One Piece: Top 10 strongest enemies defeated by Strawhat Pirates, ranked
One of the best aspects of One Piece, Eiichiro Oda's record-breaking manga, are the fights between the Strawhat Pirates and their arc enemies. On one adventure after another, the Strawhats have managed to defeat powerful opponents.
One Piece features a rather similar formula for every arc. Luffy defeats the leader of the enemy faction, while Zoro beats the second strongest after the latter. Sometimes, Zoro is shown to fight valiantly against the leader. For instance, this happened in the Wano Arc, in which he faced Kaido showing impressive feats.
Following the structure, Sanji usually prevails over the third strongest. The other Strawhats challenge the remaining opponents.
Read on to find out about the ten strongest opponents that Strawhats defeated in the One Piece series, ranked from weakest to strongest.
Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1064 and reflects the writer's personal views.
The 10 strongest enemies the Strawhats beat in the One Piece series, ranked weakest to strongest
10) Sasaki
A former New World pirate captain, Sasaki joined the Beasts Pirates, becoming a member of the Tobi Roppo, the six élite executives of the crew. Sasaki was also charged with the leadership of a special squad, the Armored Division.
Sasaki ate an Ancient Zoan, the Dragon-Dragon Fruit Model: Triceratops, which greatly increases his physical strength, durability and the toughness of his skin. The Zoan transformation allows him to rotate his neck as a propeller, increasing the speed of his charges and gifting him some sort of flight ability.
During the Wano Arc, Sasaki fought a heated battle against Franky, the shipwright of the Strawhat Pirates. He managed to destroy the latter's mecha but ended up losing the fight after Franky discovered and struck his weak spot with the Radical Beam, a focused laser.
9) Who's Who
Who's Who is a former CP9 agent. After being imprisoned by the World Government for failing to complete a mission, he became an outlaw and eventually joined the Beasts Pirate. According to Who's Who, his potential is no less than that of the genius Rob Lucci, the strongest agent in CP9 history.
A skilled Rokushiki master, Who's Who possesses great speed and physical strength. These capabilities are further enhanced thanks to the power of the Cat-Cat Fruit Model: Saber Tiger.
Challenged by former Warlord Jinbe, Who's Who was able to hold himself against the latter, even putting some pressure on him. However, he was brutally defeated when Jinbe went all out.
8) Pica
Pica is one of Doflamingo's èlite officers, the Seats. He was associated with the Spade seat of the Donquixote Pirates and commanded over his own subdivision, with Gladius, Baby 5 and Buffalo as his subordinates.
Owning the powers of the Stone-Stone Fruit, Pica can merge his body with stone. He can swim through it like water, moving within it at remarkable speed. Moreover, Pica can completely manipulate the environment. Morphing all the stone around himself, he is able to create and control a gigantic mountain-sized golem.
Pica is a rather powerful Armament Haki user. He displayed the same ability to cover his entire body with Haki, just like Vergo. Despite all these assets, Pica was still no match for Zoro. After destroying the giant stone golem, Zoro cut through his Haki, brutally defeating him.
7) Cracker
Along with Katakuri and Smoothie, Cracker is one of the three Sweet Commanders of Big Mom Pirates. He relies on his Devil Fruit power to create biscuit armors that shield him from most attacks, only showing himself if the armor is damaged. Cracker can also overwhelm his enemies with a multitude of biscuit soldiers, each one of them being rather powerful.
During the Whole Cake Island Arc, Cracker faced Luffy, giving him a hard time. However, he was ultimately overpowered and defeated by the captain of the Strawhat Pirates. Wielding his sword Pretzel infused with Armament Haki, Cracker was able to wound Luffy even when the latter was using his Gear 4 transformation.
Before challenging Luffy, Cracker inflicted a brutal defeat on Urouge, despite the latter being strong enough to win a previous battle against Big Mom Pirates member Snack. Cracker recently tried to confront former Marine Admiral Aokiji, who stormed Whole Cake Island on behalf of the Blackbeard Pirates. However, he was no match for Aokiji, who easily beat him.
6) Queen
A former member of MADS, an unauthorized research team, Queen is one of the All-Stars of the Beasts Pirates. Known as "The Plague" for his deadly viruses, he is a sadistic man. However, he is somewhat clumsy, frequently hitting himself with his own attacks. He is also prone to losing his composure, even during heated fights.
Queen modified his body with several high-tech mechanisms and weapons, such as laser beams and extendable limbs, effectively becoming a cyborg. He also equipped himself with the peculiar techniques of the Vinsmoke brothers. Moreover, the Dragon-Dragon Fruit Model: Brachiosaurus granted Queen enhanced durability and physical strength.
Queen is a Commander-level fighter, who ranks as the third strongest in the Beasts Pirates, below only Kaido and his right-hand man, King. During the Wano Arc, Queen fought against Sanji. At first, he overwhelmed him. However, the scientist ended up defeated when Sanji awakened his genetic enhancements.
5) Killer
"Massacre Soldier" Killer is Eustass Kid's loyal right-hand man. One of the Eleven Supernovas of the Worst Generation, he is, together with Zoro, one of the only two élite rookies who aren't the captains of a crew. A further testament to his strength, Killer was among the five most powerful Supernovas who confronted the Emperors in Onigashima's rooftop battle.
Forced to work as an assassin under the alias of "Kamazo" because of a blackmail involving Kid's life, Killer met Zoro and challenged him. However, Zoro inflicted a severe defeat on him. Later freed, Killer and Kid joined the Wano Alliance and took part in the Onigashima raid.
After participating in a heated battle against Kaido and Big Mom, Killer fought and brutally defeated Hawkins, a fellow Supernova who chose to side with the Emperors. These feats establish Killer as a solid Commander-level fighter. Excelling in speed and agility. He is rather tough, using two scythe-like blades, the Punishers, to perform swift and lethal attacks.
4) Donquixote Doflamingo
As a member of the Seven Warlords, the captain of Donquixote Pirates, and the illegitimate ruler of Dressrosa, Doflamingo was one of the most influential pirates in the New World. However, after his loss at the hands of Luffy during the Dressrosa Arc, he was stripped of his status and imprisoned in Impel Down.
Neither Smoker nor Sanji, despite being good fighters in their own right, stood a chance against Doflamingo. Strong enough to overwhelm Trafalgar Law and force Luffy into using his Gear 4, Doflamingo is a versatile and dangerous pirate who can fight at Commander-level.
Doflamingo is incredibly agile and resilient to pain and damage. He ate the String-String Fruit, which allows him to create and control razor-sharp strings, enabling him to fly and perform different kinds of attacks at all ranges. However, Doflamingo has his limits. He was completely overwhelmed by Dressrosa Arc's Luffy Gear 4. Moreover, he often overestimates his own strength.
3) Charlotte Katakuri
One of the three Sweet Commanders of Big Mom Pirates, Charlotte Katakuri is a genius and honorable fighter who is said to have never lost a single battle in his entire life. Katakuri is Big Mom's second eldest son and her strongest subordinate.
Katakuri is a powerful hand-to-hand combatant. He has remarkable speed and reflexes, further enhanced by his signature ability, the Future Sight. Indeed, Katakuri's Observation Haki reached a level high enough to see slightly ahead in the future. Using this skill in conjunction with the powers of his Mochi-Mochi Fruit, he can swiftly avoid almost any attack.
Challenged by Luffy, Katakuri completely overwhelmed him. However, after witnessing his enemy's bravery and tenacity, Katakuri developed a sincere respect for him, even acknowledging him as his equal. Eventually, Luffy was able to awaken his own version of Future Sight. The fight ended in a sort of mutual knockout, with the two trading their most powerful moves.
2) King
The last survivor of the Lunarians, a godly-like race, King is the number two of the Beasts Pirates. He is Kaido's loyal right-hand man and his strongest subordinate.
His Lunarian powers allow King to endure every kind of injury without receiving damage or trading some of his durability to boost his quickness. He can also create and control special magma-like flames to perform destructive attacks. This ability earned him the moniker of "Wildfire."
King ate an Ancient Zoan, allowing him to transform into a pteranodon. This enables him to shield himself with wings durable enough to block strikes that previously cut Kaido's dragon-tough body. He can also use his Zoan to fly at high speed and attack, packing enough power to destroy several parts of the Onigashima island.
During the Wano Arc, King fought against Zoro, giving the latter a hard time. However, after unleashing his Advanced Conqueror's Haki, Zoro ended up annihilating King. One Piece fans really enjoyed the fight, which featured a clash between two powerful right-hand men with unwavering devotion to their captains.
1) Kaido
Kaido is the captain of the Beasts Pirates. A ruthless man, he made Wano his territory, driving back Oden and the Red Scabbards who tried to stop him. Kaido started his career in the Rocks Pirates, where he met Big Mom. Many years later, he allied with her again, but they suffered defeat at the hands of the Wano Alliance. As a result, they were stripped of their status as Emperors.
Kaido's physical prowess is supreme, making him worthy of being considered the World's Strongest Creature. He single-handedly annihilated the Red Scabbards. Together with Big Mom, he faced and dominated the five strongest Supernovas, suffering the only real damage because of Zoro's tremendous Ashura attack, which inflicted a scar on him.
Kaido is one of the very few people able to use the Advanced Conqueror's Haki, an all-powerful ability which only the strongest fighters can use. Exploiting the Fish-Fish Fruit Model: Azure Dragon, he can transform into a giant dragon or into a dragon and human hybrid.
Even after unlocking the upgraded stage of Conqueror's Haki, Luffy was not at Kaido's level. He was only able to beat him after obtaining the Awakening of the Gom-Gom Fruit, which was revealed to be the very rare Nika Nika Mythical Zoan.
Summarizing final thoughts
Despite the small number of members, the Strawhat Pirates are a mighty group who defeated many powerful opponents throughout the One Piece series. After their recent power-ups and their triumph over the Beasts Pirates, which established them as a Yonko crew, the Strawhats are definitely worthy of being one of the strongest pirate crews in the entire One Piece series.
With One Piece nearing its end, the Strawhat Pirates are about to face even greater challenges that will force them to surpass their limits and improve even further. Many fans of the series are eager to see a battle between Strawhats and the Blackbeard Pirates. Hopefully, the One Piece author will be able to deliver it.
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Abhipsa Choudhury