Summary
The Yonko are widely known as the most powerful pirates in the entireOne Piecestory. Though much of this power and infamy can be attributed to their incredible and unmatched strength withtheir Devil Fruits or Haki, it’s quite safe to say that they would not have reached such heights had it not been for their powerful crews. Within each crew, there exists a right-hand man with almost enough authority as the captain themselves.
Because of this, those who fall under this categorization are also some of the most powerful characters in the entireOne Piecestory. Whether it’s through the mastery of their Devil Fruits or a significant level of proficiency over their Haki, the right-hands of the Yonko are known as legendary fighters across the Grand Line, so let’s rank them all based on their strength.
Right-Hand Man of the Blackbeard Pirates
First Appearance
One Piece, Episode 440, “Believe in Miracles! Bon Clay Cheers From His Heart!”
Devil Fruit Power
Suke-Suke no Mi - The Invisibility Fruit
Despite taking over the role relatively recently, Shiryu is a deadly combatant who quickly became one ofBlackbeard’s Ten Titanic Captains. Originally one of the co-wardens of Impel Down, Shiryu was imprisoned on Level 6 of the prison along with the worst criminals of theOne Pieceworld for his excessive and violent torture of the inmates. Upon being freed from captivity to help in bringing down the Blackbeard Pirates, Shiryu joined their ranks instead.
His name was Shiryu of the Rain. He was as powerful as Warden Magellan! Considering Warden Magellan’s relative lack of experience, Shiryu may have been even more deadly!
Despite being someone with a deadly reputation, Shiryu hasn’t shown any notable feats due to the Blackbeard Pirates having very little screen time in general. However, it can be inferred that he is still incredibly powerful, as he has been shown to take down many fighters by himself with his exceptional sword skills and use of the Clear-Clear Devil Fruit, which gives him invisibility. He is also theorized to wield a Meito sword.
One Piece, Episode 835, “Liar - Luffy and Sanji”
Mochi-Mochi no Mi - The Mochi Fruit
Charlotte Katakuri is the 2nd son of Big Mom and also the most powerful member of her entire crew and fleet.During the Whole Cake Island arc, he fought against Luffy in one of the best fights in the entireOne Pieceseries, where he forced the main character to use new and greater powers than ever before. Despite this, Katakuri continued to come out on top, prompting many fans to consider his eventual defeat at the hands of Luffy to be poor writing and plot convenience for the main character.
If you want to laugh at that fool, then laugh at me too!
Katakuri was the first person in the series who was shown to use Advanced Observation Haki, which allowed him to see into the future and predict his opponent’s moves. Moreover, his mastery over his Mochi-Mochi Devil Fruit led to its awakening, essentially making it a far superior version of Luffy’s own Devil Fruit. Though the heroes would come across other characters stronger than him, Katakuri will go down as one of the series' best villains.
Right-Hand Man of the Beast Pirates
One Piece, Episode 918, “It’s On! The Special Operation to Bring Down Kaido!”
Ryu-Ryu no Mi, Model: Pteranodon - The Pteranodon Fruit
King is the right-hand man of Kaido and the most powerful member of the Beast Pirates after his captain. King belongs tothe extinct race known as the Lunarians, who once used to live on the top of the Red Line and are famous around the world for their durability and strength. After being saved from Punk Hazard by Kaido many years ago, King devoted his life to helping his captain become the King of the Pirates.
Kaido is the man who will be King of the Pirates!
During the Raid on Onigashima, King fought head-to-head against Zoro in perhaps the best fight in the series, where both fighters gave everything they had against each other. In this battle, King showed incredible mastery over his Ancient Zoan Type Devil Fruit, which allowed him to fight equally against Zoro’s Great Grade Sword, Enma, and his newly awakened Conqueror’s Haki, despite not having the ability himself. King proved to be such a great adversary for Zoro that the Pirate Hunter almost killed himself in the effort to take down his opponent.
Former First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates
One Piece, Episode 151, “The 100,000,000 Man! The World’s Highest Authority and the Pirate Blackbeard!”
Tori-Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix - The Phoenix Fruit
Marco is one of the most revered and beloved pirates in all ofOne Piece, seen to be strong enough to hold the position of the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. This position made him perhaps the closest friend andconfidant of the legendary Whitebeard, which already goes to show how important of a character Marco truly is. He was instrumental in the Paramount War at Marineford and was the leader of the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates who attacked Blackbeard’s crew but were unsuccessful in bringing him to justice.
Are you gonna cry or are you gonna make them pay?
Marco has eaten a Mythical Zoan Fruit known as the Tori-Tori no Mi, Model: Phoenix that lets him transform himself into a Phoenix by coating himself with unique, blue flames. This is perhaps the greatest defensive Devil Fruit in the series as it lets Marco completely heal himself and others from any injury, effectively making him invulnerable to non-Haki attacks. Due to his mastery of this fruit, Marco was able to take on both King and Queen at the same time during the Raid of Onigashima.
Right-Hand Man of the Straw Hat Pirates
One Piece, Episode 1, “I’m Luffy! The Man Who Will Become the Pirate King!”
None
The very first member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro has stood by Luffy’s side from the very start of the series and often acts more like a captain than even Luffy does. Over the years,Zoro has fought countless enemiesand has only gotten stronger because of his experiences, which is perfectly reflected in his various battles against the many other right-hands he has fought, such as Mr. 1, Kaku, and Pica. Though he may not have always been rated this high, his recent showings against King in Wano and Lucci in Egghead have earned him this spot.
Scars on the back are a swordsman’s shame!
Unlike most other right-hands of the Yonko’s crews, Zoro does not have any Devil Fruit powers, instead purely relying on his sword skills and his mastery over Haki. Ever since the timeskip, Zoro has primarily used Armament Haki to incredible effect. However, in his battle with King during the Wano arc, he finally realizes his own Conqueror’s Haki, which is a power that not even Marco can use! Using this ability, he was able to defeat King and rank himself as one of the strongest characters in the series.
Benn Beckman is a character who fans of the series were introduced to in the very first chapter ofOne Piece. Despite this, however, the character largely remains a mystery, in terms of both his overall strength and backstory. However, it is known that he has a very high bounty that isfairly close to Shanks' own, confirming that his strength is one of the most formidable in the entireOne Piecefranchise.
Don’t move, Kizaru.
Another thing to gauge his power by is his only appearance on a battlefield, though even here, he didn’t fight. As Kizaru was destroying everyone in his path and aiming for Shanks' head during the Marineford War, Benn Beckman appeared behind him and pointed a gun at his head. This was enough for Kizaru to throw up his hands in compliance and call off his attack on Shanks, showing that Benn Beckman was strong enough to threaten a Marine Admiral, easily placing him on Yonko level.
One of the Executives of the Cross Guild
One Piece, Episode 23, “Protect Baratie! The Great Pirate: Zeff the Red Leg”
Easily one of the most mysterious and elusive characters in the entire series, Mihawk is known as the World’s Strongest Swordsman and a force so powerful that he used to sail the Grand Line alone with no crewmates at his side. Practically nothing is known about this character buthis strength is truly legendary, as he is known to be an equal of Shanks, though he refuses to fight his old rival after he lost his arm.
I’m not the kind of fool who hunts rabbits with a canon.
Mihawk’s skill as a swordsman is the stuff of myth, which is why he wields Yoru, one of the 12 Supreme Grade Weapons in the entire world and one of the only 2 known Black Blades in the story. This suggests a level of mastery and skill that is only shared by the strongest characters in all ofOne Piece. Though Buggy’s position as the leader of the Cross Guild is merely to keep up appearances, Mihawk is easily the most powerful right-hand man in the series.
One Piececan be streamed onCrunchyroll.
One Piece
One Piece is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. The series follows protagonist Monkey D. Luffy and his Straw Hat Pirate crew as they explore the Grand Line to find the King of the Pirates' ultimate treasure, the One Piece, in order to become the next king. The manga’s popularity helped it spin off into a larger media franchise, including an anime with more than 1,000 episodes.
