One Piece: Is Ju Peter the weakest Gorosei? Explored

The highest political authorities in the One Piece world after the enigmatic Imu-sama, the Five Elders are also formidable fighters. Known as “Gorosei” in the original Japanese spelling, the Elders are powerful and cold-blooded individuals who can rely on a variety of different abilities.

First of all, they all possess incredibly strong Haki. They can also transform into fiendish creatures, and regenerate from seemingly any kind of injury, which makes them virtually immortal. If this wasn’t enough, one of the Gorosei, Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro, is a highly proficient swordsman who wields the Shodai Kitetsu, one of the Twelve Supreme Grade Blades.

The Elders are meant to be major villains in the endgame of One Piece, which further emphasizes them as fearsome powerhouses. While each Gorosei is a force to be reckoned with, not all of them have been portrayed in the same way. Based on his individual feats, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter appears to be the least powerful member of the group.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers from the One Piece manga up to chapter 1119.

Based on One Piece's current power scaling, Saint Ju Peter appears to be the Gorosei's black sheep

Among the Five Elders, Ju Peter is the least impressive

Saint Topman Warcury (Image via Toei Animation)

To this day, Saint Ju Peter is the only Five Elders member who does not have a remarkable individual feat to his name. Saint Warcury released a formidable blast of Conqueror’s Haki, affecting the entire Egghead Island, and overwhelming even Gear 5 Luffy.

He also demonstrated astonishing durability, as he could withstand Luffy’s attacks, including a Haki-amped punch performed when using Gear 5. Not only did Warcury remain unfazed, but Luffy hurt himself in the attempt to punch the former. For the record, a much weaker incarnation of Luffy was already able to strike and injure Kaido, despite the Yonko’s hard and durable body.

Saint Ethanbaron V. Nusjuro (Image via Toei Animation)

Saint Nusjuro owns one of the strongest weapons in the One Piece world, and wields it with exceptional prowess. His power is such that he can destroy Egghead’s laboratory with a basic slash, without even using a named technique. A testament to Nusjuro’s insane might, his presence was described with the same word used to describe that of “Red Hair” Shanks.

Nusjuro seamlessly blocked a Haki-enhanced attack from Roronoa Zoro, and then clashed on par with the Straw Hat crew’s first mate. When Sanji, Bonney, Franky, and the Giants tried to stall him, Nusjuro easily overpowered their collective effort. His speed is also impressive, as he was able to defeat all Pacifista cyborgs on Egghead within a few seconds.

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Saint Mars was able to pierce through the Labophase’s Frontier Dome without suffering any damage from the defense system, and can fire tremendous energy beams from his mouth. His presence intimidated Jinbe, prompting the former Warlord to avoid a direct confrontation with him.

As for Saint Saturn, he effortlessly subdued Sanji, Bonney, and Franky, who were only saved by Bartholomew Kuma’s unexpected arrival. Saturn’s ominous aura left Luffy, Kizaru, Zoro, and Lucci shocked, to the point where they temporarily interrupted their fights.

Though Warcury, Nusjuro, and the others had their underwhelming moments, nevertheless, Ju Peter’s performance has been disappointing as a whole. The other Elders, despite some ups and downs, have been largely portrayed as all-powerful, nearly omnipotent individuals.

Ju Peter should do better than this

For an endgame villain, Ju Peter has been disappointing to date (Image via Toei Animation)

The Warrior God of Agriculture, Saint Shepherd Ju Peter can turn himself into a demonic beast, just like the other Elders. Specifically, he can transform into the Sandworm, an enormous worm-like monster with a large mouth. When using this form, Ju Peter can move underground, digging through the earth.

He can also generate an incredibly powerful vacuum, and use it to suck in everything around. Although, while certainly fearsome in its own right, the Sandworm transformation does not measure up to the Fengxi (Warcury), the Bakotsu (Nusjuro), the Itsumade (Mars), or even the Gyuki (Saturn).

Among the Gorosei, Ju Peter’s transformation is the only one that isn’t based on the Yokai, legendary creatures of the traditional East Asian folklore. The Sandworm is based on the homonymous fictional beast featured in Frank Herbert’s Dune novels.

Admittedly, Ju Peter’s regenerative powers are extraordinary, as he can even survive being decapitated. However, the other Gorosei possess the same alleged immortality, so that doesn’t matter much when comparing Ju Peter to his colleagues.

Ju Peter was easily countered by Luffy (Image via Shueisha)

Unlike the other Elders, Ju Peter has not yet received a single moment of hype worth mentioning. Especially when considering his status as one of the World Government’s mightiest fighters, his performance has been utterly disappointing.

Since he arrived in Egghead together with the other Gorosei, Ju Peter has performed rather poorly. He caught Luffy by surprise, ambushing him with his ground-burrowing ability. However, when he resurfaced, he was immediately counterattacked by Dorry and Brogy, who beheaded him with their weapons.

For the record, Ju Peter was only able to tag Luffy because the latter was focused on the other Elders. After this failed attempt, Ju Peter took some time to regenerate from Dorry and Brogy’s attack. He then tried to capture Luffy and the Giants, but the young pirate easily countered him.

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During the subsequent struggle between Luffy and Warcury, Ju Peter remained watching from the sidelines. He then used his vacuum ability to suck up the Cipher Pol agents and Seraphim cyborgs who were falling from the laboratory, that had just been bisected by one of Nusjuro’s slashes. He then spat them out, sending them on the World Government fleet.

In One Piece chapter 1119, Ju Peter tried to go on the offensive once again. However, his attempt miserably failed, as Luffy jumped up on him. Before Ju Peter could react, Luffy struck him with a Gear 5-amped punch.

Looking forward to the One Piece manga to clarify what became of Ju Peter after Luffy’s attack, it appears quite evident that the Warrior God of Agriculture should step up his game. Compared to the other Elders, he seems incompetent.

The first appearance of the Five Elders (Image via Shueisha)

Ju Peter is visibly younger than his other four colleagues. Perhaps, this is a hint to the fact that he is weaker and less experienced than them. Nevertheless, based on the Gorosei’s performance so far, Ju Peter is the weak link of the group. At best, he is on par with Saturn, although, to date, the latter has been much more impressive than the former.

The power hierarchy of the group seems to have Warcury and Nusjuro as the strongest Gorosei. Whenever the Elders are assembled, these two are almost always portrayed at the center, with the others on the sides.

In their first appearance in the One Piece manga, Warcury and Nusjuro are sitting on the same couch. Warcury stands in the middle of the scene, and Nusjuro sits on his right side. Mars is standing to the left of Warcury, while Saturn and Ju Peter are depicted at the two ends, far away from the center.

The interpretation of this panel is certainly open to question, but it seems to be a big hint at how each Gorosei’s different status compares to the others.