Her devil fruit gives her the ability to drain the lifespan of people as they fear her. And as Big Mom has a terrifying aura, everyone is afraid of her and susceptible to her devil fruit’s powers. Only a select few with an indomitable will are immune to her fruit’s abilities because they don’t fear Big Mom!
3. Shanks
Shanks is a highly mysterious figure in the One Piece world, so we don’t know much about his status as an Emperor. From recent chapters, we learned quite a bit more about his influence in the world and how he treats his crew, but his power has been untouched.
The power Shanks holds must be strong enough to threaten the likes of Kaido and the Five Elders Stars, but we haven’t seen enough yet. However, we did see him blast his Advanced Conqueror’s Haki from miles away toward Admiral Ryokugyu, which was enough to make him back off and leave the Wano Kingdom.
This is one of the reasons Shanks is so high on this list. He is a very influential man who possesses all types of Haki in their advanced forms. He might very well be the strongest Haki user in One Piece right now.
But even though Shanks is a powerful man, his power amongst people is unprecedented. From recent chapters, we see that Shanks takes other pirate crews under his wing to protect them. He doesn’t want anything from them; he just wants to protect those around him. When Captain Eustass Kid shows up to threaten his crew, he instantly puts him down with his insane strength.
Without seeing him fight or how he acts, there isn’t much else to say about Shanks. We know he is strong, but just how strong is he is something we’ll find out soon as the story of One Piece is in the final saga!
2. Kaido
So far in the One Piece story, Kaido has been the strongest enemy Luffy has had to deal with. This hulking, alcoholic dragon man is a force to be reckoned with, so it’s no wonder he is one of the strongest Emperors in the series. Kaido is renowned in the One Piece world as the “Strongest Creature,” and his role in the story is fitting of that title, that’s for sure!
His influence around the One Piece world isn’t as strong as others like Big Mom, but the fear he puts into people is massive. Big Mom is someone who takes over islands and areas of the New World with her power, whereas Kaido takes over its people and brings them on. He doesn’t care about territory; he just wants Wano Kuni for himself.
Before Wano, the most significant thing we heard about Kaido was that he would have come to Marineford if Shanks didn’t personally stop him. Kaido intended to participate in the Marineford War to take down Whitebeard, with only his second in command, King, at his side.
It’s safe to say Kaido is one of the strongest in the One Piece world, even after Luffy defeated him. You might disagree with me, but Kaido is still stronger than Luffy, even with his Gear 5 form!
1. Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard
I am sure you saw this coming; Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard, is not one of the strongest Emperors in One Piece but the strongest of the Yonko. It’s true that he’s dead, but there’s no denying that his very existence made the Marines and the pirates shake in their boots.
During the Marineford War, we saw a sick, aging Whitebeard show off his strength by taking down one powerful opponent after another. He fought several Marines, put the fear of God in Admiral Akainu, and fought the entirety of the Blackbeard Pirates. He did all this with a hole in his stomach after he was stabbed; that’s how terrifyingly powerful Whitebeard was.
And recently, during the Wano Kingdom arc, we saw a glimpse of Whitebeard’s strength when he was in his prime. His battle with Gol D. Roger was a cinematic masterpiece, and that was enough to remind the fans why he was called the “strongest man in the world.”
Whitebeard was a master of all types of Haki and could easily use their advanced forms. That alone made him a monster to be feared, but he also possessed one of the strongest devil fruits in existence. The Gura Gura no Mi, aka the Quake Quake Fruit, which allowed him to create earthquakes, move entire tectonic plates, and create tsunamis with a single motion, made him the strongest Emperor ever to live.
Conclusion
That brings us to the end of the article, where we went through a list featuring the strongest Emperors in One Piece. I am sure you will agree with my rankings, and while the rankings may change sometime in the future, as we see more from some of the characters mentioned above, I am sure it won’t change much.
But now that most of the Emperors are out of the picture and new Emperors have been named, who are considerably weaker than their predecessors, it would be interesting to see what kind of influence they will have in One Piece. However, one thing is clear, now that the story is in its final leg, the tag “Emperor” might not mean much going forward!
So, that’s it from my side. I hope you liked my list ranking the strongest Yonko, aka the Emperors of the Sea. If you liked it, share it with your friends and spread the word!
Also Read: All Devil Fruit Types in One Piece
