Summary

  • Luffy's growth from a small-time pirate to an Emperor of the Sea is impressive, especially after defeating Kaido in Wano.
  • Dragon, Luffy's father, leads the Revolutionary Army and is expected to be on a level above an Admiral in terms of power.
  • Blackbeard's Devil Fruit abilities pose a serious threat to Luffy, as he has the potential to counter and defeat him in combat.

The protagonist of One Piece, Luffy, is a monstrously powerful fighter who has progressed greatly over the years. Luffy was once a small-time pirate who nobody in the East Blue even recognized. However, now, he's one of the Emperors of the Sea and someone that the Government considers to be one of the biggest threats to their existence. Luffy has reached an incredibly high level of strength, especially after defeating Kaido in Wano.

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Much of that is down to the awakening of his Devil Fruit, using which he can now tap into the power of Gear 5. Luffy, in his Nika form, is almost unbeatable. However, there are still some characters who might be on a level higher than him.

5 Monkey D. Dragon

Leader Of The Revolutionary Army

Haki

All Three (Implied)

Devil Fruit

Unknown (Implied)

Dragon is Luffy's very own father and certainly a very strong individual. He stands at the top of the Revolutionary Army, and this position requires him to be very powerful. Fans know the Dragon's number two, Sabo, is strong enough to fight an Admiral and hold his own ground. Dragon himself should be on a level above an Admiral.

Furthermore, Dragon, being from the Monkey D. Family, just goes to show that he has tremendous potential. Just like Garp and Luffy, Dragon should be brimming with power and tremendous Haki. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Dragon should be on a level comparable to Luffy, and given that he is his father, he should be held in a different light and potentially on a level above him.

4 Blackbeard

One Of The Yonko Of The Sea

Haki

Armament, Observation

Devil Fruit

Yami Yami no Mi, Gura Gura no Mi

Blackbeard is one of the Four Emperors of the Sea and certainly a menace across the ocean right now. Blackbeard can be considered to be on the same level as Luffy. However, when the nature of his Devil Fruits is deconstructed, then, there can only be one winner if the two fight, as things stand.

Blackbeard can essentially nullify Gear 5 permanently, and his Gura Gura no Mi can essentially destroy Luffy in combat, especially if his Devil Fruit is not there to offer him defence. Blackbeard is one of the few people who can counter and defeat Nika for good.

3 Shanks

The Red Hair Pirates Yonko

Haki

All Three

Devil Fruit

None

The red-haired Emperor, Shanks, might just be the strongest pirate in the world of One Piece right now. He is the most seasoned of the Yonko, and at the same time, his Haki knows no bounds. Shanks is quite clearly the strongest Haki user that fans have seen in the current era of One Piece, and not even Luffy's tremendous Haki compares to him.

He was able to defeat Kid and Killer at the same time in a single swing of his sword, and while Luffy is certainly much stronger than them and could hold his own against Shanks, right now, he'd potentially still lose a battle against him.

2 Five Elders

The Rulers Of The World

Haki

All Three

Devil Fruit

Unique Yokai Abilities

The Five Elders are curious individuals who hold tremendous power. For one, fans know that they hold dangerous Yokai abilities that resemble Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits. At the same time, fans also know that the Elders possess overpowered Haki, which is comparable to Shanks.

More importantly, they hold the power of immortality. Luffy being weaker than the Elders is slightly controversial. In terms of raw power and fighting capabilities, he seems to be superior to them already. However, in an extended fight with any of the Elders, Luffy cannot win. This is simply down to the fact that the Elders can't die and they simply keep regenerating every single time. They have immortality, and, at the same time, they have the weapons to deal with Luffy. A single attack from the Elders could potentially end Luffy, but none of Luffy's attacks can do anything to them. Eventually, Luffy would simply either perish in a battle against them or run out of juice, which would make his defeat certain.

1 Imu

The Sovereign Of The World

Haki

Unknown

Devil Fruit

Unknown

The sovereign of the world and the one who sits atop everything, Imu is one of the ultimate antagonists of One Piece and fans have not seen his true abilities as of yet. Fans know that they can transform into a strange creature, but, what exactly this creature is remains unknown. Imu clearly possesses tremendous strength, and hopefully, fans will go on to explore this later down the line in One Piece.

For now, it would be too early for Luffy to be on a level where he can defeat Imu. At the same time, Imu will likely have the same immortality that the Elders do, which means that Luffy does not have any weapons to actually put him down.

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Release Date
October 20, 1999
Network
Fuji TV
Directors
Hiroaki Miyamoto, Konosuke Uda, Junji Shimizu, Satoshi Itō, Munehisa Sakai, Katsumi Tokoro, Yutaka Nakajima, Yoshihiro Ueda, Kenichi Takeshita, Yoko Ikeda, Ryota Nakamura, Hiroyuki Kakudou, Takahiro Imamura, Toshihiro Maeya, Yûji Endô, Nozomu Shishido, Hidehiko Kadota, Sumio Watanabe, Harume Kosaka, Yasuhiro Tanabe, Yukihiko Nakao, Keisuke Onishi, Junichi Fujise, Hiroyuki Satou
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  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Mayumi Tanaka
    Monkey D. Luffy (voice)
  • Cast Placeholder Image
    Kazuya Nakai
    Roronoa Zoro (voice)

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming
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Studio
Toei Animation
Number of Episodes
1122